An activity type defines one kind of continuing-education activity your members can report, such as a conference, published article, or webinar. Each type controls the questions members see, what they must provide, and which credits the activity can earn.
What This Controls
An activity type controls:
- The prompts members see for the activity name, date, additional details, quantity, and supporting file.
- Whether the form asks for a quantity or file, and whether members must provide them.
- Which credit types members can claim for this kind of activity.
- Whether the type is hidden from the Portal, and whether members can edit activities of this type later, for how long, and with which form.
- An optional credit calculator, where members complete variables and Rhythm uses one formula per credit type.
Where to Find It
Go to Certifications › Setup › Activities › Types.
The Settings
| Setting | Options | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Free text | — | The name members see when they choose this activity type. |
| Status | Active / Inactive | Active | Controls whether members can choose this type for new activities. |
| Description | Rich text | Blank | Appears when members choose an activity type to log. Keep it brief so members can quickly identify the right type, not read detailed instructions. |
| Credit Instructions | Rich text | Blank | Appears when members report this activity. Use it to explain how many credits to assign, because the reporting form does not enforce a specific amount. |
| Name, Date, and Additional Details Prompts | Free text | Blank | The question shown for each field on the reporting form. If you leave a prompt blank, the form uses its default label. |
| Require Additional Details | On / Off | Off | Controls whether members must complete the details field before they can report this type of activity. |
| Quantity | Disabled, Optional, Required | Optional | Controls whether the reporting form asks for a quantity, and whether members must enter one. |
| File Upload | Disabled, Optional, Required | Optional | Controls whether the reporting form asks for a supporting file, and whether members must attach one. |
| Applicable Credit Types | One or more credit types | None | The kinds of credit this activity type can offer on the reporting form. If credits from this activity type should attach to a specific recertification application, include the relevant application process here. Otherwise, those credits will not attach to that application's requirement, even if members can see the credit on their own record. |
| Hide This Activity Type from the Portal | On / Off | Off | Keeps this type off Portal pages that list activity types. |
| Allow Editing in the Portal | On / Off | Off | Controls whether members can correct their own activities of this type later, and for how long. |
| Credit Calculator | On / Off | Off | Controls whether the reporting form calculates credits from variables instead of asking members to enter an amount. |
Set Up Prompts and Requirements
- Go to Certifications › Setup › Activities › Types.
- Select Create Certification Activity Type, or Edit an existing one.
- Fill in the Name, then enter the wording you want for the Name Prompt, Date Prompt, and Additional Details Prompt.
- Choose whether a quantity and a file are Disabled, Optional, or Required, then write the matching prompt for each one you turn on.
- Under Applicable Credit Types, choose every credit type this kind of activity can earn.
- Save.
Result
When members report this kind of activity, they see your prompts and requirements. They can claim only the credit types you chose.
Choose At Least One Credit Type
The form marks Applicable Credit Types as required, but it still saves an activity type when none are selected. Activities with that type earn no credit, so you usually want to choose at least one.
A quantity prompt and the credit calculator are the two ways to collect credit input when a member logs this kind of activity. There is no separate way to relabel the built-in Credits to Issue field on the logging form, because that field is part of the standard logging component and is configurable only through the settings here.
Let Members Edit Their Activities in the Portal
- On the activity type, turn on Allow users to edit this type of activity in the portal.
- Choose an Activity Form, which is the web form members use when they edit the activity.
- Choose how long editing stays open: Forever, or For a certain period of time after the activity's date, and set the period.
- Save.
Result
Members can correct activities of this type in the Portal during the window you set. After staff verify an activity, members can never edit it in the Portal, even if the edit window is still open.
Warning
After you turn on portal editing for an activity type, reinstall the Certifications Activities portal feature so the edit page is installed at /certifications/activities/edit. Without that reinstall, this setting may not work correctly in the Portal.
Set Up a Credit Calculator
If you want members to answer a few questions and have Rhythm calculate the credits, turn on the calculator instead of asking members to enter a credit amount.
- On the activity type, turn on Credit Calculator.
- Under Variables, select Add Variable for each value the reporting form should ask for, such as hours or pages, and give each one a label.
- Under Formulas, write one formula per credit type you chose in Applicable Credit Types, using your variables' names. A formula syntax reference is available while you build a formula, so use it as your guide to valid syntax and structure.
- Enter sample values and select Test Calculation Formula to check each formula's result before saving.
- Save.
Result
The reporting form for this activity type now asks members for your variables and calculates their credits automatically, instead of asking them to enter an amount themselves.
Tip
Rhythm offers a calculator formula only for credit types that are both active and selected in Applicable Credit Types. If you deactivate a credit type covered by a formula, that formula no longer appears and can be removed the next time you save the activity type.
Warning
Marking a calculator variable as required does not fully stop a member from continuing with it blank. A blank numeric variable defaults to 0, and Rhythm treats 0 as a valid entry for the calculation, so the form can let the member move on without the value you expected.
A credit calculator formula belongs to a single credit type. It cannot automatically apply hours or other values entered for one credit type to a second credit type. If you need entered values to carry over between credit types, that is a feature request, not something you can configure here.
Warning
Marking a credit calculator variable as required stops the form from being submitted with it blank, but it does not stop a member from entering 0. If you need a positive amount, review submitted activities instead of relying on the required setting alone.
Reorder, Hide, Deactivate, or Delete a Type
- Reorder the types members see by dragging rows on the list page.
- Hide from the Portal when staff should still use the type, but members should not see it on member-facing pages. Existing activities keep the type.
- Deactivate a type instead of deleting it if you might need it again. Deactivating does not change activities that already use it.
- Delete a type only when nothing still refers to it. If any activity or activity reporting process names the type, Rhythm refuses the delete, so deactivate it instead.
Credits awarded automatically through an event registration depend on both the event registration's credit-awarding options and your certification credit configuration, including which credit types and activity type apply. If credits from event registrations are not behaving as expected, check the event registration settings alongside your activity type and credit type setup, rather than looking here alone.