A deadline tells people when to finish an activity, and it brings two reminders that nudge anyone who hasn't. You set it when you schedule the activity: turn on the Deadline toggle and choose the timing. This article covers which activities can have a deadline, how the timing works, the two reminders, and what a deadline does — and doesn't — do.
Which activities can have a deadline
Micro trainings, quizzes, surveys, and assignments can each have a deadline. Group meetings, direct messages, and manager-registration activities can't — they're timed differently.
Turn on the deadline and choose the timing
You'll find the deadline in the activity's scheduling — the same place you set when its invitation is sent. Open the activity's scheduling, go to the Deadline section, and switch it on. It starts at 10 days after the invitation, which you can change.
In a cohort learning journey, pick a Deadline type:
Relative to invitation date — a number of days after the activity is sent. This fits when everyone receives the activity on the same date.
Specific date — a fixed calendar date, independent of when the activity goes out.
In an individual learning journey the deadline is always relative — a number of days after each participant is invited — because each person moves through the journey on their own dates. There's no specific-date option.
A deadline applies to whoever the activity is for: participants, or the managers if it's a manager activity.
The two deadline reminders
When a deadline is on, it comes with two reminders, both on by default. You can switch either off, and preview each before you launch:
Heads up about upcoming deadline — sent 24 hours before the deadline, to people who haven't completed yet.
Reminder: Deadline has passed — sent at the deadline, to people who still haven't completed.
They're notifications like any other, so you can edit their wording and send them by email or SMS. See Which Knowly emails can I edit, and what can I change inside them? and Choosing email or SMS for a notification.
What a deadline does — and doesn't do
A deadline is a target, not a lock. When it passes, the activity doesn't close and no one is stopped from finishing — a participant can still open and complete it afterward. What the deadline actually does is drive the two reminders, and anyone who's behind can see that the deadline has passed. If you need to genuinely prevent late completion, a deadline won't do that.
A deadline also doesn't change what participants can see. Whether an upcoming activity is hidden or shown as locked before it's sent is a separate setting — see Deadlines, hidden, and locked activities.