# Control course access During the creation of the course, it is recommended you don't allow learners access before it is ready so they don't see an incomplete course. In order to do this, access has to be restricted by going to the course ***Settings*** tool: ![](/files/-LH9CzxYYWR6ozj6AhTG) *Illustration: Course administration tools* A series of choices are available to the teacher. ![](/files/-LH9CuFqw_AunYJ5clb_) *Illustration: Course settings - Visibility* * **Public** : means it is accessible to any user, registered on this portal or not * **Open** : means all users *registered on the portal* can access the course as long as they have previously subscribed to it (they can do this through the courses catalog). This is the *default option* * **Private** : means the course is only available to students who have been subscribed to it by a teacher or administrator. Make sure the *Subscription* option is set to be only available to trainers, though, as otherwise students might be able to subscribe themselves. * **Closed** : means the course is *only available to its teacher or the administrator*. Other users cannot access it, even if they have previously been subscribed to it. This last option is recommended *during the building or maintenance periods of the course*. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.chamilo.org/1.11.x/teacher-guide/control_course_access.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.