Overview
Lab authors enable and configure the Mentor tab directly from a lab profile — no administrator involvement or code changes required. Configuration lives on the lab profile, so it is saved, loaded, and carried along with the rest of the profile's settings.
For background on what the Mentor is and what learners experience, see Mentor: Contextual In-Lab Assistance.
Before you begin
You will need a Mentor Service URL from your chosen mentor provider. The Mentor is provider-neutral, so any service that implements the Lab Client mentor messaging contract can be used.
Enable the Mentor tab
- Open the lab profile and select the Advanced tab on the Lab Profile edit page.
- In the tab visibility controls (alongside Show Instructions, Show Resources, and Show Help), select Show Mentor Tab.
- Two additional fields appear:
- Mentor Service URL — required. The URL of the mentor service to embed. Accepts up to 512 characters.
- Custom Mentor Tab Label — optional. Select the checkbox to enter a custom label for the tab; accepts up to 50 characters. If left unchecked, the tab uses the default label (Mentor).
- Save the lab profile.
The Show Mentor Tab control only appears when the navigation pane is shown. If you have hidden the navigation pane, the Mentor tab option is not available.
Field reference
| Field | Required | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show Mentor Tab | — | — | Master toggle. When off, the URL and label fields are hidden and their values are cleared on save. |
| Mentor Service URL | Yes (when tab enabled) | 512 characters | The mentor service the Lab Client embeds and communicates with. |
| Custom Mentor Tab Label | No | 50 characters | Replaces the default Mentor tab label. The textbox appears only when its checkbox is selected, and the checkbox is pre-selected on load if a custom label was previously saved. |
Disabling the Mentor tab
Clear the Show Mentor Tab checkbox and save. The Mentor Service URL and Custom Mentor Tab Label fields are hidden, and both values are cleared when you save. Learners launching the lab will no longer see a Mentor tab.
How configuration is applied
The three settings — whether the tab is shown, its custom label, and the mentor service URL — are stored on the lab profile and applied when a lab launches. Because the values travel with the profile, they persist correctly across saves, profile updates, and imports.
Verify your configuration
After saving, launch the lab and confirm:
- The Mentor tab appears in the instruction pane with the expected label.
- The mentor loads and responds to a test question.
If the tab does not appear, confirm Show Mentor Tab is checked, a valid Mentor Service URL is saved, and the navigation pane is shown.