System paths
Location: Administration > Server > System Paths
GD version
GD is a graphics library that manipulates graphics. It's used to create thumbnail images from uploaded files and other graphics on the fly. If you don't know what version is installed, leave this on the original setting.
Note: When setting the system paths on Windows systems, use of the 8.3 notation for the path and filename is preferred. So instead of entering c:\program files\path to aspell\aspell.exe, enter c:\progra~1\path~1\aspell.exe. Check the exact 8.3 path using the dir /x command at the prompt.
Path to zip
When compressing files Moodle uses either the PclZip library or the external zip program. The external program is faster, so if you are experiencing slow backups or other performance problems, try setting the path to your zip program. On Unix/Linux systems, find the path as follows using the which program:
[root@moodle ~]# which zip /usr/bin/zip
In this example the path to enter is /usr/bin/zip.
This program must be the PKZIP-compatible zip. The GNU zip program gzip cannot handle the type of zip files required by Moodle.
On Windows systems, download [the GNU Win32 Zip complete package]. Run the setup.exe program to install and use the search facility in Explorer to find the location of the zip.exe file. The path should look like:
c:\program files\gnuwin32\bin\zip.exe
If this does not work, shorten it to the 8.3 notation:
c:\progra~1\gnuwin32\bin\zip.exe
Note:
When you configure Moodle to use the external zip.exe program the backups might fail with 'Warning: exec() [function.exec]: Unable to fork' errors when Moodle creates the backups. This problem happens because IIS runs the zip program via the Windows command line interpreter (cmd.exe) under the IUSR_computername user, but this user does not have Execute access to the cmd.exe file in the \Windows\System32 folder. You could give the IUSR_computer user Read and Execute permissions to cmd.exe in the \Windows\System32 folder, but this opens up a security hole on the server. A better solution is to copy cmd.exe to your PHP folder. The PHP interpreter will then have access to it without you having to apply any special permissions.
Path to unzip
When uncompressing files Moodle uses either the PclZip library or the external unzip program. As with the zip program, the external program is faster, so if you are experiencing slow backups or other performance problems, try setting the path to your unzip program. On Unix/Linux systems, find the path as follows using the which program:
[root@moodle ~]# which unzip /usr/bin/unzip
In this example the path to enter is /usr/bin/unzip.
This program must be the PKZIP-compatible unzip. The GNU unzip program gunzip cannot handle the type of zip files created by Moodle.
On Windows systems, download [the GNU Win32 Zip complete package]. Run the setup.exe program to install and use the search facility in Explorer to find the location of the unzip.exe file. The path should look like:
c:\program files\gnuwin32\bin\unzip.exe
If this does not work, shorten it to the 8.3 notation:
c:\progra~1\gnuwin32\bin\unzip.exe
Path to aspell
To use spell-checking within the HTML editor, you MUST have aspell 0.50 or later installed on your server, and you must specify the correct path to access the aspell binary. On Unix/Linux systems use the which program to determine the path:
[root@moodle ~]# which aspell /usr/bin/aspell
In this example the path to enter is /usr/bin/aspell.
On a Windows system, download and install GNU aspell together with at least one dictionary and then use the search facility in Explorer to find the aspell.exe file. The path should look like:
c:\program files\aspell\bin\aspell.exe
It can be best to install aspell in c:\aspell or use the 8.3 notation if you are installing in c:\program files so that the path looks like
c:\progra~1\aspell\bin\aspell.exe
Path to dot
Moodle 2.0
Path to dot is for enabling image generation in profiling. The generated graphs are really useful to see what each request does. To have profiling visible (and working), the xhprof extension must be installed in PHP.
External links
See also
Using Moodle forum discussions:
