Administration FAQ

Changing text in Moodle

Text in Moodle may be changed by editing the language files via Administration >> Configuration >> Language.

Please note that language files are overwritten with new versions when upgrading. To avoid this, you may create your own language pack by copying the contents of your language folder into a new folder, making it the default for the site, then editing this instead.

How do I make my Moodle site homepage look like the moodle.org homepage?

Please see the theme how-to homepage design of moodle.org for full details.

How do the limits on uploaded files work?

File upload sizes are restricted in a number of ways - each one in the list restricts the following ones.

1. Firstly, there is a setting in Apache 2 which you may need to change. On Redhat this setting is very low by default, you can change the limit by adding or editing a line in Apache's /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf and/or /etc/httpd/conf.d/php.conf with the upload size in bytes (different operating systems may have these files in different locations):

LimitRequestBody 10485760

2. PHP also has two more byte limits, which you can set in php.ini and sometimes in a .htaccess file:

php_value upload_max_filesize 50000000
php_value post_max_size 50000000

To convert from Bytes to Megabytes use this convertor

Please note that a server re-start may be required for the above changes to take effect.

3. Moodle has a site-wide limit called maxbytes that may be set in Administration >> Configuration >> Variables.

4. A limit may be set by teachers in the Course settings.

5. Activity modules such as Forums and Assignments have their own limits which may be set when adding or editing the activity.

See also

• Using Moodle Detailed instructions to increase the maximum allowed size for uploaded files forum discussion

How to change upload file size on a Windows localhost

In a localhost (using a Complete install packages on a computer) for 1.6 it is easy to change the uploaded file size to something larger than the default 16M. Here is an example of how to change the upload file size to 100M.

• Find ../Apache/bin/php.ini and open it with WordPad by right-clicking -> Open With -> then choose WordPad.
• In this file scroll or do a search on _max_ to find
  • upload_max_filesize = 16M
• Change that line to
  • upload_max_filesize = 100M
• In the same way, find
  • post_max_size = 16M
• Change that line to
  • post_max_size = 100M
• Save the file.

After any changes to the php.ini file you need to restart Apache. So restart xampp and browse to localhost. You should find that the Upload file size in Configuration now reads 100M.

How to change the maximum execution time

A side-effect of increasing the file upload limit is that the php scripts may execute beyond the limit set by default (300 seconds/5 minutes). To change this, look for max_execution_time in php.ini and change to something like this:

max_execution_time = 600

If you are using Apache and have a .htaccess file to change php settings, add this line to your .htaccess file:

php_value max_execution_time 600

Restart your webserver for these changes to take effect, and check that the values have been changed by looking at your phpinfo output in the moodle admin -> environment page.

I have forgotten the admin password

Firstly, try using the button "Send my details via email". Otherwise, you will need to access the database using MySQL admin. Passwords for all users, including admin, are stored encrypted in the table mdl_user. Copy the guest password (guest) into the admin password field then login using it.

Additional solutions are detailed in the discussions change admin's password and login/password.

My log table has disappeared - No logs found!

The most likely cause is that the mdl_log table has become corrupted. It may be repaired using MySQL Admin as follows:

Click the SQL tab, then in the "Run SQL query/queries on database moodle" field type REPAIR TABLE mdl_log and click the Go button.

External links

• Repairing Database Corruption in MySQL

My style sheet changes aren't showing up

Browsers usually cache style sheets and so a forced refresh (CTRL + F5) is required before any changes show up.

Site-wide scales

To add a site-wide scale, available in all courses, follow the Scales link in any course Administration block. Add a new scale, then use the move down arrow to move the scale from custom scales to standard scales.

Users are being unenrolled for no apparent reason

Unenrolment may be controlled by the following:

• The longtimenosee variable in Administration >> Configuration >> Variables which specifies the time limit for which, if students haven't logged in, they are unenrolled from courses.
• The Enrolment duration in the Course settings which unenrols students after the specified time has elapsed.

Why do I see [[missing strings]]?

Double square brackets around text indicate that language strings are missing. Please check for missing strings and update local language packs in Administration >> Configuration >> Language.

Language strings for non-standard modules and plugins are generally contained in a lang folder within the module or plugin folder. For sites which have migrated to UTF-8, it may be necessary to re-name the folder e.g. en should be re-named en_utf8.