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Usage block

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Usage Block

The Usage block provides on the fly site graph usage information: page views, number of distinct users, number of messages (forum posts). This information is shown in three scales: months, days, hours. If inserted inside a course, it shows course usage, only in the frontpage will show the site usage.

Usage01.JPG Usage02.JPG Usage03.JPG

The scale on the left is for page views. The scale on the right is for the number of users and messages. The user can get numerical data by clicking on the graph, and in that case a table with the data in the graph appears bellow.

In a real site the block can look like this:

Usage05.JPG

This block does not create any tables, and use the mdl_log table only in the cron, not in each page view. This makes the block very light, allowing to put the block in heavy Moodle sites.

Installation

  • Download the last version from moodle.org, in http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=1851
  • Copy the usage folder into the \blocks folder of your Moodle site
  • Login in to Moodle as an administrator and go to the \admin page (Notifications) to install the block
  • When prompted, set the default settings for the block, or go to the block settings page (Administration Site > Modules > Blocks > Usage)
  • Add the Usage block to the front page

Configuration

In the global configuration of the Usage block (Site Administration > Modules > Blocks > Usage) you can specify:

  • the number of months (2 - 12), days (2 - 30) and hours (2 - 24) to show on the block;
  • the default scale (months, days or hours), but the user can always switch the scale;
  • width and height of the graph;
  • for the page views, users and messages: on/off the graph; colour; type (line, bar, area).

Usage04.JPG

This configuration will be the default for all usage blocks created. In each block instance you can edit also this configuration, that will be valid for the instance.

Languages

Thanks to the generosity of translators, the Usage Block is available in:

  • English
  • Portuguese
  • Euskara (Basque)
  • Català

Other translations are welcome. If you would like to provide a translation of this block, please create an issue in the tracker with the language file attached to the issue.

To Do List

Feature requests and bug reports can be filed in the Moodle Tracker (http://tracker.moodle.org).

Contributor/Maintainer

The Usage Block was contributed and is maintained by José Coelho.