MoodleDocs - Contribucions de l'usuari [ca]

Plantilla:Performance

2013-05-19T14:35:44Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added *Performance overview

<div class="navtrail">[[Main page]] ► [[Managing a Moodle site]] ► [[Performance]] ► [[{{PAGENAME}}]]</div>
<div class="sideblock right" style="width: 14em;">
<div class="header">[[Performance]]</div>
<div class="content">
*[[Performance recommendations]]
*[[Performance settings]]
*[[Performance overview]]
*[[Caching]]
*[[Performance FAQ]]
</div>
</div>

<includeonly>[[Category:Performance]]</includeonly>
<noinclude>This template will categorize articles that include it into [[:Category:Performance]].</noinclude>

Performance overview

2013-05-19T14:34:46Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page, added Category:Performance and {{Performance}}

{{Performance}}
This Moodle performance overview proposal page is created in response to Moodle issue [http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-35716 MDL-35716]

The general problem from the issue seems to be the related to users not having insight into what configuration settings they have turned on or off that may affect Moodle performance.

My proposed solution is to create a "Performance overview" page, similar to the existing "Security overview" page that lists performance-related configuration settings for a Moodle site, along with a suggestion to what the setting should be set, and allow the user to modify individual settings by visiting the setting's link.

I've added a link to a UI screenshot of what this can look like. It lists just some of the possible configuration settings that relate to performance. A new "Performance overview" page is added in the settings block:
Site Administration > Reports > Performance overview

The table has three fields: configuration setting, value and suggestion. All of the settings listed on the page are configuration settings that may be relevant to Moodle performance (eg. Javascript caching). The "value" column indicates the value of the current setting ("enabled", "disabled" or something else). The "suggestion" column is a general suggestion to what the setting should be set for best performance. The values under the "configuration setting" column are all links that point to a Moodle configuration page where the user can change that particular setting.

UI screenshot:
https://docs.moodle.org/24/en/images_en/thumb/e/e5/moodle_v2.png/800px-moodle_v2.png

One issue with creating this performance overview page is with how performance improvement suggestions are subjective. Changing the value of one particular setting may impact Moodle performance differently depending in what environment it's in. Therefore, these would be suggestions that will "generally" improve Moodle performance.

Currently this design requires no database modifications to Moodle except maybe an addition to capabilities/permissions defined in access.php.

[[Category:Performance]]

[[es:Vista general sobre desempeño]]

Caching

2013-05-03T17:25:06Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: Added Performance advise for Moodle 2.4 with load-balanced web servers

{{Performance}}{{New features}}

A cache is a collection of processed data that is kept on hand and re-used in order to avoid costly repeated database queries.

Moodle 2.4 saw the implementation of MUC, the Moodle Universal Cache. This new system allows certain functions of Moodle (eg string fetching) take advantage of different installed cache services (eg files, ram, memcached).

In future versions of Moodle we will continue expanding the number of Moodle functions that use MUC, which will continue improving performance, but you can already start using it to improve your site.

==General approach to performance testing==

Here is the general strategy you should be taking:

# Build a test environment that is as close to your real production instance as possible (eg hardware, software, networking, etc)
# Make sure to remove as many uncontrolled variables as you can from this environment (eg other services)
# Use a tool to place a realistic, but simulated and repeatable load upon you server. (eg jmeter or selenium).
# Decide on a way to measure performance of the server by capturing data (ram, load, time taken, etc)
# Run your load and measure a baseline performance result.
# Change one variable at a time, and re-run the load to see if performance gets better or worse. Repeat as necessary.
# When you discover settings that result in a consistent performance improvement, apply to your production site.

==How to use the caching settings==

Since Moodle 2.4, Moodle has provided a caching plugin framework to give administrators the ability to control where Moodle stores cached data. For most Moodle sites the default configuration should be sufficient and it is not necessary to change the configuration. For larger Moodle sites with multiple servers, administrators may wish to use memcached, mongodb or other systems to store cache data. The cache plugin screen provides administrators with the ability to configure what cache data is stored where.

=== Types of cache ===

Moodle uses three types of cache to store cached data:
* Request cache - The request cache is available for the duration of every page request. It is not shared between users and is used and cleared on every Moodle request.
* Session cache - The session cache is available through a users session in Moodle. It is not shared between users, but persists for a single user throughout their session (i.e. from when they logon til when they log off)
* Application cache - The application cache is a shared cache which is available for every request. It can be shared between users and the cached data can be kept indefinitely if required.

==== Cache types and multiple-server systems ====

If you have a system with multiple front-end web servers, the application cache must be shared between the servers. In other words, you cannot use fast local storage for the application cache, but must use shared storage or some other form of shared cache such as a shared memcache.

The same applies to session cache, unless you use a 'sticky sessions' mechanism to ensure that within a session, users always access the same front-end server.

===Installed cache stores===

This section of the administrator screen displays cache plugins which are installed on the system. It lists what the capabilities of each plugin, what type of cache they provide and provides allows a cache store to be added to the system.

===Configured store instances===

This section of the administrator screen displays cache stores which have been added to the system. It gives the ability to change the cache configuration and purge the cached data.

===Known cache definitions===

Known cache definitions displays the caches which are in use by Moodle. Each item is an area of Moodle which is using caching. It gives the administrator the ability to configure an individual area of Moodle to use a different cache backend. For example, an administrator of a Moodle cluster may choose to make language string definitions be cached on a dedicated memcached server by using the memcached cache backend.

==Stores used when no mapping is present==

This section displays the default cache stores which should be used by Moodle for each type of Moodle cache. If a mapping for a cache definition does not exist then this default store will be used instead.

==Other performance testing==

Two links that might be useful to anyone considering testing performance on their own servers:

* [http://www.iteachwithmoodle.com/2012/10/12/moodle-performance-testing-how-much-more-horsepower-do-each-new-versions-of-moodle-require/ Moodle performance testing: how much more horsepower do each new versions of Moodle require?]
* [http://www.iteachwithmoodle.com/2012/10/11/how-to-stress-test-your-moodle-server-using-loadstorm/ How to load test your Moodle server using Loadstorm]

==Performance advise for Moodle 2.4 with load-balanced web servers==

Performance advice: if you are running Moodle 2.4 with load-balanced web servers, don't use the default caching option that stores the data in moodledata on a shared network drive. Use memcache instead. See Tim Hunt's article on http://planet.moodle.org/ for 02 May 2013.

==See also==

* Using Moodle [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=217195 MUC is here, now what?] forum discussion

Developer documentation:
* [[:dev:The Moodle Universal Cache (MUC)]]
* [[:dev:Cache API]]
* [[:dev:Cache API - Quick reference]]

{{stub}}
[[de:Caching]]

Performance recommendations

2013-05-03T17:17:34Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: Added Performance advise for Moodle 2.4 with load-balanced web servers

{{Performance}}
Moodle can be made to perform very well, at small usage levels or scaling up to many thousands of users. The factors involved in performance are basically the same as for any PHP-based database-driven system. When trying to optimize your server, try to focus on the factor which will make the most difference to the user. For example, if you have relatively more users browsing than accessing the database, look to improve the webserver performance.

==Obtain a baseline benchmark==

Before attempting any optimization, you should obtain a baseline benchmark of the component of the system you are trying to improve. For Linux try [http://lbs.sourceforge.net/ LBS] and for Windows use the Performance Monitor. Once you have quantitative data about how your system is performing currently, you'll be able to determine if the change you have made has had any real impact.

The overall aim of adjustments to improve performance is to use RAM (cacheing) and to reduce disk-based activity. It is especially important to try to eliminate swap file usage as much as you can. If your system starts swapping, this is a sign that you need more RAM.

The '''optimization order preference''' is usually: primary storage (more RAM), secondary storage (faster hard disks/improved hard disk configuration), processor (more and faster).

==Scalability==

Moodle's design (with clear separation of application layers) allows for strongly scalable setups. (Please check the list of [[Large installations|large Moodle installations]].)

Large sites usually separate the web server and database onto separate servers, although for smaller installations this is typically not necessary.

It is possible to load-balance a Moodle installation, for example by using more than one webserver. The separate webservers should query the same database and refer to the same filestore area, but otherwise the separation of the application layers is complete enough to make this kind of clustering feasible. Similarly, the database could be a cluster of servers (e.g. a MySQL cluster), but this is not an easy task and you should seek expert support, e.g. from a Moodle Partner.

===Server cluster===

Using Moodle forum discussions:

*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57202 Moodle clustering]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=44470 Software load balancing]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=49986 TCP load balancing]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=88214 Installation for 3000 simultaneous users]

==Hardware configuration==
'''Note''': The fastest and most effective change that you can make to improve performance is to '''increase the amount of RAM on your web server''' - get as much as possible (e.g. 4GB or more). Increasing primary memory will reduce the need for processes to swap to disk and will enable your server to handle more users.
* Better performance is gained by obtaining the best '''processor capability''' you can, i.e. dual or dual core processors. A modern BIOS should allow you to enable hyperthreading, but check if this makes a difference to the overall performance of the processors by using a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_PI CPU benchmarking tool].
* If you can afford them, use '''SCSI hard disks''' instead of SATA drives. SATA drives will increase your system's CPU utilization, whereas SCSI drives have their own integrated processors and come into their own when you have multiple drives. If you must have SATA drives, check that your motherboard and the drives themselves support NCQ (Native Command Queuing).
* Purchase hard disks with a '''low seek time'''. This will improve the overall speed of your system, especially when accessing Moodle's reports.
* Size your '''swap file''' correctly. The general advice is to set it to 4 x physical RAM.
* Use a '''RAID disk system'''. Although there are many different RAID configurations you can create, the following generally works best:
** install a hardware RAID controller (if you can)
** the operating system and swap drive on one set of disks configured as RAID-1.
** Moodle, Web server and Database server on another set of disks configured as RAID-5.
* Use '''gigabit ethernet''' for improved latency and throughput. This is especially important when you have your webserver and database server separated out on different hosts.
* Check the settings on your '''network card'''. You may get an improvement in performance by increasing the use of buffers and transmit/receive descriptors (balance this with processor and memory overheads) and off-loading TCP checksum calculation onto the card instead of the OS.
* Read this [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68579 Case Study] on a server stress test with 300 users.
* See this [http://elearning.sgu.ac.jp/doc/PT/ accompanying report] on network traffic and server loads.
* See the [[Moodle.org configuration]]
* Also see this SFSU presentation at Educause (using VMWare): [http://www.educause.edu/Resources/AnOpenSourceLMSforaMissionCrit/162843]

==Operating System==
* You can use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux Linux](recommended), Unix-based, Windows or Mac OS X for the server '''operating system'''. *nix operating systems generally require less memory than Mac OS X or Windows servers for doing the same task as the server is configured with just a shell interface. Additionally Linux does not have licensing fees attached, but can have a big learning curve if you're used to another operating system. If you have a large number of processors running SMP, you may also want to consider using a highly tuned OS such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_Operating_Environment Solaris].
* Check your own OS and '''vendor specific instructions''' for optimization steps.
** For Linux look at the [http://linuxperf.sourceforge.net/ Linux Performance Team] site.
** For Linux investigate the hdparm command, e.g. hdparm -m16 -d1 can be used to enable read/write on multiple sectors and DMA. Mount disks with the async and noatime options.
** For Windows set the sever to be optimized for network applications (Control Panel, Network Connections, LAN connection, Properties, File & Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, Properties, Optimization). You can also search the [http://technet.microsoft.com/ Microsoft TechNet site] for optimization documents.

==Web server performance==

Installing [http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/ Firefox] and the [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843 firebug] extension will allow you to watch the time it takes for each page component to load. Also, the [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5369 Yslow] extension will evaluate your page against Yahoo's [http://www.skrenta.com/2007/05/14_rules_for_fast_web_pages_by_1.html 14 rules], full text [http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html Best Practices for Speeding Up Your Web Site], <strike>([http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1040890 video])</strike> for fast loading websites.

===PHP performance===
* You are strongly recommended to use a '''PHP accelerator''' to ease CPU load, such as [http://pecl.php.net/apc APC], [http://www.php-accelerator.co.uk/ PHPA], [http://trac.lighttpd.net/xcache/ Xcache], [http://sourceforge.net/projects/wincache WinCache] or [http://eaccelerator.net/ eAccelerator]. (Take care to choose a PHP accelerator that is known to work well with your version of PHP and note that Turck MMCache is [http://turckmmcache.exeprod.com/TheManifestoEnglish no longer maintained] and can cause failures with PHP 5).
* Improvements in read/write performance can be improved by putting the cached PHP pages on a [[TMPFS]] filesystem - but remember that you'll lose the cache contents when there is a power failure or the server is rebooted.
* Performance of PHP is better when installed as an '''Apache/IIS6 ISAPI module''' (rather than a CGI). IIS 7.0/7.5 (Windows Server 2008/R2) users should choose a FastCGI installation for best performance.
* Also check the '''memory_limit''' in php.ini, reduce it to 16M for Moodle version earlier than 1.7 ([http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=39656 See this forum discussion]). For Moodle 1.7 or later, it is recommended that the value of memory_limit should be 40M. As of [http://www.php.net/ChangeLog-5.php PHP 5.2.1] the default value for the memory_limit directive is 128M.
* Also see [[PHP_settings_by_Moodle_version]]

===Install HowTo===
* [http://2bits.com/articles/installing-php-apc-gnulinux-centos-5.html APC on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [http://fplanque.com/dev/linux/install-apc-php-cache-debian-lenny APC on Debian (linux)]
* [http://www.linuxtuts.net/211-installing-memcached-php5-memcache-module-debian-apache2.html MemCache module on Debian (Apache2 and PHP5) ]
* [http://noveckg.blogspot.com/2010/03/installing-memcached-on-centos-5x.html Installing Memcache on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [http://noveckg.blogspot.com/2010/02/installing-eaccelerator-cache-for-php.html Installing eAccelerator on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [https://docs.moodle.org/en/Installing_eAccelerator_In_Ubuntu_Server/ Installing eAccelerator on Ubuntu Server (linux)]

===Apache performance===
* If you are using Apache on a Windows server, use the build from [http://www.apachelounge.com Apache Lounge] which is reported to have [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=93358 performance and stability improvements] compared to the official Apache download. Note that this is an unofficial build, so may not keep up with official releases.
* Set the '''MaxClients''' directive correctly. Use this formula to help (which uses 80% of available memory to leave room for spare):
MaxClients = Total available memory * 80% / Max memory usage of apache process
:Memory usage of apache process is usually 10MB but Moodle can easily use up to 100MB per process, so a general rule of thumb is to divide your available memory in megabytes by 100 to get a conservative setting for MaxClients. You are quite likely to find yourself lowering the MaxClients from its default of 150 on a Moodle server. To get a more accurate estimate read the value from the shell command:
#ps -ylC httpd --sort:rss

:If you need to increase the value of '''MaxClients''' beyond 256, you will also need to set the '''ServerLimit''' directive.

:'''Warning''': Do not be tempted to set the value of MaxClients higher than your available memory as your server will consume more RAM than available and start to swap to disk.
* Consider reducing the '''number of modules''' that Apache loads in the httpd.conf file to the minumum necessary to reduce the memory needed.
* Use the '''latest version of Apache''' - Apache 2 has an improved memory model which reduces memory usage further.
* For Unix/Linux systems, consider lowering '''MaxRequestsPerChild''' in httpd.conf to as low as 20-30 (if you set it any lower the overhead of forking begins to outweigh the benefits).
* For a heavily loaded server, consider setting '''KeepAlive Off''' (do this only if your Moodle pages do not contain links to resources or uploaded images) or lowering the '''KeepAliveTimeout''' to between 2 and 5. The default is 15 (seconds) - the higher the value the more server processes will be kept waiting for possibly idle connections. A more accurate value for KeepAliveTimeout is obtained by observing how long it takes your users to download a page. After altering any of the KeepAlive variables, monitor your CPU utilization as there may be an additional overhead in initiating more worker processes/threads.
* As an alternative to using KeepAlive Off, consider setting-up a '''Reverse Proxy server''' infront of the Moodle server to cache HTML files with images. You can then return Apache to using keep-alives on the Moodle server.
* If you do not use a .htaccess file, set the '''AllowOverride''' variable to AllowOverride None to prevent .htaccess lookups.
* Set '''DirectoryIndex''' correctly so as to avoid content-negotiation. Here's an example from a production server:
DirectoryIndex index.php index.html index.htm
* Unless you are doing development work on the server, set '''ExtendedStatus Off''' and disable mod_info as well as mod_status.
* Leave '''HostnameLookups Off''' (as default) to reduce DNS latency.
* Consider reducing the value of '''TimeOut''' to between 30 to 60 (seconds).
* For the '''Options directive''', avoid Options Multiviews as this performs a directory scan. To reduce disk I/O further use
Options -Indexes FollowSymLinks
*'''Caching (absolutely unsupported, Moodle 1.9 only)''' ''Please note that this kind of caching creates major problems during upgrades, you need to remove the caching directives one week before any upgrade.'' Apache can be told to make pages load a lot faster by specifying that the browser should cache some various page elements such as images and reuse them from local memory rather than ask for them again every time a page is requested. How to do this varies slightly between OSes but there are two basic steps:

# Install and enable mod_expires - refer to documentation or man pages
# Add this code to the virtual server config file within the <directory> section for the root directory (or within the .htaccess file if AllowOverrides is On):
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 seconds"
ExpiresByType text/html "access plus 1 seconds"
ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType text/javascript "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType application/x-javascript "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType text/xml "access plus 1 seconds"
</IfModule>

The effect is to make everything stay in the cache except HTML and XML, which change dynamically. It's possible to gain a several hundred percent decrease in load times this way. Adjust the cache times according to how often your images etc change.

* Compression reduces response times by reducing the size of the HTTP response
# Install and enable mod_deflate - refer to documentation or man pages
# Add this code to the virtual server config file within the <directory> section for the root directory (or within the .htaccess file if AllowOverrides is On):
<ifModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml
</ifmodule>

More info: [http://metaskills.net/2006/02/19/how-to-control-browser-caching-with-apache-2/ www.metaskills.net]

===IIS performance===
All alter this location in the registry:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Inetinfo\Parameters\
* The equivalent to KeepAliveTimeout is '''ListenBackLog''' (IIS - registry location is HKLM\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ Inetinfo\ Parameters). Set this to between 2 to 5.
*Change the '''MemCacheSize''' value to adjust the amount of memory (Mb) that IIS will use for its file cache (50% of available memory by default).
*Change the '''MaxCachedFileSize''' to adjust the maximum size of a file cached in the file cache in bytes. Default is 262,144 (256K).
*Create a new DWORD called '''ObjectCacheTTL''' to change the length of time (in milliseconds) that objects in the cache are held in memory. Default is 30,000 milliseconds (30 seconds).

===Lighttpd, NginX and Cherokee performance===
You can increase server performance by using a '''light-weight''' webserver like [http://www.lighttpd.net/ lighttpd], [http://nginx.net/ nginx] or [http://www.cherokee-project.com/ cherokee] in combination with PHP in FastCGI-mode. Lighttpd was originally created as a proof-of-concept[http://www.lighttpd.net/story] to address the [http://www.kegel.com/c10k.html C10k problem] and while primarily recommended for memory-limited servers, its design origins and asynchronous-IO model make it a suitable and proven[http://blog.lighttpd.net/articles/2006/12/28/lighttpd-powers-5-alexa-top-250-sites] alternative HTTP server for high-load websites and web apps, including Moodle. See the [[lighttpd | MoodleDocs Lighttpd page]] for additional information, configuration example and links.

Alternatively, both [http://www.lighttpd.net/ lighttpd] and [http://nginx.net/ nginx] are capable of performing as a load-balancer and/or reverse-proxy to alleviate load on back-end servers[http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/10108], providing benefit without requiring an actual software change on existing servers.

Do note that these are likely to be the least tested server environments of all particularly if you are using advanced features such as web services and/or Moodle Networking. They are probably best considered for heavily used Moodle sites with relatively simple configurations.

==Database performance==

Moodle contains a script which will display some key database performance statistics from the [http://phplens.com/lens/adodb/docs-perf.htm ADOdb performance monitor]. Run the script in your browser as in the following example:

http://www.mymoodle.com/admin/dbperformance.php

Use the data displayed as a guide to tune and improve the performance of your database server.

===MySQL performance===

The following are MySQL specific settings which can be adjusted for better performance in your my.cnf (my.ini in Windows). The file contains a list of settings and their values. To see the current values use these commands
SHOW STATUS;
SHOW VARIABLES;
'''Important''': You must make backups of your database before attempting to change any MySQL server configuration. After any change to the my.cnf, restart mysqld.

If you are able, the [http://mysqltuner.com/ MySQLTuner] tool can be run against your MySQL server and will calculate appropriate configuration values for most of the following settings based on your current load, status and variables automatically.

* Enable the '''query cache''' with
query_cache_type = 1.
For most Moodle installs, set the following:
query_cache_size = 36M
query_cache_min_res_unit = 2K.
The query cache will improve performance if you are doing few updates on the database.
* Set the '''table cache''' correctly. For Moodle 1.6 set
table_cache = 256 #(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2)
(min), and for Moodle 1.7 set
table_cache = 512 #(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2)
(min). The table cache is used by all threads (connections), so monitor the value of opened_tables to further adjust - if opened_tables > 3 * table_cache(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2) then increase table_cache upto your OS limit. Note also that the figure for table_cache will also change depending on the number of modules and plugins you have installed. Find the number for your server by executing the mysql statement below. Look at the number returned and set table_cache to this value.
mysql>SELECT COUNT(table_name) FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema='yourmoodledbname';
* Set the '''thread cache''' correctly. Adjust the value so that your thread cache utilization is as close to 100% as possible by this formula:
thread cache utilization (%) = (threads_created / connections) * 100
* The '''key buffer''' can improve the access speed to Moodle's SELECT queries. The correct size depends on the size of the index files (.myi) and in Moodle 1.6 or later (without any additional modules and plugins), the recommendation for this value is key_buffer_size = 32M. Ideally you want the database to be reading once from the disk for every 100 requests so monitor that the value is suitable for your install by adjusting the value of key_buffer_size so that the following formulas are true:
key_read / key_read_requests < 0.01
key_write / key_write_requests <= 1.0
* Set the '''maximum number of connections''' so that your users will not see a "Too many connections" message. Be careful that this may have an impact on the total memory used. MySQL connections usually last for milliseconds, so it is unusual even for a heavily loaded server for this value to be over 200.
* Manage '''high burst activity'''. If your Moodle install uses a lot of quizzes and you are experiencing performance problems (check by monitoring the value of threads_connected - it should not be rising) consider increasing the value of back_log.
* '''Optimize your tables weekly and after upgrading Moodle'''. It is good practice to also optimize your tables after performing a large data deletion exercise, e.g. at the end of your semester or academic year. This will ensure that index files are up to date. Backup your database first and then use:
mysql>CHECK TABLE mdl_tablename;
mysql>OPTIMIZE TABLE mdl_tablename;
:The common tables in Moodle to check are mdl_course_sections, mdl_forum_posts, mdl_log and mdl_sessions (if using dbsessions). Any errors need to be corrected using REPAIR TABLE (see the [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/repair-table.html MySQL manual] and this [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=58208#p279638 forum script]).
* '''Maintain the key distribution'''. Every month or so it is a good idea to stop the mysql server and run these myisamchk commands.
#myisamchk -a -S /pathtomysql/data/moodledir/*.MYI
:'''Warning''': You must stop the mysql database process (mysqld) before running any myisamchk command. If you do not, you risk data loss.
* Reduce the number of '''temporary tables saved to disk'''. Check this with the created_tmp_disk_tables value. If this is relatively large (>5%) increase tmp_table_size until you see a reduction. Note that this will have an impact on RAM usage.

===PostgreSQL performance===

There are some good papers around on tuning PostgreSQL (like [http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Tuning_Your_PostgreSQL_Server this one]), and Moodle's case does not seem to be different to the general case.

The first thing to recognise is that if you really need to worry about tuning you should be using a separate machine for the database server. If you are not using a separate machine then the answers to many performance questions are substantially muddied by the memory requirements of the rest of the application.

You should probably '''enable autovacuum''', unless you know what you are doing. Many e-learning sites have predictable periods of low use, so disabling autovacuum and running a specific vacuum at those times can be a good option. Or perhaps leave autovacuum running but do a full vacuum weekly in a quiet period.

Set '''shared_buffers''' to something reasonable. For versions up to 8.1 my testing has shown that peak performance is almost always obtained with buffers < 10000, so if you are using such a version, and have more than 512M of RAM just set shared_buffers to 10,000 (8MB).

The buffer management had a big overhaul in 8.2 and "reasonable" is now a much larger number. I have not conducted performance tests with 8.2, but the recommendations from others are generally that you should now scale shared_buffers much more with memory and may continue to reap benefits even up to values like 100,000 (80MB). Consider using 1-2% of system RAM.

PostgreSQL will also assume that the operating system is caching its files, so setting '''effective_cache_size''' to a reasonable value is also a good idea. A reasonable value will usually be (total RAM - RAM in use by programs). If you are running Linux and leave the system running for a day or two you can look at 'free' and under the 'cached' column you will see what it currently is. Consider taking that number (which is kB) and dividing it by 10 (i.e. allow 20% for other programs cache needs and then divide by 8 to get pages). If you are not using a dedicated database server you will need to decrease that value to account for usage by other programs.

Some other useful parameters that can have positive effects, and the values I would typically set them to on a machine with 4G RAM, are:

work_mem = 10240

That's 10M of RAM to use instead of on-disk sorting and so forth. That can give a big speed increase, but it is per connection and 200 connections * 10M is 2G, so it can theoretically chew up a lot of RAM.

maintenance_work_mem = 163840

That's 160M of RAM which will be used by (e.g.) VACUUM, index rebuild, cluster and so forth. This should only be used periodically and should be freed when those processes exit, so I believe it is well worth while.

max_fsm_pages = 100000
max_fsm_relations = 5000

These are used to hold the free-space map, and if they are too small you will see performance degradation after the database has been operating for some time. The exact numbers to set can be gleaned from the output of VACUUM VERBOSE, which prints the required FSM pages at the end of it's run. The 5x increase seems to be useful for a Moodle installation, from experience.

wal_buffers = 64

These buffers are used for the write-ahead log, and there have been a number of reports on the PostgreSQL mailing lists of improvement from this level of increase.

This is a little out of date now (version 8.0) but still worth a read: http://www.powerpostgresql.com/Docs

And there is lots of good stuff here as well: http://www.varlena.com/GeneralBits/Tidbits/index.php

''Based on Andrew McMillan's post at [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68558 Tuning PostgreSQL] forum thread.''

===Other database performance links===
* Consider using a '''distributed cacheing system''' like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memcached memcached] but note that memcached does not have any security features so it should be used behind a firewall.
* Consider using PostgreSQL. See [[Arguments in favour of PostgreSQL]] and [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=49195 how to migrate from MySQL to PostgreSQL] (forum discussion).
* [[Increasing the database connection lifetime | Try increasing the database connection lifetime]]
* [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/server-parameters.html General advice on tuning MySQL parameters] (advice from the MySQL manual)
* [http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/2007/11/01/innodb-performance-optimization-basics/ InnoDB performance optimization] taken from the [http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/ MySQL performance blog] site.

==Performance of different Moodle modules==

Moodle's activity modules, filters, and other plugins can be activated/deactivated. If necessary, you may wish to deactivate some features (such as chat) if not required - but this isn't necessary. Some notes on the performance of certain modules:

* The '''Chat''' module is [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=37979&parent=175079 said] to be a hog in terms of frequent HTTP requests to the main server. This can be reduced by setting the module to use ''Streamed'' updates, or, if you're using a Unix-based webserver, by running the chat in daemon mode. When using the Chat module use the configuration settings to tune for your expected load. Pay particular attention to the ''chat_old_ping'' and ''chat_refresh'' parameters as these can have greatest impact on server load.
* The '''Quiz''' module is known to stretch database performance. However, it has been getting better in recent versions, and we don't know of any good, up-to-date performance measurements. (Here is a [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68579 case study from 2007 with 300 quiz users].)
* The Moodle '''Cron''' task is triggered by calling the script ''cron.php''. If this is called over HTTP (e.g. using wget or curl) it can take a large amount of memory on large installations. If it is called by directly invoking the php command (e.g. ''php -f /path/to/moodle/directory/admin/cron.php'') efficiency can be much improved.
* The '''Recent activities''' block is consuming to much resources if you have huge number of records <code>mdl_log</code>. this is being tested to optimize the SQL query.

==Moodle Image Optimization==

The base images delivered in the original Moodle distribution package provide unoptimized graphics, most of which can benefit from lossless recompression utilizing [http://optipng.sourceforge.net/ optipng] for PNGs, [http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/ gifsicle] for GIFs and [http://www.kokkonen.net/tjko/projects.html jpegoptim] for JPGs. Optimized graphics transfer faster and provide a faster perceived response for clients[http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/12/], especially distance learners. The following example will recursively optimize (without any loss of quality) all the graphics and image files included in a base Moodle installation directory on a server with the above commands installed and available.

<pre>
find /example/directory/moodle-1.9 -iname *.png -exec optipng -o7 {} \;
find /example/directory/moodle-1.9 -iname *.gif -exec gifsicle -O2 -b {} \;
find /example/directory/moodle-1.9 -iname *.jpg -exec jpegoptim -p {} \;
</pre>

Both [http://optipng.sourceforge.net/ optipng] and [http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/ gifsicle] are provided in the base repositories of most newer Linux distributions; [http://www.kokkonen.net/tjko/projects.html jpegoptim] must be downloaded and installed manually.

==Performance advise for Moodle 2.4 with load-balanced web servers==

Performance advice: if you are running Moodle 2.4 with load-balanced web servers, don't use the default caching option that stores the data in moodledata on a shared network drive. Use memcache instead. See Tim Hunt's article on [http://planet.moodle.org/ http://planet.moodle.org/] for 02 May 2013.

==See also==

*Using Moodle: [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and Performance] forum
*[http://opensourceelearning.blogspot.be/2012/10/why-your-moodle-site-is-slow-five.html Why Your Moodle Site is Slow: Five Simple Settings] blog post from Jonathan Moore
*I teach with Moodle perfomance testing: http://www.iteachwithmoodle.com/2012/11/17/moodle-2-4-beta-performance-test-comparison-with-moodle-2-3/

There have been a lot of discussions on moodle.org about performance, here are some of the more interesting and (potentially) useful ones:

* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=83057 Performance woes!]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57028 Performance perspectives - a little script]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=88927 Comments on planned server hardware]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=102978#p461624 Moodle performance in a pil by Martin Langhoff]

[[es:Recomendaciones sobre desempeño]]
[[fr:Performance]]
[[ja:パフォーマンス]]
[[de:Geschwindigkeitsempfehlungen]]

Performance settings

2013-05-03T16:58:11Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Performance}}
==Performance settings==

Various performance settings can be changed by an administrator in ''Settings > Site administration > Server > Performance''.

==Other site administration settings which may affect performance==

* Enable the '''language cache'''.
* Large log files can cause overall performance to degrade over time. If you observe that the site has gradually got slower loading pages in the browser, '''reduce your Log life time''' setting in ''Settings > Site administration > Server > Cleanup''
* Performance can be greatly improved by allowing Moodle to use the system '''zip/unzip''' commands (rather than PHP-based zip libraries) - visit Admin/Server/System Paths and enter the path to the relevant executables. (Similarly, filling in the path to '''du''' will improve Moodle's speed at listing directory contents.)
* Note that using '''secure web connections''' ('''https''' rather than '''http''') carries a higher processing burden, both for the webserver and the client - particularly because cacheing cannot be used as effectively, so the number of file requests is likely to increase dramatically. For this reason using https for all Moodle pages is not recommended. You can enable https just for the login screen, simply from Moodle's config page.
* Check your '''filters'''. Having too many filters active can have serious effects on server load, especially on lower-end systems. The number of active filters has a direct effect on the perceived latency of your site; that is the time taken for each page impression.
* Enable the '''text cache''' but do not "Filter all strings" unless you have a specific need. If in doubt profile the performance, and see how your changes affect the processing time.
* Check your '''anti-virus''' measures on the server. Although they are useful for preventing security holes being exploited, some "On-Demand" scanners can affect performance by scanning page content (word, ppt files etc).
* If there are performance problems loading course pages, check the '''Resource module settings'''. The setting resource_filterexternalpages is known to slow-down course pages and should be set to 'No' for better performance.
* Check your '''forum settings'''. To improve performance set forum_trackreadposts = No and forum_usermarksread = Yes (this will impact on the convenience of your users' forum experience). Also consider setting the time of the day when old posts are cleared from the read table (forum_cleanreadtime) to when your site is less busy.
* Don't use database sessions unless you really need them. On-disc sessions tend to be much faster.

===config.php settings which may affect performance===
Increasing the value of CONTEXT_CACHE_MAX_SIZE '''may''' reduce the number of database queries for certain pages. It will also increase memory usage, so be careful.

<code php>
// Moodle 2.3: Increasing this from the default saved about > 1000 db queries on the course/index.php page for
// a Moodle having 1250 course categories.
// This value is specified in lib/accesslib.php, but it's OK to add a define for it in config.php:
define('CONTEXT_CACHE_MAX_SIZE', 7500);
</code>

[[de:Geschwindigkeitseinstellungen]]
[[es:Configuraciones para desempeño]]

Rendiment

2013-05-03T16:29:04Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Managing a Moodle site}}
*[[Performance recommendations]]
*[[Performance settings]]
*[[Performance overview]]
*[[Caching]]

==See also==
*[[Performance FAQ]]

[[Category:Performance]]

[[de:Geschwindigkeit]]
[[es:Desempeño]]

Performance recommendations

2013-05-03T16:24:16Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: updated link to spanish translation of page

{{Performance}}
Moodle can be made to perform very well, at small usage levels or scaling up to many thousands of users. The factors involved in performance are basically the same as for any PHP-based database-driven system. When trying to optimize your server, try to focus on the factor which will make the most difference to the user. For example, if you have relatively more users browsing than accessing the database, look to improve the webserver performance.

==Obtain a baseline benchmark==

Before attempting any optimization, you should obtain a baseline benchmark of the component of the system you are trying to improve. For Linux try [http://lbs.sourceforge.net/ LBS] and for Windows use the Performance Monitor. Once you have quantitative data about how your system is performing currently, you'll be able to determine if the change you have made has had any real impact.

The overall aim of adjustments to improve performance is to use RAM (cacheing) and to reduce disk-based activity. It is especially important to try to eliminate swap file usage as much as you can. If your system starts swapping, this is a sign that you need more RAM.

The '''optimization order preference''' is usually: primary storage (more RAM), secondary storage (faster hard disks/improved hard disk configuration), processor (more and faster).

==Scalability==

Moodle's design (with clear separation of application layers) allows for strongly scalable setups. (Please check the list of [[Large installations|large Moodle installations]].)

Large sites usually separate the web server and database onto separate servers, although for smaller installations this is typically not necessary.

It is possible to load-balance a Moodle installation, for example by using more than one webserver. The separate webservers should query the same database and refer to the same filestore area, but otherwise the separation of the application layers is complete enough to make this kind of clustering feasible. Similarly, the database could be a cluster of servers (e.g. a MySQL cluster), but this is not an easy task and you should seek expert support, e.g. from a Moodle Partner.

===Server cluster===

Using Moodle forum discussions:

*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57202 Moodle clustering]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=44470 Software load balancing]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=49986 TCP load balancing]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=88214 Installation for 3000 simultaneous users]

==Hardware configuration==
'''Note''': The fastest and most effective change that you can make to improve performance is to '''increase the amount of RAM on your web server''' - get as much as possible (e.g. 4GB or more). Increasing primary memory will reduce the need for processes to swap to disk and will enable your server to handle more users.
* Better performance is gained by obtaining the best '''processor capability''' you can, i.e. dual or dual core processors. A modern BIOS should allow you to enable hyperthreading, but check if this makes a difference to the overall performance of the processors by using a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_PI CPU benchmarking tool].
* If you can afford them, use '''SCSI hard disks''' instead of SATA drives. SATA drives will increase your system's CPU utilization, whereas SCSI drives have their own integrated processors and come into their own when you have multiple drives. If you must have SATA drives, check that your motherboard and the drives themselves support NCQ (Native Command Queuing).
* Purchase hard disks with a '''low seek time'''. This will improve the overall speed of your system, especially when accessing Moodle's reports.
* Size your '''swap file''' correctly. The general advice is to set it to 4 x physical RAM.
* Use a '''RAID disk system'''. Although there are many different RAID configurations you can create, the following generally works best:
** install a hardware RAID controller (if you can)
** the operating system and swap drive on one set of disks configured as RAID-1.
** Moodle, Web server and Database server on another set of disks configured as RAID-5.
* Use '''gigabit ethernet''' for improved latency and throughput. This is especially important when you have your webserver and database server separated out on different hosts.
* Check the settings on your '''network card'''. You may get an improvement in performance by increasing the use of buffers and transmit/receive descriptors (balance this with processor and memory overheads) and off-loading TCP checksum calculation onto the card instead of the OS.
* Read this [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68579 Case Study] on a server stress test with 300 users.
* See this [http://elearning.sgu.ac.jp/doc/PT/ accompanying report] on network traffic and server loads.
* See the [[Moodle.org configuration]]
* Also see this SFSU presentation at Educause (using VMWare): [http://www.educause.edu/Resources/AnOpenSourceLMSforaMissionCrit/162843]

==Operating System==
* You can use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux Linux](recommended), Unix-based, Windows or Mac OS X for the server '''operating system'''. *nix operating systems generally require less memory than Mac OS X or Windows servers for doing the same task as the server is configured with just a shell interface. Additionally Linux does not have licensing fees attached, but can have a big learning curve if you're used to another operating system. If you have a large number of processors running SMP, you may also want to consider using a highly tuned OS such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_Operating_Environment Solaris].
* Check your own OS and '''vendor specific instructions''' for optimization steps.
** For Linux look at the [http://linuxperf.sourceforge.net/ Linux Performance Team] site.
** For Linux investigate the hdparm command, e.g. hdparm -m16 -d1 can be used to enable read/write on multiple sectors and DMA. Mount disks with the async and noatime options.
** For Windows set the sever to be optimized for network applications (Control Panel, Network Connections, LAN connection, Properties, File & Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, Properties, Optimization). You can also search the [http://technet.microsoft.com/ Microsoft TechNet site] for optimization documents.

==Web server performance==

Installing [http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/ Firefox] and the [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843 firebug] extension will allow you to watch the time it takes for each page component to load. Also, the [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5369 Yslow] extension will evaluate your page against Yahoo's [http://www.skrenta.com/2007/05/14_rules_for_fast_web_pages_by_1.html 14 rules], full text [http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html Best Practices for Speeding Up Your Web Site], <strike>([http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1040890 video])</strike> for fast loading websites.

===PHP performance===
* You are strongly recommended to use a '''PHP accelerator''' to ease CPU load, such as [http://pecl.php.net/apc APC], [http://www.php-accelerator.co.uk/ PHPA], [http://trac.lighttpd.net/xcache/ Xcache], [http://sourceforge.net/projects/wincache WinCache] or [http://eaccelerator.net/ eAccelerator]. (Take care to choose a PHP accelerator that is known to work well with your version of PHP and note that Turck MMCache is [http://turckmmcache.exeprod.com/TheManifestoEnglish no longer maintained] and can cause failures with PHP 5).
* Improvements in read/write performance can be improved by putting the cached PHP pages on a [[TMPFS]] filesystem - but remember that you'll lose the cache contents when there is a power failure or the server is rebooted.
* Performance of PHP is better when installed as an '''Apache/IIS6 ISAPI module''' (rather than a CGI). IIS 7.0/7.5 (Windows Server 2008/R2) users should choose a FastCGI installation for best performance.
* Also check the '''memory_limit''' in php.ini, reduce it to 16M for Moodle version earlier than 1.7 ([http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=39656 See this forum discussion]). For Moodle 1.7 or later, it is recommended that the value of memory_limit should be 40M. As of [http://www.php.net/ChangeLog-5.php PHP 5.2.1] the default value for the memory_limit directive is 128M.
* Also see [[PHP_settings_by_Moodle_version]]

===Install HowTo===
* [http://2bits.com/articles/installing-php-apc-gnulinux-centos-5.html APC on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [http://fplanque.com/dev/linux/install-apc-php-cache-debian-lenny APC on Debian (linux)]
* [http://www.linuxtuts.net/211-installing-memcached-php5-memcache-module-debian-apache2.html MemCache module on Debian (Apache2 and PHP5) ]
* [http://noveckg.blogspot.com/2010/03/installing-memcached-on-centos-5x.html Installing Memcache on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [http://noveckg.blogspot.com/2010/02/installing-eaccelerator-cache-for-php.html Installing eAccelerator on CentOS 5.x (linux)]
* [https://docs.moodle.org/en/Installing_eAccelerator_In_Ubuntu_Server/ Installing eAccelerator on Ubuntu Server (linux)]

===Apache performance===
* If you are using Apache on a Windows server, use the build from [http://www.apachelounge.com Apache Lounge] which is reported to have [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=93358 performance and stability improvements] compared to the official Apache download. Note that this is an unofficial build, so may not keep up with official releases.
* Set the '''MaxClients''' directive correctly. Use this formula to help (which uses 80% of available memory to leave room for spare):
MaxClients = Total available memory * 80% / Max memory usage of apache process
:Memory usage of apache process is usually 10MB but Moodle can easily use up to 100MB per process, so a general rule of thumb is to divide your available memory in megabytes by 100 to get a conservative setting for MaxClients. You are quite likely to find yourself lowering the MaxClients from its default of 150 on a Moodle server. To get a more accurate estimate read the value from the shell command:
#ps -ylC httpd --sort:rss

:If you need to increase the value of '''MaxClients''' beyond 256, you will also need to set the '''ServerLimit''' directive.

:'''Warning''': Do not be tempted to set the value of MaxClients higher than your available memory as your server will consume more RAM than available and start to swap to disk.
* Consider reducing the '''number of modules''' that Apache loads in the httpd.conf file to the minumum necessary to reduce the memory needed.
* Use the '''latest version of Apache''' - Apache 2 has an improved memory model which reduces memory usage further.
* For Unix/Linux systems, consider lowering '''MaxRequestsPerChild''' in httpd.conf to as low as 20-30 (if you set it any lower the overhead of forking begins to outweigh the benefits).
* For a heavily loaded server, consider setting '''KeepAlive Off''' (do this only if your Moodle pages do not contain links to resources or uploaded images) or lowering the '''KeepAliveTimeout''' to between 2 and 5. The default is 15 (seconds) - the higher the value the more server processes will be kept waiting for possibly idle connections. A more accurate value for KeepAliveTimeout is obtained by observing how long it takes your users to download a page. After altering any of the KeepAlive variables, monitor your CPU utilization as there may be an additional overhead in initiating more worker processes/threads.
* As an alternative to using KeepAlive Off, consider setting-up a '''Reverse Proxy server''' infront of the Moodle server to cache HTML files with images. You can then return Apache to using keep-alives on the Moodle server.
* If you do not use a .htaccess file, set the '''AllowOverride''' variable to AllowOverride None to prevent .htaccess lookups.
* Set '''DirectoryIndex''' correctly so as to avoid content-negotiation. Here's an example from a production server:
DirectoryIndex index.php index.html index.htm
* Unless you are doing development work on the server, set '''ExtendedStatus Off''' and disable mod_info as well as mod_status.
* Leave '''HostnameLookups Off''' (as default) to reduce DNS latency.
* Consider reducing the value of '''TimeOut''' to between 30 to 60 (seconds).
* For the '''Options directive''', avoid Options Multiviews as this performs a directory scan. To reduce disk I/O further use
Options -Indexes FollowSymLinks
*'''Caching (absolutely unsupported, Moodle 1.9 only)''' ''Please note that this kind of caching creates major problems during upgrades, you need to remove the caching directives one week before any upgrade.'' Apache can be told to make pages load a lot faster by specifying that the browser should cache some various page elements such as images and reuse them from local memory rather than ask for them again every time a page is requested. How to do this varies slightly between OSes but there are two basic steps:

# Install and enable mod_expires - refer to documentation or man pages
# Add this code to the virtual server config file within the <directory> section for the root directory (or within the .htaccess file if AllowOverrides is On):
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresDefault "access plus 1 seconds"
ExpiresByType text/html "access plus 1 seconds"
ExpiresByType image/gif "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType text/javascript "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType application/x-javascript "access plus 1 week"
ExpiresByType text/xml "access plus 1 seconds"
</IfModule>

The effect is to make everything stay in the cache except HTML and XML, which change dynamically. It's possible to gain a several hundred percent decrease in load times this way. Adjust the cache times according to how often your images etc change.

* Compression reduces response times by reducing the size of the HTTP response
# Install and enable mod_deflate - refer to documentation or man pages
# Add this code to the virtual server config file within the <directory> section for the root directory (or within the .htaccess file if AllowOverrides is On):
<ifModule mod_deflate.c>
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml
</ifmodule>

More info: [http://metaskills.net/2006/02/19/how-to-control-browser-caching-with-apache-2/ www.metaskills.net]

===IIS performance===
All alter this location in the registry:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Inetinfo\Parameters\
* The equivalent to KeepAliveTimeout is '''ListenBackLog''' (IIS - registry location is HKLM\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ Inetinfo\ Parameters). Set this to between 2 to 5.
*Change the '''MemCacheSize''' value to adjust the amount of memory (Mb) that IIS will use for its file cache (50% of available memory by default).
*Change the '''MaxCachedFileSize''' to adjust the maximum size of a file cached in the file cache in bytes. Default is 262,144 (256K).
*Create a new DWORD called '''ObjectCacheTTL''' to change the length of time (in milliseconds) that objects in the cache are held in memory. Default is 30,000 milliseconds (30 seconds).

===Lighttpd, NginX and Cherokee performance===
You can increase server performance by using a '''light-weight''' webserver like [http://www.lighttpd.net/ lighttpd], [http://nginx.net/ nginx] or [http://www.cherokee-project.com/ cherokee] in combination with PHP in FastCGI-mode. Lighttpd was originally created as a proof-of-concept[http://www.lighttpd.net/story] to address the [http://www.kegel.com/c10k.html C10k problem] and while primarily recommended for memory-limited servers, its design origins and asynchronous-IO model make it a suitable and proven[http://blog.lighttpd.net/articles/2006/12/28/lighttpd-powers-5-alexa-top-250-sites] alternative HTTP server for high-load websites and web apps, including Moodle. See the [[lighttpd | MoodleDocs Lighttpd page]] for additional information, configuration example and links.

Alternatively, both [http://www.lighttpd.net/ lighttpd] and [http://nginx.net/ nginx] are capable of performing as a load-balancer and/or reverse-proxy to alleviate load on back-end servers[http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/10108], providing benefit without requiring an actual software change on existing servers.

Do note that these are likely to be the least tested server environments of all particularly if you are using advanced features such as web services and/or Moodle Networking. They are probably best considered for heavily used Moodle sites with relatively simple configurations.

==Database performance==

Moodle contains a script which will display some key database performance statistics from the [http://phplens.com/lens/adodb/docs-perf.htm ADOdb performance monitor]. Run the script in your browser as in the following example:

http://www.mymoodle.com/admin/dbperformance.php

Use the data displayed as a guide to tune and improve the performance of your database server.

===MySQL performance===

The following are MySQL specific settings which can be adjusted for better performance in your my.cnf (my.ini in Windows). The file contains a list of settings and their values. To see the current values use these commands
SHOW STATUS;
SHOW VARIABLES;
'''Important''': You must make backups of your database before attempting to change any MySQL server configuration. After any change to the my.cnf, restart mysqld.

If you are able, the [http://mysqltuner.com/ MySQLTuner] tool can be run against your MySQL server and will calculate appropriate configuration values for most of the following settings based on your current load, status and variables automatically.

* Enable the '''query cache''' with
query_cache_type = 1.
For most Moodle installs, set the following:
query_cache_size = 36M
query_cache_min_res_unit = 2K.
The query cache will improve performance if you are doing few updates on the database.
* Set the '''table cache''' correctly. For Moodle 1.6 set
table_cache = 256 #(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2)
(min), and for Moodle 1.7 set
table_cache = 512 #(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2)
(min). The table cache is used by all threads (connections), so monitor the value of opened_tables to further adjust - if opened_tables > 3 * table_cache(table_open_cache in MySQL > 5.1.2) then increase table_cache upto your OS limit. Note also that the figure for table_cache will also change depending on the number of modules and plugins you have installed. Find the number for your server by executing the mysql statement below. Look at the number returned and set table_cache to this value.
mysql>SELECT COUNT(table_name) FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema='yourmoodledbname';
* Set the '''thread cache''' correctly. Adjust the value so that your thread cache utilization is as close to 100% as possible by this formula:
thread cache utilization (%) = (threads_created / connections) * 100
* The '''key buffer''' can improve the access speed to Moodle's SELECT queries. The correct size depends on the size of the index files (.myi) and in Moodle 1.6 or later (without any additional modules and plugins), the recommendation for this value is key_buffer_size = 32M. Ideally you want the database to be reading once from the disk for every 100 requests so monitor that the value is suitable for your install by adjusting the value of key_buffer_size so that the following formulas are true:
key_read / key_read_requests < 0.01
key_write / key_write_requests <= 1.0
* Set the '''maximum number of connections''' so that your users will not see a "Too many connections" message. Be careful that this may have an impact on the total memory used. MySQL connections usually last for milliseconds, so it is unusual even for a heavily loaded server for this value to be over 200.
* Manage '''high burst activity'''. If your Moodle install uses a lot of quizzes and you are experiencing performance problems (check by monitoring the value of threads_connected - it should not be rising) consider increasing the value of back_log.
* '''Optimize your tables weekly and after upgrading Moodle'''. It is good practice to also optimize your tables after performing a large data deletion exercise, e.g. at the end of your semester or academic year. This will ensure that index files are up to date. Backup your database first and then use:
mysql>CHECK TABLE mdl_tablename;
mysql>OPTIMIZE TABLE mdl_tablename;
:The common tables in Moodle to check are mdl_course_sections, mdl_forum_posts, mdl_log and mdl_sessions (if using dbsessions). Any errors need to be corrected using REPAIR TABLE (see the [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/repair-table.html MySQL manual] and this [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=58208#p279638 forum script]).
* '''Maintain the key distribution'''. Every month or so it is a good idea to stop the mysql server and run these myisamchk commands.
#myisamchk -a -S /pathtomysql/data/moodledir/*.MYI
:'''Warning''': You must stop the mysql database process (mysqld) before running any myisamchk command. If you do not, you risk data loss.
* Reduce the number of '''temporary tables saved to disk'''. Check this with the created_tmp_disk_tables value. If this is relatively large (>5%) increase tmp_table_size until you see a reduction. Note that this will have an impact on RAM usage.

===PostgreSQL performance===

There are some good papers around on tuning PostgreSQL (like [http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Tuning_Your_PostgreSQL_Server this one]), and Moodle's case does not seem to be different to the general case.

The first thing to recognise is that if you really need to worry about tuning you should be using a separate machine for the database server. If you are not using a separate machine then the answers to many performance questions are substantially muddied by the memory requirements of the rest of the application.

You should probably '''enable autovacuum''', unless you know what you are doing. Many e-learning sites have predictable periods of low use, so disabling autovacuum and running a specific vacuum at those times can be a good option. Or perhaps leave autovacuum running but do a full vacuum weekly in a quiet period.

Set '''shared_buffers''' to something reasonable. For versions up to 8.1 my testing has shown that peak performance is almost always obtained with buffers < 10000, so if you are using such a version, and have more than 512M of RAM just set shared_buffers to 10,000 (8MB).

The buffer management had a big overhaul in 8.2 and "reasonable" is now a much larger number. I have not conducted performance tests with 8.2, but the recommendations from others are generally that you should now scale shared_buffers much more with memory and may continue to reap benefits even up to values like 100,000 (80MB). Consider using 1-2% of system RAM.

PostgreSQL will also assume that the operating system is caching its files, so setting '''effective_cache_size''' to a reasonable value is also a good idea. A reasonable value will usually be (total RAM - RAM in use by programs). If you are running Linux and leave the system running for a day or two you can look at 'free' and under the 'cached' column you will see what it currently is. Consider taking that number (which is kB) and dividing it by 10 (i.e. allow 20% for other programs cache needs and then divide by 8 to get pages). If you are not using a dedicated database server you will need to decrease that value to account for usage by other programs.

Some other useful parameters that can have positive effects, and the values I would typically set them to on a machine with 4G RAM, are:

work_mem = 10240

That's 10M of RAM to use instead of on-disk sorting and so forth. That can give a big speed increase, but it is per connection and 200 connections * 10M is 2G, so it can theoretically chew up a lot of RAM.

maintenance_work_mem = 163840

That's 160M of RAM which will be used by (e.g.) VACUUM, index rebuild, cluster and so forth. This should only be used periodically and should be freed when those processes exit, so I believe it is well worth while.

max_fsm_pages = 100000
max_fsm_relations = 5000

These are used to hold the free-space map, and if they are too small you will see performance degradation after the database has been operating for some time. The exact numbers to set can be gleaned from the output of VACUUM VERBOSE, which prints the required FSM pages at the end of it's run. The 5x increase seems to be useful for a Moodle installation, from experience.

wal_buffers = 64

These buffers are used for the write-ahead log, and there have been a number of reports on the PostgreSQL mailing lists of improvement from this level of increase.

This is a little out of date now (version 8.0) but still worth a read: http://www.powerpostgresql.com/Docs

And there is lots of good stuff here as well: http://www.varlena.com/GeneralBits/Tidbits/index.php

''Based on Andrew McMillan's post at [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68558 Tuning PostgreSQL] forum thread.''

===Other database performance links===
* Consider using a '''distributed cacheing system''' like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memcached memcached] but note that memcached does not have any security features so it should be used behind a firewall.
* Consider using PostgreSQL. See [[Arguments in favour of PostgreSQL]] and [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=49195 how to migrate from MySQL to PostgreSQL] (forum discussion).
* [[Increasing the database connection lifetime | Try increasing the database connection lifetime]]
* [http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/server-parameters.html General advice on tuning MySQL parameters] (advice from the MySQL manual)
* [http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/2007/11/01/innodb-performance-optimization-basics/ InnoDB performance optimization] taken from the [http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/ MySQL performance blog] site.

==Performance of different Moodle modules==

Moodle's activity modules, filters, and other plugins can be activated/deactivated. If necessary, you may wish to deactivate some features (such as chat) if not required - but this isn't necessary. Some notes on the performance of certain modules:

* The '''Chat''' module is [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=37979&parent=175079 said] to be a hog in terms of frequent HTTP requests to the main server. This can be reduced by setting the module to use ''Streamed'' updates, or, if you're using a Unix-based webserver, by running the chat in daemon mode. When using the Chat module use the configuration settings to tune for your expected load. Pay particular attention to the ''chat_old_ping'' and ''chat_refresh'' parameters as these can have greatest impact on server load.
* The '''Quiz''' module is known to stretch database performance. However, it has been getting better in recent versions, and we don't know of any good, up-to-date performance measurements. (Here is a [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=68579 case study from 2007 with 300 quiz users].)
* The Moodle '''Cron''' task is triggered by calling the script ''cron.php''. If this is called over HTTP (e.g. using wget or curl) it can take a large amount of memory on large installations. If it is called by directly invoking the php command (e.g. ''php -f /path/to/moodle/directory/admin/cron.php'') efficiency can be much improved.
* The '''Recent activities''' block is consuming to much resources if you have huge number of records <code>mdl_log</code>. this is being tested to optimize the SQL query.

==Moodle Image Optimization==

The base images delivered in the original Moodle distribution package provide unoptimized graphics, most of which can benefit from lossless recompression utilizing [http://optipng.sourceforge.net/ optipng] for PNGs, [http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/ gifsicle] for GIFs and [http://www.kokkonen.net/tjko/projects.html jpegoptim] for JPGs. Optimized graphics transfer faster and provide a faster perceived response for clients[http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/12/], especially distance learners. The following example will recursively optimize (without any loss of quality) all the graphics and image files included in a base Moodle installation directory on a server with the above commands installed and available.

<pre>
find /example/directory/moodle-1.9 -iname *.png -exec optipng -o7 {} \;
find /example/directory/moodle-1.9 -iname *.gif -exec gifsicle -O2 -b {} \;
find /example/directory/moodle-1.9 -iname *.jpg -exec jpegoptim -p {} \;
</pre>

Both [http://optipng.sourceforge.net/ optipng] and [http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/ gifsicle] are provided in the base repositories of most newer Linux distributions; [http://www.kokkonen.net/tjko/projects.html jpegoptim] must be downloaded and installed manually.

==See also==

*Using Moodle: [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=94 Hardware and Performance] forum
*[http://opensourceelearning.blogspot.be/2012/10/why-your-moodle-site-is-slow-five.html Why Your Moodle Site is Slow: Five Simple Settings] blog post from Jonathan Moore
*I teach with Moodle perfomance testing: http://www.iteachwithmoodle.com/2012/11/17/moodle-2-4-beta-performance-test-comparison-with-moodle-2-3/

There have been a lot of discussions on moodle.org about performance, here are some of the more interesting and (potentially) useful ones:

* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=83057 Performance woes!]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57028 Performance perspectives - a little script]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=88927 Comments on planned server hardware]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=102978#p461624 Moodle performance in a pil by Martin Langhoff]

[[es:Recomendaciones sobre desempeño]]
[[fr:Performance]]
[[ja:パフォーマンス]]
[[de:Geschwindigkeitsempfehlungen]]

Upgrading

2013-05-02T23:38:25Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: Added a paragraph about ==Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded...==

{{Installing Moodle}}
''This page explains in detail how to upgrade Moodle. For a summary of the process, see [[Upgrade overview]].''

==Check the requirements==

Check that your server meets all requirements for 2.4 in ''Settings > Site administration > Server > [[Environment]]''.

Note: You can only upgrade to Moodle 2.4 from Moodle 2.2 or later. If upgrading from earlier versions, you must [https://docs.moodle.org/22/en/Upgrading_to_Moodle_2.2 upgrade to 2.2] as a first step.

==Check for plugin updates==

Check in the [http://moodle.org/plugins Moodle Plugins directory] whether there is a 2.4 version available for any contributed/custom plugins (including themes) that you have previously installed on your site. If so, download the plugin code and copy it to the appropriate location in your Moodle code (see [[Installing plugins]]).

The upgrade of the plugin will then happen as part of the Moodle upgrade process.

If an out-of-date plugin causes your upgrade to fail, you can usually delete the plugin code rather than uninstalling it from within Moodle so that the data associated with it is not deleted.

Note: If you have any contributed blocks installed, please see below for info about block capabilities undefined.

==Before you upgrade your site for real==

'''We advise that you test the upgrade first on a COPY of your production site, to make sure it works as you expect.'''

== Backup important data ==

There are three areas that should be backed up before any upgrade:
#Moodle software (For example, everything in server/htdocs/moodle)
#Moodle uploaded files (For example, server/moodledata)
#Moodle database (For example, the SQL or Postgres database)

See [[Site backup]] for more specific information.

==Put your site into maintenance mode==
Before you begin upgrading your site, you should put it into [[Maintenance_mode | maintenance mode]] to stop any non-admin users from logging in.

== Install the new Moodle software ==

=== Standard install package ===

# Move your old Moodle software program files to another location. ''Do NOT copy new files over the old files.''
# Unzip or unpack the upgrade file so that all the new Moodle software program files are in the location the old files used to be in on the server. Moodle will adjust SQL and moodledata if it needs to in the upgrade.
# Copy your old [[Configuration file|config.php file]] back to the new Moodle directory.
# As mentioned above, if you had installed any custom plugins on your site you should add them to the new code. It is important to check that you get the correct version for your new version of Moodle. Be particularly careful that you do not overwrite any code in the new version of Moodle.

====Linux====
mv moodle moodle.backup
tar xvzf moodle-2.4.tgz

Next, copy across your config.php, any custom plugins, and your .htaccess file if you created one ('''check that custom plugins are the correct version for your new Moodle first'''):

cp moodle.backup/config.php moodle
cp -pr moodle.backup/theme/mytheme moodle/theme/mytheme
cp -pr moodle.backup/mod/mymod moodle/mod/mymod

Don't forget to make moodle/config.php (and the rest of the source code) readable by your www server. Ideally the files should not be writeable by your server.

If you use cron, take care that cron.php is executeable and uses the correct php command:
chmod 740 admin/cli/cron.php (some configurations need chmod 750 or chmod 755)
copy the first line from cron.php (if it looks like '#!/usr/local/bin/php' or '#!/usr/local/bin/php5.3', no need to copy '<?php')

if necessary.

=== Using Git ===

You can use Git for updating or upgrading your Moodle. See [[Git for Administrators]] for details.

===Command line upgrade===

On Linux servers, Moodle 2.4 supports running the [[CLI|upgrade from the command line]], rather than through a web browser. This is likely to be more reliable, particularly for large sites.

== Finishing the upgrade ==

The last step is to trigger the upgrade processes within Moodle.

To do this just go to ''Settings > Site administration > Notifications''.

Moodle will automatically detect the new version and perform all the SQL database or file system upgrades that are necessary. If there is anything it can't do itself (very rare) then you will see messages telling you what you need to do.

Assuming all goes well (no error messages) then you can start using your new version of Moodle and enjoy the new features!

Note: If you are running multiple servers then you should purge all caches manually (via ''Settings > Site administration > Development > Purge all caches'') after completing the upgrade on all servers.

==After upgrading==

The config.php file from your 2.2 or 2.3 installation should work fine but if you take a look at config-dist.php that came with Moodle 2.4 there are more/different options available (e.g. database drivers and settings). It's a good idea to map your old config.php settings to a new one based on the 2.4 config-dist.php.

==Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded...==

If your server uses a main language other than English, you may encounter a 'Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 30 seconds exceeded' when you try to upgrade it. You can increase max_execution_time = 160 on php.ini to allow the scripts enough time to process the language update. Otherwise, you can switch to English as the default language before doing the upgrade and back to your original language after a succcessful upgrade. See the forum discussion at https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=119598 .

==Possible issues that may affect you in Moodle 2.4==

=== Block capabilities undefined ===

If you have any contributed/custom blocks installed, after upgrading you may get a debugging message warning you that a block capability has not been defined. For example

The block <blockname> does not define the standard capability block/<blockname>:myaddinstance

In Moodle 2.4, ''addinstance'' and ''myaddinstance'' capabilities were added for [[Managing blocks|controlling the use of blocks]]. See the section 'Ready, Set, Go!' in the [[:dev:Blocks|Blocks dev docs]] for information on defining these capabilities for any contributed blocks.

=== Moodle 2.3 improvements ===

If you are upgrading to Moodle 2.4 from 2.2, please see the section 'Possible issues that may affect you in Moodle 2.3' in the [https://docs.moodle.org/23/en/Upgrading Upgrading to Moodle 2.3 documentation].

==See also==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=28 Installation problems forum]
* [[dev:Moodle 2.4 release notes|Moodle 2.4 release notes]]
* [[dev:Upgrade API|Upgrade API]]

[[es:Actualización de moodle]]
[[fr:Mise à jour]]
[[ja:Moodleをアップグレードする]]
[[de:Aktualisierung von Moodle]]

Gestió de comptes d'usuari

2013-04-29T23:46:24Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Managing a Moodle site}}

An administrator can perform various tasks relating to user accounts in ''Settings>Site Administration>Users>Accounts'' The links below provide more information:

* [[Browse list of users]] - how to search for, find and edit user accounts.
* [[Bulk user actions]] - how to message,confirm ,download or perform other actions on a large group of users globally.
* [[Add a new user]] - how to create one individual user account.
* [[Upload users]] - how to bulk create new user accounts
* [[User pictures]] - how to bulk upload profile pictures for users
* [[User profile fields]] - how to create customised profile fields.

==See also==

*[[Accounts FAQ]]

[[Category:Accounts]]

[[de:Nutzerverwaltung]]
[[es:Gestionando cuentas]]

Student role

2013-04-29T15:32:24Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: fixed Role permissions (deleted page) to Permissions (existing page)

{{Standard roles}}
*A user with the Student [[Roles|role]] in Moodle can participate in course activities and view resources but not alter them or see the class gradebook. They can see their own grades if the teacher has allowed this.
*When a student first joins Moodle they see all available courses. Once they have enrolled or been enrolled into at least one course they then only see their own courses in the My Courses section of the [[Navigation_block|navigation block]] or via the [[My home]] link.
*A student's view and navigation in Moodle will be different from the course teacher's or from students assigned to a different [[Groups|group]].

*Administrators and [[Teacher|Teachers]] determine how a student enrolls, and what they can do or see in a Moodle site. These [[Permissions|permissions]] can vary with each course or with any of Moodle's many kinds of activities. For example, in some [[Context|contexts]], students may correct or grade other students' work, be encouraged to explore everything in a course and interact with other participants. In a different context, the student maybe guided upon a very defined path, with minimal interaction with others.

[[Category: Student]]

[[ja:学生]]
[[de:Teilnehmer-Rolle]]
[[es:Rol de estudiante]]

Site administrators

2013-04-29T15:19:46Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Standard roles}}
Site administrators have permissions to do anything.

Users may be assigned the role of site administrator by another site administrator in ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Site administrators'', but the role itself cannot be edited (or deleted!).

[[File:Managesiteadministrators.png]]

Note: The primary administrator (created when the site was created) cannot be removed from the site administrator role.

[[de:Administrator-Rolle]]
[[es:Administradores del sitio]]
[[fr:Administrateur]]

Rols i permisos

2013-04-29T15:04:04Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: updated link to spanish translation of page

{{Managing a Moodle site}}
A role is a collection of permissions defined for the whole system that you can assign to specific users in specific contexts. The combination of roles and context define a specific user's ability to do something on any page. The most common examples are the roles of student and teacher in the context of a course.

*[[Managing roles]]
*[[Assign roles]]
*[[Roles settings]]
*[[Using roles]]
*[[Standard roles]]
*[[Creating custom roles]]
*[[Permissions]]
*[[Override permissions]]

==See also==

*[[Roles FAQ]]

[[Category:Roles]]

[[es:Roles y permisos]]
[[eu:Rolak]]
[[fr:Rôles et permissions]]
[[ja:ロールおよびケイパビリティ]]
[[de:Rollen und Rechte]]

Installing a new theme

2013-04-25T23:47:37Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Themes}}
A site administrator who has access to the Moodle code can easily install a new theme Moodle theme. Once installed, the theme will be available via the appropriate site, category, course or activity menu.

Custom themes are available for download from the [http://moodle.org/plugins/browse.php?list=category&id=3 Moodle Plugins directory].

==Steps to install a new theme in the code==
In this example, we will install a new theme that has been made by someone else.

# Download the zip file of the theme [[Image:instheme01.png|thumb|400px|center|Select the theme]]
# Extract to its own named folder [[Image:instheme01a.png|thumb|center|Select the theme]]
# Using your FTP program, upload this folder to the /theme folder of your Moodle installation [[Image:instheme04.png|thumb|400px|center|Upload the unzipped file]]
#Ensure the new theme folder and its contents are readable by the webserver. Change the Read and Write permissions for the files and folder. Incorrect permissions may prevent display of the newly installed theme.
##For example in Linus use the CHMOD command in set the permissions to 755 - Owner read/write/execute, Group read/execute, Everyone read/execute.
# Go to Site administration > Notifications to see if the new theme requires any decisions or updating of Moodle code.

Now you or others can select the new theme.

==Steps to change the theme==
In this example, we will change our site theme to a new one that we added. Your [[Roles|role]] will require the permissions to allow you to change themes. Remember that themes can be changed in many [[Context|contexts]] in Moodle.

You may select different themes depending upon the device that will be viewing Moodle. For example, you might have one theme for computers with monitors and another for mobile phones and another for tablets.

# Go to the Settings block
# Open ''Settings > Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme Selector'' link [[Image:instheme07.png|thumb|400px|center|Open the Appearance > Theme selector page]]
# Click on "Clear theme caches" button [[Image:instheme08.png|thumb|400px|center|Click the Clear theme caches button]]
# Click on the "Select theme" button on the right of the current theme being used for the device[[Image:instheme09.png|thumb|400px|center|Click the Clear theme caches button]]
# Scroll down to find the theme you wish to use
# Click the "Use theme" button next to that theme [[Image:instheme10.png|thumb|400px|center|Click the Use theme button]]
# Moodle will tell you it has been saved as the default theme [[Image:instheme11.png|thumb|400px|center|Checking if the theme is the one selected]]
# Check your Moodle site by going to the Moodle site's home page.
# You may have to refresh your browser to see the new theme.

[[de:Ein_neues_Design_installieren]]
[[es:Instalando un tema nuevo]]

Standard themes

2013-04-25T23:45:28Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Themes}}
==Theme selector==

An administrator can set a theme for the site in ''Settings > Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme selector''.

Different themes may be set according to 'device type' - default, legacy (for older browsers), mobile and tablet.

Go to ''Settings > Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme selector''
*Click on the "Select theme" button next to the type you wish to change
*Scroll down to see the previews of the available themes and click on the "Use theme" button to chose the theme
*The next screen will provide information about the theme. Click "Continue"

Note 1: Moodle caches themes so if you don't immediately see changed settings that you were expecting, click the "Clear theme caches" button at the top of the Theme selector page.

Note 2: The selected theme may be overridden if user/course or category themes have been allowed in the [[Theme settings]].

Tip: The [[MyMobile theme]] is especially designed for mobile devices.

[[File:Themeselector21.png|thumb|center|theme selector showing default and none selected in other theme types]]

==Notes on individual themes==

Arialist: does not display the logo at course/course level. This means it is not useful for branding at a category/course level.

===Themes that allow you to change a logo===
*Arialist (only at home page level) Code to change this: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=192409
*Brick
*Formal White
*Magazine
*Skylight
*Splash

===Themes that allow custom CSS===
*Arialist
*Fusion
*Non-zero
*Overlay
*Skyhigh
*Splash

===Themes with right hand column(s) only===
*Arialist
*Brick
*Fusion
*Nimble
*Non-zero (2 columns)
*Overlay (2 columns)
*Skyhigh (2 columns)

===Various forum help that may be useful===
#Changing logo height in Afterburner: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=197924
#Moving columns in Skyhigh: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=209626
#Tweaks to header area in Formal White: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=167544

==Standard themes==

In alphabetical order here are the standard themes in Moodle:
<gallery caption="Standard Themes - click on any to enlarge" widths="200px" heights="113px" perrow="3">
Image:theme_afterburner.png|Afterburner theme
Image:theme_anomaly.png|Anomaly theme
Image:theme_arialist.png|Arialist theme
Image:theme_binarius.png|Binarius theme
Image:theme_boxxie.png|Boxxie theme
Image:theme_brick.png|Brick theme
Image:theme_formalwhite.png|Formal white theme
Image:theme_formfactor.png|FormFactor theme
Image:theme_fusion.png|Fusion theme
Image:theme_leatherbound.png|Leatherbound theme
Image:theme_magazine.png|Magazine theme
Image:Mymobile_theme.png|MyMobile theme
Image:theme_nimble.png|Nimble theme
Image:theme_nonzero.png|Nonzero theme
Image:theme_overlay.png|Overlay theme
Image:theme_serenity.png|Serenity theme
Image:theme_skyhigh.png|Sky High theme
Image:theme_splash.png|Splash theme
Image:theme_standard.png|Standard theme
</gallery>

==See also==

* [[Theme credits]]
* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=189573 What counts as a 'legacy' device type?] forum discussion

[[de:Standard-Designs]]
[[es:Temas estándar]]

Media embedding

2013-04-16T20:23:28Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Working with media}}
==Embedding audio and video==
[[File:mp3 player.png|thumb|MP3 player]]
Audio and video may be embedded in a course in the following ways:

* As a [[File module settings|file resource]]
* As a [[URL module settings|URL resource]] with embed as the display option
* In a [[Lesson settings|lesson popup]]
* In any text area using the Moodle media button in the [[Text editor|text editor]] or simply by typing the URL of media file

The media file link is then replaced with an appropriate multimedia player which can play the resource.

==Enabling media embedding==

To enable the embedding of media files, an admin must enable

# Appropriate media players (see below)
# The [[Multimedia plugins filter]] - unless you only want to allow embedding in File, URL and Lesson modules.

==Site administration settings==

An administrator can enable selected media players in ''Settings > Site administration > Appearance > Media embedding''.

===Available players===
* YouTube (displays videos hosted on youtube)
* Vimeo (displays videos hosted on vimeo)
* .mp3 - MPEG Audio Stream, Layer III
* .flv - Flash video
* .f4v - Flash video
* .swf - Macromedia Flash animation File (Adobe, Inc.)
:'''Note:''' Only used in trusted texts as it has potential security issues
* .ogg - HTML 5 audio
* .acc - HTML 5 audio
* .mp3 - HTML 5 audio
* .webm - HTML 5 video
* .m4v - HTML 5 video
* .ogv - HTML 5 video

===Legacy media players===
The following legacy media player formats are also available but not recommended for general usage:
* .mov - QuickTime player (requires QuickTime player or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec codec])
* .mp4 - QuickTime player (requires QuickTime player or codec)
* .m4a - QuickTime player (requires QuickTime player or codec)
* .mpg - MPEG animation - QuickTime player (requires QuickTime player or codec)
* .wmv - Windows media player (Microsoft)-not guaranteed to work in browsers other than IE and non-Windows systems
* .avi - Windows media player - not guaranteed to work in browsers other than IE and non-Windows systems

==See also==

* [[:dev:Media embedding]] developer documentation including information on how to change the size of the media player

[[Category:Site administration]]

[[de:Einbetten von Medien]]
[[es:Incrustación de medios]]

Media embedding

2013-04-16T20:22:56Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

Working with media

2013-04-16T20:10:52Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Managing content}}
Moodle includes a wide variety of ways in which both teachers and students can add media. A teacher, for example, might include a video or sound file in a Lesson or Quiz which could then form the basis of a set of questions.
* [[Video]]
* [[Audio_in_Moodle|Audio]]
* [[Images]]
* [[Media embedding]]

A student could add an image to a forum discussion, glossary or database. It is also possible (with certain restrictions) to embed code from sites such as Google Maps or Voki.

==Site administration settings==

For sound and video to be displayed in their own players, the administrator needs to enable the [[Multimedia plugins filter]]. There are several [[Repositories|repositories]] housing media, such as [[Youtube_videos|Youtube]] or [[Flickr|Flickr]] which may also be enabled by the administrator so that users can select from these locations.

==See also==

* [[Multimedia plugins filter]]

[[Category:Multimedia]]

[[de:Arbeiten mit Multimedia]]
[[es:Trabajando con medios]]

Portfolios

2013-04-16T19:41:43Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Managing content}}
Portfolios in Moodle make it easy for a student to export their work to an external portfolio. For example, student work might include forum posts or assignment submissions that they believe demonstrates their knowledge.

Portfolios are disabled by default in Moodle and must be enabled by a site administrator. See [[Managing portfolios]] for details.

* [[Box.net portfolio|Box.net]]
* [[File download]]
* [[Flickr.com portfolio|Flickr.com]]
* [[Google Docs portfolio|Google Docs]]
* [[Picasa portfolio|Picasa]]
* [[Mahara portfolio|Mahara ePortfolio]]
* [[Portfolios FAQ]]

==Exporting to portfolio==

When portfolios are enabled, forum posts and other exportable data (see below) have an export to portfolio icon or link beside them.

To export a forum post to a portfolio

# Click the 'Export to portfolio' link
# Select the portfolio you wish to export to e.g. Google Docs or file download (this step will be skipped if there's only one)
# If prompted, select an export format e.g. HTML
# If file download was selected in step 2, you can then save the file, otherwise you will be given the option to return to the page you were previously viewing or visit your portfolio (certain portfolios only)

{|
| [[File:Forum post for export.png|thumb|1. Forum post for export]]
| [[File:Portfolio export select destination.png|thumb|2. Selecting the export destination]]
| [[File:Portfolio export select format.png|thumb|3. Selecting an export format]]
|}

==Items which may be exported to portfolio==

* Assignment submissions - single and multiple file uploads
* Chat sessions
* Database activity module entries (##export## tag may be added to list and single templates)
* Database activities
* Forum posts
* Glossary entries

==Export formats==

Possible export formats include
* HTML
* [[Development:LEAP2A_Portfolio_Implementation|LEAP2A]], a specification for e-portfolio portability
* Images
* Text

Additional formats such as PDF may be added in future.

==Managing your own portfolios==
While the administrator determines which portfolios are enabled on the site in [[Managing portfolios]], an individual user can choose which portfolios to display or hide from ''Settings>My profile settings>Portfolios>Configure'' and can see the record of all items exported from ''Settings>My profile settings>Portfolios>Transfer logs''

{|
| [[File:portfoliosettingsprofile.png|thumb|Managing your own portfolios]]
| [[File:transferlogs.png|thumb|Viewing the record of exports to portfolios]]

|}

==See also==

*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic2j6esjPR8 Portfolios in Moodle 2.0 video]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_portfolio e-Portfolio] overview at Wikipedia

[[Category:Portfolios]]

[[es:Portafolios]]
[[eu:Portfolioak]]
[[de:Portfolios]]

HTML tidy filter

2013-04-16T18:22:40Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Filters}}
This filter checks whether HTML code is XHTML compliant, tidying where necessary. To make this filter work you need to have PHP compiled with the libtidy option; see http://www.php.net/tidy. The Using Moodle discussion [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=28418 Tidy Filter for Moodle 1.5] contains more details.

[[de:HTML Prüfung]]
[[es:Filtro_de_HTML_limpio]]

Email protection filter

2013-04-16T18:16:59Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Filters}}
The email protection filter obfuscates email address links to make them more difficult for spammers to harvest from a web page.

[[de:E-Mail-Absicherung]]
[[es:Filtro_de_protección_de_Email]]

Filters

2013-04-16T17:04:13Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Managing content}}
Filters can be used to add links, insert multimedia players, convert Mathematical expressions or emoticons into images and more.

A filter may be enabled at the site level and then removed as needed at the course or activity level. Thus a teacher can disable glossary auto-linking in a quiz for example.

==Standard filters==

Filters in Moodle include:

*[[Activity names auto-linking filter|Activity names auto-linking]] - This scans text for activity titles that exist in the same course and creates a link
*[[Algebra filter|Algebra notation]] - This filter will convert algebra code into GIF images
*[[Convert URLs into links filter|Convert URLs into links]] - This filter converts URLs in selected formats, such as Moodle auto-format, to click-able links
*[[Database auto-linking filter|Database auto-linking]] - As the name suggests, this filter enables automatic linking of [[Database module]] entries
*[[Display emoticons as images filter|Display emoticons as images]] - This converts emoticon (smiley) characters into images
*[[Email protection filter|Email protection]] - This obfuscates email address links to make them more difficult for spammers to harvest
*[[Glossary auto-linking filter|Glossary auto-linking]] - This scans text for glossary entries that exist in the same course and creates a link
*[[Multimedia plugins filter|Multimedia plugins]] - This finds a link in text that points to a multimedia resource and replaces the link with an appropriate multimedia player code which can play the resource
*[[Multi-language content filter|Multi-language content]] - This filter enables resources to be created in multiple languages
*[[TeX notation filter|TeX notation]]
*[[Word censorship]] - This filter "blacks out" words found on a list

==See also==

*[[Managing filters]]
*[[Filter settings|Common filter settings]] for the site
*[[Filters FAQ]]

[[Category:Filter]]

[[de:Filter]]
[[es:Filtros]]
[[fr:Filtres 2.0]]

Multimedia plugins filter

2013-04-16T16:35:40Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: updated link to spanish version of page

{{Filters}}
The Multimedia plugins filter finds a link in text that points to a multimedia resource and replaces the link with an appropriate multimedia player code which can play the resource. The actual player resides on each users' computer.

For example, a teacher may put a MP3 audio file as a resource in their course, or have a URL link to an external MP3 file. When the MP3 audio plugin has been turned on, the student will be able to play them in Moodle using a Flash media player on their computer. See also [[Media embedding]].

== Site administration settings ==

A site administrator can enable the multimedia plugins filter in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Filters'' and can enable selected media players in ''Settings > Site administration > Appearance > Media embedding''.

Note: Prior to Moodle 2.3, settings for enabling selected media players could be found as multimedia plugins filter settings.

== Required software on user's computer ==

Although Moodle prepares the media files to be played in the browser, the actual playback is handled by various types of browser plug-in software, primarily Adobe Flash, Quicktime, Windows Media Player and Real Player. If users do not have these installed they may be prompted to go and install them by their browser. These pieces of software are generally free, easily installed and widely used so this will only be an issue for small numbers of users.

== See also ==

* [[Multimedia plugins FAQ]]
* [[Video| Video]]
* [[Audio| Audio]]

Using Moodle forum discussions:
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=98698 swf filter security]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=125619 How to upload a screen capture video to the Moodle?]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=143478 Best video format]

[[Category:Site administration]]
[[Category:Multimedia]]

[[de:Multimedia-Plugins]]
[[fr:Extensions multimédia]]
[[es:Filtro_de_plugins_multimedia]]
[[ja:マルチメディアプラグイン]]

report/security/report security check displayerrors

2013-04-16T15:32:01Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Security overview report}}If PHP is set to display errors, then anyone can enter a faulty URL causing PHP to give up valuable information about directory structures and so on.

If you go to ''Settings > Site administration > Reports > Security overview'', displaying of PHP errors status is Warning.
on your web server, locate php.ini, open it in wordpad and search for "'''display_errors'''". Ensure that it is set to "'''display_errors = Off'''" and then save. If this is on a hosted webserver (e.g. network solutions), insert "'''display_errors = Off'''" into the php.ini or call them for instructions (took 2 minutes) on how to do it. Very simple to modify.

Please note it is not enough to change debugging level in Moodle settings because we need to prevent errors in scripts that are not supposed to be accessed directly.

==See also==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=7301 Security and Privacy forum]
* Using [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=101761 upgrade to 1.9.2 has PHP setting display_errors message] Moodle forum discussion

[[es:report/security/report_security_check_displayerrors]]
[[eu:report/security/report_security_check_displayerrors]]
[[fr:report/security/report security check displayerrors]]

report/security/report security check unsecuredataroot

2013-04-16T15:19:34Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Security overview report}}The dataroot is the directory where Moodle stores user files. It should not be directly accessible via the web.

==See also==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=7301 Security and Privacy forum]
* MDL-15716 Tighten dataroot security checks and warn the administrator 'loudly'

[[es:report/security/report_security_check_unsecuredataroot]]
[[eu:report/security/report_security_check_unsecuredataroot]]
[[ja:レポート/セキュリティ/レポート安全ではないdatarootのチェック]]

report/security/report security check riskadmin

2013-04-16T15:05:08Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Security overview report}}The number of [[Site administrators]] (in ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Site administrators'') should be kept to a minimum. The [[Manager role]] should be used instead to give selected users additional permissions.

==See also==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=7301 Security and Privacy forum]

[[Category:Security]]

[[es:report/security/report_security_check_riskadmin]]

report/security/report security check noauth

2013-04-16T14:57:31Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Security overview report}}With the [[No authentication]] method enabled, a user can create an account without any kind of authentication from other systems, and with no email-based confirmation that the email address that they have provided is valid, or even exists!

This will create a very insecure Moodle site, and is not recommended for any production site unless the site is protected via some other means.

==See also==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=7301 Security and Privacy forum]

[[es:report/security/report_security_check_noauth]]
[[eu:report/security/report_security_check_noauth]]

report/security/report security check globals

2013-04-16T14:34:51Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish version of page

{{Security overview report}}'''register_globals''' is a PHP setting that must be disabled for Moodle (and almost all PHP software) to operate safely.

==See also==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=7301 Security and Privacy forum]

[[eu:report/security/report_security_check_globals]]
[[es:report/security/report_security_check_globals]]
[[ja:レポート/セキュリティ/レポートglobalsのチェック]]

Grade items

2013-04-15T17:06:40Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Managing grades}}
{{Improve}}
A grade item is a unit (typically an activity) where course participants are assessed through a grade or mark.
As such, a grade item is a container for grades and a set of settings applied to these grades. The settings affect the calculation and display of the grades in the gradebook reports and [[Grade_export|exports]].

Grade items may refer to course activities (e.g. a quiz, an assignment etc.), [[Outcomes]] or manual grades.

== Grade items and gradebook ==
The three building blocks of the Gradebook are:

#The grade item
#The [[Grade_categories|grade category]]
#The [[Grades|grade]]

Grade items are represented by columns in the [[Grader_report | grader report]].

Within a category, a [[Grades|grade]] summary is also a grade item itself. Summary grade items for a category can show up in reports, and can be used in the calculation of the grade for the parent category.

== Activity-based grade items ==
[[Image:Edit grade item.png|right|thumb|Editing a grade item]]
Modules that include a form of grading use the [[Development:Grades#API_for_communication_with_modules.2Fblocks|Gradebook API]] to generate a matching grade item, and to communicate their grades to the gradebook. The generated grade item can later be edited from within the gradebook interface (Course -> Grades -> Edit Categories and items -> Edit (hand icon) grade item), as seen in the screenshot to the right, but several of its settings will be 'frozen', only changeable from the activity module's interface. These are listed and explained below in the manual grade items section.

Here is a list of the settings that can be edited for an activity-based grade item:

*'''Item info''': General information about the grade item. Optional.
*'''Grade to pass''': Specify the minimum grade a student must achieve to be considered to have passed this item. This must be in real grades, not a percentage. Once this is done, grades will be highlighted in red for fail and green for pass in the gradebook. It doesn't work for scales, as it is yet to be fully implemented in Moodle 1.9. It is planned for use in [[Development:Course completion|course completion]] in Moodle 2.0.
*'''Grade display type''': See the [[Grade_item_settings#Grade_display_type | Grade display type doc]]
*'''Overall decimal points''': This specifies the number of decimal points to display for each grade. It has no effect on grade calculations, which are made with an accuracy of 5 decimal places.
*'''Multiplicator''': Factor by which all grades for this grade item will be multiplied, with a maximum value of the maximum grade. For example, if the multiplicator is 2 and the maximum grade is 100, then all grades less than 50 are doubled, and all grades 50 and above are changed to 100.
*'''Offset''': Number that will be added to every grade for this grade item, after the Multiplicator is applied. (Can be a negative number.)
*'''Hidden''': Whether this grade item should be hidden from students.
*'''Hidden until''': An optional date after which the grade item will no longer be hidden (i.e. a grades release date)
*'''Locked''': Whether or not to lock this grade item. A locked grade item doesn't accept changes to its settings or grades from its related module.
*'''Locked after''': A date after which the locking will be effective, usually after the grades release date.

== Grade outcome items ==
[[Image:grade_outcome_item.png|right|thumb|Editing a grade outcome item]]
These can either be generated by the creation of a new activity module (by selecting [[Outcomes]] in the module creation form), or manually created like manual grade items. A grade outcome item uses a course outcome as its grading type, so such an outcome must be made available at the course level before a grade outcome item can be manually created.

Grade outcome items can optionally be linked with an activity module. This is done automatically when a grade outcome item is generated by the creation of an activity module in which outcomes were selected. In this scenario, a grade category is also created and named after the activity module, and the grade item and grade outcome items are created as children of that category.

The settings of the grade outcome item edit form are identical to those of manual grade items, with the addition of two settings:

*'''Outcome''': The course outcome represented by this item
*'''Linked activity''': The optional activity module to which this item will be linked

== Manual grade items ==
[[Image:manual_item.png|right|thumb|Editing a manual grade item]]
These grade items are created manually through the "Edit Categories and Items" page. The "Add grade item" button is clicked, and the form appears. Several options are available here which are normally automatically filled out by the activity module creating an activity-based grade item:

*'''Item name''': The display name of your grade item
*'''ID Number''': An arbitrary string of characters used to refer to this grade item in Formulas. If set, it must be unique.
*'''Grade type''': The type of grade: None (no grading possible), Value (a numerical value), Scale (an item in a list) or Text (arbitrary text).
*'''Scale''': Which scale to use for grading: available only when the Scale grade type is selected.
*'''Maximum grade''': The maximum grade that can be given (for scales: the number of items in the scale - 1)
*'''Minimum grade''': The minimum grade that can be given (for scales: 0)

Conversely, two of the settings found in the form for activity-based grade items are absent from this form:
*Multiplicator
*Offset

==See also==
*[[Grade item settings]] - for administrators

[[ca:grade/edit/tree/item]]
[[cs:Položky hodnocení]]
[[de:Bewertungsaspekte]]
[[es:Ítems de calificación]]
[[fr:Éléments de note]]
[[ja:評定項目]]

Grade calculations

2013-04-15T16:38:42Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Managing grades}}
A grade calculation is a formula used to determine grades, based (optionally) on other grade items. Note that this is not the same as [[Calculated_question_type|Calculated question types]].

Calculations for the gradebook follow the pattern of formulas/functions in popular spreadsheet programs. They start with an equal (=) sign, and use common mathematical operators and functions to produce a single numerical output. This output is then used as the computed value for the grade item you are editing.

==Setting a grade calculation==
[[Image:Calc_icon.JPG|thumb|Calculator symbol]]
[[Image:Final_calc.JPG|thumb|Example calculation]]
To set a grade calculation:
# Login as teacher or other user with permission to edit grades
# Click on Grades in the course administration block
# Click the 'Categories and items' tab (or select it from the gradebook dropdown menu)
# Click the 'calculator symbol' (in the 'Actions' column, on the category total line) for the category you wish to set a calculation for
# Start with an equal sign (=)
# Choose a function; Example: =sum()
# Plug in your ID numbers enclosed in double square brackets, for example <nowiki>=sum([[item1]][[item2]][[item3]])</nowiki>
# Separate each ID number with a comma, for example <nowiki>=sum([[item1]],[[item2]],[[item3]])</nowiki>
# Click the "Save Changes" button

==Assigning ID numbers==

You can include the values of other grade items by using their ID number as references in your formulas. The ID number is surrounded by double square brackets, for example if you have a grade item with Quiz.3 as ID number, you will refer to this item as <nowiki>[[Quiz.3]]</nowiki> in your calculation.

Below the calculation field is a list of your course with its grade categories and grade items. Next to each item or category's total is displayed the ID number you can use in your calculation (already surrounded with double square brackets). However, since the ID number is optional, some items may not yet have one. These items without an ID number have instead a form field which lets you enter an ID number directly.

As soon as you have assigned the ID numbers you need, you can click the "Add ID numbers" button, and the page will reload and show you the same list with the ID numbers you have just assigned.

==Calculation functions==

Every calculation must start with an equal sign (=). Following is a list of the functions supported by the calculation. The comma (,) character is used to separate arguments within function brackets. The comma can also be used to separate different functions. (The separator character could be a semicolon (;) in other languages, see below).

* average<nowiki>([[item1]], [[item2]]...)</nowiki>: Returns the average of a sample
* max<nowiki>([[item1]], [[item2]]...)</nowiki>: Returns the maximum value in a list of arguments
* min<nowiki>([[item1]], [[item2]]...):</nowiki> Returns the minimum value in a list of arguments
* mod(dividend, divisor): Calculates the remainder of a division
* pi(): Returns the value of the number Pi
* power(base, power): Raises a number to the power of another
* round(number, count): Rounds a number to a predefined accuracy
* sum(<nowiki>[[item1]], [[item2]]...)</nowiki>: Returns the sum of all arguments
* an asterisk (*) gives the product of two items: <nowiki>[[item1]]*[[item2]]</nowiki>

A number of mathematical functions is also supported:

* sin
* sinh
* arcsin
* asin
* arcsinh
* asinh
* cos
* cosh
* arccos
* acos
* arccosh
* acosh
* tan
* tanh
* arctan
* atan
* arctanh
* atanh
* sqrt
* abs
* ln
* log
* exp

==Example calculations==

* <nowiki>=average([[Quiz.1]], [[Quiz.4]], [[Assignment.1]])</nowiki>
* <nowiki>=average(max([[Quiz.1]], [[Quiz.4]], [[Assignment.1]]), min([[Quiz.1]], [[Quiz.4]], [[Assignment.1]]))</nowiki>
* Weighted grade calculations where item 1 is weighted 30%, item 2 is weighted at 60% and item 3 is weighted at 200%: <nowiki>=sum([[1]]*0.3,[[2]]*0.6,[[3]]*2)</nowiki>

==Calculations when user language is not English==

Calculation formulas use decimal and list separators as defined in each language pack.

The decimal separator (a symbol used to mark the boundary between the integral and the fractional parts of a decimal number) is a point (.) in English. In other languages it may be a comma (,).

The list separator (a symbol used to separate a list of ID numbers in square brackets) is a comma (,) in English. In other languages it may be a semicolon (;).

==See also==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKUGyzAXcyA Video on how to set up calculations in the gradebook (basic)]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBEj8mmu8lM Video on how to set up calculations in the gradebook (advanced)]

[[ca:grade/edit/tree/calculation]]
[[es:Cálculos de calificación]]
[[fr:Calcul de note]]
[[ru:Формулы и вычисления оценок]]
[[ja:評定計算]]
[[de:Bewertungen berechnen]]

File upload size

2013-04-12T14:54:16Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Installing Moodle}}Probably the most frequently asked question in the Moodle.org Using Moodle forums is "How do I increase the upload file size limit?" The changes that need be made are the same in all versions of Moodle, just in different OS' they need be made in different places. Upload file sizes are restricted in a number of ways and each one in this list restricts the following ones:

Server level
Moodle site level
Course level
Activity level

This is a contentious issue, mainly because you might think that it should be set inside the Moodle. Unfortunately, this is not so, these are environment issues that need to be set in the server and PHP folders, Moodle cannot work outside itself.

==Physical access to Server==
These instructions assume you have full physical and administrative access to your server. If you are using a hosted server then you will probably need to look into other ways to increase your file upload size.

There are positives and negatives to both methods below. If you modify the php.ini file then the changes will effect all php applications on your server. Since PHP5 you can only have one php.ini file on your server. The php.ini method will work with all web servers though. The .htaccess method will only effect the folder and all subfolders that it is placed in, but you must have certain settings enabled in Apache.

==Restricting the File size - how it works==
The Host may set a limit on the maximum file upload size in the Server environment, which you may override if the Host allows you to. PHP has a setting that it uses to limit the size of the file that it handles in upload. The Host has set that figure in the php.ini based on their particular perceptions and their clientele need. This size appears in Moodle in the '''Administration > Security > Site Policies > Maximum uploaded file size''' drop-down combo box. You can change this at any time to suit your site need. In the Course Settings page, there is also a further restriction that can be made. At no time can the Course setting over-ride the Site setting, nor can the Site setting over-ride the php.ini setting, which cannot over-ride the Server setting. The only exception to this rule is that you can manipulate both the Server and the PHP settings, and how to do that is described below.

==Modifying the php.ini file==
These instructions show you how to change the file upload size by editing your php.ini file.
====Ubuntu Linux Instructions====

These instructions assume that you have installed the standard Moodle package, PHP 5 and Apache 2 via apt-get and left it all as a default install. If you have compiled yourself I presume that you will know where your php.ini files are!

You need to edit the following three settings in your php.ini file located at: /etc/php5/apache2/

*Type "sudo nano /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini"
*Press Ctrl and W and type "post_max_size"
*Change the value to the number of Mb you want your site to accept as uploads
*Press Ctrl and W and type "upload_max_filesize"
*Change the value to the number of Mb you want your site to accept as uploads
*Press Ctrl and W and type "max_execution_time"
*Change the value to 600
*Press Ctrl and O
*Press Ctrl and X
*Type sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Your new file size limit should now appear in Administration > Security > Site Policies > Maximum uploaded file size

====XAMPP on Mac Instructions====

These are instructions for how to do this for Moodle on a Mac using the [http://download.moodle.org/macosx/ XAMPP sample download package available]. (This is not for a OS X production server.)

* Close down Apache and MySQL if they are running via the XAMPP Control app and close the XAMPP Control app
* Open Finder and go to Applications
* Navigate down and open the folder ''XAMPP'' / ''xamppfiles'' / ''etc''
* Open the file ''php.ini'' with TextEdit (or another plain text editor)
* Search for the ''post_max_size'' setting and up this from 128M (the default) to more; 500M is the maximum
* Do the same for ''upload_max_filesize'' (make the numbers the same)
* Search for the ''max execution_time'' setting and up this to 300 (or more if you get timeouts on uploads)
* Save the php.ini file
* restart Apache and MySQL as usual

Note: You may get a "permission denied" error when saving the php.ini file unless you are logged in with admin access to your Mac. To work around this, you can set the ''/etc'' directory in which the php.ini file is located to be writable temporarily. For how to do that, see [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090115235753AA4DtJ0 here] or [http://www.ehow.com/how_2314896_fix-permissions-mac-os-x.html here].

====Windows XP and Server 2003 Instructions====

These instructions presume that you have downloaded the latest PHP 5.3.x Windows zip package and extracted it to C:\PHP. If you have installed PHP to another location then change all references to "C:\PHP" to the location you installed PHP too.
{| class="nicetable"
|[[Image:lightbulb.png]]
|Download and install any text editor that can save the file in a UTF-8 format, [http://www.crimsoneditor.com Crimson Editor] is one such, NotePad++ is another, use that instead of either Wordpad or Notepad! The issue is that WordPad or Notepad will include hidden characters that may not be compatible with the requirements of PHP.
|}

*Open C:\PHP
*Right Click the '''php.ini''' file in this folder and choose "Open with..." selecting your editor of choice.
*Press Ctrl + F and type "post_max_size" (click Find...", where needed)
*Change the value to the number of Mb you want your site to accept as uploads
*Press Ctrl + F and type "upload_max_filesize" (click Find...", where needed)
*Change the value to the number of Mb you want your site to accept as uploads
*Press Ctrl + F and type "max_execution_time" (click Find...", where needed)
*Change the value to 600
*Press Ctrl and S or the save button.
*Exit your editor.
*Restart your webserver to reload PHP with the edited changes.
**'''For IIS'''
**Open the Start Menu on your server and select "Run"
**Type "iisreset /RESTART"
**For '''Apache 2 and Windows XP'''
**Go to Start > All Programs > Apache > Restart
**'''For Apache 2 and Windows Server'''
**The following command will work as long as you have installed Apache 2 as a service on your Windows Server
**Open your Start Menu on your server and select "Run"
**Type "httpd -k restart"

Your new file size limit should now appear in Administration > Security > Site Policies > Maximum uploaded file size

'''NOTE:''' These instructions also cover the Xampp Windows installer. Just replace C:\PHP with C:\Moodle\server\php and to restart your Moodle with a normal stop-start.

==Modifying the apache config file==
====Ubuntu Linux Instructions====
You may also need to edit the config.php file in the moodle directory:
*Type "gksudo nautilus" to get root permissions
*Navigate to /etc/moodle
*Open apache.conf
*Go to the "<IfModule mod_php5.c>" section
*Change "php_value upload_max_filesize = 2M" to a higher value
*Change "php_value post_max_size = 2M" to a higher value
*Go to the "<IfModule mod_php4.c>" section
*Change "php_value upload_max_filesize = 2M" to a higher value
*Change "php_value post_max_size = 2M" to a higher value
*Save file
*Type sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

===Modifying the .htaccess file===

The following instructions will only work on an Apache web server, and also the Apache server must have Overrides allowed. Traditionally, you could only use .htaccess files when PHP was run as a module of Apache, but with Apache 2.2, this appears to no longer be the case. You can now use the .htaccess file in either module or cgi forms. As well, allowing the use of .htaccess files will cause a performance hit on the server, not a desirable outcome either - so check with your Host.

The .htaccess file is a distributed configuration file, that is, it can be used on a per-folder basis to configure each user's folder and sub-folders. You cannot alter the "AllowOverrides" directive in the Apache configuration file with a .htaccess file, only the Host can set that manually. Usually the Host will place a .htaccess file into your site Root if they do allow you to override the server settings. You can edit it the same as below, and the overrides you set will work. Alternatively, you may create your own .htaccess file in your text editor. It may also be called something else, like .config. If you have any file that starts with a ., you might want to open it in your text editor, just out of curiosity.

Create a file called .htaccess in Moodle's main directory (where 'index.php' is located, not the 'moodledata' directory) that contains the following information:

php_value upload_max_filesize 20971520
php_value post_max_size 20971520
php_value max_execution_time 600

20971520 is the integer value for 20Mb. You can use the following site to [http://www.onlineconversion.com/computer_base2.htm convert MegaBytes to Bytes].

For a more complete description of how to edit the .htacess file, look at this page, [http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/howto/htaccess.html Apache Tutorial: .htaccess files]

===Modifying the IIS 7.0/7.5 configuration (Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2)===
First increase activity and request time outs (allows large files to succeed on slow connections)
FastCGI Settings > Edit (Right-click on PHP application)
Set Process Model > Activity Timeout to '3600' (one hour)
Set Process Model > Request Timeout to '3600' (one hour)
Next set 'Maximum allowed content length'
Request Filtering > Edit Feature Settings:
Set 'Maximum allowed content length' to your desired file size (in bytes) e.g. '536870912' for 512MB (default is approximately 28.6MB)

==Hosted Server==
Things can be a little different with a hosted server for uploaded and downloaded file size. You are probably going to to be told to create or change a .htaccess file, or to modify a php.ini file.

{| class="nicetable"
|[[Image:lightbulb.png]]
|It might be a good idea to talk to with your service provider before you attempt anything. They probably have instructions on "how to" and may have their own limits for uploaded file size. Some hosts measure the file size in gigabytes and others in megabytes. If you are unhappy with their limits, then check your contract and consider changing your provider to one that has a limit and price that you like.
|}

===.htaccess with hosted server===
The one purpose of an .htaccess file is to override the the current limitations of both the server and the php.ini file. Your hosted server should inform you where that file needs be placed in your Moodle, but generally in the root is sufficient. They may already have a standard file you can use, if so, use it - but perhaps not.

To the .htaccess file add the lines:
php_value upload_max_filesize 128M
php_value post_max_size 128M

This will limit uploads to 128MB, but you can make it any size you agree with your provider. The wording may vary slightly, according to the demands of the server.

===php.ini with hosted server===
Some servers will not allow you to change the moodle root .htaccess file and tell you to use a php.ini file for php directives. Here you can use the instruction located in the section above called [[File_upload_size#Modifying_the_php.ini_file|Modifying the php.ini file]].

Find the php.ini file in your moodle subfolder on your hosted server. You might want to copy the file as a backup just in case. Edit php.ini, find "upload_max_filesize" and post_max_size in the code. After the = change the number. Here the max filesize is 20 megabytes.

upload_max_filesize = 20M
post_max_size = 20M

{| class="nicetable"
|[[Image:lightbulb.png]]
|Still not changed? Some hosts using cpanel have a php config program under services/software. Use the "Single php.ini" option and make sure you note the location of the php.ini file to modify. This changes the .htaccess file in the same area and thus the server limit for all programs using php.
|}

==See Also==
*[[Administration_FAQ#How_do_the_limits_on_uploaded_files_work.3F|Administration FAQ Doc page]]
*[[Site_policies#Maximum_uploaded_file_size|Site Policies Doc page]]
* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=39625 Detailed instructions to increase the maximum allowed size for uploaded files] forum discussion
* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97907 Instructions to increase maximum allowed size on hosted servers] forum discussion
* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=124441 Help on changing the maximum upload size when installing Moodle via apt-get] forum discussion

[[Category:FAQ|File]]

[[es:Tamaño de archivo subido]]

Site policies

2013-04-12T14:52:08Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: Added 'See File upload size for more details' to the 'Maximum uploaded file size' section

{{Security}}
A site administrator can set site policies affecting the security and privacy of the site in ''Settings > Site administration > Security > Site policies''.

===Protect usernames===
With this enabled, when people click on the "Forgotten your username or password?" link, no hints will be given that might allow people to guess usernames or email addresses.

===Force users to login===

If you turn this setting on, all users must login before they even see the [[Front Page]] of the site.

===Force users to login for profiles===

Leave this set to Yes to keep anonymous visitors away from user profiles.

===Force users to login to view user pictures===

If enabled, users must login in order to view user profile pictures and the default user picture will be used in all notification emails.

===Open to Google===

Enabling this setting allows Google's search spiders guest access to your site. Any part of the site that allows guest access will then be searchable on Google. In addition, people coming in to your site via a Google search will automatically be logged in as a guest.

===Profile visible roles===
Any role which is checked/ticked here will be visible on user profiles and the Participation screen.

===Maximum uploaded file size===

Probably the most frequently asked question in the Moodle.org Using Moodle forums is "How do I increase the upload file size limit?"

Upload file sizes are restricted in a number of ways - each one in this list restricts the following ones:

1. The Apache server setting LimitRequestBody ... default in Apache 2.x or greater is set to 0 or an unlimited upload size

2. The PHP site settings post_max_size and upload_max_filesize in php.ini : '''modify php.ini in web server directories''' ( apache2.x.x/bin/php.ini ) not in php directories :

post_max_size = 128M; to increase limit to 128 Megabytes;
upload_max_filesize = 128M; to increase limit to 128 Megabytes;
max_execution_time = 600 ; Maximum execution time of each script, in seconds;

3. The Moodle site-wide maximum uploaded file size setting: ''Settings > Site administration > Security > Site policies > Maximum uploaded file size''.

4. The Moodle course maximum uploaded file size setting in the course default settings: ''Settings > Site administration > Courses > Course default settings''

5. The file size settings in each individual course in ''Course Administration>Settings''.

5. Certain course activity module settings (for example, Assignment)

* See [[File upload size]] for more details.

===User quota===

The maximum number of bytes that a user can store in their own [[Private files]] area.

===Allow EMBED and OBJECT tags===
Allowing these presents a security risk but if you wish normal users such as students to be able to use them then check the box here.

===Enable trusted content===

By default Moodle will always thoroughly clean text that comes from users to remove any possible bad scripts, media etc that could be a security risk. The Trusted Content system is a way of giving particular users that you trust the ability to include these advanced features in their content without interference. To enable this system, you need to first enable this setting, and then grant the [[Capabilities/moodle/site:trustcontent|Trust submitted content]] capability to a specific Moodle role. Texts created or uploaded by such users will be marked as trusted and will not be cleaned before display. Please refer to [[dev:Trusttext cleaning bypass]] for further information.

===Maximum time to edit posts===

This sets the editing time for forum postings. The editing time is the amount of time users have to change forum postings before they are mailed to subscribers.

Please refer to the forum discussions [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=28679 Editing a forum post after the 30 minutes deadline] and [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=5367 The philosophy underlying "no editing after 30 minutes"]

===Full name format===

If set to 'First name' only users with the [[Capabilities/moodle/site:viewfullnames|view full names capability]] (by default managers, teachers and non-editing teachers) can view users' full names.

===Allow extended characters in usernames===

The default here, unchecked = unenabled, can only contain alphabetical letters in lowercase, numbers, hypen '-', underscore '_', period '.', or at sign '@'. If you enable this, it will be possible to have any characters for the username.

===Site policy URL===

*If you have a site policy that all users must see and agree to before using this site, then specify the URL to it here, otherwise leave this field blank. The URL can point to any type of file anywhere online that can be accessed without a log in to your Moodle.

*It is recommended that the site policy is on the same domain as Moodle to avoid the problem of Internet Explorer users seeing a blank screen when the site policy is on a different domain.

===Site policy URL for guests===
This is similar to the Site policy URL as above but will be seen by those to whom you give guest access.

===Keep tag name casing===

If checked, then tags like the following will be displayed: SOCCER, gUiTaR, MacDonalds, music

If unchecked, then all tags will be displayed as follows: Soccer, Guitar, Macdonalds, Music

:''Tips'':
:* For English, off is useful.
:* For Japanese, no changes are made either way.
:* For languages where this kind of capitalization changes the meaning, it is best to keep this option on.

===Profiles for enrolled users only===

To prevent misuse by spammers, profile descriptions of users who are not yet enrolled in any course are hidden. New users must enrol in at least one course before they can add a profile description.

===Cron execution via command line only===

[[Cron]] is an action that runs various administrative jobs on your Moodle such as sending out forum posts. Normally Cron can be run by typing www.YOURMOODLE.com/admin/cron.php but as anyone logged in can do this, if you wish to prevent it, then check this box and only a admin can run Cron from the command line.

===Cron password for remote access===
Setting a password here will mean that users can only run cron from the browser if they know the password and add it like this:
www.YOURMOODLE.com/admin/cron.php/?password=THEPASSWORDYOUSET

===Password policy===

It is highly recommended that a password policy is set to force users to use stronger passwords that are less susceptible to being cracked by a intruder.
[[Image:Password policy.png|thumb|Password policy]]

The password policy includes option to set the minimum length of the password, the minimum number of digits, the minimum number of lowercase characters, the minimum number of uppercase characters and the minimum number of non alphanumeric characters.

The password policy is enabled by default. Default settings are:
* Password length - 8
* Digits - 1
* Lowercase letters - 1
* Uppercase letters - 1
* Non-alphanumeric characters - 1

If a user enters a password that does not meet the requirements, they are given an error message indicating the nature of the problem with the entered password.

:''Tip'': To reduce the chance of md5 lookup attack, passwords should have at least 8 characters and contain at least one number, at least one lowercase letter, at least one uppercase letter and at least one non-alphanumeric character.

Enabling the password policy does not affect existing users until they decide to or are required to change their password. An admin can force all users to change their password using the force password change option in [[Bulk user actions]].

:''Tip'': The password policy may also be applied to [[Enrolment key|enrolment keys]] by ticking the 'Use password policy' checkbox in the [[Self enrolment]] settings.

===Group enrolment key policy===
If this is enabled then when a teacher sets a group enrolment key, they will have to set a key which follows the password policy set above.

===Disable user profile images===

Check/tick this box if you don't want your users to be able to change their [[User pictures|profile images]].

===Email change confirmation===

A confirmation step is required for users to change their email address unless the ''emailchangeconfirmation'' box is unchecked.

===Remember username===
If you want usernames to be stored during login then set this to "yes". This will store permanent cookies and in some countries may be considered a privacy issue if used without consent. From a UK point of view, see http://tracker.moodle.org/secure/attachment/24290/UK+Laws+Relating+to+Cookies-LUNS2011.pdf See also the Using Moodle forum discussion [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=201558 EU Cookie Law].

[[es:Políticas del sitio]]
[[eu:Gunearen_politikak]]
[[fr:Règles site]]
[[ja:サイトポリシー]]
[[de:Website-Rechte]]

Course backup

2013-04-11T15:20:26Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: updated link to spanish translation of page

{{Backup}}
A course can be saved with some or all of its parts by using the course backup. Typically, the site administrator will set a schedule of [[Automated course backup|automated course backups]] for the whole site. A teacher with editing privileges can create a backup or download an existing backup for safe keeping, or for use on another Moodle site.

==Backing up a course==

[[Image:Backup of a course section.png|thumb|Schema selection, no user data selected in initial settings]]To backup a course

# Go to ''Settings > Course administration > Backup''
# Initial settings - Select activities, blocks, filters and other items as required then click the Next button. Users with appropriate permissions, such as administrators and managers, can choose whether to [[Backup of user data|include users]], anonymize user information, or include user role assignments, user files, comments, user completion details, course logs and grade history in the backup.
# Schema settings - Select/deselect specific items to include in backup then click the Next button
# Confirmation and review - Check that everything is as required, using the Previous button if necessary, otherwise click the 'Perform backup' button
# Complete - Click the Continue button

A backup file (with distinctive .mbz extension to avoid confusion with .zip files) is then saved in the course backup area.

Backup in Moodle 2.0 video:

<mediaplayer>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mya-u0zAZZE</mediaplayer>

==Anonymizing user information==

Anonymize user information is a backup feature which "protects user identities" by making each user anonymous. If this box is checked in the backup initial settings, Moodle will substitute aliases for real names, substituting @example.com e-mail addresses and so forth. For example "Max Manager" might become "anonfirstname4 anonlastname4".

==Backup and restore from 1.9 to 2==

Courses created in 1.9 can be backed up and then restored into a 2.1 Moodle or later but blocks are not currently restored and nor is user data (such as forum posts, grades, submissions etc)

==Tips and tricks==
* Lose content after a restore in Moodle 2.0 ? Do you see topic headings that say "Orphaned activities"? Solution: Go to course settings and increase the number of topic sections and things will return to normal.

==Creative uses==
The backup and restore processes can offer the teacher and administrators many creative solutions.
*Duplicating courses or specific activities in one course to another course (similar to Import)
*Updating a production Moodle site course, with material from a localhost site course
*Transferring a course to a new Moodle site.
*In earlier versions of Moodle, a way of rolling a course forward without past student activity
*Creating a blank activity, save just that activity and then restore it to the course or another course one or more times.

==General backup defaults==

Default settings for course backups can be set by a site administrator in ''Settings > Site administration > Courses > Backups > General backup defaults''.

Selected settings may be locked, so that they cannot be changed when creating a course backup.

By selecting a time in the "Keep logs for.." dropdown, it is possible to specify how long backup logs information is kept before being deleted. As this information may be very large, it is recommended the length of time chosen be quite short.

==Course backup capabilities==

*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:anonymise|Anonymise user data on backup]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:backupcourse|Backup courses]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:backupsection|Backup sections]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:backuptargethub|Backup for hub]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:backuptargetimport|Backup for import]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:configure|Configure backup options]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:downloadfile|Download files from backup areas]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/backup:userinfo|Backup user data]]

==See also==

*[[Course restore]]
*[[Backup of user data]]
*[[Activity backup]]

[[de:Kurssicherung]]
[[es:Respaldo del curso]]
[[eu:Ikastaroaren_Segurtasun-kopia]]
[[fr:Sauvegarde de cours]]
[[ja:コースバックアップ]]

Scales

2013-04-09T01:19:22Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Grades}}
[[Image:Scales_Icon.GIF]]Scales are a way of evaluating or rating a students' performance. Moodle offers a standard set of numeric scales. It is also possible to create custom scales which can be available on the site. For example, you can give the student a word or small phrase as a way of rating or giving a student feedback.

Scales may be used in [[Forums]], [[Glossaries]] and [[Assignments]] for rating and/or [[Grades|grading]] a student's activity.

==Standard scales==
Moodle includes 100 different numeric scales which can not be edited, and one non-numeric example.

===Numeric===
Moodle includes numeric scales that range from a maximum of 100 to a minimum of 1. For example, selecting a scale of 10, will allow a rating on a scale between 10 and 1. Numeric scales can be calculated as a [[Grades|grade]].

==Creating a new scale==
New scales can be created by teachers with editing rights or by administrators or by any user with the [[Capabilities/moodle/course:managescales|manage scales role capability]].

===Creating course scales===

#Click the "Add a new scale" button in ''Settings > Grade administration > Scales'' or via the gradebook Scales tab.
#On the next page give your scale a name in the Name box (highlighted in red in the screenshot) that will identify it among other scales.[[Image:moodle19 scales edit.jpg|center|thumb|Creating a new scale screen: Name, Scale, Description areas]]
#In the Scale box (highlighted in green), create your scale. Each item in the scale should be separated by a comma. You can use as many options here as you require. You must order the comma separated elements in increasing order of value. '''For example, an A,B,C,D scale must be entered as D,C,B,A'''.
#Write a detailed description in the Description box (highlighted in blue) for your scale. Your students will have access to the description, and you can use this to give them additional feedback. The more details you put in the description, the more students will understand what each scale item means.

===Creating a standard scale===

An administrator can create a standard scale which can be used in any course in ''Settings > Site administration > Grades > Scales''.

==Using a scale==
First the teacher needs to assign a specific scale to the activity using a drop down menu in the activities setting. Then the teacher and/or students can rate an activity element (for example, a post in a forum) with the pre-defined scale.

==Editing a scale==
If a scale has not yet been used, you will see an edit, move, and delete icon in the edit column.[[Image:moodle19 scales edit buttons.jpg|Editing a scale]]

Once a scale is used for an activity, it is no longer possible to move or delete it, and you can only edit the scale name and description.

==Example scales==

*''The Cool Scale'' - Not cool, Not very cool, Fairly cool, Cool, Very cool, The coolest thing ever!
**(Valued as 0/5pts, 1/5pt, 2/5pts, 3/5pts, 4/5pts, and 5/5pts respectively in '''any normalized aggregation method''')
**(Valued as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively in the '''sum aggregation method''')

*''General Introductions (The Affirmative Scale)'' - Welcome!, Glad to have you here!, Great post!
**(Valued as 0/2pts, 1/2pt, and 2/2pts respectively in any '''normalized''' aggregation method)
**(Valued as 1, 2, and 3 respectively in the '''sum''' aggregation method)

*If you would like two options in your scale (incomplete and complete) type "incomplete, complete" in the scale box.
**(Valued as 0/1pts and 1/1pt respectively in any '''normalized''' aggregation method like weighted mean, mean, simple weighted mean, etc.)
**(Valued as 1 and 2 respectively in the '''sum''' aggregation method)

*''Generic Social Forum'' (This scale only worked prior to the averaging function) - Please clarify., I don’t understand., Hmmm. Tell me more., Interesting, Very cool., Awesome!
**(Valued as 0/6pts, 1/6pt, 2/6pts, 3/6pts, 4/6pts, 5/6pts, and 6/6pts respectively in any '''normalized''' aggregation method)
**(Valued as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 respectively in the '''sum''' aggregation method)

*"Refer", pass, merit, distinction
**(Valued as 0/2pts, 1/2pt, and 2/2pts respectively in any '''normalized''' aggregation method)
**(Valued as 1, 2, and 3 respectively in the '''sum''' aggregation method)

*"Hesitant" Fail, Acceptable, Average, Excellent
**(Valued as 0/3pts, 1/3pt, 2/3pts, and 3/3pts respectively in any '''normalized''' aggregation method)
**(Valued as 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively in the '''sum''' aggregation method)

*"Stars" ☆----, ☆☆---, ☆☆☆--, ☆☆☆☆-, ☆☆☆☆☆
**(Valued as 0/4pts, 1/4pt, 2/4pts, 3/4pts, and 4/4pts respectively in any '''normalized''' aggregation method)
**(Valued as 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively in the '''sum''' aggregation method) <br>

==Values calculated as percentage scores==
Moodle uses the last entry to determine the number of points in the scale for computing percentages. For example, if your scale is 0,5,6,7,8,9,10 then Moodle will use a 0-6 or 1-7 point scale depending on your chosen aggregation method.
*When using a '''normalized''' aggregation method, 0 will become 0/6, 5 will become 1/6, 6 will become 2/6, 7 will become 3/6, 8 will become 4/6, 9 will become 5/6, and 10 will become 6/6 for grade computation, respectively.
*When using the '''sum''' aggregation method, 0 will become 1, 5 will become 2, 6 will become 3, 7 will become 4, 8 will become 5, 9 will become 6, and 10 will become 7.

Either way, the numbers you enter for your scale are '''NOT''' calculated as entered, the system calculates the number of non-zero entries and then creates a scale from 0 to the total number of entries (n) with their values calculates as 0/n, 1/n, 2/n, 3/n....

:''TIP:'' If your scale is a custom non-value (not a number), Moodle's behavior in combining or averaging the scores into a percentage value is unpredictable. When an average or aggregate is important, then it is a good idea to stick with the standard 100% scale to compute an overall grade.

:''Tip:'' Some sites do not like the "0" (zero) in any normalized aggregation method.

==Scales capabilities==

*[[Capabilities/moodle/course:viewscales|View scales]]
*[[Capabilities/moodle/course:managescales|Manage scales]]

== See also ==
*[[Outcomes]]
*[[Ratings]]

Using Moodle forum discussions:
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=106031 gradebook letter grade an item]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=142262 Creating a new scale]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=152689 Standard letter scale reversed] for information on how to delete a scale

[[de:Bewertungsskalen]]
[[es:Escalas]]
[[fr:Barèmes]]

Mòdul Glossari

2013-04-09T00:20:48Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: updated link to spanish translation of page

{{Activities}}
The glossary activity module allows participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary.

Glossary can be used in many ways. The entries can be searched or browsed in different formats. A glossary can be a collaborative activity or be restricted to entries made by the teacher. Entries can be put in categories. The auto-linking feature will highlight any word in the course which is located in the glossary.

* [[Glossary settings]]
* [[Using Glossary]]
* [[Glossary FAQ]]

[[Image:Glossaryexample.png|thumb|center|Glossary example]]

[[Category:Glossary]]

[[de:Glossar]]
[[es:Módulo glosario]]
[[eu:Glosategiak]]
[[fr:Glossaire]]
[[ja:用語集モジュール]]

Mòdul Fòrum

2013-04-09T00:10:39Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: updated link to spanish translation of page

{{Activities}}
The forum module is an activity where students and teachers can exchange ideas by posting comments. There are four basic forum types. Forum posts can be graded by the teacher or other students.

[[Image:Forumexample.png]]

A forum can contribute significantly to successful communication and community building in an online environment. You can use forums for many innovative purposes in educational settings, but teaching forums and student forums are arguably the two more significant distinctions.

* [[Forum settings]]
* [[Using Forum]]
* [[Forum FAQ]]

[[Category:Forum]]

[[de:Forum]]
[[es:Módulo foro]]
[[eu:Foroak]]
[[fr:Forum]]
[[it:Modulo forum]]
[[ja:フォーラムモジュール]]

Working with files

2013-04-08T23:23:18Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Managing content}}
*Moodle provides an easy way for a teacher to present materials to their students. These materials may take the form of files such as word-processed documents or slideshow presentations. The materials can be displayed on the page either as individual items or bundled together inside folders. One teacher might for instance wish to share a single research document in pdf format; another might have a folder of sample past examination papers for students to download.
*Most types of files can be uploaded and accessed through Moodle but the student needs to have the correct software to be able to open them.

==Adding files==
*To add files or folders, a teacher needs to have the editing turned on in their course and then select either [[File]] or [[Folder]] from the activity chooser (or "Add a resource" drop down menu).

{|
| [[File:filefolder23.png|thumb|Selecting a file or folder in the activity chooser]]
| [[File:Workingwithfiles.png|thumb|The "Add a resource" drop down menu]]
|}

*The screen for uploading and displaying a file (or folder of files) includes an "add" button. Clicking on this button takes you to the [[File picker]] which is the name given to the file storage and access area within Moodle. Find out more about the places you can upload or add files from in the [[File picker]] page.
*There is also a block (with an arrow) into which you can drag and drop a file straight from your desktop into Moodle.(Note that this currently doesn't work with Internet Explorer.)

{|
| [[File:newdraganddrop.png|thumb|Area for dragging and dropping files into]]
|}

==Viewing uploaded files==

* Once uploaded, files appear as thumbnails in the file manager for easy recognition.
* Files view can be easily toggled between icons view or a table view with sizes and dates, or a hierarchical list view.

{|
| [[File:truthumbnailsiconsview.png|thumb|File picker icon view]]
| [[File:tableview.png|thumb|File picker table view]]
| [[File:hierarchicallistview.png|thumb|File picker hierarchical list view]]
|}

==Editing or updating uploaded files==

*Clicking on the name of an uploaded file opens up a pop up dialogue box which allows file details quickly to be altered.

{|
| [[File:popupdialogue.png|thumb|File info popup dialogue]]
|}

==Creating an alias/shortcut==

*When an uploaded file (or a file from the Box.net, file system or EQUELLA repositories) is re-used elsewhere on Moodle, the teacher has the option to make a copy (a new, unconnected version) or to create a shortcut or ''alias''.
*If an alias is created, then when the original file is updated, it will change in all instances of the alias. So a teacher might add course notes to their private files for example, and then add them into a number of courses. When the teacher makes an alteration in the file in their private files, this alteration will be reflected in all instances of the course notes.
*An alias can be recognised by its thumbnail. See the difference in the screenshot below between the original file (left) and the alias (right):

{|
| [[File:alias.png|thumb|Creating an alias]]
| [[File:shortcut1.png|frame]]
|}

===Areas in which aliases cannot be made===

An alias cannot be made in the following areas of Moodle:

* an assignment submission
* a forum post attachment
* a workshop submission
* a quiz essay
* a database activity file field

This is to prevent cases such as a student uploading an item for assessment and then subsequently changing the original in their private files. When a student uses a file from their private files in one of these instances, they do not see the options to "copy" or "create an alias". Below is an example of a file added to an assignment:

{|
| [[File:aliasassignment.png|thumb|Assignment submission with no option to create an alias]]
|}

==See also==
*How to share a single file with students: [[File]]
*How to share a folder of files with students: [[Folder]]
*Questions about the file picker: [[File picker FAQ]]
* [[Restoring file aliases]]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrOKxYRJvGU How teachers upload files in Moodle 2 video]

[[de:Arbeiten mit Dateien und Verzeichnissen]]
[[es:Trabajando con archivos]]
[[fr:Utilisation de fichiers]]

Front page

2013-04-08T18:58:10Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Site appearance}}
The front page is the initial page seen by someone reaching a Moodle site after or before a login. Typically a student will see [[Courses|courses]], some [[Blocks|blocks]] of information, displayed in a [[Themes|theme]]. In the [[Navigation bar]] and [[Navigation block]] it is called "Home".

A combination of [[Site policies|site policies]], [[Authentication|user authentication]] and [[Front page settings | front page settings]] determine who can get to the front page. And once they get there [[Front Page settings|what they can see]] and [[Roles|what they can do]].

In many ways, a Front Page has similar features and functions to those in a [[Course]]. For example, [[Activities]], [[Resources]] and [[Blocks]] can be added to the Front Page to give it different looks.

[[Image:demositestudentview.png|center|thumb|600px| View of a simple Front Page, displaying what a Student might see when logged in]]

==See also==
*[[Front page settings]]
*[[Front page FAQ]]

[[de:Startseite]]
[[es:Portada]]

Settings block

2013-04-08T15:53:39Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to Managing a Moodle course and link to spanish translation of page

{{Blocks}}
The settings block provides context-sensitive links to settings pages.

What appears in the setting block depends upon the [[Context]] (Page being shown and user's permissions). For example, the site administrator will notice the Front Page settings block has fewer options than the Course settings block and a student will have fewer options in the Course administration than a teacher.

Here are two unexpanded examples of the settings block:
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" perrow="2">

Image:Settings block FrontPage collapsed.png|FrontPage settings block
Image:Settings block Course collapsed.png|Course settings block
</gallery>

==Settings block menus==
The main menu items (Front page settings, Course Administration, My profile settings and Site Administration) contain a submenu and can be collapsed or expanded to display the (typical) full menu as shown below:
*[[Front_page_settings_block|Front page settings]]
**Turn edit on/off
**Edit settings
**Users
**Filters
**Backup
**Restore
**Questions
**Files

*[[Managing a Moodle course|Course administration]]
**Turn editing on
**Edit settings
**Users
**Filters
**Grades
**Backup
**Restore
**Import
**Publish
**Reset
**Question bank

*[[Profile |My profile settings]]
**Edit profile
**Change password
**Roles
**Portfolios (if available at site level)
**Security keys
**Messaging
**Blogs
**Make this my default home page (if set at site level)

*[[Site_administration|Site administration]]
**Notifications
**Registration
**Advanced features
**Users
**Courses
**Grades
**Location
**Language
**Plugins
**Security
**Appearance
**Front page
**Server
**Reports
**Development
**Question engine upgrade helper

[[de:Einstellungen-Block]]
[[es:Bloque de configuraciones]]
[[eu:Ezarpenak_blokea]]

My profile

2013-04-08T15:32:11Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Accounts}}

==My profile==

''My profile'' is a link in the [[Navigation block]] that expands to allow users to access certain elements of their profile on Moodle.

[[File:myprofile.gif]]

===View profile===
This setting allows users to view their profile via ''Home>My profile>View profile''. This is the full (site) profile.
Note that in addition to this, there are course profiles for each course the user is enrolled in, which can be accessed by clicking the course profile links in the full profile. See [[View profile]] for more information on course and full profiles.
===Forum posts===
This expands to show both posts the user has contributed to and discussions they have begun.
===Messages===
This takes the user to their message screen to read and send messages.
===Private files===
This allows the user to upload files to a personal storage area for possible later inclusion in a course.

==My profile settings==
''My profile settings'' is a link in the [[Settings block]] that expands to allow users to change certain elements of their profile on Moodle, for example, set their messaging preferences and change their password. See [[Edit profile]] for more information.

[[File:myprofilesttings.png]]

==See also==
[[View profile]]

[[Edit profile]]

[[de:Mein Profil]]
[[es:Mi perfil]]

admin/setting/modsettingassign

2013-04-08T02:06:13Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added redirect to an existing page

#Redirect[[Assignment settings]]

admin/setting/modsettingassign

2013-04-08T02:05:57Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added redirect to an existing page

#Redirect[[Assignement settings]]

admin/setting/modsettingbook

2013-04-08T02:03:00Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added redirect to an existing page

#Redirect[[Book settings]]

Mòdul Xat

2013-04-08T01:59:54Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: updated link to spanish translation of page

{{Activities}}
The chat activity module allows participants to have a real-time synchronous discussion in a Moodle course.

[[Image:Chatexample2.png]]

This is a useful way to get a different understanding of each other and the topic being discussed – the mode of using a chat room is quite different from the asynchronous forums. The Chat module contains a number of features for managing and reviewing chat discussions.

* [[Chat settings]]
* [[Using Chat]]
* [[Chat FAQ]]

[[de:Chat]]
[[cs:Modul Chat]]
[[es:Módulo chat]]
[[eu:Txata]]
[[fr:Chat]]
[[it:Modulo chat]]

Activitats

2013-04-08T01:35:31Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Managing a Moodle course}}
An activity is a general name for a group of features in a Moodle course. Usually an activity is something that a student will do that interacts with other students and or the teacher.

There are 14 different types of activities in the standard Moodle that can be found on the "add an activity" drop down menu.
;[[Assignment module|Assignments]]: Enable teachers to grade and give comments on uploaded files and assignments created on and off line
;[[Chat module|Chat]]: Allows participants to have a real-time synchronous discussion
;[[Choice module|Choice]]: A teacher asks a question and specifies a choice of multiple responses
;[[Database activity module|Database]]: Enables participants to create, maintain and search a bank of record entries
;[[External tool|External tool]]:Allows participants to interact with LTI compliant learning resources and activities on other web sites.
;[[Feedback module|Feedback]]: For creating and conducting surveys to collect feedback
;[[Forum module|Forum]]: Allows participants to have asynchronous discussions
;[[Glossary module|Glossary]]: Enables participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary
;[[Lesson module|Lesson]]: For delivering content in flexible ways
;[[Quiz module|Quiz]]: Allows the teacher to design and set quiz tests, which may be automatically marked and feedback and/or to correct answers shown
;[[SCORM module|SCORM]]: Enables SCORM packages to be included as course content
;[[Survey module|Survey]]: For gathering data from students to help teachers learn about their class and reflect on their own teaching
;[[Wiki module|Wiki]]: A collection of web pages that anyone can add to or edit
;[[Workshop module|Workshop]]: Enables peer assessment

A site may add other activities which have been developed as [[:Category:Contributed code|contributed code]] and found in Moodle.org's [http://moodle.org/plugins Modules and Plugins] database for adding to a site.

==See also==

* [[Activities block]] - lists all the activities in a course
* [[Managing activities]] - for administrators

[[de:Aktivitäten]]
[[es:Actividades]]

Managing activities

2013-04-08T01:32:00Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Activities}}
==Manage activities==
[[Image:activity modules admin.png|thumb|Activity modules administration]]An administrator can manage Moodle's activity modules for the site in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Activity modules > Manage activities'', including any contributed modules (add-ons) that have been added.

===Number of activities===

The activities column lists how many activities for each module there are on your Moodle site. If you click on a number, the list of courses containing that activity will be displayed.

===Version===
The numbers against the modules tell you the version (or age) of the module. It is useful to know how up to date each module is and, particularly with contributed modules, it is important to ensure you have the most up to date version that matches your version of Moodle. The first four digits relate to the year of the module.

===Hiding a module===
The hide/show column allows selected modules to be hidden i.e. they do not appear in any course "Add an activity" dropdown menu and cannot be used in any course. To hide a module, click the eye icon so that it changes to a closed eye.

The [[Feedback]] module (which will eventually be replaced by a newer survey module) is hidden by default.

===Module deletion===

Apart from the [[Forum module]], any module can be deleted using the link in the delete column. There is no reason for standard modules to be deleted, however contributed modules may need to be deleted before upgrading.

Note: To delete a module completely, in addition to deleting it on the manage activities page, you also need to remove/delete the actual module folder from the ''moodle/mod'' folder, otherwise Moodle will reinstall it next time you access the site administration.

===Module settings===

Many of the modules have additional settings, mostly enabling default values to be set, which can be accessed via the links in the settings column.

==Reducing the number of activities listed in the activity chooser==

By default, managers and teachers can add any activity module enabled on the site to a course. However, the list of activities in the activity chooser (or 'Add an activity' dropdown menu) may be reduced in number by preventing the capability to add instances of particular activity modules.

Note for admins of sites upgrading from 2.2: The set of ''addinstance'' capabilities replaces the module security functionality in Moodle 2.2, allowing for finer-grained control of activity module availability.

[[Category:Site administration]]

[[de:Aktivitäten verwalten]]
[[es:Gestionando actividades]]
[[eu:Moduluak_(Kudeatzailea)]]
[[fr:Modules (administrateur)]]
[[ja:モジュール管理 (管理者)]]

Managing activities

2013-04-08T01:31:25Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of page

{{Activities}}
==Manage activities==
[[Image:activity modules admin.png|thumb|Activity modules administration]]An administrator can manage Moodle's activity modules for the site in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Activity modules > Manage activities'', including any contributed modules (add-ons) that have been added.

===Number of activities===

The activities column lists how many activities for each module there are on your Moodle site. If you click on a number, the list of courses containing that activity will be displayed.

===Version===
The numbers against the modules tell you the version (or age) of the module. It is useful to know how up to date each module is and, particularly with contributed modules, it is important to ensure you have the most up to date version that matches your version of Moodle. The first four digits relate to the year of the module.

===Hiding a module===
The hide/show column allows selected modules to be hidden i.e. they do not appear in any course "Add an activity" dropdown menu and cannot be used in any course. To hide a module, click the eye icon so that it changes to a closed eye.

The [[Feedback]] module (which will eventually be replaced by a newer survey module) is hidden by default.

===Module deletion===

Apart from the [[Forum module]], any module can be deleted using the link in the delete column. There is no reason for standard modules to be deleted, however contributed modules may need to be deleted before upgrading.

Note: To delete a module completely, in addition to deleting it on the manage activities page, you also need to remove/delete the actual module folder from the ''moodle/mod'' folder, otherwise Moodle will reinstall it next time you access the site administration.

===Module settings===

Many of the modules have additional settings, mostly enabling default values to be set, which can be accessed via the links in the settings column.

==Reducing the number of activities listed in the activity chooser==

By default, managers and teachers can add any activity module enabled on the site to a course. However, the list of activities in the activity chooser (or 'Add an activity' dropdown menu) may be reduced in number by preventing the capability to add instances of particular activity modules.

Note for admins of sites upgrading from 2.2: The set of ''addinstance'' capabilities replaces the module security functionality in Moodle 2.2, allowing for finer-grained control of activity module availability.

[[Category:Site administration]]

[[de:Aktivitäten verwalten]]
[[es:gestionando actividades]]
[[eu:Moduluak_(Kudeatzailea)]]
[[fr:Modules (administrateur)]]
[[ja:モジュール管理 (管理者)]]

Managing activities

2013-04-08T01:30:38Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: contributed modules are now 'add-ons'

{{Activities}}
==Manage activities==
[[Image:activity modules admin.png|thumb|Activity modules administration]]An administrator can manage Moodle's activity modules for the site in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Activity modules > Manage activities'', including any contributed modules (add-ons) that have been added.

===Number of activities===

The activities column lists how many activities for each module there are on your Moodle site. If you click on a number, the list of courses containing that activity will be displayed.

===Version===
The numbers against the modules tell you the version (or age) of the module. It is useful to know how up to date each module is and, particularly with contributed modules, it is important to ensure you have the most up to date version that matches your version of Moodle. The first four digits relate to the year of the module.

===Hiding a module===
The hide/show column allows selected modules to be hidden i.e. they do not appear in any course "Add an activity" dropdown menu and cannot be used in any course. To hide a module, click the eye icon so that it changes to a closed eye.

The [[Feedback]] module (which will eventually be replaced by a newer survey module) is hidden by default.

===Module deletion===

Apart from the [[Forum module]], any module can be deleted using the link in the delete column. There is no reason for standard modules to be deleted, however contributed modules may need to be deleted before upgrading.

Note: To delete a module completely, in addition to deleting it on the manage activities page, you also need to remove/delete the actual module folder from the ''moodle/mod'' folder, otherwise Moodle will reinstall it next time you access the site administration.

===Module settings===

Many of the modules have additional settings, mostly enabling default values to be set, which can be accessed via the links in the settings column.

==Reducing the number of activities listed in the activity chooser==

By default, managers and teachers can add any activity module enabled on the site to a course. However, the list of activities in the activity chooser (or 'Add an activity' dropdown menu) may be reduced in number by preventing the capability to add instances of particular activity modules.

Note for admins of sites upgrading from 2.2: The set of ''addinstance'' capabilities replaces the module security functionality in Moodle 2.2, allowing for finer-grained control of activity module availability.

[[Category:Site administration]]

[[de:Aktivitäten verwalten]]
[[eu:Moduluak_(Kudeatzailea)]]
[[fr:Modules (administrateur)]]
[[ja:モジュール管理 (管理者)]]

Guest role

2013-04-07T21:15:03Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Standard roles}}
==The guest account==

Moodle has a built-in "Guest account". Visitors can log in as guests using the "Login as a guest" button on the login screen and enter any courses which allow guest access. In addition, logged-in users can enter any courses which allow guest access without being required to enrol.

Guests ALWAYS have "read-only" access - meaning they can't leave any posts or otherwise mess up the course for real students.

They ''cannot'':

* Post in [[Forum module|forums]]
* Edit [[Wiki module|wiki]] pages
* Participate in a [[Chat module|chat]]
* Take [[Quiz|quizzes]]
* Submit [[Assignment|assignments]]
* Add [[Glossary|glossary]] or [[Database activity module|database activity]] entries or comments
* Receive any scores or grades (because of the read-only access)

This feature can be handy when you want to let a colleague in to look around at your work, or to let students see a course before they have decided to enrol.

If you want guests to be able to take quizzes, or any of the other activities listed above, and have considered the security implications, you can create a visitor account, say with username = password = visitor, for everyone to share.

==Enabling guest access==
To allow guests into courses on your Moodle, see [[Guest_access|Guest access]].

==Skip login page for guest account==

All users will be automatically logged in as guests if you enable ''Auto-login guests'' in ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > User policies''. The standard login page is displayed after users visit page that requires real user login.

==See also==

Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=69674 Allowing guests to post in forum?]

[[fr:Visiteur anonyme]]
[[ja:ゲストアクセス]]
[[de:Gast-Rolle]]
[[es:Rol de invitado]]

Student role

2013-04-07T21:07:49Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Standard roles}}
*A user with the Student [[Roles|role]] in Moodle can participate in course activities and view resources but not alter them or see the class gradebook. They can see their own grades if the teacher has allowed this.
*When a student first joins Moodle they see all available courses. Once they have enrolled or been enrolled into at least one course they then only see their own courses in the My Courses section of the [[Navigation_block|navigation block]] or via the [[My home]] link.
*A student's view and navigation in Moodle will be different from the course teacher's or from students assigned to a different [[Groups|group]].

*Administrators and [[Teacher|Teachers]] determine how a student enrolls, and what they can do or see in a Moodle site. These [[Role permissions|permissions]] can vary with each course or with any of Moodle's many kinds of activities. For example, in some [[Context|contexts]], students may correct or grade other students' work, be encouraged to explore everything in a course and interact with other participants. In a different context, the student maybe guided upon a very defined path, with minimal interaction with others.

[[Category: Student]]

[[ja:学生]]
[[de:Teilnehmer-Rolle]]
[[es:Rol de estudiante]]

Non-editing teacher role

2013-04-07T20:51:23Z

Germanvaleroelizondo: added link to spanish translation of document

{{Standard roles}}

*A non-editing teacher is able within a course to view and grade students' work but may not alter or delete any of the activities or resources.
*This role might typically be given to a classroom assistant for example.

[[de:Trainer-Rolle ohne Bearbeitungsrecht]]
[[es:Rol de maestro no-editor]]