MoodleDocs - Wkład użytkownika [pl]

Użytkownik:Chris collman

2013-04-06T17:33:16Z

Rcollman: /* The State of Moodle in my state */ update

My page in MoodleDocs.
I have edited MoodleDocs since 2006. It is the way I learn.

== History if you are interested==
In 2006 I started contributing to MoodleDocs as a way to learn the software. I decreased my intense editing in July 2010 because of additional work and family commitments. I started editing pages again in September 2011 as I became more familiar with Moodle 2.1

In(July-Aug 2011), I was given the task to build a few webservers for our internal WAN, a first for me. That was both educational and successful.

Our use of the application is simple. We do tests, have people download pdfs and fill out questionnaires. I decided that I might as well install 2.1. Our previous servers were 1.5.x Moodles :) We upgraded a 1.5 Moodle internet server to 1.9 in August 2010.

In the upgrades, I copied then customized a Moodle theme. I edited our language en_us, then use a text editor to globally change words in a copy of the en language php files and put them in the moodledata correct subfolder. I have built over 100 quizes on unique subjects and retest. We also use questionnaires to receive student feedback on each of our subjects. We provide PDFs as supplemental materials and as copies of the teachers face to face PowerPoints. I also have a random glossary entry block to display pictures. We just finished a teaching cycle on each of servers. I was able to import the old courses in new ones on the corresponding servers.

==MoodleDocs self professed goals==
My MoodleDocs editing has been a great learning experience. I have tweaked my 2010 goals into a more generic version.

*Stick with technical how tos, encourage practical examples for teachers
*Add some images that are annotated with numbers for references
*Remember English pages are read/translated by non-native speakers
*Delete opinions and sales pitches for the latest and greatest Moodle.
*Identify Tips and Notes, so the "impatient" can skim.
*Pay attention to the way others edit my words so I can improve my style

Noble goals!

==Production Moodle goals==
Over the winter I hope to learn something about the Ipad2 and Moodle. We be issuing them to our next set of students, instead of our old Dell 610s. So I anticipate tweaking themes for them. There are also some code changes I would like to make (or find some contributed code) in the core. One of those is the infamous Lesson "Import PowerPoint", which I would like to tweak to "Import Images" and "Import pages" via a text document (similar to a GIFT). My 1.8 version of importppt.php that imported images does not run in 2.x.

Another goal is to work on a Jomula interface with Moodle 2.2. We would like to update our 1.9.10 internet Moodle in the Summer of 2012.

==The State of Moodle in my state==
The New Hampshire state agency I work with has been using Moodle since 2005. Thus I was pleased when my college adopted Moodle in 2011 and left the higher priced LMS completely. Another University in our system switched to Moodle 2009. By my rough count at least 5 different state agencies have started up Moodles since 2010. The K-12 schools all over the state are using Moodle. State agencies formed a users group in 2012 and meet monthly!

Best to all, Chris --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 01:33, 7 April 2013 (WST)

Użytkownik:Chris collman

2013-04-06T17:26:42Z

Rcollman: /* MoodleDocs 2.1 self professed goals */ make them more generic, still good ones

My page in MoodleDocs.
I have edited MoodleDocs since 2006. It is the way I learn.

== History if you are interested==
In 2006 I started contributing to MoodleDocs as a way to learn the software. I decreased my intense editing in July 2010 because of additional work and family commitments. I started editing pages again in September 2011 as I became more familiar with Moodle 2.1

In(July-Aug 2011), I was given the task to build a few webservers for our internal WAN, a first for me. That was both educational and successful.

Our use of the application is simple. We do tests, have people download pdfs and fill out questionnaires. I decided that I might as well install 2.1. Our previous servers were 1.5.x Moodles :) We upgraded a 1.5 Moodle internet server to 1.9 in August 2010.

In the upgrades, I copied then customized a Moodle theme. I edited our language en_us, then use a text editor to globally change words in a copy of the en language php files and put them in the moodledata correct subfolder. I have built over 100 quizes on unique subjects and retest. We also use questionnaires to receive student feedback on each of our subjects. We provide PDFs as supplemental materials and as copies of the teachers face to face PowerPoints. I also have a random glossary entry block to display pictures. We just finished a teaching cycle on each of servers. I was able to import the old courses in new ones on the corresponding servers.

==MoodleDocs self professed goals==
My MoodleDocs editing has been a great learning experience. I have tweaked my 2010 goals into a more generic version.

*Stick with technical how tos, encourage practical examples for teachers
*Add some images that are annotated with numbers for references
*Remember English pages are read/translated by non-native speakers
*Delete opinions and sales pitches for the latest and greatest Moodle.
*Identify Tips and Notes, so the "impatient" can skim.
*Pay attention to the way others edit my words so I can improve my style

Noble goals!

==Production Moodle goals==
Over the winter I hope to learn something about the Ipad2 and Moodle. We be issuing them to our next set of students, instead of our old Dell 610s. So I anticipate tweaking themes for them. There are also some code changes I would like to make (or find some contributed code) in the core. One of those is the infamous Lesson "Import PowerPoint", which I would like to tweak to "Import Images" and "Import pages" via a text document (similar to a GIFT). My 1.8 version of importppt.php that imported images does not run in 2.x.

Another goal is to work on a Jomula interface with Moodle 2.2. We would like to update our 1.9.10 internet Moodle in the Summer of 2012.

==The State of Moodle in my state==
The state agency I work with has been using Moodle since 2005. Thus I was pleased when my college adopted Moodle and will be off the higher priced LMS completely in the new year. Another University in our system switched to Moodle 2 years ago. By my rough count at least 5 different state agencies have started up Moodles in the last 2 years. The K-12 schools all over the state are using Moodle. Unfortunately, one department of the largest university in the state, cut many positions, some included Moodle support/development. Their plan B is to give the content to their "shop" that runs their higher priced LMS for the rest of the university and drop Moodle.

Best to all, Chris --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 20:21, 19 July 2011 (WST)

Użytkownik:Chris collman

2013-04-06T17:14:59Z

Rcollman: /* History if you are interested */ humm have not been here in a while

My page in MoodleDocs.
I have edited MoodleDocs since 2006. It is the way I learn.

== History if you are interested==
In 2006 I started contributing to MoodleDocs as a way to learn the software. I decreased my intense editing in July 2010 because of additional work and family commitments. I started editing pages again in September 2011 as I became more familiar with Moodle 2.1

In(July-Aug 2011), I was given the task to build a few webservers for our internal WAN, a first for me. That was both educational and successful.

Our use of the application is simple. We do tests, have people download pdfs and fill out questionnaires. I decided that I might as well install 2.1. Our previous servers were 1.5.x Moodles :) We upgraded a 1.5 Moodle internet server to 1.9 in August 2010.

In the upgrades, I copied then customized a Moodle theme. I edited our language en_us, then use a text editor to globally change words in a copy of the en language php files and put them in the moodledata correct subfolder. I have built over 100 quizes on unique subjects and retest. We also use questionnaires to receive student feedback on each of our subjects. We provide PDFs as supplemental materials and as copies of the teachers face to face PowerPoints. I also have a random glossary entry block to display pictures. We just finished a teaching cycle on each of servers. I was able to import the old courses in new ones on the corresponding servers.

==MoodleDocs 2.1 self professed goals==
*Make sure the menu paths are for Moodle 2.1
*Stick with technical how tos, encourage practical examples for teachers
*Add some images that are annotated with numbers for references
*Remember English pages are read/translated by non-native speakers
*After editing for 2.1, delete detail instructions for 1.9
*Delete opinions and sales pitches for Moodle 2.1
*Identify Tips and Notes, so the "impatient" can skim.
*Pay attention to the way others edit my words so I can improve my style

Noble goals!

==Production Moodle goals==
Over the winter I hope to learn something about the Ipad2 and Moodle. We be issuing them to our next set of students, instead of our old Dell 610s. So I anticipate tweaking themes for them. There are also some code changes I would like to make (or find some contributed code) in the core. One of those is the infamous Lesson "Import PowerPoint", which I would like to tweak to "Import Images" and "Import pages" via a text document (similar to a GIFT). My 1.8 version of importppt.php that imported images does not run in 2.x.

Another goal is to work on a Jomula interface with Moodle 2.2. We would like to update our 1.9.10 internet Moodle in the Summer of 2012.

==The State of Moodle in my state==
The state agency I work with has been using Moodle since 2005. Thus I was pleased when my college adopted Moodle and will be off the higher priced LMS completely in the new year. Another University in our system switched to Moodle 2 years ago. By my rough count at least 5 different state agencies have started up Moodles in the last 2 years. The K-12 schools all over the state are using Moodle. Unfortunately, one department of the largest university in the state, cut many positions, some included Moodle support/development. Their plan B is to give the content to their "shop" that runs their higher priced LMS for the rest of the university and drop Moodle.

Best to all, Chris --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 20:21, 19 July 2011 (WST)

Cron

2012-04-30T16:50:21Z

Rcollman: minor

{{Installing Moodle}}
The Moodle 'cron' process is a script that is usually triggered by a web server program. The Moodle cron script runs different tasks at differently scheduled intervals.

'''IMPORTANT: Do not skip setting up the cron process on your server for your Moodle. Your site will not work properly without it'''

A cron web server program is programmed to run the Moodle cron script at a regular interval. The Moodle cron script determines which tasks need to be completed. For example these tasks include sending mail, updating Moodle reports, RSS feeds, activity completions, posting forum messages and other tasks. Since different tasks have different schedules, not every task will run in Moodle when the cron script is triggered.

On some Moodle sites it is possible to trigger the Moodle cron script by running yourmoodle/admin/cron.php in the address bar of a web browser.

== Setting up cron on your system ==

Choose the information for your server type:

*[[Cron with Unix or Linux]]- Cron services on various UNIX and Linux flavored operating systems.
*[[Cron with Windows OS]] - Cron services in Windows
*''Apple OSX'' - use the built-in 'crontab' service which is exactly the same as [[Cron with Unix or Linux]]. However, you might want to do it the 'Apple way' using launchd - see [[Cron with MAC OS X]]
*[[Cron with web hosting services]]- Cron services in various web hosting examples.

=== Cron settings in Moodle ===

There are settings within Moodle that control aspects of cron operation:

*[[Cron settings]] - Moodle cron process password and CLI settings

===Remote cron===
Using the 'web based' version of cron it is perfectly ok to place the cron process on a different machine to the Moodle server. For example, the cron service on a Unix server can invoke the cron web 'page' on a Windows based Moodle server.

==See also==
Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=41827 Cron - can someone give me a quick confirmation of function?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97684 Cronjob Question]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97457 Slow cron : avoiding simultaneous cron]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=117168 Visibility of cron.php]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=139263#p609060 How to log the output of a Scheduled Task on Windows] - this discussion explains a nice trick that can be very useful when you are experiencing problems with your Windows Scheduled Task and you need to log the output of the Scheduled Task to a log file.

[[es:Cron]]
[[fr:Cron]]
[[nl:Cron]]
[[sk:Cron]]
[[pl:Cron]]
[[ja:Cron]]

Cron

2012-04-30T16:39:37Z

Rcollman: minor

{{Installing Moodle}}
The Moodle 'cron' process is a script that runs in the background different tasks at scheduled intervals. In Moodle, these scheduled tasks include sending mail, updating Moodle reports, RSS feeds, activity completions, posting forum messages and other tasks. Cron is a server operating system program, which needs to be told to trigger the Moodle cron scripts.

'''IMPORTANT: Do not skip setting up the cron process on your server for your Moodle. Your site will not work properly without it'''

On some Moodle sites it is possible to trigger the Moodle cron script by running yourmoodle/admin/cron.php in the address bar of a web browser.

== Setting up cron on your system ==

Choose the information for your server type:

*[[Cron with Unix or Linux]]- Cron services on various UNIX and Linux flavored operating systems.
*[[Cron with Windows OS]] - Cron services in Windows
*''Apple OSX'' - use the built-in 'crontab' service which is exactly the same as [[Cron with Unix or Linux]]. However, you might want to do it the 'Apple way' using launchd - see [[Cron with MAC OS X]]
*[[Cron with web hosting services]]- Cron services in various web hosting examples.

=== Cron settings in Moodle ===

There are settings within Moodle that control aspects of cron operation:

*[[Cron settings]] - Moodle cron process password and CLI settings

===Remote cron===
Using the 'web based' version of cron it is perfectly ok to place the cron process on a different machine to the Moodle server. For example, the cron service on a Unix server can invoke the cron web 'page' on a Windows based Moodle server.

==See also==
Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=41827 Cron - can someone give me a quick confirmation of function?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97684 Cronjob Question]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97457 Slow cron : avoiding simultaneous cron]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=117168 Visibility of cron.php]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=139263#p609060 How to log the output of a Scheduled Task on Windows] - this discussion explains a nice trick that can be very useful when you are experiencing problems with your Windows Scheduled Task and you need to log the output of the Scheduled Task to a log file.

[[es:Cron]]
[[fr:Cron]]
[[nl:Cron]]
[[sk:Cron]]
[[pl:Cron]]
[[ja:Cron]]

Cron

2012-04-30T16:13:47Z

Rcollman: Expanded the introduction a bit.

{{Installing Moodle}}
The Moodle 'cron' process is a script that runs in the background different tasks at scheduled intervals. In Moodle, these scheduled tasks include sending mail, updating course or activity completions, posting forum messages or other tasks. Cron is a server operating system program, which needs to be told to trigger the Moodle cron scripts.

'''IMPORTANT: Do not skip setting up the cron process on your server for your Moodle. Your site will not work properly without it'''

On some Moodle sites it is possible to trigger the Moodle cron script by running yourmoodle/admin/cron.php in the address bar of a web browser.

== Setting up cron on your system ==

Choose the information for your server type:

*[[Cron with Unix or Linux]]- Cron services on various UNIX and Linux flavored operating systems.
*[[Cron with Windows OS]] - Cron services in Windows
*''Apple OSX'' - use the built-in 'crontab' service which is exactly the same as [[Cron with Unix or Linux]]. However, you might want to do it the 'Apple way' using launchd - see [[Cron with MAC OS X]]
*[[Cron with web hosting services]]- Cron services in various web hosting examples.

=== Cron settings in Moodle ===

There are settings within Moodle that control aspects of cron operation:

*[[Cron settings]] - Moodle cron process password and CLI settings

===Remote cron===
Using the 'web based' version of cron it is perfectly ok to place the cron process on a different machine to the Moodle server. For example, the cron service on a Unix server can invoke the cron web 'page' on a Windows based Moodle server.

==See also==
Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=41827 Cron - can someone give me a quick confirmation of function?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97684 Cronjob Question]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97457 Slow cron : avoiding simultaneous cron]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=117168 Visibility of cron.php]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=139263#p609060 How to log the output of a Scheduled Task on Windows] - this discussion explains a nice trick that can be very useful when you are experiencing problems with your Windows Scheduled Task and you need to log the output of the Scheduled Task to a log file.

[[es:Cron]]
[[fr:Cron]]
[[nl:Cron]]
[[sk:Cron]]
[[pl:Cron]]
[[ja:Cron]]

Moodle migration

2012-04-24T16:53:11Z

Rcollman: /* Changed URL image links set to old site */ new location for replace php

{{Installing Moodle}}
There may be times when you need to move your Moodle site from one server to another. For example, moving a Moodle site from shared hosting service's server to a dedicated server.

:''Tip:'' One common migration mistake is to forget to update the details in the migrated Moodle's ''[[Configuration file|config.php]]'' file.

==Migrating a complete Moodle site - method 1==

This involves moving a whole site from one server to another. If you are changing the domain/IP address to the new server you need to do these steps:
* '''Maintenance mode'''. Place your current Moodle site in maintenance mode to prevent any further additions to the Moodle database. Don't let administrators login during the migration as they are not affected by the maintenance mode setting.
* '''Backup your current Moodle database'''. Do this by following the instructions in the [[Upgrading | upgrading Moodle]] or [[Site backup]] page. This will give you a text file containing the mysql dump.
* '''Copy the Moodle software'''. You will need to copy the Moodle code itself to the new server - upgrade the code to the latest version if you can.
* '''Change <code>$CFG->wwwroot</code>'''. In your (possibly new) Moodle directory, change the <code>$CFG->wwwroot</code> variable in the ''config.php'' file for the new server.
* '''Copy data directory contents (moodledata)'''. Copy the contents of your data directory (check for the value in <code>$CFG->dataroot</code>) to the new server.
* '''Review moodledata permissions'''. Check also that permissions remain the same on the new dataroot folder and change the value if you have changed its location on the new server.
* '''Change your Moodle URL'''. If you have a new URL, you'll need to change this in the Moodle database to the new server. This is needed as links to pictures, files, etc are stored as absolute links and will reference the old <code>$CFG->wwwroot</code> value. So when loading a mysql backup dump of the Moodle server into mysql on another server the absolute referenced links will be broken. There are two methods of doing this:
:(a) The first method changes the Moodle URL using the Moodle script ''replace.php'' while your site is currently running just before you backup the Moodle database. Point your browser to <nowiki>yourserver.com/admin/tool/replace/index.php</nowiki> or in older versions <nowiki>http://yourserver.com/admin/replace.php</nowiki>

:Enter the url for your old server (<nowiki>http://oldserver.com/</nowiki>) and new server (<nowiki>http://newserver.com/</nowiki>) and it will fix the mysql tables. You will also need to clear out any cached links by restarting your webserver. Now, take another backup of the Moodle database - this one will have the correct URLs.

:(b) The second method is to backup the Moodle database first, then use the search and replace feature of your text editor (or use a unix tool like sed) to replace the old URL with the new one in the mysql backup file. Here is an example sed command:

: <code>#sed -e 's/oldserver.com/newserver.com/g' oldmysqldump.sql > newmysqldump.sql</code>

:''TIP:'' You may want to check the mysqldump file to see how the old server was referenced.
:After changing the URL, restore the mysql database
* '''Test the migration'''. To test the new install, access Moodle using your browser and the new server's URL. When you have tested that a number of links in the courses work, take the new Moodle site out of maintenance mode.
'''See also''': Forum discussion on [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=85812 migrating Moodle's data directory on a Windows system].

==Migrating a complete Moodle site - method 2==

Do you have shell access on both servers? If so, the following method is a very quick and efficient method to migrate a Unix based site.

It is also useful for creating snapshots or test sites.
*Set up a new empty database on the '''new''' server.

It mean that that you must not open the
http://example.domain/moodle/admin
webpage yet.
*Place your Moodle site into maintenance mode.
*Login to shell on the '''old''' server.
*Use rsync to copy '''moodledata''' and '''public_html''' (or whatever directory your Moodle install is in) to the new server - execute (replacing caps with your details; SOURCE = the directory you want to copy) for each directory:
::<code>rsync -av -e ssh SOURCE/ USERNAME@NEW_SERVER.COM:/PATH/TO/DESTINATION/</code>
On the new server you must to setup permissions on '''moodledata''' directory and it's subdirectories and files.

Say, on a Debian operating system one can run the command:
::<code>hostname:/var/lib# chown www-data:www-data -R moodle/</code>
*Dump existing database and move and import into database on new server by executing:
::<code>mysqldump --allow-keywords --opt -uMySQL_USERNAME -pPASSWORD DATABASE | ssh USER@DOMAIN "mysql -uMySQL_USERNAME -pPASSWORD DATABASE"</code>
*On the '''new server''', update '''config.php''' with relevant details.
*To fix any internal Moodle links, login to your "new" Moodle install on your new server and use the [[Search and replace]] admin tool to search and replace the old uri for the new.
Say:
::<code>
Search and replace text throughout the whole database

Search whole database for: the.old.moodle.uri

Replace with this string: the.new.moodle.uri

*Make sure everything is working.</code>

Takes about 15 minutes.

When you are happy all has gone well, set up redirects/make DNS changes if required, take new site out of maintenance mode and "switch off" old site.

==Other points to consider==
===Changed URL image links set to old site===
So you built your Moodle Server with a <nowiki>http//192.168.0.1/Moodle address. Then you changed the URL for your site to http://OurMoodle.org/Moodle . You changed the Moodle config file so the CFGs point to the new paths. But your images point to the old url. </nowiki>

<nowiki>One simple, quick solution. Login as admin and put <nowiki>OurMoodle.org/admin/tool/replace/index.php</nowiki> or in older versions <nowiki>http://OurMoodle.com/admin/replace.php</nowiki> in your browser address bar. Use the two form boxes to change http://192.168.0.1/ to http://OurMoodle.org/ .</nowiki>

===Upgrade Moodle===

When migrating Moodle it is often a good idea to take the opportunity to upgrade Moodle to the latest version. If you manage your own server, follow the instructions in [[Upgrading | upgrading moodle]], otherwise check if your host can upgrade for you.

===Restoring a single course across servers===

You may need to restore a single course from an old site to a new one, especially if you are testing the migration. When restoring a Moodle backup file to Moodle on a different server than the one used to create the backup, the absolute referenced links to files maybe broken. To fix this problem open the ''backup-coursename.zip'' file and edit the ''moodle.xml'' file replacing links with <code>$@FILEPHP@$</code>.

For example, replace <nowiki>http://yourserver.com/file.php/243/</nowiki> with <code>$@FILEPHP@$</code>

When the file is restored it will use the correct file path for the new course.

===DNS & Masquerading changes===

You may have had to change the DNS entries for the new Moodle site. If you have done so, it will take some time for the changes to replicate, so be patient. If your server is located behind a firewall, you may also have to change your firewall rules to allow access to the new server. See the [[Masquerading | masquerading docs]].

===Internal and external access===

If you have a set up where your Moodle site can be accessed via a network and via the internet, ensure you check that the new site can be accessed internally and externally.

==See also==

* [[Site backup]]
* [[Site restore]]
* [[Backup and restore FAQ]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFCXvRx20Bs Moving Moodle to a new server video]

Using Moodle forum discussions:
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=62959 Changing Moodle URL]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57477 Changing site address]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=76704 Upgrading whilst migrating]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=65450 Internal and external access]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=111807 Migrated Moodle to New Server But Can't Login]

[[fr:Migration de Moodle]]
[[ja:Moodle移行]]
[[de:Moodle-Migration]]

Moodle migration

2012-04-24T16:51:05Z

Rcollman: /* Migrating a complete Moodle site - method 1 */ put in new replace php location.

{{Installing Moodle}}
There may be times when you need to move your Moodle site from one server to another. For example, moving a Moodle site from shared hosting service's server to a dedicated server.

:''Tip:'' One common migration mistake is to forget to update the details in the migrated Moodle's ''[[Configuration file|config.php]]'' file.

==Migrating a complete Moodle site - method 1==

This involves moving a whole site from one server to another. If you are changing the domain/IP address to the new server you need to do these steps:
* '''Maintenance mode'''. Place your current Moodle site in maintenance mode to prevent any further additions to the Moodle database. Don't let administrators login during the migration as they are not affected by the maintenance mode setting.
* '''Backup your current Moodle database'''. Do this by following the instructions in the [[Upgrading | upgrading Moodle]] or [[Site backup]] page. This will give you a text file containing the mysql dump.
* '''Copy the Moodle software'''. You will need to copy the Moodle code itself to the new server - upgrade the code to the latest version if you can.
* '''Change <code>$CFG->wwwroot</code>'''. In your (possibly new) Moodle directory, change the <code>$CFG->wwwroot</code> variable in the ''config.php'' file for the new server.
* '''Copy data directory contents (moodledata)'''. Copy the contents of your data directory (check for the value in <code>$CFG->dataroot</code>) to the new server.
* '''Review moodledata permissions'''. Check also that permissions remain the same on the new dataroot folder and change the value if you have changed its location on the new server.
* '''Change your Moodle URL'''. If you have a new URL, you'll need to change this in the Moodle database to the new server. This is needed as links to pictures, files, etc are stored as absolute links and will reference the old <code>$CFG->wwwroot</code> value. So when loading a mysql backup dump of the Moodle server into mysql on another server the absolute referenced links will be broken. There are two methods of doing this:
:(a) The first method changes the Moodle URL using the Moodle script ''replace.php'' while your site is currently running just before you backup the Moodle database. Point your browser to <nowiki>yourserver.com/admin/tool/replace/index.php</nowiki> or in older versions <nowiki>http://yourserver.com/admin/replace.php</nowiki>

:Enter the url for your old server (<nowiki>http://oldserver.com/</nowiki>) and new server (<nowiki>http://newserver.com/</nowiki>) and it will fix the mysql tables. You will also need to clear out any cached links by restarting your webserver. Now, take another backup of the Moodle database - this one will have the correct URLs.

:(b) The second method is to backup the Moodle database first, then use the search and replace feature of your text editor (or use a unix tool like sed) to replace the old URL with the new one in the mysql backup file. Here is an example sed command:

: <code>#sed -e 's/oldserver.com/newserver.com/g' oldmysqldump.sql > newmysqldump.sql</code>

:''TIP:'' You may want to check the mysqldump file to see how the old server was referenced.
:After changing the URL, restore the mysql database
* '''Test the migration'''. To test the new install, access Moodle using your browser and the new server's URL. When you have tested that a number of links in the courses work, take the new Moodle site out of maintenance mode.
'''See also''': Forum discussion on [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=85812 migrating Moodle's data directory on a Windows system].

==Migrating a complete Moodle site - method 2==

Do you have shell access on both servers? If so, the following method is a very quick and efficient method to migrate a Unix based site.

It is also useful for creating snapshots or test sites.
*Set up a new empty database on the '''new''' server.

It mean that that you must not open the
http://example.domain/moodle/admin
webpage yet.
*Place your Moodle site into maintenance mode.
*Login to shell on the '''old''' server.
*Use rsync to copy '''moodledata''' and '''public_html''' (or whatever directory your Moodle install is in) to the new server - execute (replacing caps with your details; SOURCE = the directory you want to copy) for each directory:
::<code>rsync -av -e ssh SOURCE/ USERNAME@NEW_SERVER.COM:/PATH/TO/DESTINATION/</code>
On the new server you must to setup permissions on '''moodledata''' directory and it's subdirectories and files.

Say, on a Debian operating system one can run the command:
::<code>hostname:/var/lib# chown www-data:www-data -R moodle/</code>
*Dump existing database and move and import into database on new server by executing:
::<code>mysqldump --allow-keywords --opt -uMySQL_USERNAME -pPASSWORD DATABASE | ssh USER@DOMAIN "mysql -uMySQL_USERNAME -pPASSWORD DATABASE"</code>
*On the '''new server''', update '''config.php''' with relevant details.
*To fix any internal Moodle links, login to your "new" Moodle install on your new server and use the [[Search and replace]] admin tool to search and replace the old uri for the new.
Say:
::<code>
Search and replace text throughout the whole database

Search whole database for: the.old.moodle.uri

Replace with this string: the.new.moodle.uri

*Make sure everything is working.</code>

Takes about 15 minutes.

When you are happy all has gone well, set up redirects/make DNS changes if required, take new site out of maintenance mode and "switch off" old site.

==Other points to consider==
===Changed URL image links set to old site===
So you built your Moodle Server with a <nowiki>http//192.168.0.1/Moodle address. Then you changed the URL for your site to http://OurMoodle.org/Moodle . You changed the Moodle config file so the CFGs point to the new paths. But your images point to the old url. </nowiki>

<nowiki>One simple, quick solution. Login as admin and put http://OurMoodle.org/Moodle/admin/replace.php in your browser address bar. Use the two form boxes to change http://192.168.0.1/ to http://OurMoodle.org/ .</nowiki>

===Upgrade Moodle===

When migrating Moodle it is often a good idea to take the opportunity to upgrade Moodle to the latest version. If you manage your own server, follow the instructions in [[Upgrading | upgrading moodle]], otherwise check if your host can upgrade for you.

===Restoring a single course across servers===

You may need to restore a single course from an old site to a new one, especially if you are testing the migration. When restoring a Moodle backup file to Moodle on a different server than the one used to create the backup, the absolute referenced links to files maybe broken. To fix this problem open the ''backup-coursename.zip'' file and edit the ''moodle.xml'' file replacing links with <code>$@FILEPHP@$</code>.

For example, replace <nowiki>http://yourserver.com/file.php/243/</nowiki> with <code>$@FILEPHP@$</code>

When the file is restored it will use the correct file path for the new course.

===DNS & Masquerading changes===

You may have had to change the DNS entries for the new Moodle site. If you have done so, it will take some time for the changes to replicate, so be patient. If your server is located behind a firewall, you may also have to change your firewall rules to allow access to the new server. See the [[Masquerading | masquerading docs]].

===Internal and external access===

If you have a set up where your Moodle site can be accessed via a network and via the internet, ensure you check that the new site can be accessed internally and externally.

==See also==

* [[Site backup]]
* [[Site restore]]
* [[Backup and restore FAQ]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFCXvRx20Bs Moving Moodle to a new server video]

Using Moodle forum discussions:
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=62959 Changing Moodle URL]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=57477 Changing site address]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=76704 Upgrading whilst migrating]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=65450 Internal and external access]
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=111807 Migrated Moodle to New Server But Can't Login]

[[fr:Migration de Moodle]]
[[ja:Moodle移行]]
[[de:Moodle-Migration]]

Lesson FAQ

2012-04-22T21:44:29Z

Rcollman: /* Import PowerPoint does not work */ add link to new page

{{Lesson}}
==What's a Branch Table?==
Older versions of Moodle called Lesson module Content pages "Branch tables".

==Import PowerPoint does not work==
More often than not, importing PowerPoints, especially later than MS Office 2003, will simply not work.
*Please read [[Import PowerPoint]].
*[[Inserting_content_into_a_lesson_activity]] for alternatives to the import problem

==Jumps not working in a question==
A wrong answer should go to "this page" in my lesson. But after the student answers it, the student goes to the next page.
*See adding/editing a lesson and Maximum Attempts in Lesson settings. If maximum attempt is set to 1, then the student will be advanced to the next page after they choice a wrong answer that is sent to "this page". If it is set to 2, after the student selects the wrong answer the 2nd time they will be sent to the next page. This can be used to keep the student out of an endless loop when than can not answer a question correctly.

==Edits of answers or branch buttons are not saved==
I have a 4 answer multiple choice question. I can only seem to save the first two answers, their jumps and feedback. Any edits on the last answers, their jumps and feedbacks are not saved. Moodle does not tell me there is anything wrong. Same thing happened with a Content page. I can not seem to get the last two descriptions change after I save an edit. GRRRRR!

*Go back to your lesson settings. Maximum number of answers is probably set to 2; change it to 4 or the maximum number of answers or descriptions in your lesson. Now the edits can be saved.
::''Tip:'' Changing the "Maximum number" as a teacher builds a lesson is a trick used to limit scrolling passed unused answers or branch choices to get to the save button. For example, 15 pages have 4 choices but one page will have 8 choices. The teacher will use "Maximum number" at 8 setting only when they initially create that page, then switch it back to 4. They (and their students) will always see all 8 answers but the lesson setting will prevent them from editing some of them.

==What is a Branch ?==
Many Moodlers call a series of pages in their lesson "'''a branch'''". Usually the student will enter the series by jumping from a page that is not directly before the "branch". Thus, a student will "branch" off the lesson path from a missed question and visit a series of pages for review before they are returned to the main lesson path again.

Lesson also have special pages that create a [[Lesson clusters|cluster]]. These are also a series of page.

Confused yet? :) Maybe [[Branch structures]] will help.

==Multiple Choice and Multianswer issues==
When I check the multianswer box in a multiple choice question, it does not work. It makes random jumps and does not put the teacher's response with the students choice.

*In a Lesson module [[Lesson_module#Multiple_choice|multianswer question]], all the correct choices must have the same jump and teacher response. All the wrong choices must also have the same jump and teacher response.

==Are there some examples of Lessons I can see?==
I have been to demo.moodle and looked at the [http://demo.moodle.org/mod/lesson/view.php?id=224 Lesson section]. Are there more examples of Lessons used in a real course?
*[[Lesson samples]] is one place to look.

==The lesson was completed but it does not record it==
*Every lesson must have one question that a student must answer in order for it to show up in some reports. This can affect [[Grades]] and a Lesson's dependency setting (see other FAQs below).
::''Tip:'' There are lots of creative ways to put in a question, such as setting a multiple choice question so that all answers are correct and the answers act like a content page. Or put in content and then award 1 point for "next page" as the answer and do not include the score in grades.
::''Tip:'' Due to a specific Lesson's design, some students can complete the lesson without answering one or more questions which have been placed in the Lesson. When Lesson can not record any scores for a student, no grade is pushed to the gradebook. It may appear therefore that Lesson is being inconsistent in recording grades.

==Dependency in Lesson does not work==
The second lesson tells the student they must complete the first one. They did - what is wrong?
*For dependency to work, you need to have at least 1 question page in the lesson. The student may not need a minimum score, but Lesson needs to know that the student tried a question. You can always put a question as the first or last page, You don't need to ask a question but do put in an answer of "continue" with a jump of the next page.

*Also for dependency to work, the lesson can not be a practice lesson.

==How to add sound to a lesson page==

*[[Audio in Moodle]] has an overview and tool recommendations.

==Can I turn off the answer shuffle in a lesson?==
* In short, no. Turning off the page and answer shuffle are Quiz options, but neither is found in Lesson. A minor hack to the Lesson code is possible but that would impact the entire Moodle site.
::''TIP:'' If you don't need to score students answers in a question, then consider using a Content page instead of a Multiple Choice or a True/False question.

==Can I change standard words used by Lesson?==
*Yes. You or your site administrator can edit the language file called Lesson.php. This will impact the whole site. Your site administrator might create a language just for you and then in Lesson settings use the force language option.

==Grrr something happened -lesson list is not right - I can't move things==
Try a backup and restore of your course to solve some of those "quirky" issues.
*Example: I was building a course, started adding lessons to topic 2 and then realized I should move it up to become Topic 1. Did that and continue to add lessons to topic 1, then lessons to topic 2 etc. Later I had to add lessons to topic 1. I did but could not move them between those first lessons I created. Every time I tried to move them they went to the bottom of topic 2! I also noticed that my list of just lessons, showed those first lessons as being in the correct course display order but showed they were in Topic 2!.
*Moral: Sometimes a backup and a restore will re-establish harmony and fix things.

==What happened to my HTML code on a Lesson page?==
I had the lesson page formatted just the way I wanted by using the HTML source toggle on the tool bar. I went back in to tweak my code and some of my code was missing!
*Lesson will "clean" up your HTML code every time you toggle into HTML text. This can be frustrating, especially if you are trying to get a flash file to display just right. Save you work in a text editor, so the next time you tweak it, you can paste all your code back in.

==Pages are not displayed in the lesson's left menu==
The Lesson module's left menu navigation feature, only displays content (branch table) pages. If your lesson only has question pages, it will not display any pages. Use a content page before a series of question pages, so your students will know where the series starts. Alternative, use the same content page and put links to each of the question using descriptions and jumps. Remember, you can effectively have the student jump past (not view) this content page as they go through the lesson and only reach it via the left menu.

==Students are not returning to where they left the lesson==
A student has left the lesson after looking at 10 pages. The next time they return to the lesson they start at the beginning again. How can the student return to the same place?
:You have seen more than one page of this lesson already. Do you want to start at the last page you saw?

Several things must be met before this will happen. First make sure your lesson settings allow the student to retake the lesson and that this lesson is not a "practice" lesson. The important thing is that the above words are not exactly correct. They are correct only when the student left immediately after answering a question in a Lesson. For the purposes of returning to the same place, Lesson only remembers question pages as benchmarks. So lastly, make sure you have questions scattered in your Lesson for this feature to work and tell students.

:''TIPs:'' Use a content page at the start of the lesson as a table of contents, so the student are forced to remember where they are but can jump to your teaching points. Or put a question at the start or end of every "teaching point". And of course, you can tell your students how it is going to work.

==See also==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=333 Lesson module forum]

[[Category:FAQ]]
[[de:Lektion_FAQ]]

Dyskusja:Inserting content into a lesson activity

2012-04-22T21:39:55Z

Rcollman: Why this page

I was really impressed with the 3 responses in the Lesson forum some alternatives to a common question.

This may not be the best name or place for this. Others are absolutely welcome to place the content in another page. I would suggest to use a redirect on this page if that is deemed best.

I will add something to the FAQs of Lesson that link to this page.
--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 05:39, 23 April 2012 (WST)

Inserting content into a lesson activity

2012-04-22T21:29:15Z

Rcollman: /* See also */

A common question. "We have many course documents in Word and PDF format at the moment. We ant to put them in a lesson, where 1 chapter would be 1 lesson. Is there anyway to easily do this and retain the formatting, esp around screenshots with arrows and description around them?"

*The only import option is powerpoint (and if you are using Moodle version 1.9 or below this basically doesn't work anyway).
*Create some image files of your pdf or word document converted to pdf.
*Create some image files of your PowerPoint and insert those
*Reference the PDF for a lesson by the "pop to file or web page" option
*Convert your pdf files a movie files
*Do not have lessons, use a word or pdf file as a resource, use conditional activities to link it to a quiz that is loaded with feedback to each question

==Creating manageable PDFs==
PDF files can be split into chapters. There are free "pdf splitter" utilities that will do this. Google "pdf splitter" and you'll find a bunch. In your situation, you might want to attach the chapter as a resource in this form. You can also, obviously split the PDF more granularly (if that's a word?) than chapter, and some of the utilities probably have a feature to automatically split all the pages.

The quality of the resulting small PDFs is usually higher than the same PDF exported as an image. Your PDF can be referenced by the lesson in the "pop-to file or web page" option, or as a URL - you obviously need to host the PDF on your Moodle site.

==Copy and pasting Word into Moodle==
Word does add hidden formatting to be copied when it is pasted into Moodle directly. There are solutions.

Start by using Word's "File> Save As > Filtered HTML" option. This had different names in different versions of Word, but basically gets rid of a lot of the Word-specific junk. This does a fair job in the context of Moodle.

Next you could run a utility on this to make it better. For some free tools search for "clean word html" on the web. The "granddaddy" of these tools is HTMLTidy.

At this point you have a really good html document as your source.

*Use the "popup to file or web page" for the lesson to reference that "chapter" (IOW host the HTML you created; see next point).
*Add the file as a URL resource if you host what you have created (NB: do *not* forget the folder of images that is created in tandem with the HTML file)
*Copy and paste into the Moodle editor after opening the cleaned HTML in Word or browser
:Tip: you will probably have to reload the images

==See also==
*{http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=200976 Lesson forum thread] which had these ideas
*[http://www.rogerobeid.com/2011/02/24/clean-up-microsoft-word-html/ Here's a nice little blog post] on using HTMLTidy options to deal with Word

Inserting content into a lesson activity

2012-04-22T21:27:53Z

Rcollman: Tips from Lesson forum, we keep repeating them will add link to forum post in a bit

A common question. "We have many course documents in Word and PDF format at the moment. We ant to put them in a lesson, where 1 chapter would be 1 lesson. Is there anyway to easily do this and retain the formatting, esp around screenshots with arrows and description around them?"

*The only import option is powerpoint (and if you are using Moodle version 1.9 or below this basically doesn't work anyway).
*Create some image files of your pdf or word document converted to pdf.
*Create some image files of your PowerPoint and insert those
*Reference the PDF for a lesson by the "pop to file or web page" option
*Convert your pdf files a movie files
*Do not have lessons, use a word or pdf file as a resource, use conditional activities to link it to a quiz that is loaded with feedback to each question

==Creating manageable PDFs==
PDF files can be split into chapters. There are free "pdf splitter" utilities that will do this. Google "pdf splitter" and you'll find a bunch. In your situation, you might want to attach the chapter as a resource in this form. You can also, obviously split the PDF more granularly (if that's a word?) than chapter, and some of the utilities probably have a feature to automatically split all the pages.

The quality of the resulting small PDFs is usually higher than the same PDF exported as an image. Your PDF can be referenced by the lesson in the "pop-to file or web page" option, or as a URL - you obviously need to host the PDF on your Moodle site.

==Copy and pasting Word into Moodle==
Word does add hidden formatting to be copied when it is pasted into Moodle directly. There are solutions.

Start by using Word's "File> Save As > Filtered HTML" option. This had different names in different versions of Word, but basically gets rid of a lot of the Word-specific junk. This does a fair job in the context of Moodle.

Next you could run a utility on this to make it better. For some free tools search for "clean word html" on the web. The "granddaddy" of these tools is HTMLTidy.

At this point you have a really good html document as your source.

*Use the "popup to file or web page" for the lesson to reference that "chapter" (IOW host the HTML you created; see next point).
*Add the file as a URL resource if you host what you have created (NB: do *not* forget the folder of images that is created in tandem with the HTML file)
*Copy and paste into the Moodle editor after opening the cleaned HTML in Word or browser
:Tip: you will probably have to reload the images

==See also==
*[http://www.rogerobeid.com/2011/02/24/clean-up-microsoft-word-html/ Here's a nice little blog post] on using HTMLTidy options to deal with Word

Import PowerPoint

2012-04-22T21:02:42Z

Rcollman: /* See also */ Link to new page on inserting content into a lesson activity.

{{Lesson}}

This page deals with the option to import a Powerpoint 2003 file into Moodle's [[Lesson]] module. If you simply wish to display a Powerpoint in your course, then see [[File]]

==Importing a Powerpoint presentation - Why and Why not==
If you have a Powerpoint 2003 presentation already made, you can - with many limitations- import it into your Moodle Lesson to save recreating each slide from scratch. However; the method outlined below is not really recommended. It will not bring
complex elements such as background images, multiple text boxes and multiple images on a page. It is not a particularly successful way of creating lessons, and '''does not work with later versions of Powerpoint'''. There is a tracker entry MDL-21801 requesting that Import Powerpoint be removed from the Lesson module
because it does not work properly.
=== Powerpoint 2003 Instructions===
#Create your MS Powerpoint 2003 presentation.
#*In the "File" menu click on "Save as Webpage"
#*Change or note "Save In" setting location and name
#**''The Save "file type" should be "Web Page"''
#*Click on "Save"
#**''This will create a file and a folder. The HTML file has links to files in the new folder of the same name as the HTML file. ''
#Using Windows Explorer or your favorite program
#*Zip the new folder that contains the webpage files ***NB - DO NOT INCLUDE THE HTML FILE OR THE IMPORT WILL FAIL***
#**''This is the file you will import into a new lesson. ''

===Moodle instructions===
After you have created the zip file above
*Add a new Lesson activity to a course; set the settings; save settings
**''This will bring you to a screen with several choices''
*Select "Import PowerPoint"
*Use the browse button to select the zipped file that contains the webpage folder
*Select "Continue"
*Start editing the Content pages

===Basic tips===
# Keep it simple: text only is best
#* No page numbers (see masterslide)
#* No text boxes with graphic or filled backgrounds
#* Masterslide content will not import, but delete all the footers
#* Watermarks and text over graphics is probably not a good idea
#* It will import some bullet formats but not all
#* It probably does not like "special characters" (any non-english letters)
# Graphic images can be imported as a part of the presentation but
#* Graphic images will have to be moved in the Lesson page
#* More than one graphic image might not always import to a Lesson page

==An alternative method of importing presentation pages==
It is possible to save presentation slides as images by selecting an image file type such as .png from the ''save as...'' drop down menu in either Powerpoint or Open/Libre Office. These images can then be embedded into individual content pages of a lesson. As with the previous Powerpoint 2003 option however; this is only suitable for plain text and images. Animations/transitions will not work and care also must be taken regarding the dimensions and loading time of the images in each content page.

==See also==

* MDL-17413 to vote for an improvement to insert (by importing) a series of pictures or a series of text pages into a series of lesson branch pages at any point in the lesson. (Like a series of questions).
* [[Inserting content into a lesson activity]] - some alternatives suggested in Lesson forum

[[Category:Teacher]]
[[Category:Lesson]]
[[fr:Importer un fichier PowerPoint]]
[[de:PowerPoint importieren]]

Course meta link

2012-04-02T22:03:14Z

Rcollman:

{{Enrolment}}
The Course meta link plugin makes it possible for one course (traditionally known as a [[Metacourse|metacourse]] to bring in enrolments from other courses (traditionally known as "child courses".) More information about the use of Metacourses can be found on the [[Metacourses|Metacourse]] page. The Course meta link plugin needs to be enabled both on the site level by the site admin and has to be enabled within the course.

==Course settings for Course meta link==
*In a course, go to ''Settings > Course administration > Users > Enrolment methods''.
*Click the dropdown menu under the enrolment methods and select ''course metalink:
''
[[File:Coursemetalink.png]]
*In the screen that comes up next, select from the dropdown box the course you wish to bring enrolments from and then click ''Add method:''
[[File:Chooseachildcourse.png]]

**'''NOTE(1)''' A teacher in a course will only be able to choose from courses they are teachers in elsewhere.
**'''NOTE (2)''' To add more courses, add another instance of the course meta link.

*The users from the child course will now be enrolled in the current course - see the numbers in the screenshot below:

[[File:Addedmetacourse.png]]

*When new users are enrolled to the child course, they will be automatically brought into the current metacourse.

==Site settings for Course meta link==

*The Course meta link plugin may be enabled or disabled throughout the site in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Manage enrol plugins.
*The page ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Course meta link'' contains options for defaults that admin can set. (It can be also be accessed by clicking the ''Settings'' link on on the course meta link section of ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Manage enrol plugins'')
**When a course uses a course meta link to bring in enrolments from another ("child") course, the course roles of that other course are carried over ("synchronised"). Roles which are not normally synchronised are listed here and may be selected on this page to be included in the synchronisation process the next time cron runs.

See [[Enrolment_plugins|enrolment plugins]].

==Course meta link capabilities==

*[Capabilities/enrol/meta:config|Configure meta enrol instances]
*[Capabilities/enrol/meta:selectaslinked|Select course as meta linked]

==See also==

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA5QcTb13no&feature=player_embedded Screencast showing how to use the Course meta link plugin to make a Metacourse]
* [[Metacourses]]

[[de:Meta-Einschreibung]]

Finding and Selecting A Web Host

2012-04-02T21:37:57Z

Rcollman: /* Discussion in the Forums */

{{Installing Moodle}}
==Purpose==
These pages are meant to serve as a resource to help users work through variety of questions, issues, etc. as they choose the best way to provide Moodle as an LMS to their users.

Also see the the [[Decision FAQ]]

==Planning a Moodle installation==

If you are interested in installing and using a Moodle instance in your school, organization, or business, there are many things you must consider. Not only do you have to think about the technical aspects, you also should put some thought into how you would like to use the system, maintain the system, create the content, and support the users.

Depending on the size of your proposed Moodle, and the technical expertise you have available, you may decide that you can host Moodle yourself or you may need some help! This page focuses on making decisions about how or where to host a Moodle site.

===Roles and Staffing===

There are a number of roles to be considered. Some will be the same person, some you will hire in when needed and some you won't need at all...
* Administrator - day to day running of the site (creating courses, users, fixing problems)
* Developer - create new functionality, integrate Moodle with existing systems etc.
* System administrator - run the server, backups, security etc.
* Content creator(s) - create the actual course materials

==Who are you? Types of Moodle Instances==

There are many types of Moodle users but here are some examples. Take a look at the examples that seem to fit you best and we will attempt to describe the skillsets you will need and our best advice for the type of hosting you may find most practical:

===The classroom teacher, instructor, professor, or course creator===

[[Hosting_for_moodle_teachers|The Hosting for moodle teachers page]] describes the default role of "editing teacher" and sets out some considerations for evaluating your ability to manage a Moodle instance on your own.

If you decide that this category describes you best, you will likely be interested in full service hosting possibly with a moodle partner. If you have an in-house IT department, you may be able to negotiate an agreement with them to provide the hosting and assume responsibility for the administrative tasks related to running a Moodle instance. Depending on your situation and the level of support you need, outsourcing might be the more attractive option.

=== The (limited) Moodle admin===

[[Hosting_for_moodle_admins|The hosting for moodle admins page]] describes the role of the Moodle admin. Not the server admin. This role is limited to managing Moodle, but not other software packages on the server.

If you decide that this category describes you best, you will likely be interested in full service hosting possibly with a moodle partner. If you have an in-house IT department, you may be able to arrange for them to provide the hosting and you assume responsibility for the administrative tasks related to running a Moodle instance.

===The Advanced Moodle admin===

As you by now expected, [[Hosting_for_moodle_admins_advanced|the hosting for moodle advanced admins page]] is for those people who manage Moodle as well as getting into server side considerations, such as cron, email, database management and php.

If you decide that this category describes you best, you will likely be interested in hosting without service.

===The Server admin===

There is also a [[Hosting_for_server_admins|page addressing hosting for server admins]], for people who have the necessary skills and knowledge to manage the server and stack software. If you fit into this category, you may be less or not involved in managing the moodle instance. Some individuals will be able to run the server as well as manage the moodle instance in its entirety.

==Types of Hosts==

===Hosts who provide full Moodle management/maintenance services===

Some hosts are ready to support Moodle as a software package as well as providing and maintaining the server it runs on. They may provide training, content building, and development services as well. Service packages will likely include moodle upgrades, installation of approved third-party blocks/modules/question types, database maintenance, phone or email support, and backups.

There are two types of full-service hosts for the purposes of this discussion: Moodle Partners and hosts who are not Moodle Partners.

[http://moodle.com/partners Moodle Partners] are an [http://moodle.com/partners/list/ international group] of Moodle-based service companies that work closely with [http://moodle.com/ Moodle Pty Ltd].

There are a variety of other companies providing similar services (sometimes under other names like "lms hosting" and sometimes not) that are not affiliated with the Moodle project and who do not support the project through royalties. Some of them even offer free services that are supported by third-party advertising. Note that for commercial purposes, 'Moodle' is a trademark and you should only find official Moodle Partners using it sell services.

Each of these companies is an individual concern, and a prospective client is ultimately responsible for understanding what service package they are purchasing and how long it might be likely to be around. Do your research and articulate your needs and expectations very carefully!

If you google "moodle hosting" you will find Moodle Partners and a large number of sites offering Moodle hosting that are not full-service hosts. Be very careful. Many sites that advertise "Moodle hosting" are really offering you hosting of the software only, without additional management and maintenance services. These hosts do provide the software you need to run Moodle, but you are on your own after that!

===Hosting without Moodle management and maintenance services===

[[Hosting_without_service|Hosting without Moodle management and maintenance services]] is perhaps the most common situation. Many people select this option when they have decided they do not want to be responsible for hardware or the basic software "stack" used to run a Moodle instance, but also do not want to pay the premium for someone else to provide administrative expertise in the management of Moodle. There are thousands of web hosts available, and each probably offers a slightly different set of service options.

While full-service or managed hosting packages may include upgrades, installation of approved third-party blocks/modules/question types, database maintenance, phone or email support, and backups, no-frills hosting will assume that you are willing to manage all these aspects of running a moodle instance.

If you have a reasonable level of confidence in hosting your own site this can be a very inexpensive solution.

===In-house hosting (or "do it yourself")===
If you have the necessary background and interest, you (or your IT team) can set up your own server and run one or more Moodle instances to support your institution, business, or project. You may choose to deploy Moodle on a variety of different operating systems (Mac, Linux, Windows) and with several different database options (MySQL, Postgres, MSSQL). While this page is not intended to provide assistance in accomplishing this goal, it does attempt to describe the sort of knowledge base you or your team will require for successfully [[in_house_hosting|hosting your own Moodle instance.]] You could also consider commercial support for in-house hosting from any of the commercial support providers mentioned above.

=Choosing a Web Host=

==The User Experience==
===Your Compendium===
[[Web_Hosts|A matrix]] has been created so that users can provide information on various web hosting options here. Please feel free to add to the matrix, but respect the footnoting conventions and the table structure please. There is some exploration of using Google Docs to address user feedback on Web Hosts. While a Google Doc may eventually be embedded in the Web Host doc, an experimental version can be [https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AkMXlh7DWOcTcEdsTWhWUlFfelUtM20talNqZVFDR1E seen here].

'NB:' If the wiki structure for the matrix is too much of a hassle, please just use the + tab from the "page comment" tab (you must be logged in to docs to see this, and that is still a separate log in....) to add your comments and someone will transfer them to the matrix.

===Discussion in the Forums===
While the forums should not be viewed as authoritative as circumstances change over time, they have been a focal point for quite a bit of discussion of various web hosts over time.

A collection of posts largely focusing on GoDaddy can be [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=53087#p459052| found here] or a [https://docs.moodle.org/24/en/User:Chris_collman/godaddy_HELP install steps here] and a list of discussions concerning quite a few other hosts, courtesy of [http://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=195424&course=5| Richard Enison (RLE)], appears in that collection [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=53087&parent=459052| at this address].

==Why Use A Web Host==

General areas of concern are:

===General Management and Installation Assistance===
Many web hosts offer GUIs that provide shortcuts to install and manage web applications. Some typical "panel" options are Fantastico and cpanel, while an example of a management application that many webhosts make available is phpmyadmin (for managing mysql databases.)
====CPanel====
If you decide to choose a hosting company that has cpanel then [http://ic.eflclasses.org/tutorials/settingupmoodleonhostingwitholdcpanel.swf this tutorial] may provide some guidance in choosing a host and setting up moodle via the old cpanel. It is a VERY large file (that runs for about 12 minutes) and you will have to wait for it to load but [[User:Eric Hagley|Eric Hagley]] indicates it is worth the wait as affords a step by step approach. If you have the new cpanel please use [http://ic.eflclasses.org/tutorials/settingupmoodleoncpanel.swf this link] for an updated tutorial.

===Keeping Your Software Current===
Software such as Moodle is not static; it changes all the time. Indeed Moodle software changes sometimes daily. Software may be altered to fix security issues or to make improvements. Sometimes a fix in one respect causes a bug in another.

Additionally, as noted below, Moodle is not the only product you may want to keep current, and any time you are trying to keep multiple applications current you are bound to run into compatibility issues.

As noted elsewhere, some web hosts provide utilities for web application management. For a discussion of updating software using such utilities (Cpanel for example) see the section on [[#General Management and Installation Assistance|General Management and Installation Assistance above]].

===Keeping Your Software Compatible===
Moodle is not "just" Moodle. The Moodle experience relies on a set of software applications, including a web server (often but not necessarily Apache), PHP, and a database engine (often but not necessarily mySQL), as well as the Moodle code itself. Each of the elements involved is regularly updated and this will result in compatibility issues. A fix to one application may cause a problem in another. Moreover, the manner in which an issue is addressed in one version may change with the next (an example being the use of php.ini files, which were required in every directory in php 4.x, a practice unnecessary in php 5.)

In addition to the four primary Moodle components (again, web server, database engine, PHP and Moodle code) you may wish to install a variety of additional software to use with Moodle (Moodle offers many modules to provide for the integration of external applications). The addition of an external application to your overall system increases complexity because as the various applications develop the modules integrating them may fail.

Module installation might be handled by a firm offering dedicated Moodle services, but will not be typically addressed by a vanilla web-host, which leaves the install of aspell, dragmath, asciimathml, etc. all to you.

One of the most intelligent questions that may be heard in a Moodle class is whether a course developed in Moodle A will work in Moodle B. The best answer is, "Maybe".

===Backups===
[http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html Murphy's Law] offers no exceptions; it is an absolute, and without knowing who you are, where you come from or what you do, your Moodle may some day fail. The good news is that the odds of multiple failures are in your favor, so if you are well prepared, this eventuality can be viewed with same equanimity as that stubbed toe.....

Keeping very good records of your hacks, your additions, and the settings you have used for moodle as well as all the other software that it takes to support a moodle instance provides invaluable information. A backup regime, including course backups, software backups, and database backups is also important.

The Moodler must remember that while Moodle itself can do some backups, Moodle backups are very intensive and are only a small facet of an effective backup program, which must address the variety of data that is encompassed by a Moodle web site.

We'll discuss various backup types and issues below, but first let's talk about the underlying issue: who is doing what?

Some web hosts provide "snap shots", some provide site wide backups. Some offer shell access and tell you to roll your own, while some web hosts honestly couldn't care less.... You must remember that, without a specific agreement otherwise, it is unlikely that your web host acknowledges any responsibility for maintaining your data. Unfortunately, typically each of your data types may require a different kind of backup and you either need to learn how to do effective backups of your site on your own, or you will have to negotiate what amounts to bare metal backup with your Web Host (and you will need to identify an appropriate window, because you want your backups to be rather more current than your web host might find sensible....)

If you have shell access the good news is that there are quite a few scripts out there you can use to help yourself build an effective backup regimen.

There are critical points with respect to backing up your data that need to be addressed. They range from the global, such as addressing the location for the backups and managing remote backups (rsync can be helpful in this respect) and actually handling and recycling of the files themselves (when do you back up, what do you backup when you do backup, and how long do you keep a specific file) to the narrow (for example the db should be locked during backup.) While we have broken up this discussion because different types of data need to be treated in different ways, one could script one's system to address backups for all the different types of data.

Another option that we should mention in passing is that one can also look at replication of data, either to a simple store or to a failover unit. Be aware that mysql replication requires access to mysql commands that some web hosts do not provide. Chances are that if you are looking at replication you are having multiple private systems hosted by a vendor or are running your own installation and have looked at fail-over, clusters and replication in depth.

Lastly, please remember that if you are paying a web host for bandwidth used, remote backup could become a source of significant expense

''Note: AT present there is one Backup page, [[Site_backup]], in the docs, and it might be helpful at some time to break that up so that separate docs address different aspects of backup with one page addressing scripting options. In any event link to backup page needs to be added''

====Data====
By data we mean the contents of the moodledata directory, which may represent some of your most important material.

====GUI====
Your GUI is what is most often neglected when addressing backups. More often than not much of what you think of as your GUI will be reflected in any customizations to your theme, with pertinent data located in your Moodle code installation (/moodle/theme - see below) and possibly moodledata (a possible site for images used.)

====Databases====
Whatever database you are using, it is critical that you dump and store your db regularly, especially because it can be so simple to restore a site if you have a recent db dump. This can be accomplished manually via a GUI as with phpmyadmin or mysql admin or via command line if the user has access and the requisite skills. It can also be automated via commercial or open scripting (as in HandyBackup or automysqlbackup).

====Software====
Not only your Moodle configuration (additional modules, hacks and twiddles), but complementary software that you have integrated (like Mahara, etc) should be backed up.

You might ask why you should back up your Moodle code when you can just download it from Moodle and reinstall. There are a couple of issues here. First, the version of Moodle you download today is going to be different than the same version of Moodle you download tomorrow. This is confusing but that is how things lie. It is possible that a new install will result in problems on a restore and if you are facing down some failure you DO NOT want to then also have to try and figure out why what was working yesterday isn't working today. All things being constant is the hallmark of restore, and you don;t want to deal with any changes you are not aware of.

The second issue is your potential customization, whether that amounts to hacks to php code or just to the installation of additional modules. If speed is of interest (and when doing a restore after failure the most oft heard words are "how soon" ) you don't want to have to recreate your Moodle application, you want to be able to restore.

And a third issue related to the previous point is theme customization. Themes are stored in /moodle/theme.

===Security===
Most often we talk about security in the context of potential threats to your data. Of course, what can cause some consternation here is that different folks think of data in different ways. There is the data Moodle places in the mysql database. There is the data that Moodle places in the moodledata file structure, and there is the Moodle code itself. You may want to consider protecting all of these types of data from unauthorized reading, writing and execution. Think of this as a two dimensional matrix. Now add a third dimension that includes various ways one might be able to access any cell in the existing table, including coding flaws, external configuration problems and internal Moodle configuration issues

====Code Flaws====
Code exploits are addressed regularly through patches.

''Need links to the various fora, etc for security reporting and info)''

====Configuration====
The most typical issue in this area is placing the moodledata directory in the web root.

====Moodle set-up====
This includes such matters as enrollment, internal role configuration, etc.

Perhaps the most widely discussed problem here has been the matter of profile spam that can be produced when admins allow open e-mail enrollment. There are arguments as to whether this is a security issue or not (and sometimes it seems that the same folks are on both sides of the issue at times) but what it means from a practical standpoint is that you can have a Moodle targeted at your elementary school which contains enough pornography to make Bosche blush.

Sophisticated authentication relying on Moodle Networking, LDAP etc. will require some administrative skill sets pertinent to the scheme employed. One should also be acquainted with the underlying nature of access control including the difference between authentication and authorization. See, e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_control

More more prosaic but as important are matters of security policy and enunciation of protocols addressing access rights to data (in the U. S. consider HIPAA, FERPA, IDEA, etc.)

===Integration===
After an initial basic Moodle installation there are quite a few tasks that need to be addressed to integrate the Moodle with all the bells and whistles you are expecting to use.
====Cron====
One of the most important post-install tasks is to invoke cron.php via the system cron daemon (or Task Scheduler...) Among other tasks, such as backup, cron triggers mail. [[Cron]] explains a good deal but there may be issues when trying to use smtp (some of these have been fixed in Moodle 1.9.3) to alternative ports.
====Mail====
While typically Moodle will use PHP's mail routines, in some cases you may have to configure mail manually and some issues may require manual database edits. See, [[Email settings]] and [[Email setup gmail]] as examples of possible manual configuration.
====Max File Upload====
The maximum size of file uploads for Moodle can be controlled via the Moodle GUI but are also constrained via Apache and PHP, and to adjust these you may need to be able to edit .htaccess and/or php.ini. Here are some examples of the discussin of such matters: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=98064&parent=433245 and http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=103190&parent=456650

==Criteria for Selecting Web Hosts==

===What Purpose Will Your Site Serve===
Production, Experimentation, etc
Classroom support or Asynchronous Remote
Gradebook and critical classroom data
Number of concurrent users

Issues of scale can be very important. A relatively small number of concurrent users can generate enough email through forum postings to get you in trouble with your host. Email volume, storage space for users and courses, number of accounts,

===Will You Be Running a 5 Nines Site===
What is all this you hear about "five nines". This is a way to discuss [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptime system uptime] and the implications thereby for the amount of time that a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_availability system is down and not available].

While five nines is not that difficult to achieve, it becomes obvious quickly that without redundancy bringing down any part of a system for maintenance quickly knocks one out of the park.

Downtime can grossly be divided into planned and unplanned outages. You may determine that since you only serve people in one time zone who had beeter be in bed between 2 and 4 in the morning, that you can live with 2 hours of planned downtime a night. On the other hand, you may feel that from 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday no outage is acceptable.

===Are you Prepared to Serve as a SYSADMIN?===
How are you planning to staff your project (see above??)
Do you have buy in from your IT dept?
Is everyone involved familiar with the realistic demands of a Moodle install (crank the FTEs!)
===Is Your Web Host Willing to Negotiate for the Services You require===
====SLAs====
What is an SLA? An SLA is a Service Level Agreement. While wikipedia provides [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_level_agreement a basic discussion of SLAs], a review of [http://www.nkarten.com/sla.html Naomi Karten's site], which is pitched at the vendor might prove helpful. There are [http://www.service-level-agreement.net/ commercial SLA kits as well].

By way of example, consider [https://confluence.delhi.edu/display/CIS/Moodlerooms+Service+Level+Agreement the SLA between Delhi SUNY and Moodlerooms] ([https://confluence.delhi.edu/pages/diffpages.action?pageId=82083866&originalId=82346012 and see this comparison]), an SLA in pdf format for [http://www.northumbrialearning.co.uk/documents/legal/moodle_hosting.pdf North Umbria Learning], and an SLA in MS Word format for [http://www.kwantlen.ca/__shared/assets/Moodle_Service_Level_Agreement4387.doc Kwantlen, Canada].

====Remedies====
Well, having considered an SLA hard and fast, the question is whether your SLA sets out specific remedies for those occasions when your vendor doesn't provide the services agreed upon, and if not, what recourse you may have.

To put this another way, [http://www.kentlaw.edu/perritt/courses/property/Hohfeld.htm you have no rights if you have no remedies]. Depending on the relative bargaining power of the parties remedies could run from monetary damages to a term extension. In many cases your potential vendor may refuse to agree to any specific remedies. Consider the vendor who "guarantees" band width and when asked what the client receives when the bandwidth drops below the guaranteed service level, the vendor states that they will work to resolve the issue; there is no remedy and the guarantee is mere puffing.

Negotiating for remedies is an excellent way to explore the amount of faith the vendor puts in his own stock. Most often you will be told that the vendor can't provide any remedy as remedies could put them out of business. Chances are that this vendor does not have redundancy or experience necessary to provide mission critical service.

''Notes to selves:
Here is the real meat and potatoes, which we can put here or actually put on additional pages (my prefs)
SO a link to range of service, types of support, security, e-mail, mysql support, panels....
perhaps as well, pages on SLAs generally, boilerplate and guarantees, punchlists
Perhaps specific sections, with brief descriptors and links to more detailed pages.
''

=Planning an Installation=

[[Installation FAQ]]

==Outsourcing==

===Developing your specs===

Often a larger installation will not be a vanilla Moodle site, and needs to be tuned or customised to a particular purpose or environment.

If possible, try to develop a really clear specification of what you want internally. Create a written document that is clear and concise about your needs, including a statement of your purpose and goals. Resist the temptation to get too detailed, though - 100 page specifications full of descriptive text and mock screenshots may result in your Request For Quote (RFQ) ending up in a too-hard basket.

If you aren't sure exactly what you need, consider consulting with experts who have implemented similar systems before. The Moodle forums are a useful place to ask questions and get results from a variety of Moodle experts (but everyone will appreciate it if you read the pertinent docs first.)

===Approaching providers===

When sending your request for a quote to providers, make sure to include information about your deadlines and resources to help the provider make a balanced judgement on their costs and availability (depending on the work you need).

===Comparing quotes===

Generally you do get what you pay for. Like most things you should consider the following variables beyond cost value:

# Stability of the company
# Service level agreement (SLA) details
# Reputation of the provider
# Experience with Moodle

Finding and Selecting A Web Host

2012-04-02T21:18:37Z

Rcollman: /* Discussion in the Forums */

{{Installing Moodle}}
==Purpose==
These pages are meant to serve as a resource to help users work through variety of questions, issues, etc. as they choose the best way to provide Moodle as an LMS to their users.

Also see the the [[Decision FAQ]]

==Planning a Moodle installation==

If you are interested in installing and using a Moodle instance in your school, organization, or business, there are many things you must consider. Not only do you have to think about the technical aspects, you also should put some thought into how you would like to use the system, maintain the system, create the content, and support the users.

Depending on the size of your proposed Moodle, and the technical expertise you have available, you may decide that you can host Moodle yourself or you may need some help! This page focuses on making decisions about how or where to host a Moodle site.

===Roles and Staffing===

There are a number of roles to be considered. Some will be the same person, some you will hire in when needed and some you won't need at all...
* Administrator - day to day running of the site (creating courses, users, fixing problems)
* Developer - create new functionality, integrate Moodle with existing systems etc.
* System administrator - run the server, backups, security etc.
* Content creator(s) - create the actual course materials

==Who are you? Types of Moodle Instances==

There are many types of Moodle users but here are some examples. Take a look at the examples that seem to fit you best and we will attempt to describe the skillsets you will need and our best advice for the type of hosting you may find most practical:

===The classroom teacher, instructor, professor, or course creator===

[[Hosting_for_moodle_teachers|The Hosting for moodle teachers page]] describes the default role of "editing teacher" and sets out some considerations for evaluating your ability to manage a Moodle instance on your own.

If you decide that this category describes you best, you will likely be interested in full service hosting possibly with a moodle partner. If you have an in-house IT department, you may be able to negotiate an agreement with them to provide the hosting and assume responsibility for the administrative tasks related to running a Moodle instance. Depending on your situation and the level of support you need, outsourcing might be the more attractive option.

=== The (limited) Moodle admin===

[[Hosting_for_moodle_admins|The hosting for moodle admins page]] describes the role of the Moodle admin. Not the server admin. This role is limited to managing Moodle, but not other software packages on the server.

If you decide that this category describes you best, you will likely be interested in full service hosting possibly with a moodle partner. If you have an in-house IT department, you may be able to arrange for them to provide the hosting and you assume responsibility for the administrative tasks related to running a Moodle instance.

===The Advanced Moodle admin===

As you by now expected, [[Hosting_for_moodle_admins_advanced|the hosting for moodle advanced admins page]] is for those people who manage Moodle as well as getting into server side considerations, such as cron, email, database management and php.

If you decide that this category describes you best, you will likely be interested in hosting without service.

===The Server admin===

There is also a [[Hosting_for_server_admins|page addressing hosting for server admins]], for people who have the necessary skills and knowledge to manage the server and stack software. If you fit into this category, you may be less or not involved in managing the moodle instance. Some individuals will be able to run the server as well as manage the moodle instance in its entirety.

==Types of Hosts==

===Hosts who provide full Moodle management/maintenance services===

Some hosts are ready to support Moodle as a software package as well as providing and maintaining the server it runs on. They may provide training, content building, and development services as well. Service packages will likely include moodle upgrades, installation of approved third-party blocks/modules/question types, database maintenance, phone or email support, and backups.

There are two types of full-service hosts for the purposes of this discussion: Moodle Partners and hosts who are not Moodle Partners.

[http://moodle.com/partners Moodle Partners] are an [http://moodle.com/partners/list/ international group] of Moodle-based service companies that work closely with [http://moodle.com/ Moodle Pty Ltd].

There are a variety of other companies providing similar services (sometimes under other names like "lms hosting" and sometimes not) that are not affiliated with the Moodle project and who do not support the project through royalties. Some of them even offer free services that are supported by third-party advertising. Note that for commercial purposes, 'Moodle' is a trademark and you should only find official Moodle Partners using it sell services.

Each of these companies is an individual concern, and a prospective client is ultimately responsible for understanding what service package they are purchasing and how long it might be likely to be around. Do your research and articulate your needs and expectations very carefully!

If you google "moodle hosting" you will find Moodle Partners and a large number of sites offering Moodle hosting that are not full-service hosts. Be very careful. Many sites that advertise "Moodle hosting" are really offering you hosting of the software only, without additional management and maintenance services. These hosts do provide the software you need to run Moodle, but you are on your own after that!

===Hosting without Moodle management and maintenance services===

[[Hosting_without_service|Hosting without Moodle management and maintenance services]] is perhaps the most common situation. Many people select this option when they have decided they do not want to be responsible for hardware or the basic software "stack" used to run a Moodle instance, but also do not want to pay the premium for someone else to provide administrative expertise in the management of Moodle. There are thousands of web hosts available, and each probably offers a slightly different set of service options.

While full-service or managed hosting packages may include upgrades, installation of approved third-party blocks/modules/question types, database maintenance, phone or email support, and backups, no-frills hosting will assume that you are willing to manage all these aspects of running a moodle instance.

If you have a reasonable level of confidence in hosting your own site this can be a very inexpensive solution.

===In-house hosting (or "do it yourself")===
If you have the necessary background and interest, you (or your IT team) can set up your own server and run one or more Moodle instances to support your institution, business, or project. You may choose to deploy Moodle on a variety of different operating systems (Mac, Linux, Windows) and with several different database options (MySQL, Postgres, MSSQL). While this page is not intended to provide assistance in accomplishing this goal, it does attempt to describe the sort of knowledge base you or your team will require for successfully [[in_house_hosting|hosting your own Moodle instance.]] You could also consider commercial support for in-house hosting from any of the commercial support providers mentioned above.

=Choosing a Web Host=

==The User Experience==
===Your Compendium===
[[Web_Hosts|A matrix]] has been created so that users can provide information on various web hosting options here. Please feel free to add to the matrix, but respect the footnoting conventions and the table structure please. There is some exploration of using Google Docs to address user feedback on Web Hosts. While a Google Doc may eventually be embedded in the Web Host doc, an experimental version can be [https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AkMXlh7DWOcTcEdsTWhWUlFfelUtM20talNqZVFDR1E seen here].

'NB:' If the wiki structure for the matrix is too much of a hassle, please just use the + tab from the "page comment" tab (you must be logged in to docs to see this, and that is still a separate log in....) to add your comments and someone will transfer them to the matrix.

===Discussion in the Forums===
While the forums should not be viewed as authoritative as circumstances change over time, they have been a focal point for quite a bit of discussion of various web hosts over time.

A collection of posts largely focusing on GoDaddy can be [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=53087#p459052| found here] or a [https://docs.moodle.org/24/en/User:Chris_collman/godaddy_HELP2012 steps here] and a list of discussions concerning quite a few other hosts, courtesy of [http://moodle.org/user/view.php?id=195424&course=5| Richard Enison (RLE)], appears in that collection [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=53087&parent=459052| at this address].

==Why Use A Web Host==

General areas of concern are:

===General Management and Installation Assistance===
Many web hosts offer GUIs that provide shortcuts to install and manage web applications. Some typical "panel" options are Fantastico and cpanel, while an example of a management application that many webhosts make available is phpmyadmin (for managing mysql databases.)
====CPanel====
If you decide to choose a hosting company that has cpanel then [http://ic.eflclasses.org/tutorials/settingupmoodleonhostingwitholdcpanel.swf this tutorial] may provide some guidance in choosing a host and setting up moodle via the old cpanel. It is a VERY large file (that runs for about 12 minutes) and you will have to wait for it to load but [[User:Eric Hagley|Eric Hagley]] indicates it is worth the wait as affords a step by step approach. If you have the new cpanel please use [http://ic.eflclasses.org/tutorials/settingupmoodleoncpanel.swf this link] for an updated tutorial.

===Keeping Your Software Current===
Software such as Moodle is not static; it changes all the time. Indeed Moodle software changes sometimes daily. Software may be altered to fix security issues or to make improvements. Sometimes a fix in one respect causes a bug in another.

Additionally, as noted below, Moodle is not the only product you may want to keep current, and any time you are trying to keep multiple applications current you are bound to run into compatibility issues.

As noted elsewhere, some web hosts provide utilities for web application management. For a discussion of updating software using such utilities (Cpanel for example) see the section on [[#General Management and Installation Assistance|General Management and Installation Assistance above]].

===Keeping Your Software Compatible===
Moodle is not "just" Moodle. The Moodle experience relies on a set of software applications, including a web server (often but not necessarily Apache), PHP, and a database engine (often but not necessarily mySQL), as well as the Moodle code itself. Each of the elements involved is regularly updated and this will result in compatibility issues. A fix to one application may cause a problem in another. Moreover, the manner in which an issue is addressed in one version may change with the next (an example being the use of php.ini files, which were required in every directory in php 4.x, a practice unnecessary in php 5.)

In addition to the four primary Moodle components (again, web server, database engine, PHP and Moodle code) you may wish to install a variety of additional software to use with Moodle (Moodle offers many modules to provide for the integration of external applications). The addition of an external application to your overall system increases complexity because as the various applications develop the modules integrating them may fail.

Module installation might be handled by a firm offering dedicated Moodle services, but will not be typically addressed by a vanilla web-host, which leaves the install of aspell, dragmath, asciimathml, etc. all to you.

One of the most intelligent questions that may be heard in a Moodle class is whether a course developed in Moodle A will work in Moodle B. The best answer is, "Maybe".

===Backups===
[http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html Murphy's Law] offers no exceptions; it is an absolute, and without knowing who you are, where you come from or what you do, your Moodle may some day fail. The good news is that the odds of multiple failures are in your favor, so if you are well prepared, this eventuality can be viewed with same equanimity as that stubbed toe.....

Keeping very good records of your hacks, your additions, and the settings you have used for moodle as well as all the other software that it takes to support a moodle instance provides invaluable information. A backup regime, including course backups, software backups, and database backups is also important.

The Moodler must remember that while Moodle itself can do some backups, Moodle backups are very intensive and are only a small facet of an effective backup program, which must address the variety of data that is encompassed by a Moodle web site.

We'll discuss various backup types and issues below, but first let's talk about the underlying issue: who is doing what?

Some web hosts provide "snap shots", some provide site wide backups. Some offer shell access and tell you to roll your own, while some web hosts honestly couldn't care less.... You must remember that, without a specific agreement otherwise, it is unlikely that your web host acknowledges any responsibility for maintaining your data. Unfortunately, typically each of your data types may require a different kind of backup and you either need to learn how to do effective backups of your site on your own, or you will have to negotiate what amounts to bare metal backup with your Web Host (and you will need to identify an appropriate window, because you want your backups to be rather more current than your web host might find sensible....)

If you have shell access the good news is that there are quite a few scripts out there you can use to help yourself build an effective backup regimen.

There are critical points with respect to backing up your data that need to be addressed. They range from the global, such as addressing the location for the backups and managing remote backups (rsync can be helpful in this respect) and actually handling and recycling of the files themselves (when do you back up, what do you backup when you do backup, and how long do you keep a specific file) to the narrow (for example the db should be locked during backup.) While we have broken up this discussion because different types of data need to be treated in different ways, one could script one's system to address backups for all the different types of data.

Another option that we should mention in passing is that one can also look at replication of data, either to a simple store or to a failover unit. Be aware that mysql replication requires access to mysql commands that some web hosts do not provide. Chances are that if you are looking at replication you are having multiple private systems hosted by a vendor or are running your own installation and have looked at fail-over, clusters and replication in depth.

Lastly, please remember that if you are paying a web host for bandwidth used, remote backup could become a source of significant expense

''Note: AT present there is one Backup page, [[Site_backup]], in the docs, and it might be helpful at some time to break that up so that separate docs address different aspects of backup with one page addressing scripting options. In any event link to backup page needs to be added''

====Data====
By data we mean the contents of the moodledata directory, which may represent some of your most important material.

====GUI====
Your GUI is what is most often neglected when addressing backups. More often than not much of what you think of as your GUI will be reflected in any customizations to your theme, with pertinent data located in your Moodle code installation (/moodle/theme - see below) and possibly moodledata (a possible site for images used.)

====Databases====
Whatever database you are using, it is critical that you dump and store your db regularly, especially because it can be so simple to restore a site if you have a recent db dump. This can be accomplished manually via a GUI as with phpmyadmin or mysql admin or via command line if the user has access and the requisite skills. It can also be automated via commercial or open scripting (as in HandyBackup or automysqlbackup).

====Software====
Not only your Moodle configuration (additional modules, hacks and twiddles), but complementary software that you have integrated (like Mahara, etc) should be backed up.

You might ask why you should back up your Moodle code when you can just download it from Moodle and reinstall. There are a couple of issues here. First, the version of Moodle you download today is going to be different than the same version of Moodle you download tomorrow. This is confusing but that is how things lie. It is possible that a new install will result in problems on a restore and if you are facing down some failure you DO NOT want to then also have to try and figure out why what was working yesterday isn't working today. All things being constant is the hallmark of restore, and you don;t want to deal with any changes you are not aware of.

The second issue is your potential customization, whether that amounts to hacks to php code or just to the installation of additional modules. If speed is of interest (and when doing a restore after failure the most oft heard words are "how soon" ) you don't want to have to recreate your Moodle application, you want to be able to restore.

And a third issue related to the previous point is theme customization. Themes are stored in /moodle/theme.

===Security===
Most often we talk about security in the context of potential threats to your data. Of course, what can cause some consternation here is that different folks think of data in different ways. There is the data Moodle places in the mysql database. There is the data that Moodle places in the moodledata file structure, and there is the Moodle code itself. You may want to consider protecting all of these types of data from unauthorized reading, writing and execution. Think of this as a two dimensional matrix. Now add a third dimension that includes various ways one might be able to access any cell in the existing table, including coding flaws, external configuration problems and internal Moodle configuration issues

====Code Flaws====
Code exploits are addressed regularly through patches.

''Need links to the various fora, etc for security reporting and info)''

====Configuration====
The most typical issue in this area is placing the moodledata directory in the web root.

====Moodle set-up====
This includes such matters as enrollment, internal role configuration, etc.

Perhaps the most widely discussed problem here has been the matter of profile spam that can be produced when admins allow open e-mail enrollment. There are arguments as to whether this is a security issue or not (and sometimes it seems that the same folks are on both sides of the issue at times) but what it means from a practical standpoint is that you can have a Moodle targeted at your elementary school which contains enough pornography to make Bosche blush.

Sophisticated authentication relying on Moodle Networking, LDAP etc. will require some administrative skill sets pertinent to the scheme employed. One should also be acquainted with the underlying nature of access control including the difference between authentication and authorization. See, e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_control

More more prosaic but as important are matters of security policy and enunciation of protocols addressing access rights to data (in the U. S. consider HIPAA, FERPA, IDEA, etc.)

===Integration===
After an initial basic Moodle installation there are quite a few tasks that need to be addressed to integrate the Moodle with all the bells and whistles you are expecting to use.
====Cron====
One of the most important post-install tasks is to invoke cron.php via the system cron daemon (or Task Scheduler...) Among other tasks, such as backup, cron triggers mail. [[Cron]] explains a good deal but there may be issues when trying to use smtp (some of these have been fixed in Moodle 1.9.3) to alternative ports.
====Mail====
While typically Moodle will use PHP's mail routines, in some cases you may have to configure mail manually and some issues may require manual database edits. See, [[Email settings]] and [[Email setup gmail]] as examples of possible manual configuration.
====Max File Upload====
The maximum size of file uploads for Moodle can be controlled via the Moodle GUI but are also constrained via Apache and PHP, and to adjust these you may need to be able to edit .htaccess and/or php.ini. Here are some examples of the discussin of such matters: http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=98064&parent=433245 and http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=103190&parent=456650

==Criteria for Selecting Web Hosts==

===What Purpose Will Your Site Serve===
Production, Experimentation, etc
Classroom support or Asynchronous Remote
Gradebook and critical classroom data
Number of concurrent users

Issues of scale can be very important. A relatively small number of concurrent users can generate enough email through forum postings to get you in trouble with your host. Email volume, storage space for users and courses, number of accounts,

===Will You Be Running a 5 Nines Site===
What is all this you hear about "five nines". This is a way to discuss [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptime system uptime] and the implications thereby for the amount of time that a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_availability system is down and not available].

While five nines is not that difficult to achieve, it becomes obvious quickly that without redundancy bringing down any part of a system for maintenance quickly knocks one out of the park.

Downtime can grossly be divided into planned and unplanned outages. You may determine that since you only serve people in one time zone who had beeter be in bed between 2 and 4 in the morning, that you can live with 2 hours of planned downtime a night. On the other hand, you may feel that from 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday no outage is acceptable.

===Are you Prepared to Serve as a SYSADMIN?===
How are you planning to staff your project (see above??)
Do you have buy in from your IT dept?
Is everyone involved familiar with the realistic demands of a Moodle install (crank the FTEs!)
===Is Your Web Host Willing to Negotiate for the Services You require===
====SLAs====
What is an SLA? An SLA is a Service Level Agreement. While wikipedia provides [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_level_agreement a basic discussion of SLAs], a review of [http://www.nkarten.com/sla.html Naomi Karten's site], which is pitched at the vendor might prove helpful. There are [http://www.service-level-agreement.net/ commercial SLA kits as well].

By way of example, consider [https://confluence.delhi.edu/display/CIS/Moodlerooms+Service+Level+Agreement the SLA between Delhi SUNY and Moodlerooms] ([https://confluence.delhi.edu/pages/diffpages.action?pageId=82083866&originalId=82346012 and see this comparison]), an SLA in pdf format for [http://www.northumbrialearning.co.uk/documents/legal/moodle_hosting.pdf North Umbria Learning], and an SLA in MS Word format for [http://www.kwantlen.ca/__shared/assets/Moodle_Service_Level_Agreement4387.doc Kwantlen, Canada].

====Remedies====
Well, having considered an SLA hard and fast, the question is whether your SLA sets out specific remedies for those occasions when your vendor doesn't provide the services agreed upon, and if not, what recourse you may have.

To put this another way, [http://www.kentlaw.edu/perritt/courses/property/Hohfeld.htm you have no rights if you have no remedies]. Depending on the relative bargaining power of the parties remedies could run from monetary damages to a term extension. In many cases your potential vendor may refuse to agree to any specific remedies. Consider the vendor who "guarantees" band width and when asked what the client receives when the bandwidth drops below the guaranteed service level, the vendor states that they will work to resolve the issue; there is no remedy and the guarantee is mere puffing.

Negotiating for remedies is an excellent way to explore the amount of faith the vendor puts in his own stock. Most often you will be told that the vendor can't provide any remedy as remedies could put them out of business. Chances are that this vendor does not have redundancy or experience necessary to provide mission critical service.

''Notes to selves:
Here is the real meat and potatoes, which we can put here or actually put on additional pages (my prefs)
SO a link to range of service, types of support, security, e-mail, mysql support, panels....
perhaps as well, pages on SLAs generally, boilerplate and guarantees, punchlists
Perhaps specific sections, with brief descriptors and links to more detailed pages.
''

=Planning an Installation=

[[Installation FAQ]]

==Outsourcing==

===Developing your specs===

Often a larger installation will not be a vanilla Moodle site, and needs to be tuned or customised to a particular purpose or environment.

If possible, try to develop a really clear specification of what you want internally. Create a written document that is clear and concise about your needs, including a statement of your purpose and goals. Resist the temptation to get too detailed, though - 100 page specifications full of descriptive text and mock screenshots may result in your Request For Quote (RFQ) ending up in a too-hard basket.

If you aren't sure exactly what you need, consider consulting with experts who have implemented similar systems before. The Moodle forums are a useful place to ask questions and get results from a variety of Moodle experts (but everyone will appreciate it if you read the pertinent docs first.)

===Approaching providers===

When sending your request for a quote to providers, make sure to include information about your deadlines and resources to help the provider make a balanced judgement on their costs and availability (depending on the work you need).

===Comparing quotes===

Generally you do get what you pay for. Like most things you should consider the following variables beyond cost value:

# Stability of the company
# Service level agreement (SLA) details
# Reputation of the provider
# Experience with Moodle

Użytkownik:Chris collman/godaddy HELP

2012-04-02T21:15:46Z

Rcollman: /* Setup steps */

This is a subpage. I keep forgetting the tricks to create a fresh install on a GoDaddy account. I do not recommend GoDaddy, but I have to work with what I am given. While I wait forever for GoDaddy to load

==Setup steps==
You must have an account. This is the short version. I like all my subdomains and mysql and mooodedata to contain the same information. It is real handy later. Even if you only plan on having just one Moodle, I recommend changing the name to something other than the default.

#Get to the "Host control"
#DNS manage Create a new DNS
#Domain Name manage. Create a subdomain call it "moodle22"
#Database create a database (MySQL) call it "moodle22"
#FTP Manager, create a moodledata directory under HTML, call it "moodledata_moodle22"
#FTP Manager, upload your version of Moodle and unpack it in the HTML director
#FTP Manager, chec the zip or rar file and select Unarchive
#FTP Manager, check the new folder called moodle and rename it "moodle22".

Now you are ready for the install. Check the notes below. You mayhave to wait until GoDaddy is happy. Try any refresh buttons you see in the Host Control screen for DNS or Domain name. Go back after 5 minutes and refresh them again.

While my subdomain was moodle22 and I know it will put in my browser moodle22.WonderfulDomain.com Initially I have to put WonderfulDomain.com/moodle22.

*Probably you will mess up the mysql database info and get red error messages. See below.

==No slashes==
Be sure to say not to use slashes in Server>HTTP or non of your images will work.

==MySQL host==
You should have created the mysql database (use the database tab) in Host Control Center.

Use the php editor link. You will have to log in again. Copy the address.

Replace "localhost" with the long string. something like: fantastic04262012.db.8222220.hostedresource.com

Użytkownik:Chris collman/godaddy HELP

2012-04-02T20:59:08Z

Rcollman: Perhaps for me but others mightfind it useful

This is a subpage. I keep forgetting the tricks to create a fresh install on a GoDaddy account. I do not recommend GoDaddy, but I have to work with what I am given. While I wait forever for GoDaddy to load

==Setup steps==
You must have an account
#Get to the "Host control"
#DNS manage Create a new DNS
#Domain Name manage. Create a subdomain
#Database create a database (MySQl)

==No slashes==
Be sure to say not to use slashes in Server>HTTP or non of your images will work.

==MySQL host==
You should have created the mysql database (use the database tab) in Host Control Center.

Use the php editor link. You will have to log in again. Copy the address.

Replace "localhost" with the long string. something like: fantastic04262012.db.8222220.hostedresource.com

Paypal enrolment

2012-04-02T20:26:30Z

Rcollman: /* Checking you have Paypal in your course */

{{Enrolment}}
Location: PayPal edit settings link in ''Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Manage enrol plugins''

The PayPal enrolment plugin allows you to set up paid courses. The plugin has to be enabled by the site administrator (see [[Enrolment_plugins|Enrolment plugins]])and then added to the course by an administrator or manager. You can then set an individual price for your course if needed.

==Course settings for Paypal==
===Checking you have Paypal in your course===
*In a course, go to Settings> Course administration>Users>Enrolment methods
*If you do not see PayPall, use the pull down menu "Add method" and select PayPal.

*Make sure PayPal has its "eye" opened:

[[File:Paypalenrolmentmethod.png]]

===Setting a price for your course===
*In Settings>Course Administration>Users>enrolment methods, click the edit/hand/pen icon to the right of the Paypal option.
*Give a name to this enrolment method if you wish in "Custom Instance name". (You don't have to!)
*Ensure that "allow Paypal enrolments" is set to "yes"
*In "Enrol cost", type in the cost of your course and in "Currency" choose your currency.
*Usually you would leave the "Assign role" as "student" unless you have a very special reason for allowing your users to enrol as, say, editing teachers etc
*Choose an enrolmet period and/or start/end dates if desired.
*Click the "Save changes" button.

[[File:Paypalcoursesettings.png]]

===What the new user sees===
*When a new user clicks on your course link, having made a login to your Moodle, they will see the following screen, inviting them to go to PayPal to purchase access to your course:

[[File:Paypaluserview.png]]

==Admin settings==

#If you wish to allow users to make their own accounts on your site then set up [[Email-based_self-registration|Email based self registration]]
#Go to ''Settings>Site Administration>Plugins>Enrolments>Manage enrol plugins'' and enable (open the "eye" of Paypal)
#Click the blue Settings link to the right of the PayPal enrolment link. Here are the default settings and default settings for new instances in a course:
##Add the email of your Business PayPal account
##Choose whether to notify students/teachers/admin.
##Choose whether (or not) to allow the Paypal enrolment plugin by default in new courses
##Choose a default cost and currency. (This may be overridden in individual courses)
##Choose a default role assignment. (This means the role that a new user will automatically be given in a course when they purchase access. Usually this would be "student" unless you have a special reason for choosing another role.) This may be overridden in individual courses.
##Choose the default enrolment period. This may be overridden in individual courses.

==What to set up in Paypal==
* Setup your PayPal account at paypal.com
# Create a Paypal account
# Not required but recommended for selling: Upgrade your account to "Premier" status and get "Verified"
# Setup IPN in Paypal to interact with Moodle. Log into Paypal, go to "Profile > Instant Payment Notifications (IPN)”, click "Turn On IPN", click the "Edit settings" and enter a URL that references your IPN file in your Moodle installation (for example: http://<domain name>/moodle/enrol/paypal/ipn.php)
# Set the Encoding to UFT-8. In Paypal, go to "Profile > Language Encoding" (under the Selling Preferences column) and set your website's language (like select "Western European Languages (including English)" as it is the only English version). Then click on the "More Options" button and set the Encoding to "UTF-8", select "Yes" to use the same encoding for data sent from Paypay to you, and save.

==What the user sees==
*If you have allowed users to create their own accounts then when they click to login, they will be presented with a screen'' Is this your first time here?'' It will give them instructions for making an account (which may be customised in the authentication common settings in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Authentication > Manage authentication'') and once their account is confirmed via email they can click on a course which can be purchased and pay for it via Paypal. PayPal courses will have a dollar sign icon next to them:

[[File:Paypalicon.png]]

*Once payment is made both the user/student and the teacher/admin should have received emails from Paypal confirming the purchase.

==Changing the dollar symbol==
The default currency symbol for Paypal is a dollar sign. If you are using GBP or Euros or another currency, you can change this by creating your own customised icon with your choice of currency. Make it 16x 16 pixels and call it ''icon.gif'' Upload your new icon via FTP to your ''moodle directory>enrol>paypal>pix''. Your icon.gif will override the dollar sign. Make sure you refresh your page to be sure of the changes.

[[File:PaypalGBP.png]]

==Paypal capabilities==

*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:config|Configure PayPal enrol instances]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:manage|Manage enrolled users]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:unenrol|Unenrol users from course]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:unenrolself|Unenrol self from the course]]

[[fr:Inscription par Paypal]]

Paypal enrolment

2012-04-02T20:25:05Z

Rcollman: /* Checking you have Paypal in your course */

{{Enrolment}}
Location: PayPal edit settings link in ''Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Manage enrol plugins''

The PayPal enrolment plugin allows you to set up paid courses. The plugin has to be enabled by the site administrator (see [[Enrolment_plugins|Enrolment plugins]])and then added to the course by an administrator or manager. You can then set an individual price for your course if needed.

==Course settings for Paypal==
===Checking you have Paypal in your course===
*In a course, go to Settings> Course administration>Users>Enrolment methods
*If you do not see PayPall, used the pulldown menu "Add method" and select PayPal.

*Make sure PayPal has its "eye" opened:

[[File:Paypalenrolmentmethod.png]]

===Setting a price for your course===
*In Settings>Course Administration>Users>enrolment methods, click the edit/hand/pen icon to the right of the Paypal option.
*Give a name to this enrolment method if you wish in "Custom Instance name". (You don't have to!)
*Ensure that "allow Paypal enrolments" is set to "yes"
*In "Enrol cost", type in the cost of your course and in "Currency" choose your currency.
*Usually you would leave the "Assign role" as "student" unless you have a very special reason for allowing your users to enrol as, say, editing teachers etc
*Choose an enrolmet period and/or start/end dates if desired.
*Click the "Save changes" button.

[[File:Paypalcoursesettings.png]]

===What the new user sees===
*When a new user clicks on your course link, having made a login to your Moodle, they will see the following screen, inviting them to go to PayPal to purchase access to your course:

[[File:Paypaluserview.png]]

==Admin settings==

#If you wish to allow users to make their own accounts on your site then set up [[Email-based_self-registration|Email based self registration]]
#Go to ''Settings>Site Administration>Plugins>Enrolments>Manage enrol plugins'' and enable (open the "eye" of Paypal)
#Click the blue Settings link to the right of the PayPal enrolment link. Here are the default settings and default settings for new instances in a course:
##Add the email of your Business PayPal account
##Choose whether to notify students/teachers/admin.
##Choose whether (or not) to allow the Paypal enrolment plugin by default in new courses
##Choose a default cost and currency. (This may be overridden in individual courses)
##Choose a default role assignment. (This means the role that a new user will automatically be given in a course when they purchase access. Usually this would be "student" unless you have a special reason for choosing another role.) This may be overridden in individual courses.
##Choose the default enrolment period. This may be overridden in individual courses.

==What to set up in Paypal==
* Setup your PayPal account at paypal.com
# Create a Paypal account
# Not required but recommended for selling: Upgrade your account to "Premier" status and get "Verified"
# Setup IPN in Paypal to interact with Moodle. Log into Paypal, go to "Profile > Instant Payment Notifications (IPN)”, click "Turn On IPN", click the "Edit settings" and enter a URL that references your IPN file in your Moodle installation (for example: http://<domain name>/moodle/enrol/paypal/ipn.php)
# Set the Encoding to UFT-8. In Paypal, go to "Profile > Language Encoding" (under the Selling Preferences column) and set your website's language (like select "Western European Languages (including English)" as it is the only English version). Then click on the "More Options" button and set the Encoding to "UTF-8", select "Yes" to use the same encoding for data sent from Paypay to you, and save.

==What the user sees==
*If you have allowed users to create their own accounts then when they click to login, they will be presented with a screen'' Is this your first time here?'' It will give them instructions for making an account (which may be customised in the authentication common settings in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Authentication > Manage authentication'') and once their account is confirmed via email they can click on a course which can be purchased and pay for it via Paypal. PayPal courses will have a dollar sign icon next to them:

[[File:Paypalicon.png]]

*Once payment is made both the user/student and the teacher/admin should have received emails from Paypal confirming the purchase.

==Changing the dollar symbol==
The default currency symbol for Paypal is a dollar sign. If you are using GBP or Euros or another currency, you can change this by creating your own customised icon with your choice of currency. Make it 16x 16 pixels and call it ''icon.gif'' Upload your new icon via FTP to your ''moodle directory>enrol>paypal>pix''. Your icon.gif will override the dollar sign. Make sure you refresh your page to be sure of the changes.

[[File:PaypalGBP.png]]

==Paypal capabilities==

*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:config|Configure PayPal enrol instances]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:manage|Manage enrolled users]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:unenrol|Unenrol users from course]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:unenrolself|Unenrol self from the course]]

[[fr:Inscription par Paypal]]

Paypal enrolment

2012-04-02T20:22:24Z

Rcollman: /* Setting a price for your course */

{{Enrolment}}
Location: PayPal edit settings link in ''Site administration > Plugins > Enrolments > Manage enrol plugins''

The PayPal enrolment plugin allows you to set up paid courses. The plugin has to be enabled by the site administrator (see [[Enrolment_plugins|Enrolment plugins]])and then added to the course by an administrator or manager. You can then set an individual price for your course if needed.

==Course settings for Paypal==
===Checking you have Paypal in your course===
*In a course, go to Settings>users>enrolment methods
*Make sure PayPal has its "eye" opened:

[[File:Paypalenrolmentmethod.png]]

===Setting a price for your course===
*In Settings>Course Administration>Users>enrolment methods, click the edit/hand/pen icon to the right of the Paypal option.
*Give a name to this enrolment method if you wish in "Custom Instance name". (You don't have to!)
*Ensure that "allow Paypal enrolments" is set to "yes"
*In "Enrol cost", type in the cost of your course and in "Currency" choose your currency.
*Usually you would leave the "Assign role" as "student" unless you have a very special reason for allowing your users to enrol as, say, editing teachers etc
*Choose an enrolmet period and/or start/end dates if desired.
*Click the "Save changes" button.

[[File:Paypalcoursesettings.png]]

===What the new user sees===
*When a new user clicks on your course link, having made a login to your Moodle, they will see the following screen, inviting them to go to PayPal to purchase access to your course:

[[File:Paypaluserview.png]]

==Admin settings==

#If you wish to allow users to make their own accounts on your site then set up [[Email-based_self-registration|Email based self registration]]
#Go to ''Settings>Site Administration>Plugins>Enrolments>Manage enrol plugins'' and enable (open the "eye" of Paypal)
#Click the blue Settings link to the right of the PayPal enrolment link. Here are the default settings and default settings for new instances in a course:
##Add the email of your Business PayPal account
##Choose whether to notify students/teachers/admin.
##Choose whether (or not) to allow the Paypal enrolment plugin by default in new courses
##Choose a default cost and currency. (This may be overridden in individual courses)
##Choose a default role assignment. (This means the role that a new user will automatically be given in a course when they purchase access. Usually this would be "student" unless you have a special reason for choosing another role.) This may be overridden in individual courses.
##Choose the default enrolment period. This may be overridden in individual courses.

==What to set up in Paypal==
* Setup your PayPal account at paypal.com
# Create a Paypal account
# Not required but recommended for selling: Upgrade your account to "Premier" status and get "Verified"
# Setup IPN in Paypal to interact with Moodle. Log into Paypal, go to "Profile > Instant Payment Notifications (IPN)”, click "Turn On IPN", click the "Edit settings" and enter a URL that references your IPN file in your Moodle installation (for example: http://<domain name>/moodle/enrol/paypal/ipn.php)
# Set the Encoding to UFT-8. In Paypal, go to "Profile > Language Encoding" (under the Selling Preferences column) and set your website's language (like select "Western European Languages (including English)" as it is the only English version). Then click on the "More Options" button and set the Encoding to "UTF-8", select "Yes" to use the same encoding for data sent from Paypay to you, and save.

==What the user sees==
*If you have allowed users to create their own accounts then when they click to login, they will be presented with a screen'' Is this your first time here?'' It will give them instructions for making an account (which may be customised in the authentication common settings in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Authentication > Manage authentication'') and once their account is confirmed via email they can click on a course which can be purchased and pay for it via Paypal. PayPal courses will have a dollar sign icon next to them:

[[File:Paypalicon.png]]

*Once payment is made both the user/student and the teacher/admin should have received emails from Paypal confirming the purchase.

==Changing the dollar symbol==
The default currency symbol for Paypal is a dollar sign. If you are using GBP or Euros or another currency, you can change this by creating your own customised icon with your choice of currency. Make it 16x 16 pixels and call it ''icon.gif'' Upload your new icon via FTP to your ''moodle directory>enrol>paypal>pix''. Your icon.gif will override the dollar sign. Make sure you refresh your page to be sure of the changes.

[[File:PaypalGBP.png]]

==Paypal capabilities==

*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:config|Configure PayPal enrol instances]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:manage|Manage enrolled users]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:unenrol|Unenrol users from course]]
*[[Capabilities/enrol/paypal:unenrolself|Unenrol self from the course]]

[[fr:Inscription par Paypal]]

Permissions

2012-02-25T16:14:43Z

Rcollman: Needs more work,

{{Roles}}
Moodle allows specific roles to be able to change other specific role capabilities based on the context. For example, a teacher in a course may want all students (users with a student role) to be able to edit all forums in that course. Or a teacher may want all students in a specific forum to be able to edit that forum.

:If you want to give a specific student the ability to edit a specific activity, see [[Override permissions]].

==Course and activity permissions==
Role permissions for a course can be changed in ''Settings > Course administration > Users > Permissions'' and for a particular activity in ''Settings > Activity administration > Permissions''.

Click the Allow icon (+) opposite a capability to give permission to additional roles or the Prevent icon (X) to take away permission.

[[File:Permissions.png]]

==Block permissions==

Block permissions can be changed by:

# Turn editing on in the course
# Click the assign roles icon (a face and mask) in the header of the block
# Scroll down to the settings block and click the Permissions link

[[File:Blockassign.png]]

==Checking permissions==

The check permissions feature provides a method to view all capabilities for a selected user based on their role assignments. These capabilities determine whether or not the selected user is allowed to perform associated tasks within the system or course.

A teacher can check permissions for their course in ''Settings > Course administration > Users > Permissions > Check permissions'' and for a particular activity in ''Settings > Activity administration > Check permissions''.

An administrator can check system permissions in ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Check system permissions''

[[Image:Check permissions.png]]

==Capability overview report==

An administrator can generate a capability overview report in ''Site Administration > Users > Permissions > Capability report''.

The report allows the administrator to select a capability and one or more roles. The report will show the role and its permission level for that capability. And if that capability was overridden for the role where in the site. For example, it might show that the gradereport:user view capability for a student role is set at the system level as "Allow" and for Course 1 it is set to "Prohibit".

==See also==

* [[Risks]]
* [[:Category:Capabilities|List of all capabilities]]

[[eu:Sistemako_baimenak_aztertu]]
[[fr:Vérifier les permissions]]

Dyskusja:Managing roles

2012-02-25T15:44:08Z

Rcollman: reasons for edits

==Edit comments Feb 2012==
This page in my opinion is for site administrators managing roles. It tended to talk about users, when it actually meant a role. Users only have certain capabilities-abilities based on their contextual role. I added some examples.

I will check to see where the documentation has user overides

I deleted the reset role to defaults because I could not see that on the "Define roles" menu tabs. It maybe elsewhere but I looked in site administration Permissions and did not see it. --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 23:44, 25 February 2012 (WST)

Managing roles

2012-02-25T15:22:54Z

Rcollman: /* Reset role to defaults */ delete this section, see page notes

{{Roles}}
Managing overall role capabilities can be done by an administrator using ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''. This is the place to add custom roles or modify existing roles. The "Manage roles" tab, allows the system administrator to edit any one of over 350 different capabilities associated with any role. The "Allow role assignments", "Allow role overrides" and "Allow roll switches" contain a matrix which give the ability for a specific role to work with other specific roles.

==Manage roles==

The 'Manage roles' tab contains a list of roles on your site. The edit column contains icons for editing, deleting roles and copying roles, and for moving them up or down in the list (affecting the way that roles are listed around Moodle).

[[Image:Manageroles2.png]]

To edit a role:
#Go to ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''.
#Click the edit icon opposite the role you want to edit. For example "student".
#On the editing role page, change permissions as required for each capability.
#Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Save changes" button.

See [[Creating custom roles]] for information about adding a new role.

==Allow role assignments==

The "Allow role assignments" tab allows (or does not allow) a specific role to be able to assign specific roles to a user.

[[File:Allowroleassignments.png]]

===Enabling teachers to assign other teachers===
By default, teachers can only assign other users the roles of non-editing teachers, students and guests. If you want teachers to be able to assign other teachers in their course, you can allow the role assignment:

#Click on ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''.
#Click the Allow role assignments tab.
#Click the checkbox where the teacher row and column intersect.
#Click the "Save changes" button.

==Allow role overrides==
The "Allow role overrides" tab allows (or does not allow) a specific role to be able to override specific roles for a user. For example, it might allow a teacher role to override a student's role to a non-editing teacher's role.

:Note that the settings only apply to roles that have the capabilities [[Capabilities/moodle/role:override|moodle/role:override]] or [[Capabilities/moodle/role:safeoverride|moodle/role:safeoverride]] allowed.

==Allow role switches==
The "Allow role switches" tab allows (or does not allow) a specific role to be able to temporaly change their role to another specific role. For example, this might allow a users assigned to a custom role in a course to see "Student" in the Settings > Switch role list.

:Note: the selected role must also have the moodle/role:switchroles capability to be able to switch.

[[es:Gestionar_roles]]
[[eu:Rolak_kudeatu]]
[[fr:Définir les rôles]]
[[ja:ロールの管理]]
[[de:Rollen verwalten]]

Managing roles

2012-02-25T15:22:21Z

Rcollman: Edited entire page, see page comments

{{Roles}}
Managing overall role capabilities can be done by an administrator using ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''. This is the place to add custom roles or modify existing roles. The "Manage roles" tab, allows the system administrator to edit any one of over 350 different capabilities associated with any role. The "Allow role assignments", "Allow role overrides" and "Allow roll switches" contain a matrix which give the ability for a specific role to work with other specific roles.

==Manage roles==

The 'Manage roles' tab contains a list of roles on your site. The edit column contains icons for editing, deleting roles and copying roles, and for moving them up or down in the list (affecting the way that roles are listed around Moodle).

[[Image:Manageroles2.png]]

To edit a role:
#Go to ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''.
#Click the edit icon opposite the role you want to edit. For example "student".
#On the editing role page, change permissions as required for each capability.
#Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Save changes" button.

See [[Creating custom roles]] for information about adding a new role.

==Allow role assignments==

The "Allow role assignments" tab allows (or does not allow) a specific role to be able to assign specific roles to a user.

[[File:Allowroleassignments.png]]

===Enabling teachers to assign other teachers===
By default, teachers can only assign other users the roles of non-editing teachers, students and guests. If you want teachers to be able to assign other teachers in their course, you can allow the role assignment:

#Click on ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''.
#Click the Allow role assignments tab.
#Click the checkbox where the teacher row and column intersect.
#Click the "Save changes" button.

==Allow role overrides==
The "Allow role overrides" tab allows (or does not allow) a specific role to be able to override specific roles for a user. For example, it might allow a teacher role to override a student's role to a non-editing teacher's role.

:Note that the settings only apply to roles that have the capabilities [[Capabilities/moodle/role:override|moodle/role:override]] or [[Capabilities/moodle/role:safeoverride|moodle/role:safeoverride]] allowed.

==Allow role switches==
The "Allow role switches" tab allows (or does not allow) a specific role to be able to temporaly change their role to another specific role. For example, this might allow a users assigned to a custom role in a course to see "Student" in the Settings > Switch role list.

:Note: the selected role must also have the moodle/role:switchroles capability to be able to switch.

== Reset role to defaults==

Note: This also resets all overrides for that role.

[[es:Gestionar_roles]]
[[eu:Rolak_kudeatu]]
[[fr:Définir les rôles]]
[[ja:ロールの管理]]
[[de:Rollen verwalten]]

Managing roles

2012-02-25T14:59:13Z

Rcollman: Add more in the introduction I think this page should be called Define roles but....

{{Roles}}
An administrator can manage roles in ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''. This is the place to add custom roles or modify existing roles. The "Manage roles" tab, allows the system administrator to edit any one of over 350 different capabilities associated with any role. The "Allow role assignments", "Allow role overrides" and "Allow roll switches" contain a matrix which give the ability for a specific role to work with other specific roles.

==Manage roles==

The 'Manage roles' tab contains a list of roles on your site. The edit column contains icons for editing, deleting roles and copying roles, and for moving them up or down in the list (affecting the way that roles are listed around Moodle).

[[Image:Manageroles2.png]]

To edit a role:
#Go to ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''.
#Click the edit icon opposite the role you want to edit e.g. student.
#On the edit role page, change permissions as required for each capability.
#Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Save changes" button.

See [[Creating custom roles]] for information about adding a new role.

==Allow role assignments==

The 'Allow role assignments' tab is for setting which roles each role can assign other users to.

[[File:Allowroleassignments.png]]

===Enabling teachers to assign other teachers===
By default, teachers can only assign other users the roles of non-editing teachers, students and guests. If you want teachers to be able to assign other teachers in their course, you can allow the role assignment:

#Click on ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''.
#Click the Allow role assignments tab.
#Click the checkbox where the teacher row and column intersect.
#Click the "Save changes" button.

==Allow role overrides==

The 'Allow role overrides' tab is for setting which roles can be overridden by each role. Note that the settings only apply to users who have the capabilities [[Capabilities/moodle/role:override|moodle/role:override]] or [[Capabilities/moodle/role:safeoverride|moodle/role:safeoverride]] allowed.

==Allow role switches==

The 'Allow role switches' tab is for setting which roles a user may switch to, based on which roles they already have. In addition to an entry in this table, a user must also have the moodle/role:switchroles capability to be able to switch.

== Reset role to defaults==

Note: This also resets all overrides for that role.

[[es:Gestionar_roles]]
[[eu:Rolak_kudeatu]]
[[fr:Définir les rôles]]
[[ja:ロールの管理]]
[[de:Rollen verwalten]]

Roles FAQ

2012-02-25T14:35:29Z

Rcollman: Add new FAQ

{{Roles}}
{{Update}}
==What is the definition of a...==

;Capability
:A configurable aspect of program behavior. Moodle has 100s of capabilities. Each capability has a computer friendly name like [[Capabilities/mod/forum:rate|mod/forum:rate]] and a human-friendly name like "Rate posts."
;Permission
:Permissions are paired with each capability. There are four possible permission values: ''Allow'', ''Prevent'', ''Prohibit'' and ''Not set''/''Inherit''. (It is called not-set when defining roles and inherit when overriding permissions.)
;Role
:A named set of permissions that are associated with each capability. For example. the "Teacher" and "Student" roles come with the standard Moodle install.
;Context
:A functional area of Moodle. Contexts have a hierarchy. Examples of contexts include a course, activity module, or resource.

==Why isn't my role change taking effect?==

Manual role assignments and overrides take effect immediately. However automatic role assignments that result from changes to certain user policies (for example, Default front page role) may be delayed until the next login.

Also, please check the context in which the role is assigned. Certain capabilities e.g. [[Capabilities/moodle/user:update|moodle/user:update]] may only be applied in the System context, so giving such permissions in the course context will have no effect.

==My custom role will allow them to enroll others in a course, but only a "none" role==
Go to Site administration> User > Permissions > Define roles. Look at each of the "Allow" tabs and check the appropriate boxes.

==Why do I not have my Course creator role when I also have a student role in my course?==
When you are assigned a role in a context,like a course, that role's permissions for every capability will take over in that context. You were probably given the course creator role in the system or category context, but then in the lower context of a course, you were enrolled as a student.

If you need to be a student a best practice is to create a phantom or test user, then enrol that user in the course as a student. Teachers and others who know the user name and password, can see the course from the student perspective.

On a deeper level, consider the "Master Teacher" who is made a teacher on the system level. If they are given a student role in a specific course, they "lose" many of their abilities to do things as a teacher in that course. However, it can get complicated when a student capability has a "Not set" permission and the teacher role has an "Allow" permission. Here the "student" maybe able to do things other students can not do. Thus the reason for the best practice mentioned above.

==Why are there differences in the users listed as course participants and users assigned roles in a course?==

Users assigned roles in a higher context, for example users assigned the role of teacher in a course category context, may appear as course participants.

==When defining roles, what is the difference between Prevent and Not set?==

Short answer: "Not set" means whatever permission was in effect when the user entered the context is still in effect. "Prevent" do not allow this capability in this context.

Best practice: when defining roles, you almost always want to use Allow or Not set.

==Can you give me some examples about permissions?==
When you logged into the site you were given the system role of Authenticated User. You are also enrolled in a course and given the student role. Let's look at a single capability called X (the capability could be to create a blog) to see how permissions work.

In the example below we are just talking about the permissions for a single capability in the course role of a Student and the system role of Authenticated user for 1 user.

* If Student permission is '''Not set''', and Authenticated user permission is '''Not set''', then you are not allowed to do X.
* If Student is '''Not set''', and Authenticated user is '''Allow''', then you are allowed to do X.
* If Student is '''Prevent''' , and Authenticated user is '''Allow''', then you are not allowed to do X.
* If Student is '''Allow''', and Authenticated user is '''Prevent''', then you are allowed to do X.
* If Student is '''Prohibit''', and Authenticated user i '''Allow''', then you are not allowed to do X.
* If Student is '''Allow''', and Authenticated user is '''Prohibit''', then you are not allowed to do X.

==How can I prevent a user from changing their own password?==

To prevent a user from changing their own password, you must make sure they do not have [[Capabilities/moodle/user:changeownpassword|moodle/user:changeownpassword]] = Allow in the System context. The Authenticated user role (which is assigned to users in the System context) has moodle/user:changeownpassword = Allow by default, so you have two choices:
# Edit Authenticated user, setting moodle/user:changeownpassword = Not set
# Create a new role CannotChangeOwnPassword with moodle/user:changeownpassword = Prevent and all other permissions Not set and assign the role to selected users in the System context (Site administration -> Users -> Permissions -> Assign system roles).

Choice (1) will prevent ''all'' users from changing their passwords (except for the administrator, who can do anything). To selectively allow selected users (say teachers) to change their passwords, you could create a new role CanChangeOwnPassword with moodle/user:changeownpassword = Allow and all other permissions not set and assign the role to selected users in the System context (Site administration -> Users -> Permissions -> Assign system roles).

Choice (2) allows you to be selective, but if you have a lot of users that you want to prevent (say, all students), you will have to make a lot of role assignments in the System context. There is currently no convenient way to do this, so you might consider choice (1).

Note that you MUST deal with this permission in the System context.

==How can I prevent a user from editing their own profile?==

See [[Roles_FAQ#How can I prevent a user from changing their own password? | How can I prevent a user from changing their own password?]] The answer to this question is the same if you substitute ''edit their own profile'' for ''change their own password'' and ''[[Capabilities/moodle/user:editownprofile|moodle/user:editownprofile]]'' for ''moodle/user:changeownpassword.''

==Do roles have an inheritance relationship?==

No. Roles are completely independent.

* When you create a new role by copying an existing role, it is just like copying a file: the original and the copy are identical at the outset, but the copy has no ongoing relationship with the original. Changes to the original do not affect the copy and ''vice versa''.
* When you create a new role and select a value such as LEGACY:Student from the Legacy role type dropdown, you are not "inheriting" from the Student role. You are simply indicating that you want your role to have the same defaults as Student.
* Course creator does not "inherit" from Teacher (a common misconception). As with all roles, the two roles are completely independent. Course creator is actually a very simple role that can basically only create courses and not much else. However a user who creates a course can be automatically assigned the role of Teacher in the newly-created course (the default in site settings). This is how a course creator gets her teaching abilities within a course.
* Since roles are independent of each other, ordering roles at Site Administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles does not have any impact on capabilities or permissions. The only effect of ordering roles is how they are displayed in each context.
* When a Moodle site is upgraded with new capabilities, the "ARCHTYPE" role determines the initial permissions for those new capabilities.

==How do I change the name for "teacher" in the course description?==

Either
* Edit the role of Teacher via ''Administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles'' and rename it. The new name will apply site-wide.
Or
* Create a duplicate teacher role with an alternative name and assign users the duplicate teacher role as appropriate in the course context. In ''Administration > Appearance > Course contact'' select the alternative name for teacher that you wish to be displayed in the course description when courses are listed. For example, copy the standard teacher role and call it Instructor and only show that role as the course contact.
Or
* Create a new "dummy" role (no capabilities) with those names and assign them to teachers along with the real roles. select the alternative name for teacher that you wish to be displayed in the course description when courses are listed. For example, copy the guest role, call it Lead Teacher and make this the course contact. You may have 5 teachers in the course but only one name will appear as Lead Teacher. If nobody is assigned the role Lead Teacher, no course contact will show.
Or
*Names for different roles in a course may be changed in the [[Course settings|Course administration > edit settings]] "Role renaming" fields. For example, some courses the teacher wants the title "Professor", or "Chief" or "Mentor".
Or
*[[Language customization|Edit the language files]] and change any word you want.

==How do I enable teachers to set role overrides?==

#Access ''Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles''.
#Edit the teacher role and change the capability [[Capabilities/moodle/role:safeoverride|moodle/role:safeoverride]] to allow.
#Click the button "Save changes".
#Click the tab "Allow role overrides" (in ''Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles'').
#Check the appropriate box(s) in the teacher row to set which role(s) teachers can override. Most likely it will just be the student role (you don't want teachers to be able to override admins!), so check the box where the teacher row intersects with the student column.
#Click the button "Save changes".

==How do I enable teachers to assign other teachers in a course?==

This is disabled by default but it can be switched on by modifying the teacher's role. In ''Siite administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles'' select the "Allow role assignments" tab and tick the checkbox where Teacher and Teacher intersect.

==Why doesn't "Switch role to.." within a course seem to work properly?==

This feature is intended for teachers so that they can see how their course appears for students. It isn't a reliable view however, as some features do not display correctly when viewed by a teacher who has switched their role to a student. For that reason it is always preferable where possible to have a "test" student log in to use.

==Are there any example roles?==

Yes, as follows:

*[[Parent role|Parent]] - for providing parents/mentors/tutors with permission to view certain information about their children/mentees/tutees
*[[Demo teacher role|Demo teacher]] - for providing a demonstration teacher account with a password which can't be changed
*[[Forum moderator role|Forum moderator]] - for providing a user with permission in a particular forum to edit or delete forum posts, split discussions and move discussions to other forums
*[[Calendar editor role|Calendar editor]] - for providing a user with permission to add site events to the calendar
*[[Blogger role|Blogger]] - for limiting blogging to specific users only
*[[Quiz user with unlimited time role|Quiz user with unlimited time]] - for allowing a user unlimited time to attempt a quiz which has a time limit set
*[[Question creator role|Question creator]] - for enabling students to create questions for use in quizzes
*[[Course requester role]] - for restricting users who can make course requests

==Logged-in users can't read the site news. What can I do?==

See [[News forum]] for details.

==How do I enable logged-in users to participate in front page activities?==

Either:
#Access ''Site administration > Front Page > Users > Permissions> Assign roles''
#Select the role you wish to add individual users to
#Select all or some of the users in the potential users list
#Use the left-facing arrow button to add them to the existing users list

Or:
#Access ''Site Administration > Front Page > Front Page settings''
#Set the default front page role to student.

:Note: Setting the default front page role to student is not sufficient to enable logged-in users to participate in a Front Page "Choice activity". A permissions override should be used instead.

==How do I copy a custom role from one Moodle site to another==

There is no import and export facility for roles, but it can be achieved nearly as easily using backup and restore.

# Create an empty course with all the default settings
# Assign anybody to your custom role (or roles) within the course
# Backup the course (all defaults are fine)
# Download the backup file
# Upload the backup file to the site files of the target Moodle
# Restore the course (all defaults are fine)
# Delete the course.

You will find that the custom roles have been recreated in the target site.

Note: It seems this functionality is no longer working in Moodle 2.0. See MDL-30127 for details.

==What is the difference between the capabilities moodle/role:override and moodle/role:safeoverride?==

The capability [[Capabilities/moodle/role:safeoverride|moodle/role:safeoverride]] was added to Moodle as a way of enabling teachers to [[Override permissions|override permissions]] safely. The capability moodle/role:override allows a user to override all permissions, whereas moodle/role:safeoverride only allows a user to override capabilities that do not have major risks attached to them.

==How can I prevent students from editing their profile?==

If you only want students to be prevented from editing their profile, and not all users, you can create a new role, such as Restricted user as described in the [[Demo teacher role]], with moodle/user:editownprofile set to prevent, and assign it to all students in the system context.

Alternatively, you could change moodle/user:editownprofile to not set for the [[Authenticated user role]], then create a new role for teachers with moodle/user:editownprofile set to allow.

==Why can't I add teachers or students site wide in Moodle?==

You can but it is not a best practice. 'Settings > Site administration > Users> Permissions> Assign system roles'' .
*Teachers and students typically work in one or more individual courses. It is unusual for a student to be studying every single course on your Moodle and unusual for a teacher to be teaching every single course. Therefore, the default Moodle does use these as system wide roles. The Manager role might be one that makes sense to assign on a system or category context.
*Alternatively, you could create a new role based on the teacher or student and assign this in the System context. Then assign individuals to that role.

==How can I make a role available as a front page role?==

# Go to ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles'' and edit the role
# For 'Context types where this role may be assigned' tick the Course checkbox
# Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the 'Save changes' button

== See also ==

* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=6826 Roles and Capabilities forum]

[[Category:FAQ]]

[[de:Rollen FAQ]]
[[es:FAQ_roles]]
[[fr:FAQ des rôles]]
[[ja:ロールFAQ]]
[[ru:FAQ по ролям]]

GIFT format

2012-02-01T00:20:35Z

Rcollman: /* Word processor and spreadsheet tools that create GIFTs */ not broken link

{{Export questions}}
'''GIFT format''' allows someone to use a text editor to write multiple-choice, true-false, short answer, matching missing word and numerical questions in a simple format that can be imported. The GIFT format is also an export file format available in Question bank. The format has been developed within the Moodle Community but other software may support it to a greater or lesser degree.

*When creating a large numbers of questions, GIFT can provide a quick way of bulk loading questions either into a [[Question bank|question category]], or into a [[Adding_a_question_page#Importing_questions|Lesson]].
*Sometimes it is easier proofing questions in a question category by viewing them in a GIFT file.

== General instructions ==
At least one blank line must be left between each question.

In the simple form, the question comes first, then the answers are set in between brackets, with an equal sign (=) indicating the correct answer(s) and tilde (~) the wrong answers. A hash (#) will insert a response. Questions can be weighted by placing percentage signs (%..%) around the weight. Comments are preceded by double slashes (//) and are not imported.

Here are some useful [http://moodle.org/pluginfile.php/134/mod_forum/attachment/236161/GIFT-examples.zip GIFT examples] than can be imported or used as rough template. Many of the examples below used the questions in the file as a starting point.

=== UTF-8 encoding ===
Any GIFT file '''must''' be correctly encoded in [[UTF8]]. You can use Microsoft's text editor Notepad which comes with Windows to save your file in UTF-8.

'''Note''': ANSI format will (only) work for languages without any special characters (like ä, ö, ü, æ, å, ø, œ or ß). And don't use "Unicode" as format as this is actually UTF-16 and won't work. See [[Converting files to UTF-8]] for further information.

===Format symbols===

Here are some common GIFT symbols and their use.

{|
! Symbols !! Use
|-
| // text || Comment until end of line (optional)
|-
| ::title:: || Question title (optional)
|-
| text || Question text (becomes title if no title specified)
|-
| [...format...] || The format of the following bit of text. Options are [html], [moodle], [plain] and [markdown]. The default is [moodle] for the question text, other parts of the question default to the format used for the question text.
|-
| { || Start answer(s) -- without any answers, text is a description of following questions
|-
| {T} or {F} || True or False answer; also {TRUE} and {FALSE}
|-
| { ... =right ... } || Correct answer for multiple choice, (multiple answer? -- see page comments) or fill-in-the-blank
|-
| { ... ~wrong ... } || Incorrect answer for multiple choice or multiple answer
|-
| { ... =item -> match ... } || Answer for matching questions
|-
| #feedback text || Answer feedback for preceding multiple, fill-in-the-blank, or numeric answers
|-
| {# || Start numeric answer(s)
|-
| answer:tolerance || Numeric answer accepted within ± tolerance range
|-
| low..high || Lower and upper range values of accepted numeric answer
|-
| =%n%answer:tolerance || n percent credit for one of multiple numeric ranges within tolerance from answer
|-
| } || End answer(s)
|-
| \character || Backslash escapes the special meaning of ~, =, #, {, }, and :
|-
| \n || Places a newline in question text -- blank lines delimit questions
|}

Here are some quick examples:

// true/false
::Q1:: 1+1=2 {T}

// multiple choice with specified feedback for right and wrong answers
::Q2:: What's between orange and green in the spectrum?
{ =yellow # right; good! ~red # wrong, it's yellow ~blue # wrong, it's yellow }

// fill-in-the-blank
::Q3:: Two plus {=two =2} equals four.

// matching
::Q4:: Which animal eats which food? { =cat -> cat food =dog -> dog food }

// math range question
::Q5:: What is a number from 1 to 5? {#3:2}

// math range specified with interval end points
::Q6:: What is a number from 1 to 5? {#1..5}
// translated on import to the same as Q5, but unavailable from Moodle question interface

// multiple numeric answers with partial credit and feedback
::Q7:: When was Ulysses S. Grant born? {#
=1822:0 # Correct! Full credit.
=%50%1822:2 # He was born in 1822. Half credit for being close.
}

// essay
::Q8:: How are you? {}

===Format symbols explained===
The multiple choice format below as a comment line // for the question, when Moodle exports it the question unique id number will appear here.

The first set of :: precedes the question title.

The second :: precedes the actual question. The first { indicates the start of the answers. The correct answer is preceded by an = sign and wrong answers by a ~. Teacher responses have a # in front of them. The question ends with a } and then a blank line. NOTE it is { } not ( ) parenthesis! Usually these are obtained with help of the [AltGr] key.

//Comment line
::Question title
:: Question {
=A correct answer
~Wrong answer1
#A response to wrong answer1
~Wrong answer2
#A response to wrong answer2
~Wrong answer3
#A response to wrong answer3
~Wrong answer4
#A response to wrong answer4
}

The shortest format for a multiple choice question is:
Question{= A Correct Answer ~Wrong answer1 ~Wrong answer2 ~Wrong answer3 ~Wrong answer4 }

:''Tip:'' If you don't specify a question title the WHOLE question will be used as the title at the time of import into Moodle. There are pros and cons to allowing this to happen.
** Cons: This can add a lot of unnecessary words. This can include characters which might confuse the export GIFT process.
** Pros: On the other hand. if the start of each question is different, it can make finding a single question easier in a category list of questions. It will save you typing. Having the same title for every question is a very bad idea.

==Question format examples==
There are several ways to use a text editor to write a GIFT format. We will try to show the simple version for example and in some formats we will introduce some more complex features that can be imported into many Moodle Question formats.

===Multiple choice===
For multiple choice questions, wrong answers are prefixed with a tilde (~) and the correct answer is prefixed with an equal sign (=).

Here is a simple acceptable GIFT multiple choice format:
Who's buried in Grant's tomb?{=Grant ~no one ~Napoleon ~Churchill ~Mother Teresa }

Here is a longer format that uses most of the GIFT elements:

// question: 1 name: Grants tomb
::Grants tomb::Who is buried in Grant's tomb in New York City? {
=Grant
~No one
#Was true for 12 years, but Grant's remains were buried in the tomb in 1897
~Napoleon
#He was buried in France
~Churchill
#He was buried in England
~Mother Teresa
#She was buried in India
}

===Multiple choice with multiple right answers===

That is, using checkboxes, not radio buttons:

What two people are entombed in Grant's tomb? {
~%-100%No one
~%50%Grant
~%50%Grant's wife
~%-100%Grant's father
}

===True-false===

In this question-type the answer indicates whether the statement is true or false. The answer should be written as {TRUE} or {FALSE}, or abbreviated to {T} or {F}.

// question: 0 name: TrueStatement using {T} style
::TrueStatement about Grant::Grant was buried in a tomb in New York City.{T}

// question: 0 name: FalseStatement using {FALSE} style
::FalseStatement about sun::The sun rises in the West.{FALSE}

===Short answer===

Answers in Short Answer question-type are all prefixed by an equal sign (=), indicating that they are all correct answers. The answers must not contain a tilde.

Here are two examples using the simple method showing possible right answers for credit.
Who's buried in Grant's tomb?{=Grant =Ulysses S. Grant =Ulysses Grant}

Two plus two equals {=four =4}

If there is only one correct Short Answer, it may be written without the equal sign prefix, as long as it cannot be confused as True-False.

===Matching===
Matching pairs begin with an equal sign (=) and are separated by this symbol "->". There must be at least three matching pairs.

Match the following countries with their corresponding capitals. {
=Canada -> Ottawa
=Italy -> Rome
=Japan -> Tokyo
=India -> New Delhi
}

Matching questions do not support feedback or percentage answer weights.

===Missing word===
The Missing Word format automatically inserts a fill-in-the-blank line (like this _____) in the middle of the sentence. To use the Missing Word format, place the answers where you want the line to appear in the sentence.
Moodle costd{~lots of money =nothing ~a small amount} to download from moodle.org.

If the answers come before the closing punctuation mark, a fill-in-the-blank line will be inserted for the "missing word" format. All question types can be written in the Missing Word format.

There must be a blank line (double carriage return) separating questions. For clarity, the answers can be written on separate lines and even indented. Some examples:

Mahatma Gandhi birthday is an Indian holiday on {
~15th
~3rd
=2nd
} of October.

Since {
~495 AD
=1066 AD
~1215 AD
~ 43 AD
}
the town of Hastings England has been "famous with visitors".

===Numerical questions===

The answer section for Numerical questions must start with a number sign (#). Numerical answers can include an error margin, which is written following the correct answer, separated by a colon. So for example, if the correct answer is anything between 1.5 and 2.5, then it would be written as follows {#2:0.5}. This indicates that 2 with an error margin of 0.5 is correct (i.e., the span from 1.5 to 2.5). If no error margin is specified, it will be assumed to be zero.

Here is a simple numerical format question. It will accept a range of 5 years.
When was Ulysses S. Grant born?{#1822:5}
It is a good idea to check the margins of the range, 3.141 is not counted as correct and 3.142 is considered in the range.
What is the value of pi (to 3 decimal places)? {#3.14159:0.0005}.

Optionally, numerical answers can be written as a span in the following format {#MinimumValue..MaximumValue}.

What is the value of pi (to 3 decimal places)? {#3.141..3.142}.

Moodle's browser interface does not support multiple numerical answers, but Moodle's code can and so does GIFT. This can be used to specify numerical multiple spans, and can be particularly usefully when combined with percentage weight grades. If multiple answers are used, they must be separated by an equal sign, like short answer questions.

When was Ulysses S. Grant born? {#
=1822:0
=%50%1822:2
}

Note that since Moodle's browser GUI didn't support multiple answers for Numerical questions, there's no way in older Moodle versions to see them or edit them through Moodle. The only way to change a numerical answer beyond the first, is to delete the question and re-import it (or use something like phpMyAdmin). But better would be to upgrade your Moodle to at least 1.9.

===Essay===
An essay question is simply a question with an empty answer field. Nothing is permitted between the curly braces at all.

Write a short biography of Dag Hammarskjöld. {}

===Description===
A description "question" has no answer part at all

You can use your pencil and paper for these next math questions.

==Options==

In addition to these basic question types, this filter offers the following options: line comments, question name, feedback and percentage answer weight.

===Line Comments===
Comments that will not be imported into Moodle can be included in the text file. This can be used to provide headers or more information about questions. All lines that start with a double backslash (not counting tabs or spaces) will be ignored by the filter.

// Subheading: Numerical questions below
What's 2 plus 2? {#4}

Comments will be exported from Moodle and will include the unique question id. The above question after it was imported and then exported from Moodle:
// question: 914 name: What's 2 plus 2?
::What's 2 plus 2?::What's 2 plus 2?{#
=4:0#
}

===Question Name===
A question name can be specified by placing it first and enclosing it within double colons (::...::).

::Kanji Origins::Japanese characters originally
came from what country? {=China}

::Thanksgiving Date::The American holiday of Thanksgiving is
celebrated on the {~second ~third =fourth} Thursday of November.

If no question name is specified, the entire question will be used as the name by default.

===Feedback===
Feedback can be included for each answer by following the answer with a number sign (# also known as a hash mark) and the feedback.

What's the answer to this multiple-choice question? {
~wrong answer#feedback comment on the wrong answer
~another wrong answer#feedback comment on this wrong answer
=right answer#Very good!
}

//From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Deep Thought said " {
=forty two#Correct according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
=42#Correct, as told to Loonquawl and Phouchg
=forty-two#Correct!
} is the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything."

42 is the Absolute Answer to everything.{
FALSE#42is the Ultimate Answer.#You gave the right answer.}

For Multiple Choice questions, feedback is displayed only for the answer the student selected. For short answer, feedback is shown only when students input the corresponding correct answer. For true-false questions, there can be one or two feedback strings. The first is shown if the student gives the wrong answer. The second if the student gives the right answer.

===Percentage Answer Weights===
Percentage answer weights are available for both Multiple Choice and Short Answer questions. Percentage answer weights can be included by following the tilde (for Multiple Choice) or equal sign (for Short Answer) with the desired percent enclosed within percent signs (e.g., %50%). This option can be combined with feedback comments.

Difficult question.{~wrong answer ~%50%half credit answer =full credit answer}

::Jesus' hometown::Jesus Christ was from {
~Jerusalem#This was an important city, but the wrong answer.
~%25%Bethlehem#He was born here, but not raised here.
~%50%Galilee#You need to be more specific.
=Nazareth#Yes! That's right!
}.

::Jesus' hometown:: Jesus Christ was from {
=Nazareth#Yes! That's right!
=%75%Nazereth#Right, but misspelled.
=%25%Bethlehem#He was born here, but not raised here.
}

Note that the last two examples are essentially the same question, first as multiple choice and then as short answer.

Note that it is possible to specify percentage answer weights that are NOT available through the browser interface. The Match Grades drop-down on the import page determines how these are handled. You can either request that an error be reported or that the answer weight be adjusted to the nearest valid answer weight.

Specify text-formatting for the question
The question text (only) may have an optional text format specified. Currently the available formats are moodle (Moodle Auto-Format), html (HTML format), plain (Plain text format) and markdown (Markdown format). The format is specified in square brackets immediately before the question text. See [[Formatting text]] for further information.

[markdown]The *American holiday of Thanksgiving* is celebrated on the {
~second
~third
=fourth
} Thursday of November.

===Multiple Answers===
The Multiple Answers option is used for multiple choice questions when two or more answers must be selected in order to obtain full credit. The multiple answers option is enabled by assigning partial answer weight to multiple answers, while allowing no single answer to receive full credit.

What two people are entombed in Grant's tomb? {
~No one
~%50%Grant
~%50%Grant's wife
~Grant's father
}

Note that there is no equal sign (=) in any answer and the answers should total no more than 100%, otherwise Moodle will return an error. To avoid the problem of students automatically getting 100% by simply checking all of the answers, it is best to include negative answer weights for wrong answers.

What two people are entombed in Grant's tomb? {
~%-50%No one
~%50%Grant
~%50%Grant's wife
~%-50%Grant's father
}

===Special Characters ~ = # { }===
These symbols ~ = # { } : control the operation of this filter and cannot be used as normal text within questions. Since these symbols have a special role in determining the operation of this filter, they are called "control characters." But sometimes you may want to use one of these characters, for example to show a mathematical formula in a question. The way to get around this problem is "escaping" the control characters. This means simply putting a backslash (\) before a control character so the filter will know that you want to use it as a literal character instead of as a control character. For example:

Which answer equals 5? {
~ \= 2 + 2
= \= 2 + 3
~ \= 2 + 4
}

::GIFT Control Characters::
Which of the following is NOT a control character for the GIFT import format? {
~ \~ # \~ is a control character.
~ \= # \= is a control character.
~ \# # \# is a control character.
~ \{ # \{ is a control character.
~ \} # \} is a control character.
= \ # Correct! \ (backslash) is not a control character. BUT,
it is used to escape the control characters.
}

When the question is processed, the backslash is removed and is not saved in Moodle.

===Specifying Categories===

It is possible to change the category into which the questions are added within the GIFT file. You can change the category as many times as you wish within the file. All questions after the modifier up to the next modifier or the end of the file will be added to the specified category. Up to the first category modifier the category specified on the import screen will be used. Note that for this to work the from file: box must be ticked on the import screen.

To include a category modifier include a line like this (with a blank line before and after):

$CATEGORY: tom/dick/harry

or simply

$CATEGORY: mycategory

...the first example specifies a path of nested categories. In this case the questions will go into harry. The categories are created if they do not exist.

===Making questions case sensitive===
Short Answer questions can be made case sensitive by changing "0" to "1" in the following line '''of your moodle/question/format/gift/format.php file''':
$question->usecase = 0; // Ignore case

==Hints and Tips==
* Use the ::title:: at the beginning of every question to organize your questions when Moodle presents a list or exports them as another GIFT file. When the title is left blank, Moodle will put the beginning of the question as the title. Some teachers want to see something like "001 LIT101 Poe ref Purloin Letter" or "The Purloin Letter was written by (AmLit pg 254)" in the title.

* You can specify markup if you need to format the question by setting [html], [moodle], [plain] or [markdown] just before the question text. See more about this in the reference pdf below.
* In the Lesson module, in a question page, correct answers jump by default to Next page and incorrect answers jump to This page (i.e. student has to "try again"). When importing from a GIFT format file, this is exactly the mechanism which is used.
* If you want a student to be taken directly from one question to the next irrespective of their answer being correct or incorrect: in the Lesson Settings, set Maximum number of attempts: to 1.
**Please note, however, that a message "correct / incorrect" will still be displayed to the student upon answering each question. If you do not want this (default) feedback message to be displayed then enter your own feedback message (i.e. "continue", "---", etc.)
**In case you want no visible message displayed then enter a non-breaking space as feedback. Moodle will not put it's automatic response because it sees the blank space. To do this, put a # after the answer and write [[Image:Nbsp.png]] (without spaces between these characters).
* Need to use a special GIFT character in your question or answer? Put a \ in front of the GIFT character.
**For example if you want to use curly braces, { or }, or equal sign, =, or # or ~ in a GIFT file (in a math question including TeX expressions) you must "escape" them by preceding them with a \ directly in front of each { or } or =. It is possible to use a replace program/macro/editor filter to do this conversion before importing to Moodle.
* Want to change T/F type questions to multiple choice? Consider exporting the T/F questions as a GIFT file, then using a text editor to replace the (T) with (=True ~False). Perhaps change the title slightly so you will recognize the new questions.
* Alphabetic case-sensitive comparison is disabled by default. If you need case-sensitive comparison for short answer questions (an unusual need), precede them with:
$question->usecase = 1;
surrounded by blank lines.

==Word processor and spreadsheet tools that create GIFTs==
Several contributors have used macros to generate GIFT files from a more familiar popular programs.
* There are Word macros available for easily creating GIFT files. See [http://www.moodleschool.co.nz/mod/resource/view.php?id=83 Broken link Moodle4Teachers] for downloads and instructions for use.
* There are several Excel spreadsheets for generating GIFT files. Several people have built upon other contributors work.
**The latest version was posted on 10 April 2007 and can be found in this thread with this file name: [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=66660 Excel2GIFTv1.1.zip by Timothy Takemoto]. There is also a set of instructions Excel2GIFTv1.1_Instructions.rtf by Jeff Shek on the same day in that thread.
** [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6612645502883459334# video tutorial] for using Excel2GIFTv2.xls
**An earlier version of this Excel spreadsheet for generating multiple choice GIFT files [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=45245 initially created by Olga Forlani and improved by A. T. Wyatt].
*There are Open Office templates for generating GIFT files in Writer. These are located in the Quiz forum in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=20705&parent=168385 OOo template to write exams and convert to GIFT format thread].
**The most recent for OO 2.x is "OOo2GIFT_Template_05.zip" posted 17 December 2005 by Enrique Castro.
**An earlier version is "GIFT_template_OOo.zip" posted 22 March 2005 by Enrique Castro.
*There is an easy to use on line multiple question generator at [http://a4esl.org/c/qw.html a4esl.org]. Here you write your question(s) without formating marks, select Moodle and press the generate quiz button. This creates GIFT formatted text that can be pasted into a file for importing into Moodle.
**The initial format requires fewer keystrokes (it uses line position and returns) than the GIFT format, so you should save time and be less likely to create invalid data.
** Quiz authoring template for Microsoft Word [http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=578 link]
** Moodle XML Converter [http://vletools.com]
** GIFT format parser library in Ruby [http://github.com/stuart/gift-parser]

==See also==

* Here is a 2-column PDF [http://buypct.com/gift_reference.pdf GIFT Reference Sheet]
*[[Import and export FAQ]]
*[[Aiken Format]]

==External links==
*[http://www.kingsley.k12.mi.us/documents/gift_format.pdf Formatting quizzes in GIFT format]
*[http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Google_Summer_of_Code_2010_Proposal:_GIFT_Conversion Google Summer of Code 2010 Proposal: GIFT Conversion] (Wikiversity)

[[de:GIFT]]
[[fr:Format GIFT]]
[[ja:GIFTフォーマット]]

Grades FAQ

2012-01-26T18:19:42Z

Rcollman: /* I just graded some of my students using the (Module name) interface, but the results aren't showing up in the grader report. What's going on? */

{{Grades}}
== General ==

===How can I change how grades are displayed?===

Grades may be displayed as as actual grades, as percentages (in reference to the minimum and maximum grades) or as letters.

The default grade display type for the site is set by an administrator in ''Administration > Grades > [[Grade item settings]]''. However, this may be changed at course level.

To change how grades are displayed for particular [[Grade items|grade items]], or category and course summaries (called aggregations):

# Follow the grades link in the course administration block.
# Select "Categories and items" from the gradebook dropdown menu.
# Click the edit icon for the grade item, category total or course total.
# From the Grade display type menu, select real (for actual grades), percentage or letter.
# Click the "Save changes" button at the bottom of the page.

Alternatively, to change how grades are displayed for the whole course:

# Follow the grades link in the course administration block.
# Select "Course settings" from the gradebook dropdown menu.
# From the Grade display type menu, select real (for actual grades), percentage or letter.
# Click the "Save changes" button.

===How can I hide entered grades until a specified date?===

To set a "Hidden until" date:

#Access the course gradebook via the grades link in the course administration block.
#Select "Categories and items" from the gradebook dropdown menu.
#Click on the edit icon opposite the activity for which a "Hidden until" date is to be set.
#On the edit grade item page, ensure that advanced settings are displayed. (Click the "Show advanced" button if not.)
#Enable the "Hidden until" setting by unchecking the disable checkbox, then set a date.
#Click the "Save changes" button.

=== Is it possible to show the teachers/administrators' grades in the grader report? ===
Yes, at the site level you can define which roles will appear in the grader report. This can be found in [[General_grade_settings#Graded_Roles|Administration > Grades > General settings]]. Also read [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=92612 this discussion] for some more ideas.

===Why can't I change a grade within an assignment after changing it in the gradebook?===

When you edit a grade directly in the gradebook, an "overridden" flag is set, meaning that the grade can no longer be changed from within the assignment.

However, the flag can be removed by turning editing on in the [[Grader report|grader report]], then clicking the [[Grade editing|edit grade]] icon, unchecking the overridden box and saving the changes.

===How do I get groups to show up in the grader report?===

For groups to show up in the grader report, group mode should be set to visible or separate groups in the [[Course settings|course settings]]. This will result in a groups dropdown menu being displayed, enabling a teacher to view the grades of all participants, or only the grades for a selected group.

===The quiz grades keep disappearing from the student view, even after I un-hide them!===

Check your quiz settings. Under the '''Review options''' heading, in the '''Later, while the quiz is still open''' and/or the '''After the quiz is closed''' columns, you probably have Scores un-checked. Each time a student completes a quiz, these settings are consulted and the scores will be hidden from ''all'' students. If your students don't all take the quiz at the same time, it can look like quiz scores reset themselves to 'hidden' randomly, even after you un-hide them.

===How can I make the gradebook simpler for teachers?===

See [[Simplifying the gradebook by changing permissions]].

== Reports ==
=== How do I create my own custom gradebook reports? ===
Here is a [[Development:Gradebook_Report_Tutorial|tutorial]] explaining all the main steps involved.
===How can I sort or change the order of column headings?===
Go to Grades link, then select one of the "Category & items" actions from the pulldown on the top left. Use the move icon to change the position of the graded item. And/or you could create categories for the items and move them into a category so they will be grouped that way first.

== Aggregation ==
=== I can't find where to change the aggregation type for my gradebook categories! ===
Each category has an aggregation type, which can be changed through that category's "edit" page. To access that page, you must use one of 2 ways:

1. In the grader report, turn "Editing" on, then click the little "hand" icon next to the category whose aggregation you want to change
2. In the "Edit categories and Items" page (accessible through the "choose an action" menu, top left), you see a tree view of the categories and items in your gradebook. The top category is the course category. Each category also has a "hand" icon, which leads to the category edit page

=== How can I grade some of my activities without the results affecting my students' course total? ===
#Create two [[Grade categories]], one for your "activities still being graded," and one for your "released" activities.
#Ensure that "Aggregate including subcategories" (an advanced option) is unchecked for your top level course grade category.
##Where is this? In gradebook (grader report), in the upper right corner, click the "Turn Editing On" button.
##Click the edit icon next to the "course category" (usually your course name, just above the quiz names and below all the clickable links that were revealed when you turned editing on)
##Then make sure you have the "Show Advanced" option turned on.
#Edit the "activities still being graded" category's "course total" item. (This is one of the categories you created above.)
##Where is this? Look for the edit icon under "category total" that is below this category's name
#Set the "grade type" to "none".
#Tick the "Hidden" checkbox.
#Save your changes.
#Move all your activities being graded in the "activities still being graded" category.
#Move all your activities already graded in the "released" category.

Note: I rewrote this a bit, to help people find where things are. However, this method didn't seem to work for me on Moodle 1.9.

=== My student completed only one activity out of 5, but his course total shows 100%. How do I show a more "progressive" course total? ===

==== Step-by-Step Explanation ====
# From the view menu in the gradeboook, select "Categories and items" [[image: https://docs.moodle.org/en/images_en/6/65/Gradebook_Tutorial_Categories_and_items_menu.gif]]
# At the top line there is a folder icon and an edit icon on the right, click the edit icon
# You'll then see the title "Grade category," the 3rd item is "Aggregate only non-empty grades."
# Uncheck this.
# Save.

==== Another Explanation ====
By default, only non-empty grades are aggregated, the others are ignored. However, you can change this setting as well as others that affect the course total, by turning "Editing" on in the grader report, and clicking the "Edit" icon next to the course category (the very top row of the grader report).

You can untick the box "Aggregate only non-empty grades" if you want to show a more "progressive" score for each student. Their empty grades will count as a 0 and will be counted in the course mean/total.

If you prefer to show a sum of points, rather than a percentage, you can change the course category's aggregation method to "Sum of grades".

=== How can I display the average grade for my course categories (not grade categories)? ===
In Moodle 1.9 there is no way to aggregate course totals within each category. The gradebook is course-centered, and there is currently no User Interface for showing grades within an entire course category at once.

=== How can I setup weighted assignments? ===
See [[Using "Weighted Mean of Grades" to weight categories containing assignments]].

== Categories ==
=== How many depths of categories/subcategories can I create? ===
There is no programmatic limit, but there are practical limits. Very deeply nested structures are difficult to manage. 3 levels of categories should be sufficient for most situations. Note that there is always at least one level of categories, since the Course category always encompasses all other categories and grade items, can cannot be deleted.

=== I can't find setting X in the grade category edit page! Where is it? ===
If a setting documented on the [[Grade categories]] page does not appear on your edit page, it may mean that it is set globally in your site. See [[Grade_category_settings#Forcing_settings|Forcing settings]] for more information.

== Outcomes ==
=== I have just upgraded to Moodle 1.9, and I want to set up an outcome item for my course. What are the steps required? ===
# Administration > Grades > General settings > [[General_grade_settings#Enable_outcomes|Enable outcomes]]
#[[Scales#Creating_a_new_scale|Create a scale]]
#Create a course outcome (read the [[Outcomes| outcomes documentation]] for instructions). Assign to it the scale you just created.
#Assign the outcome to your course
#Enter the "Grades" section of your course, from the course administration block
#In the Actions menu (top left), select Edit -> Categories and Items
#Click "Add outcome item"
#Follow the instructions of the [[Outcome items|outcome items documentation]] to create the outcome item

You can now give your students a rating on the outcome dimension you just created. If you created a standard outcome, you will be able to use it in other courses and follow your students' performance across these courses.

===How can I remove an outcome from an activity?===

An outcome can be removed from an activity by deleting it on the gradebook edit categories and items page. This results in the outcomes being deselected on the update activity page.

== Modules ==
=== The activity module (Module name) doesn't support grading. How can I give my students a grade anyway? ===
You can create a [[Grade_items#Manual_grade_items|grade item]] manually in the gradebook. You will have to grade your students through the [[Grader report]] interface (in editing mode).

=== I just graded some of my students using the (Module name) interface, but the results aren't showing up in the grader report. What's going on? ===
Here are some of the possible reasons:
#The site settings>Grades>General settings may not have the correct graded roles checked off to appear in grade book. If you see no students in the Gradebook but do see columns for the graded activities, then check the graded role settings.
#The corresponding [[Grade items|grade item]] is [[Grade_locking#In_grade_items|locked]], or its parent [[Grade categories|category]] is [[Grade_locking#In_grade_categories|locked]].
#The module code is not using the [[Development:Grades#API_for_communication_with_modules.2Fblocks|gradebook API]] correctly

=== I just created a new assignment with the "Grade" setting set to "No grade", but it still appears in the gradebook ===
The reason is that the gradebook is now the place where both numerical and textual types of feedback are recorded for all activity modules. The word "Grading" in assignment relates only to numerical grades, but the ability to give text feedback remains, and must be recorded in the gradebook. This is why a grade item is created for it. You can hide the grade item if you do not want it to appear in the user reports.

==Weights and extra credits==

===How do weighted grades influence the category or course total?===
A weight (also called coefficient) only has meaning in reference to other weights. If you only have one grade item, changing its weight will not have any effect. However, if you have two grade items, each with a different weight, the "heavier" item will have more influence on the total grade than the "lighter" one.

You can set the weights to any positive numerical value you choose. Usually, at least one of the weights will be 1 and serve as the baseline for other weights. If another item has a weight of 2, its grades will be multiplied by 2 compared with the grades of the first grade item, before being averaged. The denominator used for averaging is the sum of all the weights.

An example follows:
item 1 weight: 1
item 2 weight: 3
item 3 weight: 0.5

item 1 grade: 40/100
item 2 grade: 60/100
item 3 grade: 20/100

Calculation:
total = ((40 * 1) + (60 * 3) + (20 * 0.5)) / (1 + 3 + 0.5)
= (40 + 180 + 10) / (4.5)
= 230 / 4.5
= 51.11

The total for this category will then be 51.11 out of 100

===Do I have to put a value in each "weight" input box?===
No. If you do not put a value, it will default to 1. If all items are set to 1 then they all have equal weight. If you set a weight to 0, the item's grades will not count at all in the category or course average.

===Do all the weights have to add up to 100 or some similar value?===
No, the numbers you put as weights are completely arbitrary. They must be positive numbers, and can add up to anything you want. Note however that the following four sets of weights are identical in value:

(1 1.75 3)
(4 7 12)
(8 14 24)
(400 700 1200)

===What is the difference between Weight and Extra Credit?===
Weight is only available with "Weighted mean of grades". For the "Simple weighted mean of grades", the weight is taken from the grade item's maximum grade. A weight is used to give a grade item more or less importance in the computation of the category total or average, compared with the other items of the same category.

Extra credit replaces grade item weight if the aggregation method is "Mean of grades (with extra credits)" or "Sum of grades". The effect of extra credit is different for both methods, hence some confusion:

*Mean of grades (with extra credits): A value of 0 does nothing. Any other value is used to multiply the grade and add it to the total after the computation of the mean. This grade is not used in the computation of the mean, however, only added afterwards. Additionally, this cannot bring the category total over its maximum grade unless grades over 100% are enabled by the site administrator (since 1.9.5). This grade item is not counted either in the denominator used to compute the category mean.

*Sum of grades: Extra credit is a checkbox, not a number. Normally, with Sum of Grades, the category's maximum grade is the sum of the maximum grades of all its grade items. If one of them is set as "Extra Credit", however, its maximum grade is not added to the category's maximum grade, but its grades will be. This way it is possible to achieve maximum grade (or grades over maximum if enabled by the site administrator) in the category without getting the maximum grade in all the grade items.

===How do I create an assignment for which students can receive a grade higher than the maximum?===

In Moodle 1.9.5 onwards, a new unlimited grades setting in ''Administration > Grades > General settings'' enables administrators to allow teachers to enter grades over 100% directly in the gradebook.

In earlier versions of 1.9, it is possible for a student to get less than the maximum grade in some grade items, while still getting the maximum grade in the category or course total. The Extra Credit feature is used for this purpose, as described above.

==Formulas==

===How do I give a fixed score for a successful quiz attempt===

Suppose you want to give 5 points for a passing grade (say, 70) in a certain quiz. Possible scenario ([http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=148576]): extra credit points to every student that gets a "passing grade" in a "practice test" at the end of each chapter covered in the course, to encourage them to practice after the homework quizzes and to get familiar with a "test type" situation before the actual test.

The following formula should do the trick:

=round((||quiz||/70)-0.49,0)*5

The formula may be added to a designated grade item or category.

Sample calculations:
Score 70:
=round((70/70)-0.49,0)*5
=round(1-0.49,0)*5
=round(0.51,0)*5
=1*5
=5

Score 69:
=round((69/70)-0.49,0)*5
=round(0.98-0.49,0)*5
=round(0.49,0)*5
=0*5
=0

==See also==

*Gradebook Scenarios/Use Cases [https://docs.moodle.org/en/experimental:_gb_tutoring]
*Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=2122 Gradebook forum]

Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=123143 Excluding practice quizzes from gradebook]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=193705 Course total not sum of max grade column?]

[[Category:FAQ]]

[[ca:PMF de les qualificacions]]
[[fr:FAQ des notes]]
[[ja:評定FAQ]]

Quiz FAQ

2012-01-13T15:22:27Z

Rcollman: /* How do I create system-wide question categories? */

{{Quiz}}
==Can I have different start times/timings/numbers of attempts for different groups?==
*In the Quiz administration settings block, there is a link "group override".
*Click this link and you will be able to select your groups and change the quiz dates, times and number of attempts:

[[File:quizgroupoverride.png]]

==What happens if students submit answers after the quiz closing date?==

It is possible for students to still submit answers after the quiz has closed (for example if they started the attempt before the closing date but then took a long time before submitting). These responses are stored by the quiz module, but the students are not given any credit for them. The teacher can see these answers when reviewing the student's attempts and can give the student credit for them by hand. Also the teacher could change the closing date after the fact and regrade the attempts. The students answers would then get graded.

==Why am I no longer allowed to add or remove questions?==

Most likely it is because you have students that have already attempted the quiz. You will need to delete all of the attempts by selecting them and choosing to delete them if you need to add/remove questions from a quiz. In the quiz overview report, you can delete their attempt using the "with selected attempts" drop-down.

==How can I turn off glossary auto-linking in a quiz? ==
*In the Quiz administration settings block there will be a link "filter".
*Click the link and you will have the option to disable filters just for that particular quiz:

[[File:quizfilter.png]]

==How can I remove a problem question after the quiz has been taken?==

You can not remove a question once a quiz has been taken by one student or more. However you can change the score and flag the question so you know it has problems.

Set the score for that question to 0.
*Caution: In some versions of Moodle if you use this question in an other quiz, this will potentially change the question in that quiz as well. A trick is to score the question as 0, then regrade the just completed quiz. This will establish the new grade for gradebook. Now go back and change the score to the original value.

Find the question in Question Bank. Maybe edit the title (Do not use in Bio101). Or if you do not share the question category with other teachers, create a sub category, move the offending question there, and perhaps create a better question to replace the one you just moved. Create a new quiz and if necessary hide the old one.
*Caution: if other departments or teachers use a question category it might be wise to check with the team before moving or changing any question. This is one reason importing questions in a course is a good best practice in some situations.

==Can I have a quiz that is not graded?==

This is not a common requirement, so it may not work perfectly, but you can get close:

# On the quiz editing page, set the score for each question, and the total score for the quiz to 0.
# On the quiz settings page, there is a grid of check-boxes. Turn off all the ones in the score column.

Remember you can tell gradebook not to include the quiz.

==How do I allow a person to retake a quiz if I have it set for 1 attempt?==
*In the Quiz administration settings block, there is a link "user overrides".
*Click this link and you can change the allowed number of attempts for that user. Screenshot:[https://docs.moodle.org/24/en/File:quizuseroverride.png]

==How can I give particular students extra time in a timed quiz?==
*In the Quiz administration settings block there is a link "user overrides"
*Click this link and you will be able to choose one or more users and change the timing of their quiz

[[File:quizuseroverride.png]]

==I've entered quiz grades manually in the gradebook. How can I allow students to improve on these grades?==

When a grade is entered directly in the gradebook, an "overridden" flag is set, meaning that the grade can no longer be changed from within the quiz.

However, the flag can be removed by turning editing on in the [[Grader report|grader report]], then clicking the [[Grade editing|edit grade]] icon, unchecking the overridden box and saving the changes.

==How can I enable email notification of quiz submissions?==

See [[Quiz submission email notification]].

==Why can't people (guests) take a quiz without creating an account and logging in?==

This is difficult to implement for technical reasons.

To explain: The quiz has to link all information about an attempt to a particular 'user' record in the database, and each user can only have one open quiz attempt at a time. All not-logged-in users share the same 'guest' user database record. Therefore, two guests could not attempt the quiz at the same time, and even if they could, it would be difficult to prevent one guest seeing another guest's attempts.

Of course, given enough work, it would be possible to change some of those assumptions, and so make it possible for guests to attempt quizzes. Indeed, some of the obstructions to implementing this have already been removed while doing other work on the quiz, but there is still some way to go.

If you would like to see this implemented, please vote for MDL-17892.

A workaround is to create a visitor account, say with username = password = visitor, for everyone to share.

==Can you explain the error The number of random questions required is more than are still available in the category!==

Review your quiz and verify Moodle has enough questions from each category of questions it will be pulling from. You may have inadvertently selected more questions than what exists in the category. Also make sure your not pulling questions from a category that has zero questions. Because you are picking random questions, rather than a specific question, it may not be apparent at first that you have run out of questions to ask!

==How do I send a bulk message to all students who haven't completed a quiz?==
*From your navigation block, click ''Reports>Course participation''
*From the drop down, choose your quiz.
*In ''Show only'', choose "Student" and in ''Actions'', choose "post"
*In the list that appears, tick/check the boxes next to those you wish to message.
*In the bottom dropdown ''With selected users'', choose "send message"

[[File:quizemail.png]]

==How do random questions work?==

See the section on adding random questions in [[Editing a quiz]].

==How do I create system-wide question categories?==
* As an administrator or user with system permissions, go to ''Question bank>categories'' in any course.
*Using the "Add category form" at the bottom of the page, set the parent of the new category to be the system context.

==How can I prevent a student from reviewing or jumping around questions in a quiz?==
You can block the quiz navigation block and the summary of quiz page with CSS code in a theme. However, if a student fails to answer a question, they will not know if you implement this "solution". Also if others on the site do not want this patch, make sure the theme you select for the course is not used by others.

For example using the Afterburner theme: Site Administration >Appearance >Themes >Afterburner and enter this in the CSS code area:

:div#mod_quiz_navblock {visibility:hidden;}
:table.quizsummaryofattempt {visibility:hidden;}

There are other css solutions.

==See also==

Using Moodle forum discussions:

*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=96326 Removing "Submit all and Finish" button]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=141003 How do you keep people from cheating while taking a quiz?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=131325 Scientific notation in quiz answers]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=158846 Quiz answers appear in wrong language]

Related FAQs:
* [[Import and export FAQ]] - for hints on importing questions
* [[XML FAQ]] - for information on creating and importing questions in Moodle XML format

[[Category:FAQ]]
[[de:Test FAQ]]

Certificate customizing

2012-01-08T13:47:33Z

Rcollman: /* Tips & Tricks */ topic section as certificate namee

{{Certificate}}
[[Certificate module|Certificate]] is a contributed module and it can be customized.

Often customization can be accomplished by adding images to one of the /mod/certificate/pix folders, so they will appear as an option in the certificate settings page. Additionally, you can change the language strings located in /mod/certificate/lang.

:''In November 2011 the Certificate "Type" php code has been modified for Moodle 2.x. These code changes will impact string and image positions in the generated pdf document. Please see the "[[#Nov 2011 changes]]" section below.''

==Certificate examples==
<gallery caption="Certificate examples - click on any to enlarge" widths="200px" heights="100px" perrow="6">
Image:Certificate 1.gif|Fancy border, signature line, seal, code
Image:Certificate199 example lines.png|Lines, signature, seal, watermark, code, grade, outcomes, custom text
Image:Certificate199 example creative.png|New border, new signature, new seal, new watermark, code, outcome
</gallery>

==Customizing==
The certificate code is located in the /mod/certificate folder. There are sub-folders for backup, db, lang (holds language sub-folders), pix (holds sub-folders for borders, seals, signatures and watermarks) and type (holds standard certificate types, each in their own sub-folder).

===Adding images===
[[Image:Certificate199 example creative.png|thumb|Creative customized example]] The easiest way to customize your certificate is to add your own JPG or PNG images. Place these in the appropriate mod/certificate/pix folder on your site. The added JPG or PNG image will appear in the dropdown list by its file name.

Make sure your new files are the same size as the standard images. For example, the standard signature file is 150x31 pixels. If the signature file is a different size, you may need to modify the code line. The same will be true for seals, borders and watermarks.

In the creative example, a custom border, watermark, signature and seal were added to the right folders. All were sized and in the same file format as the one supplied with the initial certificate install.

===Customize format===
It is a good idea to create your own custom certificate type, that will appear on a list along with the standard certificates types. You will know which is your custom certificate type and it will survive when you upgrade. Here is how:

1. Choose the certificate/type folder with the size/orientation you desire, copy and paste it in the certificate/type folder and give the copied folder a new name. For example copy the /type/letter_non_embedded folder and rename it 'mycertificate'.

2. Open the certificate/lang/en/certificate.php file and add the name of your new folder type. Following the above example, you would add:

:$string['typemycertificate'] = 'My New Certificate';

Now, when you add a certificate to a course, your new type will appear on the drop down list as "My New Certificate".

:''Tip:'' You should add the proper string as shown in step 2 above or you may receive an error message and it will appear as if the code is broken. And remember if you update your certificate module that this file maybe erased with a new version.

====Modifying image position code example====
We will change the signature position that is found in the type/letter_non_embedded/certificate.php file when we generate a pdf in landscape mode. There are at least 2 ways to change the code. Say we want to move it to the left at 100 and up to 435 line.
*Around line 100 you should notice there are a set of variables for "Landscape" which are followed by another set for "Portrait". We can overrule some of the landscape and portrait codes the $sigx and $sigy position variables, so they read $sigx = 100 and $sigy = 435 .
*Alternatively, we can overrule some of the landscape and portrait codes, in this case the signature block. Around line 145 we see the code that actually prints in the correct position:
:print_signature($pdf, $certificate, $sigx, $sigy, '', '');
By changing the variables to fix numbers it will not matter if the teacher selects landscape or portrait. For example:
:print_signature($pdf, $certificate, 100, 435, '', '');

If others have not added a standard signature line, you might want to fix it to a certain size. For example, you want the image to print 150px by 75px.

:print_signature($pdf, $certificate, $sigx, $sigy, '150', '75');

This should give you a good idea about how to change the position of other images.
:''Tip:'' Call your custom folder "a_landscape_special". Now you can use the second method and nobody should be surprised if they can read and been trained properly.

====Adjusting transparency of an image====
It is possible to put in a strong image as a watermark and adjust the transparency setting when the PDF is created. Look for the SetAlpha code in front of a print element. For example infront of the "print_watermark.." line, you will see $pdf_SetAlpha(0.1); It is currently set to .1, a .5 would be less transparent.

:''Tip:'' In older version of certificate, the watermark image itself was dimmed before it was placed in the folder. If you had a custom watermark, this is the way it was done. You can change the SetAlpha in the code to 1 and it should appear as it did in previous version of certificate.

===Changing printed text===
There are two ways to change the language strings. A best practice is to customize your language pack via site administration. You will find the certificate.php in the mod group. If you use the method below, when you update all your certificate files, then your changes will not be saved.

You can edit the language file found in the certificate folder, such as certificate/lang/en/certificate.php if you are not worried about losing you changes. Lets say you want to change the words at the top of all certificates on your site.

Find the default strings:
:$string['title'] = 'CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT';
:$string['intro'] = 'This is to certify that';
:$string['statement'] = 'has completed the course';

Change them to read (for example):
:$string['title'] = 'DIP0LOMA';
:$string['intro'] = 'I am proud to state that';
:$string['statement'] = 'has successfully passed the final exam';

===Adding a New Line of Text===
You have created a couple of custom certificate types. In these certificates you want some new words to appear. There are basically 2 choices, you can have it look up a new string, or hard code the words in the certificate type instead of looking for a string.

*Add new string method.
**Open the certificate/lang/en/certificate.php file and add your new string giving it a unique name.
:$string['mynewtext'] = 'This is what I want to print on the certificate';

**Open the file for your certificate type and change the string reference. For example, go to certificate/type/mycertificate/certificate.php. Near the end of the file find "// Add Text". This is the area that prints--you guessed it--text on the certificate. Find the current line below which you would like your new text to be printed. For example, if you want your text to print below the course name, find the line:

:cert_printtext($pdf, $x, $y, 'C', 'Helvetica', '', 30, get_string('title', 'certificate'));

3. Add a new line below that to print your new text using the name you gave your new lang string like this:
:cert_printtext($pdf, $x, $y+25, 'C', 'Helvetica', 'B', 10, $mynewtext);

Quick review. We want the string mynewtext to start on the $x position from the left, on the $y+25 line, and the line should be center aligned (C, L, R or ' '), in Helvetica type, in bold, with a font size of 10.

5. You can add a hard coded line of text. For example, add signature title block line under the signature image:
:cert_printtext($pdf, $sigx, $sigy+30,'', 'Helvetica', 'B', 10, 'Martin Dougiamas, Lead Developer');

===Adding a second page===
After you have created your first page (or copied an existing page), add this bit of code:

$pdf->AddPage();

Then you in the code for the second page. You can create a certificate with as many pages as you want.

==Nov 2011 changes==
[https://github.com/PukunuiAustralia/moodle-mod_certificate PukunuiAustralia / moodle-mod_certificate] version 2011110107 is the basis for these comments. There maybe earlier versions which are different.
*Standard types of certificates. There are 4 standard certificate types based upon paper size and if the fonts are embedded or non-embedded in the pdf documents. The orientation of landscape or portrait is located within each of these types. This is different from the 1.9.x versions.
*The code for printing strings has changed. While similar to the pre 2.0, be careful.

==Tips & Tricks==
*Start with one of the existing certificate types, copy it and modify it.
*Try your customized code on a non production site, such as a local host.
*In Administration>>Server set debugging to maximum (to show any coding error messages).
*While you can leave a php file open in edit mode, you must save the file before your changes become active.
*Make code changes one at a time, test and then backup after each successful change. For example,after adding a new string to the certificate lang file), go to your course page and click on a certificate to see if it appears on the list.
*If you broke the code you may get a blank screen for a certificate.
**So it might be a good idea to make a backup of each successful change before starting the next change. For example, after the 3rd code change, save certificate.php as certificate3.txt.
*Certificate icon location-If you are using your own theme you have to put the icon.gif inside a folder called certificate and put in your mod folder image. For example, if your theme uses custom icons, you must put a certificate folder with the certificate icon.gif in it under your theme/pix/mod folder.
*Consider editing you language pack rather than the /certificate/lang/en/certificate.php file. You can do this through the Settings > Site administration >Language > Language customization menu. Look for mod/certificate.php. Then when you update your certificate and it's language,it will keep your changes for the standard strings.
*Use a topic section heading as the certificate title. See [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=193170#p842551 in the certificate forum] for a code tweak.

==See also==
* [[mod/certificate/mod|Add/Edit Certificate]]
* [[mod/certificate/view|Viewing a Certificate]]
* Moodle 2.x and later versions of certificate can be found at [https://github.com/PukunuiAustralia/moodle-mod_certificate PukunuiAustralia / moodle-mod_certificate].

Użytkownik:Chris collman

2011-12-16T02:53:42Z

Rcollman: /* History if you are interested */

My page in MoodleDocs.
I have edited MoodleDocs since 2006. It is the way I learn.

== History if you are interested==
In 2006 I started contributing to MoodleDocs as a way to learn the software. I decreased my intense editing in July 2010 because of additional work and family commitments. I started editing pages again in September 2011 as I became more familiar with Moodle 2.1

This summer (July-Aug 2011), I was given the task to build a few webservers for our internal WAN, a first for me. That was both educational and successful.

Our use of the application is simple. We do tests, have people download pdfs and fill out questionnaires. I decided that I might as well install 2.1. Our previous servers were 1.5.x Moodles :) We upgraded a 1.5 Moodle internet server to 1.9 last summer. The 1.5 to 2.1 transition was actually less ambitious.

I copied then customized a Moodle theme. I edited our language en_us, then use a text editor to globally change words in a copy of the en language php files and put them in the moodledata correct subfolder. I have built over 100 quizes on unique subjects and retest. We also use questionnaires to receive student feedback on each of our subjects. We provide PDFs as supplemental materials and as copies of the teachers face to face PowerPoints. I also have a random glossary entry block to display pictures. We just finished a teaching cycle on each of servers. I was able to import the old courses in new ones on the corresponding servers.

.

==MoodleDocs 2.1 self professed goals==
*Make sure the menu paths are for Moodle 2.1
*Stick with technical how tos, encourage practical examples for teachers
*Add some images that are annotated with numbers for references
*Remember English pages are read/translated by non-native speakers
*After editing for 2.1, delete detail instructions for 1.9
*Delete opinions and sales pitches for Moodle 2.1
*Identify Tips and Notes, so the "impatient" can skim.
*Pay attention to the way others edit my words so I can improve my style

Noble goals!

==Production Moodle goals==
Over the winter I hope to learn something about the Ipad2 and Moodle. We be issuing them to our next set of students, instead of our old Dell 610s. So I anticipate tweaking themes for them. There are also some code changes I would like to make (or find some contributed code) in the core. One of those is the infamous Lesson "Import PowerPoint", which I would like to tweak to "Import Images" and "Import pages" via a text document (similar to a GIFT). My 1.8 version of importppt.php that imported images does not run in 2.x.

Another goal is to work on a Jomula interface with Moodle 2.2. We would like to update our 1.9.10 internet Moodle in the Summer of 2012.

==The State of Moodle in my state==
The state agency I work with has been using Moodle since 2005. Thus I was pleased when my college adopted Moodle and will be off the higher priced LMS completely in the new year. Another University in our system switched to Moodle 2 years ago. By my rough count at least 5 different state agencies have started up Moodles in the last 2 years. The K-12 schools all over the state are using Moodle. Unfortunately, one department of the largest university in the state, cut many positions, some included Moodle support/development. Their plan B is to give the content to their "shop" that runs their higher priced LMS for the rest of the university and drop Moodle.

Best to all, Chris --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 20:21, 19 July 2011 (WST)

Użytkownik:Chris collman

2011-12-16T02:50:53Z

Rcollman: /* MoodleDocs 2.1 self professed goals */

My page in MoodleDocs.
I have edited MoodleDocs since 2006. It is the way I learn.

== History if you are interested==
In 2006 I started contributing to MoodleDocs as a way to learn the software. I decreaded my intense editing in July 2010 because of additional work and family commitments. I started editing pages again in September 2011 as I became more familiar with Moodle 2.1

This summer (July-Aug 2011), I was given the task to build a few webservers for our internal WAN (intranet).

Our use of the application is simple. We do tests, have people download pdfs and fill out questionnaires. I decided that I might as well install 2.1. Our previous servers were 1.5.x Moodles :) We upgraded a 1.5 Moodle server to 1.9 last summer. the 1.5 to 2.1 transition was a bit more ambitious.

I copied then customized a Moodle theme. I edited our language en_us, then use a text editor to globally change words in a copy of the en language php files and put them in the moodledata correct subfolder. I have built over 100 quizes on unique subjects and retest. We also use questionnaires to receive student feedback on each of our subjects. We provide PDFs as supplemental materials and as copies of the teachers face to face PowerPoints. I also have a random glossary entry block to display pictures. We just finished a teaching cycle on each of servers. I was able to import the old courses in new ones on the corresponding servers.

.

==MoodleDocs 2.1 self professed goals==
*Make sure the menu paths are for Moodle 2.1
*Stick with technical how tos, encourage practical examples for teachers
*Add some images that are annotated with numbers for references
*Remember English pages are read/translated by non-native speakers
*After editing for 2.1, delete detail instructions for 1.9
*Delete opinions and sales pitches for Moodle 2.1
*Identify Tips and Notes, so the "impatient" can skim.
*Pay attention to the way others edit my words so I can improve my style

Noble goals!

==Production Moodle goals==
Over the winter I hope to learn something about the Ipad2 and Moodle. We be issuing them to our next set of students, instead of our old Dell 610s. So I anticipate tweaking themes for them. There are also some code changes I would like to make (or find some contributed code) in the core. One of those is the infamous Lesson "Import PowerPoint", which I would like to tweak to "Import Images" and "Import pages" via a text document (similar to a GIFT). My 1.8 version of importppt.php that imported images does not run in 2.x.

Another goal is to work on a Jomula interface with Moodle 2.2. We would like to update our 1.9.10 internet Moodle in the Summer of 2012.

==The State of Moodle in my state==
The state agency I work with has been using Moodle since 2005. Thus I was pleased when my college adopted Moodle and will be off the higher priced LMS completely in the new year. Another University in our system switched to Moodle 2 years ago. By my rough count at least 5 different state agencies have started up Moodles in the last 2 years. The K-12 schools all over the state are using Moodle. Unfortunately, one department of the largest university in the state, cut many positions, some included Moodle support/development. Their plan B is to give the content to their "shop" that runs their higher priced LMS for the rest of the university and drop Moodle.

Best to all, Chris --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 20:21, 19 July 2011 (WST)

Użytkownik:Chris collman

2011-12-16T02:22:38Z

Rcollman: /* History if you are interested */

Certificate customizing

2011-11-27T15:26:08Z

Rcollman: /* Adding a New Line of Text */ add a second page, will check this out later. Thanks to J-M !

{{Certificate}}
[[Certificate module|Certificate]] is a contributed module and it can be customized.

Often customization can be accomplished by adding images to one of the /mod/certificate/pix folders, so they will appear as an option in the certificate settings page. Additionally, you can change the language strings located in /mod/certificate/lang.

:''In November 2011 the Certificate "Type" php code has been modified for Moodle 2.x. These code changes will impact string and image positions in the generated pdf document. Please see the "[[#Nov 2011 changes]]" section below.''

==Certificate examples==
<gallery caption="Certificate examples - click on any to enlarge" widths="200px" heights="100px" perrow="6">
Image:Certificate 1.gif|Fancy border, signature line, seal, code
Image:Certificate199 example lines.png|Lines, signature, seal, watermark, code, grade, outcomes, custom text
Image:Certificate199 example creative.png|New border, new signature, new seal, new watermark, code, outcome
</gallery>

==Customizing==
The certificate code is located in the /mod/certificate folder. There are sub-folders for backup, db, lang (holds language sub-folders), pix (holds sub-folders for borders, seals, signatures and watermarks) and type (holds standard certificate types, each in their own sub-folder).

===Adding images===
[[Image:Certificate199 example creative.png|thumb|Creative customized example]] The easiest way to customize your certificate is to add your own JPG or PNG images. Place these in the appropriate mod/certificate/pix folder on your site. The added JPG or PNG image will appear in the dropdown list by its file name.

Make sure your new files are the same size as the standard images. For example, the standard signature file is 150x31 pixels. If the signature file is a different size, you may need to modify the code line. The same will be true for seals, borders and watermarks.

In the creative example, a custom border, watermark, signature and seal were added to the right folders. All were sized and in the same file format as the one supplied with the initial certificate install.

===Customize format===
It is a good idea to create your own custom certificate type, that will appear on a list along with the standard certificates types. You will know which is your custom certificate type and it will survive when you upgrade. Here is how:

1. Choose the certificate/type folder with the size/orientation you desire, copy and paste it in the certificate/type folder and give the copied folder a new name. For example copy the /type/letter_non_embedded folder and rename it 'mycertificate'.

2. Open the certificate/lang/en/certificate.php file and add the name of your new folder type. Following the above example, you would add:

:$string['typemycertificate'] = 'My New Certificate';

Now, when you add a certificate to a course, your new type will appear on the drop down list as "My New Certificate".

:''Tip:'' You should add the proper string as shown in step 2 above or you may receive an error message and it will appear as if the code is broken. And remember if you update your certificate module that this file maybe erased with a new version.

====Modifying image position code example====
We will change the signature position that is found in the type/letter_non_embedded/certificate.php file when we generate a pdf in landscape mode. There are at least 2 ways to change the code. Say we want to move it to the left at 100 and up to 435 line.
*Around line 100 you should notice there are a set of variables for "Landscape" which are followed by another set for "Portrait". We can overrule some of the landscape and portrait codes the $sigx and $sigy position variables, so they read $sigx = 100 and $sigy = 435 .
*Alternatively, we can overrule some of the landscape and portrait codes, in this case the signature block. Around line 145 we see the code that actually prints in the correct position:
:print_signature($pdf, $certificate, $sigx, $sigy, '', '');
By changing the variables to fix numbers it will not matter if the teacher selects landscape or portrait. For example:
:print_signature($pdf, $certificate, 100, 435, '', '');

If others have not added a standard signature line, you might want to fix it to a certain size. For example, you want the image to print 150px by 75px.

:print_signature($pdf, $certificate, $sigx, $sigy, '150', '75');

This should give you a good idea about how to change the position of other images.
:''Tip:'' Call your custom folder "a_landscape_special". Now you can use the second method and nobody should be surprised if they can read and been trained properly.

====Adjusting transparency of an image====
It is possible to put in a strong image as a watermark and adjust the transparency setting when the PDF is created. Look for the SetAlpha code in front of a print element. For example infront of the "print_watermark.." line, you will see $pdf_SetAlpha(0.1); It is currently set to .1, a .5 would be less transparent.

:''Tip:'' In older version of certificate, the watermark image itself was dimmed before it was placed in the folder. If you had a custom watermark, this is the way it was done. You can change the SetAlpha in the code to 1 and it should appear as it did in previous version of certificate.

===Changing printed text===
There are two ways to change the language strings. A best practice is to customize your language pack via site administration. You will find the certificate.php in the mod group. If you use the method below, when you update all your certificate files, then your changes will not be saved.

You can edit the language file found in the certificate folder, such as certificate/lang/en/certificate.php if you are not worried about losing you changes. Lets say you want to change the words at the top of all certificates on your site.

Find the default strings:
:$string['title'] = 'CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT';
:$string['intro'] = 'This is to certify that';
:$string['statement'] = 'has completed the course';

Change them to read (for example):
:$string['title'] = 'DIP0LOMA';
:$string['intro'] = 'I am proud to state that';
:$string['statement'] = 'has successfully passed the final exam';

===Adding a New Line of Text===
You have created a couple of custom certificate types. In these certificates you want some new words to appear. There are basically 2 choices, you can have it look up a new string, or hard code the words in the certificate type instead of looking for a string.

*Add new string method.
**Open the certificate/lang/en/certificate.php file and add your new string giving it a unique name.
:$string['mynewtext'] = 'This is what I want to print on the certificate';

**Open the file for your certificate type and change the string reference. For example, go to certificate/type/mycertificate/certificate.php. Near the end of the file find "// Add Text". This is the area that prints--you guessed it--text on the certificate. Find the current line below which you would like your new text to be printed. For example, if you want your text to print below the course name, find the line:

:cert_printtext($pdf, $x, $y, 'C', 'Helvetica', '', 30, get_string('title', 'certificate'));

3. Add a new line below that to print your new text using the name you gave your new lang string like this:
:cert_printtext($pdf, $x, $y+25, 'C', 'Helvetica', 'B', 10, $mynewtext);

Quick review. We want the string mynewtext to start on the $x position from the left, on the $y+25 line, and the line should be center aligned (C, L, R or ' '), in Helvetica type, in bold, with a font size of 10.

5. You can add a hard coded line of text. For example, add signature title block line under the signature image:
:cert_printtext($pdf, $sigx, $sigy+30,'', 'Helvetica', 'B', 10, 'Martin Dougiamas, Lead Developer');

===Adding a second page===
After you have created your first page (or copied an existing page), add this bit of code:

$pdf->AddPage();

Then you in the code for the second page. You can create a certificate with as many pages as you want.

==Nov 2011 changes==
[https://github.com/PukunuiAustralia/moodle-mod_certificate PukunuiAustralia / moodle-mod_certificate] version 2011110107 is the basis for these comments. There maybe earlier versions which are different.
*Standard types of certificates. There are 4 standard certificate types based upon paper size and if the fonts are embedded or non-embedded in the pdf documents. The orientation of landscape or portrait is located within each of these types. This is different from the 1.9.x versions.
*The code for printing strings has changed. While similar to the pre 2.0, be careful.

==Tips & Tricks==
*Start with one of the existing certificate types, copy it and modify it.
*Try your customized code on a non production site, such as a local host.
*In Administration>>Server set debugging to maximum (to show any coding error messages).
*While you can leave a php file open in edit mode, you must save the file before your changes become active.
*Make code changes one at a time, test and then backup after each successful change. For example,after adding a new string to the certificate lang file), go to your course page and click on a certificate to see if it appears on the list.
*If you broke the code you may get a blank screen for a certificate.
**So it might be a good idea to make a backup of each successful change before starting the next change. For example, after the 3rd code change, save certificate.php as certificate3.txt.
*Certificate icon location-If you are using your own theme you have to put the icon.gif inside a folder called certificate and put in your mod folder image. For example, if your theme uses custom icons, you must put a certificate folder with the certificate icon.gif in it under your theme/pix/mod folder.
*Consider editing you language pack rather than the /certificate/lang/en/certificate.php file. You can do this through the Settings > Site administration >Language > Language customization menu. Look for mod/certificate.php. Then when you update your certificate and it's language,it will keep your changes for the standard strings.

==See also==
* [[mod/certificate/mod|Add/Edit Certificate]]
* [[mod/certificate/view|Viewing a Certificate]]
* Moodle 2.x and later versions of certificate can be found at [https://github.com/PukunuiAustralia/moodle-mod_certificate PukunuiAustralia / moodle-mod_certificate].

About Moodle

2011-11-23T20:39:52Z

Rcollman: Reverted edits by Nataliaposadaseverino (talk) to last revision by Tsala

{{Main page}}
'''[[Moodle]]''' is a [http://download.moodle.org/ software package] for producing Internet-based courses and web sites. It is a global development project designed to support a [[Philosophy|social constructionist]] framework of education.

Moodle is provided freely as [http://opensource.org/docs/osd Open Source] software (under the [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU Public License]). Basically this means Moodle is copyrighted, but that you have additional freedoms. You are allowed to copy, use and modify Moodle provided that you agree to: '''provide the source to others; not modify or remove the original license and copyrights''', and '''apply this same license to any derivative work'''. Read the [[:dev:License|full license]] for details and please contact the [http://moodle.com/helpdesk copyright holder via the Moodle.com helpdesk] if you have any questions.

Moodle can be [[Installing Moodle|installed]] on any computer that can run PHP, and can support an SQL type database (for example MySQL). It can be run on [[Complete_install_packages|Windows and Mac]] operating systems and many flavors of linux (for example [[RedHat Linux installation| Red Hat]] or [[Debian GNU/Linux installation|Debian GNU]]). There are many '''knowledgeable''' [http://moodle.com/partners/ Moodle Partners] to assist you, even [http://moodle.com/hosting/ host your Moodle site].

The word Moodle was originally an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, which is mostly useful to programmers and education theorists. It's also a verb that describes the process of lazily meandering through something, doing things as it occurs to you to do them, an enjoyable tinkering that often leads to insight and creativity. As such it applies both to the way Moodle was developed, and to the way a student or teacher might approach studying or teaching an online course. Anyone who uses Moodle is a Moodler.

Come [http://moodle.org/community/ moodle with us]!

*[[Philosophy]]
*[[Pedagogy]]
*[[Moodle site - basic structure]]
*[[Moodle key terms]]

[[Category:About Moodle]]

[[ca:Quant al Moodle]]
[[es:Acerca de Moodle]]
[[eu:Moodle-ri buruz]]
[[fr:À propos de Moodle]]
[[nl:Over Moodle]]
[[de:Was ist Moodle?]]
[[hr:O_Moodle_rješenju]]
[[ja:Moodleとは]]
[[pt:Sobre o Moodle]]
[[zh:关于Moodle]]
[[ru:О Moodle]]
[[ko:무들에 대하여]]

Dyskusja:Cron

2011-11-23T20:38:38Z

Rcollman: Go Howard, Go :)

Upload users

2011-11-22T13:28:55Z

Rcollman: /* Hints */ list of all valid fields

{{Accounts}}
An administrator can upload multiple user accounts via text file in ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Accounts > Upload users''.

There are many robust options for uploading information (fields associated with a user) with this method: from enrolling users in multiple courses with course specific [[Roles|roles]] to updating user information in the [[User profile]] to deleting users from the site.

''Tip:'' It is usually not necessary to upload users in bulk with Upload users. To keep maintenance work down you should first explore forms of authentication that do not require manual maintenance, such as [[External database authentication|connecting to existing external databases]] or letting the users create their own accounts ([[Self enrolment]]). See [[Authentication]] for more information.

[[File:Upload users initial 2.0.JPG|thumb|center|Initial upload users screen 2.1]]

==Upload user process==
Here is an outline of the process:

# Create file for uploading
# Go to ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Accounts > Upload users''
# Add file to upload
# Upload users preview - check settings and default user profile settings
# Upload users preview - click "Upload users"
# Upload users results - shows list of users, exceptions made in upload and summary of number of users
# Upload users results - click "Continue"
# Returns to Upload users screen

==Updating users preview==
There are settings for the kind of Upload user function you want to perform on the "Upload users preview" page.
[[File:Upload users preview 2.0.JPG|thumb|center|Upload users preview in Moodle 2.x]]

===Updating existing accounts===

By default Moodle adds new user accounts and skips existing users lines where the <code>username</code> matches an existing account. Set "Upload Type" to '''Add new and update existing users''', and existing user account will be updated.
*Add all, append number to usernames if needed
*Add new and update existing users
*Update existing users only
There are also fields settings to force password change, allow renames, allow deletes, prevent email address duplicates, standardise usernames and select for bulk operations(new users. updated users, all users).

'''Warning''': errors updating existing accounts can affect your users badly. Be careful when using the options to update.

===Set default user values===

You may be able to set default user field values, if the fields were not included in the uploaded file on this page.

==Upload user results ==
After accepting the preview settings by clicking on "Upload users", you should see the the Upload users results screen.
[[File:Upload users results 2.0.JPG|thumb|center|The 2.0 results screen, everything went well]]
This screen will show you any exceptions or changes that were made to each user in the upload process. For example if you were updating user information, the updated information will be shown. Or if a user was not added that record will be highlighted.

The screen will summarize how many users were uploaded or updated, indicate the number of week passwords and the number of errors.

==File formats for upload users file==
The upload files have their fields separated by a comma (or other delimiter). The first line contains the valid field names. The rest of the lines (records) contain information about each user.

'':Tip:'' If you are not an expert, avoid special characters in field information like quotes or other commas. Test a file with only one record before a large upload. Remember there are other ways to authenticate users on you site or enroll users in a course.

'':Tip:'' You can use a spread sheet program to create the file with the required columns and fields. Then save the file as "CSV (comma delimited)". These files can be opened with simple text editors for verification.

===Valid upload file for testing===
Here is an example of a simple valid upload file:

<code>username, password, firstname, lastname, email, course1, group1<br />
jonest, verysecret, Tom, Jones, jonest@someplace.edu, math102, Section 1<br />
reznort, somesecret, Trent, Reznor, reznort@someplace.edu, math102, Section 3</code>

===Fields that can be included===
'':Tip:'' We strongly recommend that you test a file that contains fields you proposed to use with one user before attempting a file upload for the first time. demo.moodle.net might be a good place to see if your test file works.

*'''Required fields''':
:<p><code>username, firstname, lastname, email</code>
:Validity checks are performed for:
#<code>username</code> can only contain alphabetical '''lowercase''' letters , numbers, hypen '-', underscore '_', period '.', or at-sign '@'
#<code>email</code> is in the form: ''name@example.com'' .</p>

*'''Password field''': "password" field is optional if "Create password if needed" setting is chosen (default).
**If included, values should meet the requirements for the site's [[Site_policies#Password_policy|Password policy]]. To force password change for a particular user, set the password field to <code>changeme</code>.
**If omitted, a password will be generated for each user (during the next Cron job) and welcome e-mails sent out (not working in v2.0.2?).

*'''Optional fields''': To provide values other than the default include one or more of these
:<p><code>institution, department, city, country, lang, auth, ajax, timezone, idnumber, icq, phone1, phone2, address, url, description, mailformat, maildisplay, htmleditor, autosubscribe</code></p>
*Country- use a country TWO LETTER CODE
*Some fields have a maximum number of characters that are allow. See hints below.
*Maildisplay, htmleditor and autosubscribe can be set from an import screen in Moodle 2.0.

*'''Custom profile field names''': (Optional). xxxxx is the real custom user profile field name (i.e. the unique shortname)
:<p><code>profile_field_xxxxx</code></p>
: Create the custom fields BEFORE importing. Use the standard header. The "shortname" for your custom field is xxxxx (NB: as at v2.0.2, the shortname must be all lowercase, otherwise won't be recognised). The first record must include "profile_field_xxxxx".
:'''Example''': To create a custom field "genre", you must write a shortname "genre" in the new field, and write "profile_field_genre" in the header of the .csv file.

*'''Special fields''': Used for changing of usernames or deleting of users
:<p><code>oldusername</code>, <code>deleted</code></p>

*'''Enrolment fields''': (Optional):
:<p><code>course1, type1, role1, group1, enrolperiod1, course2, type2, role2, group2, enrolperiod2</code> etc.
**<code>course</code> is the "shortname" of the course, if present the user will be enrolled in those courses.
** <code>type</code> refers to the role to be used for associated course enrolment. Value 1 is default course role, 2 is legacy Teacher role and 3 is legacy Non-editing Teacher.
** You can use role field instead to specify roles directly - use either role short name or id (numeric names of roles are not supported).
** Users may be also assigned to groups in course (group1 in course1, group2 in course2, etc.).
*** A group is identified by name or id (numeric group names are not supported).
** From Moodle 2.0, you can set the enrolment duration, in days, for each course (<code>enrolperiod1</code> for <code>course1</code>, <code>enrolperiod2</code> for <code>course2</code>, etc.).

Commas within a field must be encoded as &#44 - the script will decode these back to commas.

For Boolean fields, use <code>0</code> for false and <code>1</code> for true.

To prevent users from receiving a large number of emails from courses or forced subscription forums use the '''maildigest'''. The options for this field are 0 = No digest, 1 = Complete digest and 2 = Digest with just subjects.

==Advanced potentials of Upload user==
===Templates===

''Note: This section needs checking and updating if necessary for Moodle 2.0. Please do so and remove this note when finished.''

The default values are processed as templates in which the following codes are allowed:

* %l - will be replaced by the lastname
* %f - will be replaced by the firstname
* %u - will be replaced by the username
* %% - will be replaced by the %

Between the percent sign (%) and any code letter (l, f or u) the following modifiers are allowed:

* (-) minus sign - the information specified by the code letter will be converted to lowercase
* (+) plus sign - the information specified by the code letter will be converted to UPPERCASE
* (~) tilde sign - the information specified by the code letter will be converted to Title Case
* a decimal number - the information specified by the code letter will be truncated to that many characters

For example, if the firstname is John and the lastname is Doe, the following values will be obtained with the specified templates:

* %l%f = DoeJohn
* %l%1f = DoeJ
* %-l%+f = doeJOHN
* %-f_%-l = john_doe
*<nowiki> http://www.example.com/~%u/</nowiki> results in <nowiki>http://www.example.com/~jdoe/</nowiki> (if the username is jdoe or %-1f%-l)

Template processing is done only on default values, and not on the values retrieved from the CSV file.

In order to create correct Moodle usernames, the username is always converted to lowercase. Moreover, if the "Allow extended characters in usernames" option in the Site policies page is off, characters different to letters, digits, dash (-) and dot (.) are removed. For example if the firstname is John Jr. and the lastname is Doe, the username %-f_%-l will produce john jr._doe when Allow extended characters in usernames is on, and johnjr.doe when off.

When the "New username duplicate handling" setting is set to Append counter, an auto-increment counter will be append to duplicate usernames produced by the template. For example, if the CSV file contains the users named John Doe, Jane Doe and Jenny Doe without explicit usernames, the default username is %-1f%-l and New username duplicate handling is set to Append counter, then the usernames produced will be jdoe, jdoe2 and jdoe3.

===Deleting accounts===

If the <code>deleted</code> field is present, users with value 1 for it will be deleted. In this case, all the fields may be omitted, except for <code>username</code>. After uploading the file, be sure to change the "Upload type" to "Update existing users only" and the "Allow deletes" option to "Yes".

Deleting and uploading accounts could be done with a single CSV file. For example, the following file will add the user Tom Jones and delete the user reznort:

username, firstname, lastname, deleted
jonest, Tom, Jones, 0
reznort, , , 1

==Encoding file format==
On the initial Upload user screen, you may select the file encoding format from a pull down list. These include UTF-8 (the default), ASCII, ISO-8859-1 to ISO-8859-11 or any one of over 36 formats.

==Hints==

===Spreadsheet===

If you use a spreadsheet program such as Excel to create your .csv file, check the resulting output in a text editor before you upload it. It is possible to get trailing commas on each line from an empty field if you have added and deleted columns of information prior to saving the final file. Also check the character encoding. A csv file is a simple text file (ASCII or Unicode) that can be used to upload user accounts.

Excel translates passwords that begin with - (minus) or + (plus) as zero. Even when saving as .csv and saying "Yes" to "Keep this format, and leave out any incompatible features." Check for this before uploading, as a zero halts the upload process.

If you use a formula in Excel to create fields (for example, the concatenate function to create a user name), then remember to copy the cells with the formula and use special paste with values checked to make them into an acceptable data for a csv file.

===Country===
The country should be written as a two letter code, in capitals. For example, use BE for Belgium or NL for the Netherlands. Using "be" or "nl" as a country code will result in a database error.
:''Tip:'' If you are having trouble working out the two-letter code for a country, you can consult this Moodle source code file /moodle/lang/en_utf8/countries.php [http://cvs.moodle.org/moodle/lang/en_utf8/countries.php?view=markup&pathrev=MOODLE_19_STABLE or click here for a 1.9 STABLE list].
ISO Website: [http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/english_country_names_and_code_elements.htm]
===Field size limits===
Some fields have maximum character lengths. Typically the file will import to the preview list screen but not finish the process. Turn on debug to see the fields that are too long. A common field to cause problems is the "Institution" field which has a limit of 40 characters.
===All fields listed here===
:All the fields that are valid in 2.1 are listed below, except for any custom fields you may have created.
firstname, lastname, username, email, city, country, lang, timezone, mailformat, maildisplay, maildigest, htmleditor, ajax, autosubscribe ,institution, department, idnumber, skype , msn, aim, yahoo, icq, phone1, phone2, address, url, description, descriptionformat, password, auth, oldusername , deleted, course1, course2, course3, course4

== See also ==

*[[Flat file]] enrolment

Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=36851 Can I auto enroll from Excel?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=58215 Making Email Optional]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97903 Uploading users to custom roles]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=181259 User upload option: standardise usernames]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144569 Matriculacion con flat file csv] - discussion in Spanish

[[fr:Importer des utilisateurs]]
[[ja:ユーザのアップロード]]
[[zh:上传用户]]
[[ru:Загрузка пользователей]]

Dyskusja:Upload users

2011-11-22T13:23:54Z

Rcollman: /* Notes from Moodle 2.1 uploaduser.php */

==Notes from Moodle 2.1 uploaduser.php==
firstname, lastname, username, email, city, country, lang, timezone, mailformat, maildisplay, maildigest, htmleditor, ajax, autosubscribe ,institution, department , idnumber, skype , msn, aim, yahoo, icq, phone1, phone2, address, url, description, descriptionformat, password, auth, oldusername , deleted, course1, course2, course3, course4

// watch out when changing auth type or using external auth plugins!
// use oldusername when renaming users - this is the original username
// 1 means delete user
//course# not sure about these put short course name

--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 21:22, 22 November 2011 (WST)

Dyskusja:Upload users

2011-11-22T13:22:26Z

Rcollman: /* Notes from Moodle 2.1 uploaduser.php */

==Notes from Moodle 2.1 uploaduser.php==
firstname, lastname, username, email, city, country, lang, timezone, mailformat, maildisplay, maildigest, htmleditor, ajax, autosubscribe ,institution, department , idnumber, skype , msn, aim, yahoo, icq, phone1, phone2, address, url, description, descriptionformat, password, auth, oldusername , deleted, course1, course2, course3, course4
// watch out when changing auth type or using external auth plugins!
// use oldusername when renaming users - this is the original username
// 1 means delete user
//course# not sure about these

--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 21:22, 22 November 2011 (WST)

Dyskusja:Upload users

2011-11-22T13:21:59Z

Rcollman: List of valid fields forlater reference

==Notes from Moodle 2.1 uploaduser.php==
firstname, lastname, username, email, city, country, lang, timezone, mailformat, maildisplay, maildigest, htmleditor, ajax, autosubscribe ,institution, department , idnumber, skype , msn, aim, yahoo, icq, phone1, phone2, address, url, description, descriptionformat, password, auth, oldusername , deleted, course1, course2, course3, course4
// watch out when changing auth type or using external auth plugins!
// use oldusername when renaming users - this is the original username
// 1 means delete user
//course# not sure about these

Upload users

2011-11-22T12:15:58Z

Rcollman: /* Templates */

{{Accounts}}
An administrator can upload multiple user accounts via text file in ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Accounts > Upload users''.

There are many robust options for uploading information (fields associated with a user) with this method: from enrolling users in multiple courses with course specific [[Roles|roles]] to updating user information in the [[User profile]] to deleting users from the site.

''Tip:'' It is usually not necessary to upload users in bulk with Upload users. To keep maintenance work down you should first explore forms of authentication that do not require manual maintenance, such as [[External database authentication|connecting to existing external databases]] or letting the users create their own accounts ([[Self enrolment]]). See [[Authentication]] for more information.

[[File:Upload users initial 2.0.JPG|thumb|center|Initial upload users screen 2.1]]

==Upload user process==
Here is an outline of the process:

# Create file for uploading
# Go to ''Settings > Site administration > Users > Accounts > Upload users''
# Add file to upload
# Upload users preview - check settings and default user profile settings
# Upload users preview - click "Upload users"
# Upload users results - shows list of users, exceptions made in upload and summary of number of users
# Upload users results - click "Continue"
# Returns to Upload users screen

==Updating users preview==
There are settings for the kind of Upload user function you want to perform on the "Upload users preview" page.
[[File:Upload users preview 2.0.JPG|thumb|center|Upload users preview in Moodle 2.x]]

===Updating existing accounts===

By default Moodle adds new user accounts and skips existing users lines where the <code>username</code> matches an existing account. Set "Upload Type" to '''Add new and update existing users''', and existing user account will be updated.
*Add all, append number to usernames if needed
*Add new and update existing users
*Update existing users only
There are also fields settings to force password change, allow renames, allow deletes, prevent email address duplicates, standardise usernames and select for bulk operations(new users. updated users, all users).

'''Warning''': errors updating existing accounts can affect your users badly. Be careful when using the options to update.

===Set default user values===

You may be able to set default user field values, if the fields were not included in the uploaded file on this page.

==Upload user results ==
After accepting the preview settings by clicking on "Upload users", you should see the the Upload users results screen.
[[File:Upload users results 2.0.JPG|thumb|center|The 2.0 results screen, everything went well]]
This screen will show you any exceptions or changes that were made to each user in the upload process. For example if you were updating user information, the updated information will be shown. Or if a user was not added that record will be highlighted.

The screen will summarize how many users were uploaded or updated, indicate the number of week passwords and the number of errors.

==File formats for upload users file==
The upload files have their fields separated by a comma (or other delimiter). The first line contains the valid field names. The rest of the lines (records) contain information about each user.

'':Tip:'' If you are not an expert, avoid special characters in field information like quotes or other commas. Test a file with only one record before a large upload. Remember there are other ways to authenticate users on you site or enroll users in a course.

'':Tip:'' You can use a spread sheet program to create the file with the required columns and fields. Then save the file as "CSV (comma delimited)". These files can be opened with simple text editors for verification.

===Valid upload file for testing===
Here is an example of a simple valid upload file:

<code>username, password, firstname, lastname, email, course1, group1<br />
jonest, verysecret, Tom, Jones, jonest@someplace.edu, math102, Section 1<br />
reznort, somesecret, Trent, Reznor, reznort@someplace.edu, math102, Section 3</code>

===Fields that can be included===
'':Tip:'' We strongly recommend that you test a file that contains fields you proposed to use with one user before attempting a file upload for the first time. demo.moodle.net might be a good place to see if your test file works.

*'''Required fields''':
:<p><code>username, firstname, lastname, email</code>
:Validity checks are performed for:
#<code>username</code> can only contain alphabetical '''lowercase''' letters , numbers, hypen '-', underscore '_', period '.', or at-sign '@'
#<code>email</code> is in the form: ''name@example.com'' .</p>

*'''Password field''': "password" field is optional if "Create password if needed" setting is chosen (default).
**If included, values should meet the requirements for the site's [[Site_policies#Password_policy|Password policy]]. To force password change for a particular user, set the password field to <code>changeme</code>.
**If omitted, a password will be generated for each user (during the next Cron job) and welcome e-mails sent out (not working in v2.0.2?).

*'''Optional fields''': To provide values other than the default include one or more of these
:<p><code>institution, department, city, country, lang, auth, ajax, timezone, idnumber, icq, phone1, phone2, address, url, description, mailformat, maildisplay, htmleditor, autosubscribe</code></p>
*Country- use a country TWO LETTER CODE
*Some fields have a maximum number of characters that are allow. See hints below.
*Maildisplay, htmleditor and autosubscribe can be set from an import screen in Moodle 2.0.

*'''Custom profile field names''': (Optional). xxxxx is the real custom user profile field name (i.e. the unique shortname)
:<p><code>profile_field_xxxxx</code></p>
: Create the custom fields BEFORE importing. Use the standard header. The "shortname" for your custom field is xxxxx (NB: as at v2.0.2, the shortname must be all lowercase, otherwise won't be recognised). The first record must include "profile_field_xxxxx".
:'''Example''': To create a custom field "genre", you must write a shortname "genre" in the new field, and write "profile_field_genre" in the header of the .csv file.

*'''Special fields''': Used for changing of usernames or deleting of users
:<p><code>oldusername</code>, <code>deleted</code></p>

*'''Enrolment fields''': (Optional):
:<p><code>course1, type1, role1, group1, enrolperiod1, course2, type2, role2, group2, enrolperiod2</code> etc.
**<code>course</code> is the "shortname" of the course, if present the user will be enrolled in those courses.
** <code>type</code> refers to the role to be used for associated course enrolment. Value 1 is default course role, 2 is legacy Teacher role and 3 is legacy Non-editing Teacher.
** You can use role field instead to specify roles directly - use either role short name or id (numeric names of roles are not supported).
** Users may be also assigned to groups in course (group1 in course1, group2 in course2, etc.).
*** A group is identified by name or id (numeric group names are not supported).
** From Moodle 2.0, you can set the enrolment duration, in days, for each course (<code>enrolperiod1</code> for <code>course1</code>, <code>enrolperiod2</code> for <code>course2</code>, etc.).

Commas within a field must be encoded as &#44 - the script will decode these back to commas.

For Boolean fields, use <code>0</code> for false and <code>1</code> for true.

To prevent users from receiving a large number of emails from courses or forced subscription forums use the '''maildigest'''. The options for this field are 0 = No digest, 1 = Complete digest and 2 = Digest with just subjects.

==Advanced potentials of Upload user==
===Templates===

''Note: This section needs checking and updating if necessary for Moodle 2.0. Please do so and remove this note when finished.''

The default values are processed as templates in which the following codes are allowed:

* %l - will be replaced by the lastname
* %f - will be replaced by the firstname
* %u - will be replaced by the username
* %% - will be replaced by the %

Between the percent sign (%) and any code letter (l, f or u) the following modifiers are allowed:

* (-) minus sign - the information specified by the code letter will be converted to lowercase
* (+) plus sign - the information specified by the code letter will be converted to UPPERCASE
* (~) tilde sign - the information specified by the code letter will be converted to Title Case
* a decimal number - the information specified by the code letter will be truncated to that many characters

For example, if the firstname is John and the lastname is Doe, the following values will be obtained with the specified templates:

* %l%f = DoeJohn
* %l%1f = DoeJ
* %-l%+f = doeJOHN
* %-f_%-l = john_doe
*<nowiki> http://www.example.com/~%u/</nowiki> results in <nowiki>http://www.example.com/~jdoe/</nowiki> (if the username is jdoe or %-1f%-l)

Template processing is done only on default values, and not on the values retrieved from the CSV file.

In order to create correct Moodle usernames, the username is always converted to lowercase. Moreover, if the "Allow extended characters in usernames" option in the Site policies page is off, characters different to letters, digits, dash (-) and dot (.) are removed. For example if the firstname is John Jr. and the lastname is Doe, the username %-f_%-l will produce john jr._doe when Allow extended characters in usernames is on, and johnjr.doe when off.

When the "New username duplicate handling" setting is set to Append counter, an auto-increment counter will be append to duplicate usernames produced by the template. For example, if the CSV file contains the users named John Doe, Jane Doe and Jenny Doe without explicit usernames, the default username is %-1f%-l and New username duplicate handling is set to Append counter, then the usernames produced will be jdoe, jdoe2 and jdoe3.

===Deleting accounts===

If the <code>deleted</code> field is present, users with value 1 for it will be deleted. In this case, all the fields may be omitted, except for <code>username</code>. After uploading the file, be sure to change the "Upload type" to "Update existing users only" and the "Allow deletes" option to "Yes".

Deleting and uploading accounts could be done with a single CSV file. For example, the following file will add the user Tom Jones and delete the user reznort:

username, firstname, lastname, deleted
jonest, Tom, Jones, 0
reznort, , , 1

==Encoding file format==
On the initial Upload user screen, you may select the file encoding format from a pull down list. These include UTF-8 (the default), ASCII, ISO-8859-1 to ISO-8859-11 or any one of over 36 formats.

==Hints==

===Spreadsheet===

If you use a spreadsheet program such as Excel to create your .csv file, check the resulting output in a text editor before you upload it. It is possible to get trailing commas on each line from an empty field if you have added and deleted columns of information prior to saving the final file. Also check the character encoding. A csv file is a simple text file (ASCII or Unicode) that can be used to upload user accounts.

Excel translates passwords that begin with - (minus) or + (plus) as zero. Even when saving as .csv and saying "Yes" to "Keep this format, and leave out any incompatible features." Check for this before uploading, as a zero halts the upload process.

If you use a formula in Excel to create fields (for example, the concatenate function to create a user name), then remember to copy the cells with the formula and use special paste with values checked to make them into an acceptable data for a csv file.

===Country===
The country should be written as a two letter code, in capitals. For example, use BE for Belgium or NL for the Netherlands. Using "be" or "nl" as a country code will result in a database error.
:''Tip:'' If you are having trouble working out the two-letter code for a country, you can consult this Moodle source code file /moodle/lang/en_utf8/countries.php [http://cvs.moodle.org/moodle/lang/en_utf8/countries.php?view=markup&pathrev=MOODLE_19_STABLE or click here for a 1.9 STABLE list].
ISO Website: [http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/english_country_names_and_code_elements.htm]
===Field size limits===
Some fields have maximum character lengths. Typically the file will import to the preview list screen but not finish the process. Turn on debug to see the fields that are too long. A common field to cause problems is the "Institution" field which has a limit of 40 characters.

== See also ==

*[[Flat file]] enrolment

Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=36851 Can I auto enroll from Excel?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=58215 Making Email Optional]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97903 Uploading users to custom roles]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=181259 User upload option: standardise usernames]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=144569 Matriculacion con flat file csv] - discussion in Spanish

[[fr:Importer des utilisateurs]]
[[ja:ユーザのアップロード]]
[[zh:上传用户]]
[[ru:Загрузка пользователей]]

Dyskusja:Cron with Unix or Linux

2011-11-22T12:09:43Z

Rcollman: copy MoodleDocs some of 2.0 Talk:Cron

== Since wget is being used to run the cron.php script anyway, you can really run this ANYWHERE ==
:Brought this comment from 2.0 Cron comment page. It was unsigned/undated --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 20:09, 22 November 2011 (WST)
It is important to note that since the cron.php script is not run internally by Moodle, but by an outside interaction, you can really run a cron job on ANY server that runs the cron.php on your Moodle installation.

So, for example, if you have a Moodle install at an ISP that does not let you run cron jobs, but you have, say, a DSLline at home, you can use any of your Linux computers at home to run cron. (you do use Linux at home, right? :)

And the beauty of it is, the crontab line is *exactly* the same as listed in the main article. It just points to an outside URL.

Now, I mention this because at one point I had configured a server to run Moodle but, in the interest of security, I did not have wget available on the server. (cron was available, but not wget).

Well, the easiest thing to do was to just run a cron job somewhere else.

Alrighty, seeyalater!

== Update and clarify ==
:Brought this comment from 2.0 Cron comment page. It was unsigned/undated --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 20:09, 22 November 2011 (WST)

* The whole cronclionly vs. shell invocation vs. "using wget" is completely misleading.
** while you can call cron.php using a web browser or a command line web "browser" like wget, curl, lynx from outside or inside the server. The latter commands can be scripted, e.g. to be called by cron.
** the "cronclionly" checkbox restricts the call to cron.php to calling it from inside the server and only using "bin/php". This can be scripted to be called by cron, as well.
* It should be said somewhere that using e.g. the "www-data" user in e.g. /etc/cron.d/moodle is far better than using /etc/crontab which is executed by root. AFAICS this is nowhere mentioned.

Dyskusja:Cron

2011-11-22T12:05:52Z

Rcollman: delete temp draft of mine

Cron

2011-11-22T11:53:36Z

Rcollman: Upgrade page, split into many pages that are linked with template

{{Installing Moodle}}
Cron is the name of a Unix program that runs predefined tasks on a computer at regular intervals. The cron process in Moodle assists some modules to perform tasks on a scheduled basis. For example, the cron process might tell Moodle to check all discussion forums so it can mail out copies of new posts to people who have subscribed to that forum.

The Moodle cron process can not tell itself to run. It is a best practice to set up a cron service either on the hosting web server, another server or on another computer that will tell the Moodle cron process to run.

*[[Cron reports]] - Examples of reports shown after admin/cron.php was triggered
*[[Cron settings]] - Moodle cron process password and CLI settings
*[[Cron with Windows OS]] - Cron services in Windows
*[[Cron with MAC OS X]]- Cron services in a MAC environment
*[[Cron with web hosting services]]- Cron services in various web hosting examples.
*[[Cron with UNIX]]- Cron services on various UNIX and Linux flavored operating systems.

:Note: Asking a human to use their browser to run the Moodle cron process every five or ten minutes,or when anybody on the site thinks it needs to be run is not a best practice. The outside cron service provides a "heartbeat" so that the Moodle cron process can perform functions at periods defined for each module that needs it.

==Starting cron==
There are a number of way to invoke Moodle cron process. Cron can be started from the address bar in a browser (For example http:demo.moodle.net/admin/cron.php), via a [[Daemon]], or wq1et, curl or some other form of a cron service.

===Cron service location and timing===
Note that the machine providing the cron service '''does not need to be the same machine that is running Moodle'''. For example, if you have a limited web hosting service that does not have a cron service, then you might choose to run cron on another server or on your home computer. All that matters is that the Moodle cron process is run on a regular basis.

The load of the Moodle cron process on the Moodle server is not very high, so 5 minutes is usually reasonable. However if you're worried about it you can reduce the time period to something like 15 minutes or even 30 minutes.
:It's best not to make the time period too long. For example delaying mail-outs can slow down activity within the course and create a large mail outbox to process. Or student want to see their activity and course completions updated quickly.

===Testing cron and manual trigger===
On a new Moodle install or upgrade, it is a good idea to test the Moodle cron process directly from your browser: ''<nowiki>http://example.com/moodle/admin/cron.php</nowiki>'' (See [[Cron settings]] if this does not work).

Next, you need to set up a way to manage an automatic scheduled process to run the script on a regular basis. This will depend upon the operating system and program you select.

:Note: When the Moodle cron process is called from cron service, 'the command line' trigger creates a temporary admin environment (similar to a login) in order to run and then deletes that environment. You can disable command line running of cron by disabling the appropriate section in the cron.php file.

==Moodle cron process ==
The Moodle cron process basically finds and determines if certain functions need to run. These functions are defined in code associated with specific activities and processes. Usually the function looks for new activity that has occurred since cron was last run. Some of the functions may use a timestamp to determine if they should look for new activity. A few functions are run on a random basis.

===Examples of Moodle cron processes===
Moodle's cron processes include:
*updating reports such as quiz, admin, gradebook
*updating course and activity completion (if enabled in advanced settings)
*updating portfolio
*plagiarism checks
*updates activity modules. It looks through the mod directory for lib.php files that contain the function activity-name_cron and will call it. In a standard install this includes assignment, chat, forum, and SCROM.
*updates blocks. It looks for blocks for their cron methods (object functions) to be run. It then, for each such block, runs the cron method for a new object associated with that block (for more details read admin/cron.php). These files (the lib.php files and the files where the block classes are defined) can contain cleanup functions, email functions or anything that needs to be run on a regular basis.
*create the backups of courses at the time specified in the administration settings.
*updating messaging module or forum email notifications.
*unenrol students - this is done on a random basis about 20% of the time Moodle's cron process is triggered.
*deleting users who have not filled out their profile via the 20% random trigger
*deleting old logs are also checked 20% of the time via the 20% random trigger
*deletes old cached text
*generates new passwords for new users and notifies users
*runs authentication enrolments processes
*updates stats if enabled.
*runs blog cleanups
*updates registrations

The code in lib/cronlib.php shows the places that are being checked when the admin/cron.php is run and the report which is displayed on the screen after it has run. As mentioned elsewhere admin/cli/cron.php is the file which outside cron services run to trigger the Moodle cron process.

==See also==
Using Moodle forum discussions:
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=41827 Cron - can someone give me a quick confirmation of function?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97684 Cronjob Question]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97457 Slow cron : avoiding simultaneous cron]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=117168 Visibility of cron.php]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=139263#p609060 How to log the output of a Scheduled Task on Windows] - this discussion explains a nice trick that can be very useful when you are experiencing problems with your Windows Scheduled Task and you need to log the output of the Scheduled Task to a log file.

[[es:Cron]]
[[fr:Cron]]
[[nl:Cron]]
[[sk:Cron]]
[[pl:Cron]]
[[ja:Cron]]

Dyskusja:Cron

2011-11-22T11:50:32Z

Rcollman: /* =Examples of Moodle cron processes */

Comment from Eloy:

"If there is some template to mark one page as "require some love" I'd say https://docs.moodle.org/en/Cron requires it. It talks 99% of the time to use web-browser cron. Only 1 line talks about cli cron." --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 20:44, 9 November 2011 (WST)
:I just noticed this comment. Cron is not one of my special areas of knowledge but obviously use it. Did a quick "Cron CLI" on the web and got lost in how to program a php file to run cron jobs. Saw the note about 2.0 and CLI on this page.

I think Eloy's comment is also saying that this page is too long and could be split up? For example use a navtrail and a Cron template. Proposed pages:
*Cron page - Overview section
*[[Cron with Windows OS]] page - move section.
*[[Cron with MAC OS X]] page - move section
*[[Cron with web hosting services]] page - move section
*[[Cron with UNIX]] page - move section
*[[Cron reports]]
*[[Cron settings]]
Comments? --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 23:25, 12 November 2011 (WST)

Notice that I am using the phrase "the Moodle cron process". As I understand it, this process can be triggered via admin/cron.php OR via a cron service at admin/cli/cron.php. Frankly, I am not sure how lib/cronlib.php works with either of these trigeer points but I don't think that is important for the site admin. The old cron page refered to cron.php with the assumption that it was in admin. To avoid confusion for a new user, I decided to call it a Moodle cron process.--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 23:57, 19 November 2011 (WST)

==Will create change on this page later==
Not hearing any immediate response to my proposals, I will wait a few days before I change things. I will go back and change the 2.0 Docs as well--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 22:58, 17 November 2011 (WST)

::'''DRAFT OF NEW CRON PAGE STARTS HERE''' (will remove later)
'''Change Moodle 2.0 Docs as well'''
Cron is the name of a Unix program that runs predefined tasks on a computer at regular intervals. The cron process in Moodle assists some modules to perform tasks on a scheduled basis. For example, the cron process might tell Moodle to check all discussion forums so it can mail out copies of new posts to people who have subscribed to that forum.

The Moodle cron process can not tell itself to run. It is a best practice to set up a cron service either on the hosting web server, another server or on another computer that will tell the Moodle cron process to run.

*[[Cron reports]] - Examples of reports shown after admin/cron.php was triggered
*[[Cron settings]] - Moodle cron process password and CLI settings
*[[Cron with Windows OS]] - Cron services in Windows
*[[Cron with MAC OS X]]- Cron services in a MAC environment
*[[Cron with web hosting services]]- Cron services in various web hosting examples.
*[[Cron with UNIX]]- Cron services on various UNIX and Linux flavored operating systems.

:Note: Asking a human to use their browser to run the Moodle cron process every five or ten minutes,or when anybody on the site thinks it needs to be run is not a best practice. The outside cron service provides a "heartbeat" so that the Moodle cron process can perform functions at periods defined for each module that needs it.

==Starting cron==
There are a number of way to invoke Moodle cron process. Cron can be started from the address bar in a browser (For example http:demo.moodle.net/admin/cron.php), via a [[Daemon]], or wq1et, curl or some other form of a cron service.

===Cron service location and timing===
Note that the machine providing the cron service '''does not need to be the same machine that is running Moodle'''. For example, if you have a limited web hosting service that does not have a cron service, then you might choose to run cron on another server or on your home computer. All that matters is that the Moodle cron process is run on a regular basis.

The load of the Moodle cron process on the Moodle server is not very high, so 5 minutes is usually reasonable. However if you're worried about it you can reduce the time period to something like 15 minutes or even 30 minutes.
:It's best not to make the time period too long. For example delaying mail-outs can slow down activity within the course and create a large mail outbox to process. Or student want to see their activity and course completions updated quickly.

===Testing cron and manual trigger===
On a new Moodle install or upgrade, it is a good idea to test the Moodle cron process directly from your browser: ''<nowiki>http://example.com/moodle/admin/cron.php</nowiki>'' (See [[Cron settings]] if this does not work).

Next, you need to set up a way to manage an automatic scheduled process to run the script on a regular basis. This will depend upon the operating system and program you select.

:Note: When the Moodle cron process is called from cron service, 'the command line' trigger creates a temporary admin environment (similar to a login) in order to run and then deletes that environment. You can disable command line running of cron by disabling the appropriate section in the cron.php file.

==Moodle cron process ==
The Moodle cron process basically finds and determines if certain functions need to run. These functions are defined in code associated with specific activities and processes. Usually the function looks for new activity that has occurred since cron was last run. Some of the functions may use a timestamp to determine if they should look for new activity. A few functions are run on a random basis.

===Examples of Moodle cron processes===
Moodle's cron processes include:
*updating reports such as quiz, admin, gradebook
*updating course and activity completion (if enabled in advanced settings)
*updating portfolio
*plagiarism checks
*updates activity modules. It looks through the mod directory for lib.php files that contain the function activity-name_cron and will call it. In a standard install this includes assignment, chat, forum, and SCROM.
*updates blocks. It looks for blocks for their cron methods (object functions) to be run. It then, for each such block, runs the cron method for a new object associated with that block (for more details read admin/cron.php). These files (the lib.php files and the files where the block classes are defined) can contain cleanup functions, email functions or anything that needs to be run on a regular basis.
*create the backups of courses at the time specified in the administration settings.
*updating messaging module or forum email notifications.
*unenroll students - this is done on a random basis about 20% of the time Moodle's cron process is triggered.
*deleting users who have not filled out their profile via the 20% random trigger
*deleting old logs are also checked 20% of the time via the 20% random trigger
*deletes old cached text
*generates new passwords for new users and notifies users
*runs authentication enrolments processes
*updates stats if enabled.
*runs blog cleanups
*updates registrations

The code in lib/cronlib.php shows the places that are being checked when the admin/cron.php is run and the report which is displayed on the screen after it has run. As mentioned elsewhere admin/cli/cron.php is the file which outside cron services run to trigger the Moodle cron process.

==See also==
Using Moodle forum discussions:'''No wiki start'''<nowiki>
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=41827 Cron - can someone give me a quick confirmation of function?]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97684 Cronjob Question]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=97457 Slow cron : avoiding simultaneous cron]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=117168 Visibility of cron.php]
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=139263#p609060 How to log the output of a Scheduled Task on Windows] - this discussion explains a nice trick that can be very useful when you are experiencing problems with your Windows Scheduled Task and you need to log the output of the Scheduled Task to a log file.

[[es:Cron]]
[[fr:Cron]]
[[nl:Cron]]
[[sk:Cron]]
[[pl:Cron]]
[[ja:Cron]]</nowiki>'''No wiki end'''

::'''END OF DRAFT PAGE HERE'''

Szablon:Lesson

2011-11-20T15:51:42Z

Rcollman:

<div class="navtrail">[[Main page]] ► [[Managing a Moodle course]] ► [[Activities]] ► [[Lesson module]] ► [[{{PAGENAME}}]]</div>
<div class="sideblock right" style="width: 12em;">
<div class="header">[[Lesson module]]</div>
<div class="content">
* [[Lesson settings]]
* [[Building Lesson]]
* [[Using Lesson]]
* [[Lesson reports]]
* [[Lesson FAQ]]
* [[Jumps]]
* [[Adding a content page|Adding content page]]
* [[Adding a question page|Adding question page]]
* [[Lesson clusters|Clusters]]

</div>
</div>

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

Szablon:Lesson

2011-11-20T15:50:54Z

Rcollman: expand to include most of pages that contain this template

<div class="navtrail">[[Main page]] ► [[Managing a Moodle course]] ► [[Activities]] ► [[Lesson module]] ► [[{{PAGENAME}}]]</div>
<div class="sideblock right" style="width: 12em;">
<div class="header">[[Lesson module]]</div>
<div class="content">
* [[Lesson settings]]
* [[Building Lesson]]
* [[Using Lesson]]
* [[Lesson reports]]
* [[Lesson FAQ]]
* [[Jumps]]
* [[Adding content page]]
* [[Adding question page]]
* [[Lesson clusters|Clusters]]

</div>
</div>

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

Szablon:Lesson

2011-11-20T15:45:37Z

Rcollman: reports has template

<div class="navtrail">[[Main page]] ► [[Managing a Moodle course]] ► [[Activities]] ► [[Lesson module]] ► [[{{PAGENAME}}]]</div>
<div class="sideblock right" style="width: 12em;">
<div class="header">[[Lesson module]]</div>
<div class="content">
* [[Lesson settings]]
* [[Building Lesson]]
* [[Using Lesson]]
* [[Lesson reports]]
* [[Lesson FAQ]]
</div>
</div>

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

Answers

2011-11-20T15:43:49Z

Rcollman: /* The Ultimate Answer to Everything */

This page is about Answers used in a Course [[Lesson module]] question or in a Course [[Quiz module]] or a [[Question bank]] question. Typically students are presented with a question, they select or create an answer, which maybe scored and bring additional information to the student or present a new set of information to consider.

==Links to answers==
*[[Lesson module#Answers | Answers used in Lesson Page]]
*[[Lesson module#Types_of_questions_available_within_a_lesson|Types of questions]] in a Lesson that have answers
*[[Quiz]] page in MoodleDocs
*[[Question types]] available in a Quiz that have answers
* The [https://docs.moodle.org/en/Category:Quiz Quiz Topic Index Quiz index] is also an excellent source of information about different types of questions and their types of answers. Lesson and Quiz questions types are the same

==Links to places to find answers==
*Moodle Documentation article- do not click your mouse, you are here. Use the search field on the left side of the page.
**Go looks for a specific page with that text
**Search looks for every use of the text
*Moodle Documentation page comments - not a good place for questions but sometimes they have answers
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/index.php?id=5 Moodle forums] - these are organized by interest and there are lots of them.
*[http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=6801 Moodle social forum] - for answers to real philosophical or non Moodle questions
*[[Tracker|Moodle Tracker]] - Not only a place to report bugs but a place to answer the question if others have noticed the same thing.
*[http://demo.moodle.org/ demo.moodle.org] find your own answers in the demonstration. You can't break it, every hour it restores itself.

==The Ultimate '''Answer''' to Everything==
The ultimate answer to everything is of course [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_to_Life%2C_the_Universe%2C_and_Everything 42]. For something more specific than '''The Ultimate Answer to EVERYTHING''', um.... may we suggest you look at
*[[Table_of_Contents]] and to find the answer, or
*Seek out your favorite spiritual adviser for additional help, or perhaps
*Go to one of the [http://moodle.org/course/view.php?id=5 Using Moodle forums]

==See also==

[[Category:Lesson]]
[[Category:Quiz]]