Using Page: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 10:56, 2 September 2020

This page explores ways the Page resource may be used in your Moodle course.

When to use a Page rather than a file

Use a page if:

The document doesn't need to be printed
You need to update it fairly often
You don't need to impose strict control over the way it looks (for accessibility reasons you should, if educationally appropriate, avoid taking control)
Your students may need to refer to it (on their smartphone for example) frequently for reference e.g. timetable, schedule, tutorial groups, reading list.

Why a Page and not a file?

Opens directly - no need to download and open with proprietary software (eg MS Word)
Can be easily accessed by mobile devices e.g. smartphones.
Much easier for the teacher to edit
Much more accessible, and readily configurable for reading (easier to resize text, change colours, etc, in the web browser)
Can contain links - e.g. to files, to web pages, or to Glossary entries

Pasting from another document

Be very careful when pasting from a word-processed document (such as MS Word) as it can add extra code to your Page and stop your course working correctly. If you don't want to type the text out manually then here are some suggestions:

Open the document containing the text you want to paste into your new Page, and copy that text ready to paste.
Paste the text into a plain text editor such as Notepad and then from there, paste it into your Moodle Page. You will have to reformat the paragraphs but the Page will be clear of problematic code. OR..
From the toolbar, click the code icon as in the screenshot and then paste your text. Switch back to the normal view and reformat your paragraphs if needed.

Drag and drop text into a page

It's possible to select text from a website or a word processed document and create a page by drag and drop.

Note: this does not work with IE, Safari 6 or below and is unreliable with Firefox

Drag and drop upload of text/links must be enabled in Administration > Site administration > Development > Experimental > Experimental settings
Select the text you wish to use, for example in a Word document. If you want to paste from a webpage you need it to be open in a new window, not a new tab.
With the editing turned on, drag the text over to the section you want it to appear.
From the box that appears, choose "Create a new page resource"
Give it a name and then click "upload".

Select your text and drag into the course page

Give your page a name

The page is created

View of the page created from dragged and dropped text

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Page}}==Why a page and not a file?==
+{{Page}}
-#Opens seamlessly  - no clunky attempts to launch third party software (e.g. Microsoft Word) which some users may not be able to access.
+This page explores ways the [[Page resource]] may be used in your Moodle course.
-#Can be accessed by mobile devices e.g. smartphones (again, not all smartphones can handle word-processed documents)
-#Much easier for the Teacher to edit (i.e. saves time)
-#Much more accessible, and readily configurable for reading (easier to resize text, change colours, etc, in the web browser)
-#Can contain links - e.g. to files, to web pages, or to Glossary entries
-===When to use a page rather than a file ===
+===When to use a Page rather than a file ===
 Use a page if:
 *The document doesn't need to be printed
@@ Line 12: / Line 8: @@
 *You don't need to impose strict control over the way it looks (for accessibility reasons you should, if educationally appropriate, avoid taking control)
 *Your students may need to refer to it (on their smartphone for example) frequently for reference e.g. timetable, schedule, tutorial groups, reading list.
+==Why a Page and not a file?==
+*Opens directly - no need to download and open with proprietary software (eg MS Word)
+*Can be  easily accessed by mobile devices e.g. smartphones.
+*Much easier for the teacher to edit
+*Much more accessible, and readily configurable for reading (easier to resize text, change colours, etc, in the web browser)
+*Can contain links - e.g. to files, to web pages, or to Glossary entries
-==How to create a page==
-===Typing directly into the Editor===
+==Pasting from another document==
-#Log in, go to your course page, and Turn Editing On.
-#In the section where you want the link to your Page to appear, click its Add A Resource menu; the menu displays.
+Be very careful when pasting from a word-processed document (such as MS Word) as it can add extra code to your Page and stop your course working correctly. If you don't want to type the text out manually then here are some suggestions:
-#From the menu select Page; the Adding A New Page To Topic [X] page loads containing the settings for your new Page.
+*Open the document containing the text you want to paste into your new Page, and copy that text ready to paste.
-#In its '''Name''' field, enter a title - this will eventually appear as a link on your course page so keep it concise but descriptive.
+*Paste the text into a plain text editor such as Notepad and then from there, paste it into your Moodle Page. You will have to reformat the paragraphs but the Page will be clear of problematic code. OR..
-#In its '''Description''' field, enter a concise description no longer than index length.
+*From the toolbar, click the code icon as in the screenshot  and then paste your text. Switch back to the normal view and reformat your paragraphs if needed.
-#If the '''Name''' is insufficient on its own to communicate the contents of your new Page, then select the checkbox to Display Description on Course Page.
-#Into the '''Page Content''' field you can then enter the content of your page including a range of media as needed. N.b. if you are pasting from an existing document e.g. word processed, you'll need to follow the instructions below.
+[[File:CodeIcon.png|center]]
-#The remaining fields stipulate who can access the page and when - complete these as appropriate.
-#Ensure all fields with '''asterisks''' are complete, and when you are ready click the Save And Display button at the bottom of the page; your new Page loads.
+==Drag and drop text into a page==
-If you need to make subsequent changes, to edit the Page you can either open it and in its Settings block click Edit Settings, or from your course page (after you've Turned Editing On) you can click its adjacent Update icon.
+It's possible to select text from a website or a word processed document and create a page by drag and drop.
+''Note: this does not work with IE, Safari 6 or below and is unreliable with Firefox''
+*Drag and drop upload of text/links must be enabled in ''Administration > Site administration > Development > Experimental > Experimental settings''
+*Select the text you wish to use, for example in a Word document. If you want to paste from a webpage you need it to be open in a new window, not a new tab.
+*With the editing turned on, drag the text over to the section you want it to appear.
+*From the box that appears, choose "Create a new page resource"
+*Give it a name and then click "upload".
+{|
+|[[File:pagedragdrop1.png|thumb|Select your text and drag into the course page]]
+|[[File:pagedragdrop2.png|thumb|Give your page a name]]
+|[[File:pagedragdrop3.png|thumb|The page is created]]
+|[[File:pagedragdrop4.png|thumb|View of the page created from dragged and dropped text]]
+|}
-===Pasting from another document===
-To safeguard against unpredictable, ugly, and inaccessible results, it's important to take some easy extra steps when pasting word processed and other text into web authoring software including Moodle.
-#Open the document containing the text you want to paste into your new Page, and copy that text ready to paste.
-#Follow steps 1-6 for the section above on 'Typing directly into the editor'.
-#When you are ready to paste the content into Moodle, you have two choices:
-#*If you want to keep the original formatting then click the Paste From Word icon; a pane loads containing an empty text field and you can press your keyboard's Control and V keys to paste what you copied into the text field; then click the Insert button; your text appears and can be edited within learn.gold. N.b. if the original formatting does not conform to Web accessibility requirements, it won't be transferred.
-#*Alternatively, if you want to strip away all formatting, rather than the Paste From Word icon you instead click the Paste As Plain Text icon and proceed to paste directly.
-#Follow steps 8-9 for the section above on 'Typing directly into the editor'.
 [[de:Textseiten nutzen]]
+[[es:Usando página]]

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