Administration FAQ

Changing text in Moodle

The language editing interface in Administration > Language > Language editing enables you to easily change any word or phrase used on the site. You may need to search through several files to find the word or phrase you are looking for. The file moodle.php contains all common site-wide phrases and the admin.php contains many admin phrases.

How do the limits on uploaded files work?

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

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

LimitRequestBody 10485760

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

php_value upload_max_filesize 50000000
php_value post_max_size 50000000

To convert from Bytes to Megabytes use this convertor

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

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

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

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

See also

Using Moodle Detailed instructions to increase the maximum allowed size for uploaded files forum discussion
Using Moodle Instructions to increase maximum allowed size on hosted servers forum discussion
Instructions below on How to change the maximum execution time

How to change upload file size on a Windows localhost

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

Here is an example of how to change the upload file size to 100M.

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

upload_max_filesize = 100M

In the same way, find post_max_size = 16M
Change that line to

post_max_size = 100M

Save the file.

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

See also

Instructions below on How to change the maximum execution time

How to change the maximum execution time

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

max_execution_time = 600

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

php_value max_execution_time 600

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

I have forgotten the admin password

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

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

My log table has disappeared - No logs found!

The most likely cause is that the mdl_log table has become corrupted. See the database repair section below.

My style sheet changes aren't showing up

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

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

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

Site-wide scales

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

Why do I see [[missing strings]]?

Double square brackets around text indicate that language strings are missing. Try checking for untranslated words or phrases in Administration > Language > Language editing and update local language packs in Administration > Language > Language packs (or Administration > Configuration > Language in Moodle 1.6).

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

How do I find the version of Moodle currently installed?

See the Moodle version information.

How do I repair a corrupted Moodle database?

Database corruption usually occurs as a result of a hardware (especially disk-based) failure, or when a disk becomes full. Typical symptoms are failure on login, with this message displayed:

Session Replace: Table './moodle/mdl_sessions2' is marked as crashed and should be repaired

The problem can be repaired using the mysqlcheck command (the command you type is in bold and we assume the database name is 'moodle' and its type is MySQL):

#mysqlcheck –u moodleuser –p –-auto-repair moodle
Enter password:
moodle.adodb_logsql                      OK
moodle.mdl_assignment                    OK
moodle.mdl_assignment_submissions        OK
...
moodle.mdl_log
error    : Table './moodle/mdl_log' is marked as crashed and should be repaired
...
moodle.mdl_sessions2
error    : Table './moodle/mdl_sessions2' is marked as crashed and should be repaired

Repairing tables
moodle_18_latest.mdl_log                           OK
moodle_18_latest.mdl_sessions2                     OK

Your mysql database server must be running when executing the mysqlcheck command. If there are problems with the tables, the auto-repair option will fix them as shown above. Note that the repair process can take a long time to complete. Re-run the command again to double-check that all is OK.

Individual Moodle tables may be repaired using MySQL Admin/PHPMyAdmin as follows:

In the databases section, select the Moodle database.
Click the SQL tab, then in the "Run SQL query/queries on database moodle" field type REPAIR TABLE mdl_tablename
Click the Go button.

For example, to repair the Moodle log tables, type REPAIR TABLE mdl_log

Re. Site files, what does "files placed here can be accessed by anyone" mean?

Unlike course files, which require a user to have appropriate rights in order to access them, files within the site files folder are accessible by anyone provided with the URI. For example visitors to the site may view images stored in the site files folder without being logged in. Please refer to Site files for more information.

My site is stuck in maintenance mode

Sometimes Moodle gets stuck in maintenance mode and you'll see the message "This site is undergoing maintenance and is currently unavailable" despite your attempts to turn-off maintenance mode. When you put Moodle into maintenance mode it creates a file called maintenance.html in moodledata/1/maintenance.html (the site files folder). To fix this try the following:

Check that the web server user has write permissions to the moodledata folder.
Manually delete the maintenance.html file.

Incomplete page displayed when I click "Turn Editing On"

This is usually as a result of an incompatible contributed module or block that you have installed. Follow these steps:

Follow the module removal instructions in Installing contributed modules or plugins.
Re-visit your course page and try clicking on the "Turn Editing On" button again.

If you find an incompatible module or block, please report the problem to the person named as the maintainer in the Modules and Plugins database.

"a request parameter (id) was missing" when uploading a file

This message sometimes is generated when attempting to upload a file larger than the upload limit.

I cannot delete the News Forum on a course

The News Forum is deleted by setting the number of items to display to zero. To do this, change the setting in Course Admin menu -> Settings -> News Items to Show.

How can I change the URL of the moodle service

You should configure your Apache server, at httpd.conf, using Listen, Port and DocumentRoot directives and Directory section. After restarting Apache, you also must open config.php in a text editor, and change the line:

   $CFG->wwwroot   = 'http://mydomain/testmoodle';

Your Moodle site will also contain absolute links to resources which point to the previous URL. To change this see the migrating a complete Moodle site instructions.

See also: Forum discussion

Why is the Moodle Registration button still displayed after I register my site?

The registration button is provided so that you can place your moodle site to the http://www.moodle.org/sites list. Before registering, the button is displayed at the top of the Site Administration -> Notifications page. Once you have successfully registered, this is moved to the bottom of the same page. The button remains there so that you can update the details of your registration.

If the registration process fails for some reason to complete fully, there are two methods of letting your local Moodle install know that you have registered:

The preferred method is to use your mysql client program to execute these commands (assuming your Moodle database is called "moodle"):

mysql> USE moodle;
mysql> INSERT INTO mdl_config (name,value) VALUES ('registered',unix_timestamp());

Alternatively, edit your moodle/config.php file and add this line:

$CFG->registered = '9999999999';

Note that this line in your config.php will stop the reminders about re-registering.

For an explanation of the idea behind the button see [https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-7359 MDL-7359] in the moodle tracker.

For an explanation of how sites are checked see the site verification page

How do I enable/disable debugging?

There are a few ways you can enable or disable debugging on your site. If you are able to login as an administrator and access the Site Administration block, then the easiest way is to go to Admin->Server->Debugging and set it there. There are several options - the most often recommended setting for debugging is 'ALL: Show all reasonable PHP debugging messages'. To disable debugging, simply set this to 'NONE: Do not show any errors or warnings.'.

If you are unable to set your debugging level in this manner, you still have a couple ways to set it - in your config.php or in the database.

In moodle/config.php you can add these lines:

$CFG->debug=2047; 
$CFG->debugdisplay=1;

Then simply remove them (or comment them out) when you're done.

To enable debugging in the database, simply use a database utility such as the MySQL Admin plugin for Moodle, or PHPMyAdmin, etc., and enter the following:

UPDATE `mdl_config` SET `value` = '2047' WHERE `name` ='debug';

To turn it back off, use this command:

UPDATE `mdl_config` SET `value` = '0' WHERE `name` ='debug';

How do I install the Moodle Features Demo course?

Download the Moodle Features Demo Course backup.
Log into your Moodle installation as an administrator.
Access Administration > Front Page > Site files (or Administration > Server > Site files in Moodle 1.7).
Upload the backup file.
Follow the restore link opposite the backup file.
Follow the instructions provided, selecting the option to restore to a new course.

"Could not create guest user record!" error message

Most likely the database table mdl_user needs repairing. This may be done as follows using phpMyAdmin:

Click the SQL tab.
In the "Run SQL query/queries on database moodle" field type REPAIR TABLE mdl_user
Click the Go button.

"Your session has timed out. Please login again." error message

Please do one/all of the following:

Try deleting cookies manually from your browser and close it down, then access your site again. Sometimes this clears up the problem.
Check that your moodledata/sessions directory has write permissions. When you access Moodle a new file should be created there.
If you are running two versions of Moodle on the same computer, set a cookie prefix in Administration > Server > Session handling.

I cannot login to the Moodle CVS servers

When attempting to login to the Moodle CVS servers, you may receive a "login aborted" error as shown below (this example shows the eu cvs server, with the command in bold):

C:\gnuwin32>cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@eu.cvs.moodle.org:/cvsroot/moodle login
Logging in to :pserver:anonymous@eu.cvs.moodle.org:2401/cvsroot/moodle
CVS password: <- (blank password entered)
cvs [login aborted]: connect to uk.cvs.moodle.org(212.219.207.198):2401 failed:
Connection refused
C:\gnuwin32>

To fix this problem, check that you have entered the CVS command correctly and that port 2401 is open on your firewall.

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