Note: You are currently viewing documentation for Moodle 3.6. Up-to-date documentation for the latest stable version of Moodle is likely available here: Using Glossary.

Using Glossary

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Revision as of 00:42, 1 August 2005 by rafal (talk | contribs)
Note for Contributors
This page should explain what can be seen on the moodlesite.com/mod/glossary/view.php page
(the main page of a glossary)


Below the glossary description field you will find a number of editing and browse options:


Add a new entry

Adding a new entry, you have to fill in two fields. Others are obligatory.


  • Concept (mandatory)

Here you should insert the word/concept, the definition of which you wish to create.


  • Definition (mandatory)

As its name suggests, this field should contain the definition of the word/concept.


  • Keywords

Each entry in the glossary can have an associated list of keywords (or aliases). Enter each alias on a new line (not separated by commas). The aliased words and phrases can be used as alternative ways to refer to the entry. For example, if you are using the glossary auto-linking filter then the aliases will be used (as well as the main name of the entry) when deciding what words to link to this entry.


  • Categories

The default setting is 'Not categorised'. However, if you do add new categories, they will display here offering

  • Enabling automatic linking in a entry

Turning this feature on will allow the entry to be automatically linked, whenever the concept words and phrases appear throughout the rest of the same course. This includes forum postings, internal resources, week summaries and so on.

If you do not want particular text to be linked (in a forum posting, say) then you should add <nolink> and </nolink> tags around the text.

To be able to turn on this feature, auto linking must be enabled at glossary level.


  • Case sensitive matching

This setting specifies whether matching exact upper and lower case is necessary when performing automatic linking to these entries.

For example, if this is turned on, then a word like "html" in a forum posting will NOT be linked to a glossary entry called "HTML".


  • Whole words matching

If automatic linking is enabled, then turning this setting on will force only whole words to be linked.

For example, a glossary entry named "construct" will not create a link inside the word "constructivism".


Import entries

This allows you to import glossaries that have been exported from other glossaries. - Export entries.


Export entries

This allows you to export your glossary to share with another glossary.


Waiting approval

If entries require teacher approval before being publicly posted, this is where those entries are approved.


Browse options

You can browse glossaries according to several criteria, such as:

  • Browse by alphabet
  • Browse by category (if there are any categories added)
  • Browse by date
  • Browse by Author


You can also search for a given word using the Search field. Checking the 'Search full text' option (on the right side of the Search box) allows searching for a given word in any position in the text. This can take longer and return more entries than you might wish, but it is thorough. If you do not check the “Search full text” box, the search only looks for the term names. The index below lets you browse the glossary according to a given letter.

When you are done with adding a new word, click “Save changes.”