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Multimedia plugins filter

From MoodleDocs

Location: Multimedia Plugins settings link in Site administration > Modules > Filters > Manage filters


The Multimedia plugins filter finds URLs that point to multimedia resources in text and replaces them with an appropriate multimedia player.


Supported media formats

  • .mp3 - MPEG Audio Stream, Layer III
  • .swf - Macromedia Flash Format File (Adobe, Inc.)
  • .mov - QuickTime Video Clip (Apple Computer, Inc.)
  • .wmv - Windows Media File (Microsoft)
  • .mpg - MPEG Animation
  • .avi - Audio Video Interleave File
  • .flv - Flash Video File (Macromedia, Inc.)
  • .ram - RealMedia Metafile (RealNetworks, Inc.)
  • .rpm - RealMedia Player Plug-in (RealNetworks)
  • .rm - RealMedia Streaming Media (Real Networks, Inc.)
  • .mp4 (in Moodle 1.9.6 onwards)
  • .m4v (in Moodle 1.9.6 onwards)

In Moodle 1.9.6 onwards, a YouTube link filter (disabled by default) is also available.

Usage

Insert the URL of the multimedia resource into your text (which can be the URL of a file in the course files area). When displayed a suitable player will be provided. Moodle detects the media type using the filename extension, so you should ensure that the file contents match the extension correctly.

For some file types, like Flash, you can size the plugin using an extended syntax:

<a href="somepath.swf?d=640x480">My link name</a>

where the first number is the width in pixels, and the second is the height.

Required Software

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

Settings page

The settings page is in the administration block. Prior to version 1.7, this can be reach from Configuration > Filters > MultiMedia Plugins. In 1.7 it can be found via Administration > Modules > Filters > MultiMedia Plugins. In 1.8 it can be found via: Notifications > Modules > Filters > MultiMedia Plugins > Settings.

There is an individual setting to turn on or off each supported media type. Note that by default all but the Flash (.swf) filter are enabled. As Flash files present a theoretical security risk, it is strongly recommended not to allow users to add flash content.

YouTube Link Filter

The youtube filter uses a custom delimiting tag inserted anywhere within the text of a resource to embed and display an embedded youtube player without having to paste the embed code into the HTML of the page. It is also designed to ignore youtube links placed in standard <a href> tags.

  • Enable the filter from the administration menu in Moodle: Modules -> Filters -> Manage filters.
  • To embed the youtube video, enclose the video URL in [youtube] tags. Note that there is no closing tab ([/youtube]) - simply us e the regular tag again.
  • Videos that cannot be embedded will display with an error message and a standard html link to the video on youtube.
  • Youtube links placed inside of <a href> tags are designed to display normally as HTML.
  • The filter does its best to strip out additional php GET parameters. Example: anything after the video ID root in the URL, starting with the first '&': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahuduPpZJQA(-->)&feature=featured)
  • Multiple links can be placed within a page.

Examples:

  • Advanced Quirk:
    • A youtube url that is place in a resource that is the only text on the page will display, but will not if any other text or HTML on the page exists.


See also

Using Moodle forum discussions:


/discuss.php?d=90781 video streaming]