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(New page: The '''RSS feeds''' block enables RSS feeds from external websites to be displayed within Moodle. As the information on the other site (for example, news headlines or recently added do...)
 
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The '''RSS feeds''' block enables [[RSS]] feeds from external websites to be displayed within Moodle. As the information on the other site (for example, news headlines or recently added documents) is changed the block will update to show the latest information.  One or more RSS feeds can be added to a course by selecting them from an existing list.  Site and course home pages are common places to place an RSS feed block(s).  
'''The following information relates to Moodle 1.9 and NOT 2.4 as suggested by the icon at the top of this page.'''


==Configuring RSS feeds block==
----


After adding an RSS feed block, select the edit icon on the Remote News Feed block.  The default will open up the '''Configure this block''' tab.
The '''Custom Theme Settings''' page allows you to configure the appearance of your site when you are using '''custom_theme''' theme. Note that the changes you make in this page will be visible only when you have selected '''custom_theme''' from Site Administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme Selector.


;Display each link's description?
==Configuring the Custom Theme==
:Choose yes or no from the drop-down menu to determine whether the block will display a description of each article, or just the title of the article. Both the title and description are generated by the external feed.


;Max number of entries to show per block
The settings page provides you with the following options to customize your site:-
:Determines how many articles will be displayed. The most recent will be displayed first.


;Choose the feeds to make available
;Use a parent theme
:Check the box next to each feed you would displayed in this block. You can have more than one instance of the RSS feed block if you would like to break them up.
:'''See note below'''
:Allows to use a parent theme on top of the Standard Moodle Theme.


;Title
;Upload your own CSS
:Enter a title for the block. If you leave this blank a title will be taken from the RSS feeds, which can be confusing if there are multiple feeds in one block.
:This will allow you to upload and use a CSS of your own choice. This uploaded style sheet will be applied after the Standard Moodle Theme and the parent theme (if selected any).
:If you have uploaded a CSS previously and want to make other changes without having to upload the CSS again, just uncheck the checkbox ''Use my own CSS''.
:If you have uploaded a CSS previously and don't want to use it anymore, check the checkbox ''Use my own CSS'' and leave the ''Upload CSS'' field empty. This will delete your CSS file from the server.


;Display a link?
;Upload your own Favicon
:Each article headline should link to the full article, but you can also display a link to the original site where available.
:This will allow you to upload and use a Favicon of your own choice. The Favicon is the small icon shown in the browsers in front of the URL. Note that you can upload only a .ico file as favicon.
:If you have uploaded a Favicon previously and want to make other changes without having to upload the favicon again, just uncheck the checkbox ''Use my own favicon''.
:If you have uploaded a Favicon previously and don't want to use it anymore, check the checkbox ''Use my own Favicon'' and leave the ''Upload Favicon'' field empty. This will delete your favicon file from the server.


;Show channel image?
;Upload your own Moodle logo
:Some feeds supply an image or logo from the original site which you can choose to display when available.
:This will allow you to upload and use a Moodle logo of your own choice. Note that you can upload only a .jpg file as logo.
:If you have uploaded a Moodle logo previously and want to make other changes without having to upload the Moodle logo again, just uncheck the checkbox ''Use my own Moodle Logo''.
:If you have uploaded a Moodle logo previously and don't want to use it anymore, check the checkbox ''Use my own Moodle Logo'' and leave the ''Upload Logo'' field empty. This will delete your Moodle logo file from the server.


==Add/Manage all RSS feeds ==
;Other CSS elements
All the Moodle site's RSS feeds can be managed on the ''Manage all my feeds'' tab in the RRS News Feed edit menu. The site administrator may give other roles permission to use this tab.  This tab creates a list of RSS feeds that can be selected for display in every course on the Moodle site.
:You can also supply the values of various page elements that you want your site to use. These values can be added in hexadecimal or selected from the palette next to each element. If you don't want your site to use these values for the page elements, just uncheck the checkbox ''Also use following value''.


Copy and paste (or type) the URL address of the RSS feed in the space provided. This the generating site's actual RSS page address. For example here is a Moodle RSS feed address : http://moodle.org/rss/file.php/1/1/forum/1/rss.xml


Adding a custom title will take the place of the one supplied by the generating site.There is a validation tool included to confirm the feed URL is accurate.  
'''Note''' - The parent theme feature has been included. It relies on Moodle cookies to work as it needs information about the currently logged user to extract the parent theme specified by him/her from the database. However, currently all Moodle Themes block cookies by setting $nomoodlecookie as true. Therefore, for the parent theme feature to work, the following line in styles.php of the theme that we have selected as parent must be commented out.
<code php> $nomoodlecookie = true; </code>
When this line is commented out in the style.php the parent theme, the feature works. This is a one-time task and I suggest this line be left out in future theme releases to account for usability of parent theme feature of custom_theme.


Click the ''Add'' button to submit the feed.
==What are these page elements==
The various page elements that you can customize are shown in the image on the side.
[[Image:Elements1.JPG|thumb|Various customizable elements]]
 
==The Final Appearance of Page==
The way the final page looks after applying the custom_theme is decided by the following hierarchy:
 
:1) Standard Theme.
:2) Parent theme selected by the user (if any).
:3) CSS file uploaded by the user (if any).
:4) Favicon upload supersedes that of parent theme (if any).
:5) Moodle logo uploaded supersedes that of parent theme (if any).
:6) CSS element values entered by the user (if the user selects to use them).


==See also==
==See also==


*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiwSZNgXuzo RSS feeds and how to add them to your course video]
*[[Student_projects/Customisable_theme]]
 
[[Category:RSS]]


[[fr:Bloc Fil RSS]]
[[Category:Themes]]

Latest revision as of 16:54, 16 January 2013

The following information relates to Moodle 1.9 and NOT 2.4 as suggested by the icon at the top of this page.


The Custom Theme Settings page allows you to configure the appearance of your site when you are using custom_theme theme. Note that the changes you make in this page will be visible only when you have selected custom_theme from Site Administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme Selector.

Configuring the Custom Theme

The settings page provides you with the following options to customize your site:-

Use a parent theme
See note below
Allows to use a parent theme on top of the Standard Moodle Theme.
Upload your own CSS
This will allow you to upload and use a CSS of your own choice. This uploaded style sheet will be applied after the Standard Moodle Theme and the parent theme (if selected any).
If you have uploaded a CSS previously and want to make other changes without having to upload the CSS again, just uncheck the checkbox Use my own CSS.
If you have uploaded a CSS previously and don't want to use it anymore, check the checkbox Use my own CSS and leave the Upload CSS field empty. This will delete your CSS file from the server.
Upload your own Favicon
This will allow you to upload and use a Favicon of your own choice. The Favicon is the small icon shown in the browsers in front of the URL. Note that you can upload only a .ico file as favicon.
If you have uploaded a Favicon previously and want to make other changes without having to upload the favicon again, just uncheck the checkbox Use my own favicon.
If you have uploaded a Favicon previously and don't want to use it anymore, check the checkbox Use my own Favicon and leave the Upload Favicon field empty. This will delete your favicon file from the server.
Upload your own Moodle logo
This will allow you to upload and use a Moodle logo of your own choice. Note that you can upload only a .jpg file as logo.
If you have uploaded a Moodle logo previously and want to make other changes without having to upload the Moodle logo again, just uncheck the checkbox Use my own Moodle Logo.
If you have uploaded a Moodle logo previously and don't want to use it anymore, check the checkbox Use my own Moodle Logo and leave the Upload Logo field empty. This will delete your Moodle logo file from the server.
Other CSS elements
You can also supply the values of various page elements that you want your site to use. These values can be added in hexadecimal or selected from the palette next to each element. If you don't want your site to use these values for the page elements, just uncheck the checkbox Also use following value.


Note - The parent theme feature has been included. It relies on Moodle cookies to work as it needs information about the currently logged user to extract the parent theme specified by him/her from the database. However, currently all Moodle Themes block cookies by setting $nomoodlecookie as true. Therefore, for the parent theme feature to work, the following line in styles.php of the theme that we have selected as parent must be commented out. $nomoodlecookie = true; When this line is commented out in the style.php the parent theme, the feature works. This is a one-time task and I suggest this line be left out in future theme releases to account for usability of parent theme feature of custom_theme.

What are these page elements

The various page elements that you can customize are shown in the image on the side.

Various customizable elements

The Final Appearance of Page

The way the final page looks after applying the custom_theme is decided by the following hierarchy:

1) Standard Theme.
2) Parent theme selected by the user (if any).
3) CSS file uploaded by the user (if any).
4) Favicon upload supersedes that of parent theme (if any).
5) Moodle logo uploaded supersedes that of parent theme (if any).
6) CSS element values entered by the user (if the user selects to use them).

See also