Note:

If you want to create a new page for developers, you should create it on the Moodle Developer Resource site.

User talk:Helen Foster: Difference between revisions

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==Thanks==
==deleting extra images==
Helen, Just a thanks for your wonderful edits which make things look good and are reminders to me to hit that show preview button..again... and again....and then review the whole page. But I have so little to do, so much time :) Bless you.--[[User:chris collman 2|chris collman 2]] 21:13, 28 June 2006 (WST)
Hi Helen - I am very shy at adding to the docs! ;)
I put some stuff on about conditional activities but I uploaded images which weren't clear so I changed them and now I don't know how to delete the first few which are no longer used on the page - could you delete the earlier, unused uploads please so they don't take up space and clutter the place up? (I couldn't find a "delete" instruction so I presume we can't) thanks - Mary [[User:Mary Cooch|Mary Cooch]]
: Hi Mary, if you upload a new version of the file with the same name it will replace the old one. At least I can't find any duplicates on your images' pages ;-) And your files are all only some KB so they won't take up much disk space anyway. --[[User:Frank Ralf|Frank Ralf]] 10:19, 6 March 2010 (UTC)
:: Mary, many thanks for your contribution to [[Conditional activities]] :-) Frank is right in saying that new versions of images simply replace old ones, so there is no need for any deletion. If you upload an image then decide you don't want to use it at all, you can just type <code><nowiki>{{Deletion}}</nowiki></code> at the top of the page (as explained in [[MoodleDocs:Templates]]) then an admin will come along and delete it. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 12:33, 8 March 2010 (UTC)


:Hi Chris, your kind words are much appreciated :-) Thanks for your contributions to the documentation. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 06:50, 29 June 2006 (WST)
== Deleting some attached files in JIRA ==


== Documentation for different versions ==
Hi Helen,
 
I made a bit of a mess at [http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-21110 http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-21110]. Would it be possible to delete all the attached files there so Penny or I can upload the current one and let Jira handle the versioning more sanely?
 
Thanks,
Matt


Helen
:Done! --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 08:33, 5 January 2010 (UTC)


Is there a mechanism for specifying which version of Moodle a particular document refers to?  If, for instance, a feature is only available in version 1.6, how would a 1.5.3 user know they couldn't follow these instructions?
== Creating new FAQ pages ==


Equally, if something is done differently in two versions, how would we stop an edit war breaking out between 1.5.3 and 1.6 users?
Hi Helen,


I appreciate this probably isn't an issue just yet, but it's possible it may become one in later versions.
I have successfully created a stub for a XML FAQ page (https://docs.moodle.org/en/XML_FAQ) but how do I get it promoted on https://docs.moodle.org/en/Category:FAQ ?


Cheers,
I also would like to create an Import/Export FAQ for collecting all the information regarding Moodle import and export which is scattered in different forums.


[[User:CHRISF|CHRISF]] 19:20, 1 February 2006 (WST)
Regards,
[[User:Frank Ralf|Frank Ralf]]


:Hi ChrisF, thanks for highlighting the issue of differences in Moodle versions. Perhaps a Moodle 1.6 template, inserted using the code <code><nowiki>{{Moodle 1.6}}</nowiki></code>, may be used to show features specific to Moodle 1.6. What do you think? --[[User:Helen|Helen]] 04:22, 4 February 2006 (WST)
:Hi Helen will have to answer the Import/Export question.  I jumped in and added <nowiki>[[Category:FAQ]]</nowiki> to the bottom of the page, which anyone can do. And took your hint and added a <nowiki>{{stub}}</nowiki> template at the top. Thanks for the XML work. Best --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 14:16, 3 December 2008 (CST)


::Good idea.  I think that would clear it up nicely. [[User:CHRISF|CHRISF]] 18:08, 7 February 2006 (WST)
::Hi Frank, thanks for your offer - an [[Import and export FAQ]] page would be great, thanks! --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 04:12, 4 December 2008 (CST)
:::Thanks to both of you! Helen, how did you get that nice Contents menu on your Import and export FAQ page? I couldn't figure that out from the source. --[[User:Frank Ralf|Frank Ralf]] 05:30, 4 December 2008 (CST) Problem solved, just found the documentation ;-) --[[User:Frank Ralf|Frank Ralf]] 05:43, 4 December 2008 (CST)


== Template styles ==
== Suggestion that is probably total overkill ==
Hi Helen! I noticed that you reverted my edits on [[Template:Book]] and [[Template:Assignments]]. You were right -- I didn't realise that the [[MoodleDocs:Styling|style]] doesn't match [[MoodleDocs:Style guide|moodle.org style]]. However, the current template doesn't look right either. It should float to the right instead of occupying a substantial part of the upper screen (for eg. on [[Calculated question developer docs]] page) -- this wil provide easier navigation. Also, the tempalate should be colorful and/or bordered -- this looks more attractive and the reader can understand that it is not a part of the article. May be we can have orange or similar colored templates (such as [[Template:Large Installations]] and [[Template:excerpted from Jason Cole]]) that match with moodle.org style? Is there any official style documentation? Is there a moodle.org style guide which describes styles for templates -- I couldn't find one? [[User:Utkarshraj Atmaram|Utkarshraj Atmaram]] 17:40, 30 March 2006 (WST)
<onlyinclude>
# Create a new FAQ namespace.
# In this namespace, create one page for each frequent question, where the contents of the page is the answer.
# Use our new knowledge of transclusions to build the FAQ lists by just pulling in pages from the FAQ namespace.


:Hi Utkarshraj, thanks for your contributions to Moodle Docs. As you've found, [[MoodleDocs:Style guide]] and [[MoodleDocs:Styling]] contain all the Moodle Docs styling documentation to-date. Please add your comments about template styling to [[MoodleDocs talk:Styling]]. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 17:26, 31 March 2006 (WST)
The benefits of doing this are
* The same FAQ can appear in more than one list without copying-and-pasting.
* Each question gets a unique URL that so in the forums, we can point people to a page that just answers their specific question.


::Thank you! I've started the discussion at [[MoodleDocs talk:Styling]]. [[User:Utkarshraj Atmaram|Utkarshraj Atmaram]] 19:14, 31 March 2006 (WST)
Disadvantages
* Editing FAQ lists becomes incomprehensible to anyone who is not a MediaWiki geek.


:::LoL, I just realized that the problem is not with the templates, but with themes. Templates just look find with the MoodleDocs theme, but when I am logged in, I use MonoBook theme -- it doesn't display them as right-aligned (at Wikipedia, we explicity make the templates right-aligned). Sorry for wasting your time! [[User:Utkarshraj Atmaram|Utkarshraj Atmaram]] 14:44, 18 April 2006 (WST)
If we went this way, I would like to use B to build a new FAQ page: "Troubleshooting FAQ". Might be a good idea anyway.
</onlyinclude>
I hasten to say that I am not recommending this approach. The disadvantages could easily outweigh the advantages. I am simply pointing out a technical possibility that may be worth considering either now, or in the future.<onlyinclude>--[[User:Tim Hunt|Tim Hunt]] 07:11, 4 December 2008 (CST)</onlyinclude>


== Removing erroneous pages ==
:Just added [[MoodleDocs:Transclusion]].  Good thing I had my first cup of coffee, Tim's thoughtful post got me rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.  I wonder if I can get the partial transclusion of this section to work in Sandbox then in [[MoodleDocs_talk:Transclusion]]. Definitely a tool to be used with care. But Wowie Zowie ! --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 06:49, 5 December 2008 (CST)


How can unsuitable pages be removed? I just found [[RHLANGUAGE]] which is not documentation-quality...
:: Hello Tim, I think your suggested solution would indeed be overkill and would make maintaining FAQ too difficult. I see FAQ as an intermediary step between the unorganised kind of "documentation" which is provided in the forums towards "real" documentation. Therefore the ease of editing is crucial in my opinion. What about using Moodle's '''autolinking mechanism''' to automatically link to FAQ pages, e.g. if there is a mention of grades in the forums that would create an automatic link to Grades FAQ. I am quite new to Moodle, but couldn't that be done with setting up a kind of FAQ Glossary? --[[User:Frank Ralf|Frank Ralf]] 02:44, 16 December 2008 (CST)
Maybe you could do it (please) Helen? Not sure.


Best, Dan
::: Hi Tim, thanks for your suggestion, though I think it's overkill too!  The current FAQ pages have nice short titles which are easy to find and to include in forum posts. Having a page for each FAQ would result in really long URLs. Also, I think that when we point people to an FAQ page, and they have to look through it to find the answer to their question, they may well find answers to other questions they have. As other people have suggested, I think FAQ pages work well as start pages with links to lots of other pages i.e. they're kept fairly short, for example [[Contributed code FAQ]]. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 04:49, 18 December 2008 (CST)
--[[User:Dan Stowell|Dan Stowell]] 04:24, 4 May 2006 (WST)


:Thanks Dan, for future reference please add the deletion template, <code><nowiki>{{Deletion}}</nowiki></code>, to any unsuitable page you find. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 04:45, 5 May 2006 (WST)
::: Frank, regarding autolinking to FAQ pages, have you come across the Moodle Docs filter on moodle.org? Please see the [[Moodle.org FAQ]] for more details. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 04:49, 18 December 2008 (CST)
::::Helen, thanks for the hint. But isn't that the usual ''manual'' way of wiki linking? But on second thought that might really be the best way of linking to FAQ pages as it keeps getting the forums cluttered with too many (automatic) links. In fact, it just might be a matter of good practice to put advice of lasting value from the forums into a more structured form of documentation and nothing which could or should be done in an automatic and technical way... --[[User:Frank Ralf|Frank Ralf]] 05:11, 19 December 2008 (CST)


== Moodle Doc Is Great ==
== Security Notification registration ==


You have done a great job and inspired me to use Media Wiki!
Hi Helen,


:Thanks Martin, though it's everyone's contributions that make Moodle Docs a great resource! --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 06:36, 24 May 2006 (WST)
It was suggested to me through the #moodle channel on freenode that I raise this concern with you.


== tr wiki ==
I'm developing a moodle installation behind a firewall on a non-public URL and am interested in subscribing to security updates (prompted to check this after seeing a moodle vulnerability mentioned on Bugtraq). I had previously attempted to subscribe by registering our installation through the admin pages, however that registration was rejected as the site was located behind a firewall and not accessible.


Hi Helen,
Due to that rejection, I wasn't subscribed to security updates.


Can you arrange for a wiki https://docs.moodle.org/tr (Türkçe) to be set up.
I now find myself in the unfortunate position where I cannot subscribe to security updates without having a public facing site (which I can't reasonably know is secure as I'm not receiving security updates through your mailing list).


:Thanks Ethem, I'll do so as soon as possible. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 17:12, 15 June 2006 (WST)
The burden for those of us who have an internal site they're developing (or perhaps is in production) is that we must now create a public facing site to register for the sole purpose of receiving security updates. If the thought is that only parties interested in maintaining a moodle site should have access to those messages, perhaps a different measure could be put into place (a code that appears once moodle is installed, for example).


== Word Censorship Page ==
I've tried subscribing through sympa@lists.moodle.org, however that method does not work either.


Hi Helen,
Could you please provide a process for folks like me to get on the security updates list without having to install moodle on a public web server first?


Note sure why you deleted some of this page. The idea is (partly) to provide instructions on how to use the settings page of the filter. You also removed the 'see also' back to the main filters administration page. I'm not sure what's wrong with that either. Your advice appreciated :-)
Thanks!


--[[User:Howard Miller|Howard Miller]] 22:54, 20 June 2006 (WST)
- P.


:Oh, sorry Howard for not explaining my changes to [[Word censorship]]. I deleted text duplicated on the Word censorship settings page in Moodle and removed the See also link since [[Filters (administrator)]] is listed in [[:Category:Filter]]. However, please feel free to revert any/all of my changes. Your contributions to the documentation are always appreciated :-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 17:03, 21 June 2006 (WST)
:Hi Paul, how about subscribing to the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=996 security announcements forum], where all important security issues are published. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 04:34, 18 December 2008 (CST)


::That's cool Helen. So is that the rule - don't put stuff in the docs that is already in the built-in help?? --[[User:Howard Miller|Howard Miller]] 18:15, 21 June 2006 (WST)
== Unseen (not hidden) activities==
Hi Helen (This is partly my attempt at practising here by the way!) I've posted several times recently about the concept of 'unseen' topics with resources that can be linked to on the course page where hidden ones wouldn't work. is there documentation about that somewhere here ? If so, where? Then I can point Moodlers to it next time.If not, shall I write it? Thanks - [[User: Mary Cooch|Mary Cooch]]


:::The [http://moodle.org/help.php?file=index.html Moodle help files] will remain in each language pack and so it is not necessary to include their text in this documentation, however sometimes it makes things clearer to do so, at least to start with. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 15:46, 22 June 2006 (WST)
:Hi Mary, I've just had a quick look and can't find any documentation about unseen topics, so it would be helpful if you could write some, perhaps here: [[Course homepage]]. Thanks in advance :-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 17:20, 19 December 2008 (CST)
:Helen - please can you check what I have done as you know I'm still a novice and don't want to put the wrong thing in the wrong place! Also, if you look on my usertalk Chris Colman said it might be useful on the html linking page? [[User: Mary Cooch|Mary Cooch]]


== Contrib code documentation ==
== Downloading Moodle Core ==


Hi Helen,
Hi Helen,
I came across Moodle just this morning, and read a little about its design, and loved it, it is perfect for the project Im starting.
Ive gone to the download page, to download the Moodle core zip package, but when I click on the link to download I get the following message;
'A server error that affects your login session was detected. Please login again or restart your browser.'
( Continue )
I had a look around the FAQ pages, to see if there was anything on there, but it only mentions about people who already have moodle and are having this difficulty,
Please could you send me an alternative link,
Kind Regards
Andrew
:Hi Andrew, I left a comment on your [[User_talk:Andrew_Abel|user comment page]], just in case you were in a hurry to play with Moodle. --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 07:40, 1 January 2009 (CST)


Where would you suggest I document contrib code. I have some documentation for the Moodle for Mobiles project which installs in {yourmoodleroot}/mobile The code is in cvs in contrib/mobile. It is general documentation about what MFM does.
::Hi Andrew, I hope you've been successful in downloading Moodle by now. Chris, thanks for your helpful comments :-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 01:21, 2 January 2009 (CST)


I guess the place to put it would be https://docs.moodle.org/en/mobile
== "experimental:" prefix ==


Jamie
[[User:Marc Grober|Marc Grober]] 12:00, 12 January 2009 (CST)


:Hi Jamie, actually the project already has a page, [[Moodle for Mobiles]] ;-) though [[mobile]] could redirect to it. You're also welcome to use any documentation pages linked to Moodle for Mobiles pages in Moodle 1.6. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 15:56, 22 June 2006 (WST)
We started using experimental: as a prefix because there was some confusion about the use of Development: as a prefix.....


::Thanks Helen!! Adding the documentation now. Will redirect from mobile as well. [[User:Jamie Pratt|Jamie Pratt]] 16:08, 22 June 2006 (WST)
In the Moodle docs, Development: appears to cover Moodle developer documentation, not docs under development,  so we wanted to use a prefix that connote that the docs were, as we suggest, "experimental" (i.e. not ready for prime time).   I had not come across [[Experimental|Experimental]] as the search is a bit temperamental and searching for the root, experiment, produced no result.....


:::Cool Helen you did the redirect for me. Thanks for your very speedy response to my enquiry and all your help! -- [[User:Jamie Pratt|Jamie Pratt]] 16:22, 22 June 2006 (WST)
Perhaps we need a different topic name?


== Chinese Moodle Documentation==
I have encouraged AT to ask you to move these pages out of the experimental: topic but I think she feels they are not quite ready and I want to respect hre wishes on this.
Hi Helen,


I'd like to launch the Chinese Moodle Documentation translation. As I know, MediaWiki has the function that convert charset between Simplified Chinese(GB2312, GB18030) and Traditional Chinese(BIG5). So maybe it's no need to create two.  
We also have some experimental pages under development with respect to gradebook "cases".


Now I'm a translator of moodle and maintain a special moodle Chinese version.
I would encourage you to discuss the progress on all these pages with AT.


--[[User:Sun Sunner|Sun Sunner]] 21:31, 22 July 2006 (WST)
Thanks


:Hi Sun, thanks for your offer. I'll be in touch soon. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 19:42, 23 July 2006 (WST)
----


== Spam or what ever you call it in MoodleDocs ==
:Marc, thanks for your comments. The use of experimental: as a prefix is fine by me. Alternatively you could use a [[MoodleDocs:Templates|Moodle Docs template]] to add a message saying that the page is experimental. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 02:41, 13 January 2009 (CST)
::Marc and Helen, something new to me.  I found 7 pages when I searched on "experimental:" and found 7 Article title matches.  6 started with "experimental:" and of course "Experimental". Wondering if an alternative draft to Main Page should be done that way with the Experimental template.  :)--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 06:00, 13 January 2009 (CST)
:::Helen, thanks for moving some of the experimental: pages.  The page here, however, has yet to be moved: [https://docs.moodle.org/en/experimental:Getting_Help_Installing_and_Managing_Moodle]. Vis-a-vis topics/categories, I think it makes sense to have a category that is not searched by default so that users do not find materials that is not ready for prime time.  By the same token,  I think, as I mentioned above,  that Development: is problematic because it confuses as far as whether it is a topic for Developers or addresses material under development, which are really two different areas.  Likewise, as long as there is an Experimental page the use of experimental: could cause confusion.    I would argue for three distinct categories.... [[User:Marc Grober|Marc Grober]] 12:16, 24 January 2009 (CST)


Yikes, I just looked at Tips and Tricks and your reversal a while back.  I am too lazy/dumb to look, how often do you have to do that? That is not niceAnd since I can never give you enough praise,  THANKS ! --[[User:chris collman 2|chris collman 2]] 02:08, 31 July 2006 (WST) today and yesterday
::As I understood your (Helen's) comment (posted I don't recall where) you (Helen) were I think suggesting that what I was really suggesting was a new name space such that folks could develop documents that were not included in a default search....which I think is exactly what I was looking for...So the question becomes can and should we do such a thing..... --[[User:Marc Grober|Marc Grober]] 23:44, 9 March 2009 (UTC)


== Brazilian Portughese Documentation ==
:::Marc, I guess you're referring to my forum post [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=115736#p509590 Re: Not including pages in the Moodle Docs search]. How about using a Moodle Docs template for now to indicate docs under development and add them to an appropriate category, then when there are sufficient pages to warrant it, we can create a new namespace and move all the pages into it. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 11:46, 10 March 2009 (UTC)


Hi Helen, we have met at MoodleMoot - i am coordinating the PT_BR translation and would like to launch the Wiki version in Português Brasileiro, starting with the documentation files. No problem with Wikis, i am already the admin of another wikimedia site. Our Moodle.org site has more than 400 people collaborating and i hope to get everybody involved in this new project!
==Talk:Helen's page is over 32k==
--[[User:Paula de Waal|Paula de Waal]] 02:02, 1 August 2006 (WST)
FYI: I got that warning.  Maybe a subpage for the older stuff and a link, so we don't loose some stuff. Of course alternatively, if I deleted all my comments/questions, that would shorted it a lot :)  --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 06:04, 13 January 2009 (CST)
::Seriously, I would be happy to edit my posts here down to a nub or nothingness.  I think some of the language requests for help could be put in one heading and shortened, without losing anything.   --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 06:13, 13 January 2009 (CST)


== Went through teacher documentation links ==
:Chris, thanks for creating [[User talk:Helen Foster/1]]. I think it's a good solution :-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 02:51, 14 January 2009 (CST)
Hi Helen, before I ran off on vacation (holiday to you :) for a week ) you will notice I did some editing and adjusting.   My focus was on what I consider the first impression a new teacher gets when they enter MoodleDocs.  Thus I went through most of the links in the text in the teacher documentation page.  I also put in some cross links via "see also" and added some images (yeah not real happy see below).


I would really like us (notice that pronoun) to think about how to made the teacher documentation page look like the administrator documention or developer documentation pages.  I would copy the entire contents of the current teacher doc page to a new "course documentation" page. The major task is figuring out the sections for the new teacher doc page, so they function like the admin doc page. That kind of big thinking is just a bit beyond me before vacation perhaps you know of someone who would love that task?
==See also==


Changing the teacher doc page also means doublechecking other pages that were linked to it and  figuring out it they should point to the new course doc page. I could do that.
*[[User talk:Helen Foster/1]] for older comments


Images, I am still feel akward.  I tried a floating table. I tried using thumb, resizing the images with a px and alignment.  I still can't figure out an easy way to force a section break so it will not appear to one side of the image, but rather below it.  I used a lot of  br .  The thumb resize method works but the quality of the image is not so hot.  Better to  have the file the correct size to begin with, but then we might have to have multiple files of the same image in different sizes. 
== Registered Users Bug with Mediawiki ==


Keep up the great work--[[User:chris collman 2|chris collman 2]] 22:43, 11 August 2006 (WST)
Hi, [[User_talk:David_Scotson#Moodle_Docs_stats|Way back in 2006 you mentioned]] a work-around for a bug resulting in registered users stats on [[Special:Statistics]] not updating properly. I think I am encountering this same bug on my internal wiki now. I know that was a long time ago, but do you remember what you did to fix it/what the work-around mentioned was?
Thanks,
--[[User:Adrian Archer|Adrian Archer]] 11:02, 4 March 2009 (CST)


== Thanks for sorting out the question type documentation ==
:Hi Adrian, here are Eloy's workarounds (easy to do with phpMyAdmin):


That really needed doing. --[[User:Tim Hunt|Tim Hunt]] 11:28, 11 September 2006 (CDT)
:# To refresh the count of pages, if it's not working: table: site_stats, field: ss_total_pages, setting it to -1 should force recalculation of pages
:# To refresh the count of registered users, delete the contents of the "cached statistics" table


'''Wowie Zowie  Helen '''- oh yeah, that is what we are talking about!  And ditto the thanks to Tim, it will take me a while to switch my head to having lesson questions and quiz questions able to come from the same place (bank).  I will be checking and changing links, away from Question types to specific pages on the Question Bank list. --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 05:33, 12 September 2006 (CDT)
:Thanks to Eloy for recalling them :-) I hope you are able to upgrade to a newer MediaWiki version soon. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 09:01, 5 March 2009 (CST)


:Thanks Tim, and a big THANK YOU for your work on the [[Quiz module]]. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 03:04, 12 September 2006 (CDT)
::Thanks so much for the quick response, that sounds like it should work. I'm actually using Version 1.13.3, so I guess the bug still exists. --[[User:Adrian Archer|Adrian Archer]] 09:17, 5 March 2009 (CST)


Joseph and Chris, thanks for your additional comments, which I've moved to [[Talk:Question types]] --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 02:23, 9 October 2006 (CDT)
:::Hmm, Moodle Docs is actually using version 1.11.2, though we're hoping to upgrade very soon (MDLSITE-657). --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 09:35, 5 March 2009 (CST)


==mod/helps and redirects in MoodleDocs==
== Function if in grade calculations? ==
Hi Helen,  I need some big picture confirmation, the view wiki page comment raised a little red flag ontop of my Marblehead as dawn seemed to break here in the Great Granite State once again. 


I try to not get into help pages because I understood those were  "Please don't edit" pages (and responsibility of developer), which makes a lot of sense, especially with new features. Also Help files have a different format (for example no images or examples of use) because of their in context purpose.  What are my guidelines when something is redirected from what I assume is an online help page link like "mod/wiki/helpsome topic" ?


I am happy to edit and reorganize and add screen shots etc because I am pretty confident now in my edits and reformats (thank you very much and others who follow me around teaching me where to pay attention). When I see a redirect from help, I would like to assume somebody is going to write the help page after the MoodleDoc page has been created.  The redirect is the as a sort of "in the meantime".  Same question: is this a good assumption to guide my editing?
Hi Helen


I confess, reading some Moodle help pages causes me to wince, and (just like that pesky
Thanks for your jobs.
version of the lesson demo with the innapropriate cluster) they keep returning like an old
tooth ache. One of my todo's is to figure out the priorities of rewriting help pages on our
production Moodles .  So in the meantime, I pretend all tooth aches are in another world :) 


I am having entirely too much fun this morning, sorry for the lengthy post--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 06:28, 7 November 2006 (CST)
Sorry for my lousy english.


==Quizzes and Questions==
I am trying to use the "if" function in "Grade calculations" in a similar way as is done in "opencalc"
Hi Helen, this could me being confused, but if I am confused......
Example scenario, you go to the Quiz page and you wanted to know about quiz import/export (or worse still you didn't know it existed) that option doesn't exist on the menu. I know why - it's because that isn't part of the Quizzes 'group' (is that the right word? those double squiggly bracket things at the top of the page). It's part of the Questions group. I'm struggling big time to see how the two knit together - I'm not sure that they do! --[[User:Howard Miller|Howard Miller]] 10:42, 1 December 2006 (CST)


:Hi Howard, the reason why quiz and question pages have different templates is because questions may be used in [[Lesson module|lessons]] as well as quizzes. I've started adding a few question links to the page [[Editing a quiz]]. Please feel free to add more links wherever appropriate, thanks :-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 12:45, 3 December 2006 (CST)
do you know if this is possible?


== Those squiggly bracket thingies ==
How to introduce a note of recovery, only for a few students, without changing the original calification?
Actually I can't find any documentation *anywhere* for those double-squiggly-bracket things at the top of many pages. Can we get something in the edit instructions please :-) --[[User:Howard Miller|Howard Miller]] 11:09, 1 December 2006 (CST)
Oh they're templates - I'll shut up now !!!!  --[[User:Howard Miller|Howard Miller]] 11:12, 1 December 2006 (CST)


:Hi Howard, glad you found the templates info in [[MoodleDocs:Style guide]]. Please feel free to add something on templates to [[Help:Editing]] too ;-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 12:35, 3 December 2006 (CST)
My email is trujillo@unex.es


== Page rename please ==
Thanks


Helen, please can we rename [[Numerical_question_units_and_intervals]] to have a Development: prefix please. Thanks.
== Using Moodle for Teachers ==


:Done, thanks Tim. Any more pages to be renamed? --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 01:02, 2 December 2006 (CST)
Hi Helen,


Yes please, another one: can we rename [[Development:OM Protocol]] to [[Development:Open protocol for accessing question engines]], and change [[Development:Opaque]] to point to the new name too. Thanks 08:30, 4 December 2006 (CST)
I teach math at Woodland Middle School  in Woodland, WA. I'm also just beginning work with the Ubuntu Learning Project (name?). Is your book (Using Moodle - Teaching with the Popular Open Source Course Management System) available for download on Moodle Docs free to teachers? If so, is there some type of creative commons license? Or should we just link to Moodle Docs? I found your book extremely useful when I taught a 3-day Moodle Bootcamp to teachers this summer.


Wow! That was fast![[User:Tim Hunt|Tim Hunt]] 09:22, 4 December 2006 (CST)
Thanks, Mark Knudson


Another one please: [[Cleanups_required_in_the_quiz_and_question_bank]] -> [[Development:Required quiz cleanups]] or similar.
:Hi Mark, glad to hear you found my book useful :-) It's available for download under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence here: [[Using Moodle book]]. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 19:11, 21 September 2009 (UTC)


== MoodleDocs in Arabic ==
== PHP Settings by Moodle version ==


Hi Helen,
Hi Helen,


I'm Intrested in starting MoodleDocs in Arabic ... would you please provide a directory for Arabic (ar) language
I'm new to this community (and to Moodle) and am not sure how I should request an update to the documentation relating to a Moodle PHP extension requirement - specifically zlib.
I noticed that this page:
https://docs.moodle.org/no/Installering_av_Moodle has a section stating that "The zlib extension is required for zip/unzip functionality." under the PHP Extensions and Libraries, but it doesn't exist here:
https://docs.moodle.org/en/PHP_settings_by_Moodle_version
 
The PHP_settings_by_Moodle_version is a Stub and is waiting for review - I was thinking about updating it with the text from the https://docs.moodle.org/no/Installering_av_Moodle page.
 
Looking for a little direction.
 
Thanks!
Andy
 
:Hi Andy,
 
:Thanks for your kind offer to update the documentation [[PHP settings by Moodle version]]. Please feel free to go ahead and do so :-) (I asked in our developer chat and was informed that zlib is required for versions of Moodle up to 1.9 and Moodle 2.0 onwards will come with native PHP zip support so it needs the "zip" extension instead.)
 
:For future reference, you're always welcome to edit pages in Moodle Docs and help improve our documentation. If you're not quite sure of something, you can leave a note in the page comments. Thanks again! --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 11:45, 20 November 2009 (UTC)
 
== Query re Cool Course Competition ==
Two questions re the Cool Course Competition:
1) How can teachers know whether the modules and blocks they use are core or not? Is there a list somewhere?(2) Why are some entries in their own native theme, while most entries are using the competition site's theme? How can I upload my course so that it retains its own theme? Thanks, [[User:Thomas Brown|Thomas Brown]] 00:16, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
 
:Hi Thomas, an easy way to check which modules and blocks are core i.e. included in the standard Moodle packages is to login to the [http://demo.moodle.net/ Moodle Demonstration Site] as an admin and check ''Administration > Modules > Activities > Manage activities'' and ''Administration > Modules > Blocks > Manage blocks''.
 
:Regarding the course theme, if you force a theme in the course settings, it will be used, otherwise the site theme will be used. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 11:22, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
 
::Do you mean the "Settings" page in the course's Admin block? My Settings page doesn't have any theme-related options. Did I look in the wrong place? tnx, [[User:Thomas Brown|Thomas Brown]] 23:55, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
:::It appears that the site admin can make a setting that allows teachers to force a theme -- so I can do that now. Which raises another question: Does my theme have to be installed on the Cool Course site for it to work there, or can my backup import the theme features and bring them along into the Cool Course site? tnx again, [[User:Thomas Brown|Thomas Brown]] 03:58, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
 
::::Apologies for not mentioning that course themes need to be enabled by an admin in [[Theme settings]]; glad you figured things out! Yes, your theme needs to be installed on the competition site for it to work, as a course backup does not include theme features. All themes included in standard Moodle packages are available on the competition site. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 09:32, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
 
I think I have a bigger problem now that my course is on the competition web site. None of the links to course resources work! I must have royally messed up my backup somehow. I included the resources in the backup, but...[[User:Thomas Brown|Thomas Brown]] 21:08, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
::Testing out the restore of my competition entry on my own site, I find that the html links that I've put in the Topic Outline labels go to random id numbers, and so don't open the resources they're supposed to and give me a page not found browser error instead. However, if I simply click on edit for one of the labels, and then save it without changing anything, now suddenly all of the links are in working order. So, is it possible for me or someone else to do this fix on my competition entry, so that it starts working? While we're in there fixing it, can we change it to custom corners? Thanks yet again...[[User:Thomas Brown|Thomas Brown]] 21:48, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
 
:::No worries, it's a good test for the course backup and restore process! I've reported the problem you describe in the tracker - MDL-21380. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 15:02, 19 January 2010 (UTC)
===Curious, why here?===
Firstly, thanks for the post here which drew my attention to coolcourses.moodle.org.  Really Cool and Neato.  Secondly, shouldn't most of this discussion be in the [http://coolcourses.moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=3073 "Competition Lounge"]?  Thirdly, there were some special effects I am dying to know "how they do that?" and I just looked at each course in the first topic! Fourthly, thanks to all who contributed. --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 13:00, 21 January 2010 (UTC)
 
:Hi Chris, just wondering why you never noticed the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=135429 Cool Course Competition moodle.org news item]? Regarding the [http://coolcourses.moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=3073 Competition lounge], the fact that it was only created a few hours ago probably explains why nobody has posted there yet. How about posting your "how they do that?" question and thanks there. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 15:12, 21 January 2010 (UTC)
::I am just a stick in the mud sometimes.  I will take you up on your excellent suggestion. --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 16:46, 22 January 2010 (UTC)
 


Many Thanks
==nln materials query ==


:Hi, thanks for your offer. Assuming you've read [[MoodleDocs:Starting MoodleDocs|starting Moodle Docs in another language]], please email ''docs@moodle.org'', stating how many people are interested in contributing and who is willing to be an administrator. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 10:15, 12 December 2006 (CST)
Dear Helen,
Sorry to contact you this way - I have been recommended to you by several of your former colleagues on the ILT Champs list. I am conducting a research thesis at the University of Nottingham into the uptake and use of the nln materials amongst the FE sector, and have been advised that you would have an interesting view on this programme. If you could spare me a few minutes of your time to have a discussion, then please could you drop me an email at ttxla4@nottingham.ac.uk? Thank you very much. Rob Enbgelbright says "hello" btw. Many thanks, Laurel Armstrong


:Hi Laurel, I've just emailed you :-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 13:46, 1 February 2010 (UTC)


==template of templates ==
==Jmol filter==
Hi wonderful Helen,
https://docs.moodle.org/en/User:chris_collman/sandbox1#Given_the_above


*I tried creating the above template, which I thought might be useful in Teacher Documentation. 
Hi Helen,
*I am also playing around in my sandbox1 with formating a page of templates that will automatically adjust.  This might be beyond my skill at the moment but why not?  I am looking at the difference between the administrator page and the teacher page off the documentation link.  Think the "Given the above" might be useful for those one step beyond not 'noing
anything. I was thinking of sub title (which would have an index) for each module, that would show the template.


* where or how can I find a list of templates in MoodleDocs.
I noticed that you had updated the Jmol filter and wonder if you could tell me the status of this filter, and also the Jmol resource type and the Java Molecule Editor (for allowing students to add chemical structures as answers in quizzes).
Do they work in 1.9 and 2.0?


Best Chris--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 20:42, 23 December 2006 (CST)
On a similar note, there doesn't seem to be a direct way for students to put subscripts and superscripts into answers. I have resorted to adding a table of useful chemical symbols in the question, which students can copy and paste. Is there a setting somewhere that allows students to add formatted text?


:Hi Chris, here's a list: [[Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=10|All pages (Template namespace)]]. Thanks, as always, for your contributions :-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 16:44, 25 December 2006 (CST)
:Hi Mike, please see the comments on the [http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=87 Jmol resource type] for the latest information on it. You may also wish to contact Geoffrey Rowland.
::I am surprised that there are not more. I will try to create one but only put it "off the beaten track" and will ask your opinion.  Thanks, and I appreciate all YOUR work. Happy Holidays. --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 16:55, 26 December 2006 (CST)


=== How about this ===
:Regarding adding chemical symbols, you may find the discussions listed in [[Chemistry/Biochemistry]] helpful. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 14:58, 7 June 2010 (UTC)
*[[:Template:Teacher documentation]]
I first thought this would be a list of other templates.  Now it it more than that.  Not sure, seems to long.


I would put this on the [[Teacher documentation]] page for starters.  If you think this is too long then there are 3 options. 1) don't use it, 2)Keep it as is and see what reaction is, 3) Only have Resources, Activities and Teacher Admin template links (for lack of a better name, to contain course, reports, enrollment, maybe blocks), showing up here.  There is already a resources template. I could create a Resources and Teacher Admin templates.
== permission to edit brazilian portuguese version of docs.moodle.org ==


Hope you are having a nice holiday --[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 13:57, 28 December 2006 (CST)
Hello, Helen


:Hi Chris, sorry I didn't see your Teacher documentation template before now. It looks great :-) Please go ahead and put it on the [[Teacher documentation]] page. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 04:07, 16 January 2007 (CST)
don't really know if you are the right person to ask, but, could you give me permission to edit brazilian portuguese version of docs.moodle.org ?
I help maintain the language pack along with Gilvan Marques, as you can see at http://cvs.moodle.org/lang/pt_br_utf8/?sortby=date#dirlist .
The last update of the home page was in august 2007, and also mention 1.8 as the current stable and focus of translators. I would like to make it a translated copy of the current english home page and also translate the release notes of 2.0 as first step...


== Please revert ==
:Hi Daniel,


The changes by Cherane Pefley on 5th Jan 2007 need to be reverted.--[[User:Tim Hunt|Tim Hunt]] 09:37, 6 January 2007 (CST)
:Thanks for your offer to edit the [https://docs.moodle.org/pt_br/P%C3%A1gina_principal Brazilian Portuguese Moodle Docs]. You should find that when you login you already have editing rights (all logged-in users can edit pages). --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 09:41, 25 July 2010 (UTC)


:Done, thanks Tim. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 05:33, 9 January 2007 (CST)
== Brazilian docs home pagin "was protected against new editions" ==


== SUSE Linux Server 10 shell script ==
Hello, Helen
https://docs.moodle.org/en/SUSE_Linux_Server_10 by Alex Inman contains a link to whitfieldschool.org which downloads a shell script. The script looks like it requires root priviledges to run. From a security point, this is worrying - is there anything that can be done to quarantine the page until someone can verify (or preferably ask Alex if the install can do without the script altogether)? --[[User:Ken Wilson|Ken Wilson]] 17:24, 7 January 2007 (CST)


:Hi Ken, thanks for your comments which have been moved to [[Talk:SUSE Linux Server 10]]. Hopefully Alex will respond soon. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 05:30, 9 January 2007 (CST)
i cannot edit that page because "This page was protected against new editions.", and it only allows me to see and copy source code.
Could you unlock, please? Thanks, Daniel


== Norwegian version ==
:Sorry I hadn't noticed that the homepage was protected. I've just unlocked it now. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 05:59, 30 July 2010 (UTC)


Hi!
== About the new page I added on ForumNG ==
Could you make a /no/Hovedside site where we could start editing Norwegian documentation.
I've sent you a message in the Moodlesystem as well.


KR
Thanks for fixing it up and putting it in what I presume is a better place with a better name.  Now, questions about ettiquette: is this an OK page to have?  I'm really pondering what is my voice (like wanting to promote ForumNG) vs Tim's voice (who fixed and answered the FAQ's and sort of speaks from the devlopers POV).  Stuff gets lost in Moodle.org forums.  Who would have looked in the developers forum for some of these conversations? Few people go to the tracker and vote.
John Harald


:Hi John Harald, thanks for your offer. I'll be in touch soon. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 04:15, 16 January 2007 (CST)
:Derek, thanks for creating documentation for [[ForumNG]]. I've added a link to it from http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=2927 Thanks also for posting in the forum module forum and encouraging people to vote for the tracker issue. These are the best things you can do for new features you'd like considered for inclusion in the Moodle core. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 12:05, 9 August 2010 (UTC)


== "Development:" Prefix ==
:Thanks for this Helen, this is really cool.  No doubt you will notice another page I have created [Development:Forum_requirements] which is a little flag waving to see what is out there.  I do not think there is enough thought being put towards Forums - and digging around in the developer forums I can see why: no-one lkes the original code and it seems to much to either fix it or re-do it.  I am sad that key fixes/requests from 2006-7 are still launguishing in the tracker.  eg the edit time for Q&A forums.  So, maybe some conversaton can occur over the next months on ''What We'd Like In Forums For 2.1''.  :)  [[User:Derek Chirnside|Derek Chirnside]] 01:48, 10 August 2010 (UTC)


I have noticed that names many of the articles in the Developer Category are prefixed with the word Development while others are not. Ain't this inconsistent?
:: Note that [[Activity_module_tests]] effectively has a list of current forum features.--[[User:Tim Hunt|Tim Hunt]] 07:26, 10 August 2010 (UTC)


[[User:vikram solia|vikram solia]] 20:53, 6 February 2007 (CST)
== Renaming pages in pt_br wiki? ==


:Hi Vikram, thanks for your comments. There are no doubt more pages in [[:Category:Developer]] which require the Development prefix - the documentation wiki is a work in progress ;-) However, I don't think that all pages should be prefixed, as some pages are of interest to non-developers too, for example [[Themes]]. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 03:54, 7 February 2007 (CST)
Hello, Helen


::In fact, wouldn't it be better if Development was a suffix and not a prefix as that would allow articles to be listed under their appropriate alphabet instead of getting aggregated under 'D' due to the 'Development' prefix. -- [[User:vikram solia|vikram solia]] 11:45, 7 February 2007 (CST)
i'm writing to you to know the possibilities to rename some pages in brazilian wiki. I remember of a "move" functionality in mediawiki, maybe you could allow me to do so onnly in brazilian wiki? Or i can list you the page renames and you do the job? Basically is to translate some pages that were originally created in english.
Kind regards,
Daniel


:::The reason it's a prefix is that it makes it the [[Special%3AAllpages&from=&namespace=100|Development namespace]], which may be searched separately from the main namespace. Regarding the listing of pages in [[:Category:Developer]], this is reported as [http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDLSITE-96 bug MDLSITE-96] and awaits fixing ;-) --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 10:39, 8 February 2007 (CST)
:Hi Daniel,


==Lesson demo update==
: Thanks for your contributions to the Brazilian Portuguese wiki. I have just given you admin rights so you can move pages. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 12:51, 20 September 2010 (UTC)
Hi Helen, just realized when I sent you a message in your Moodle site, I did not reference that I was talking about what I had done there.  Figure you will look here before there. I am slowly making progress.  - Best  Chris--[[User:chris collman|chris collman]] 17:26, 3 April 2007 (CDT)


== Please can you delete Cleanups_required_in_the_quiz_and_question_bank ==


It is obsolete. Lots of it has been done, and the other items now exist as tracker bugs, which is the right place for them. Thanks.[[User:Tim Hunt|Tim Hunt]] 05:22, 23 June 2007 (CDT)
Hello, Helen


:Done, thanks Tim. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 06:43, 23 June 2007 (CDT)
thank you for give me the admin rigths! I will do my best to do a good work. --[[User:Daniel Neis Araujo|Daniel Neis Araujo]] 13:54, 20 September 2010 (UTC)


== Please fix my typo in a page title ==
== how to create moodle hosting server? ==


I screwed up. Emails notification and confirmation when quizzes are submitted should start Email, singular. There are only links there from the roadmap page, and the quiz template. Sorry for being so careless.
Hi Helen


:No problem, it's now [[Quiz submission email notification]]. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 12:12, 26 June 2007 (CDT)
I am from mongolia. We want to create moodle hosting server. What should I do? From where can I take information about creating moodle hosting. My email address yaponhel@gmail.com Thank you


== Vandalism ==
Ulzii
Bunch of vandalism earlier this evening, that you will need to revert.


10 seconds later: Wow, you seem to be on the case already, judging by recent changes.
:Hi Ulzii, please see [[Installing Moodle]]. If you have any questions, visit the Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=28 Installation problems forum]. --[[User:Helen Foster|Helen Foster]] 22:59, 9 May 2011 (WST)

Revision as of 14:59, 9 May 2011

deleting extra images

Hi Helen - I am very shy at adding to the docs! ;) I put some stuff on about conditional activities but I uploaded images which weren't clear so I changed them and now I don't know how to delete the first few which are no longer used on the page - could you delete the earlier, unused uploads please so they don't take up space and clutter the place up? (I couldn't find a "delete" instruction so I presume we can't) thanks - Mary Mary Cooch

Hi Mary, if you upload a new version of the file with the same name it will replace the old one. At least I can't find any duplicates on your images' pages ;-) And your files are all only some KB so they won't take up much disk space anyway. --Frank Ralf 10:19, 6 March 2010 (UTC)
Mary, many thanks for your contribution to Conditional activities :-) Frank is right in saying that new versions of images simply replace old ones, so there is no need for any deletion. If you upload an image then decide you don't want to use it at all, you can just type {{Deletion}} at the top of the page (as explained in MoodleDocs:Templates) then an admin will come along and delete it. --Helen Foster 12:33, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Deleting some attached files in JIRA

Hi Helen,

I made a bit of a mess at http://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-21110. Would it be possible to delete all the attached files there so Penny or I can upload the current one and let Jira handle the versioning more sanely?

Thanks, Matt

Done! --Helen Foster 08:33, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Creating new FAQ pages

Hi Helen,

I have successfully created a stub for a XML FAQ page (https://docs.moodle.org/en/XML_FAQ) but how do I get it promoted on https://docs.moodle.org/en/Category:FAQ ?

I also would like to create an Import/Export FAQ for collecting all the information regarding Moodle import and export which is scattered in different forums.

Regards, Frank Ralf

Hi Helen will have to answer the Import/Export question. I jumped in and added [[Category:FAQ]] to the bottom of the page, which anyone can do. And took your hint and added a {{stub}} template at the top. Thanks for the XML work. Best --Chris collman 14:16, 3 December 2008 (CST)
Hi Frank, thanks for your offer - an Import and export FAQ page would be great, thanks! --Helen Foster 04:12, 4 December 2008 (CST)
Thanks to both of you! Helen, how did you get that nice Contents menu on your Import and export FAQ page? I couldn't figure that out from the source. --Frank Ralf 05:30, 4 December 2008 (CST) Problem solved, just found the documentation ;-) --Frank Ralf 05:43, 4 December 2008 (CST)

Suggestion that is probably total overkill

  1. Create a new FAQ namespace.
  2. In this namespace, create one page for each frequent question, where the contents of the page is the answer.
  3. Use our new knowledge of transclusions to build the FAQ lists by just pulling in pages from the FAQ namespace.

The benefits of doing this are

  • The same FAQ can appear in more than one list without copying-and-pasting.
  • Each question gets a unique URL that so in the forums, we can point people to a page that just answers their specific question.

Disadvantages

  • Editing FAQ lists becomes incomprehensible to anyone who is not a MediaWiki geek.

If we went this way, I would like to use B to build a new FAQ page: "Troubleshooting FAQ". Might be a good idea anyway.

I hasten to say that I am not recommending this approach. The disadvantages could easily outweigh the advantages. I am simply pointing out a technical possibility that may be worth considering either now, or in the future.--Tim Hunt 07:11, 4 December 2008 (CST)

Just added MoodleDocs:Transclusion. Good thing I had my first cup of coffee, Tim's thoughtful post got me rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I wonder if I can get the partial transclusion of this section to work in Sandbox then in MoodleDocs_talk:Transclusion. Definitely a tool to be used with care. But Wowie Zowie ! --Chris collman 06:49, 5 December 2008 (CST)
Hello Tim, I think your suggested solution would indeed be overkill and would make maintaining FAQ too difficult. I see FAQ as an intermediary step between the unorganised kind of "documentation" which is provided in the forums towards "real" documentation. Therefore the ease of editing is crucial in my opinion. What about using Moodle's autolinking mechanism to automatically link to FAQ pages, e.g. if there is a mention of grades in the forums that would create an automatic link to Grades FAQ. I am quite new to Moodle, but couldn't that be done with setting up a kind of FAQ Glossary? --Frank Ralf 02:44, 16 December 2008 (CST)
Hi Tim, thanks for your suggestion, though I think it's overkill too! The current FAQ pages have nice short titles which are easy to find and to include in forum posts. Having a page for each FAQ would result in really long URLs. Also, I think that when we point people to an FAQ page, and they have to look through it to find the answer to their question, they may well find answers to other questions they have. As other people have suggested, I think FAQ pages work well as start pages with links to lots of other pages i.e. they're kept fairly short, for example Contributed code FAQ. --Helen Foster 04:49, 18 December 2008 (CST)
Frank, regarding autolinking to FAQ pages, have you come across the Moodle Docs filter on moodle.org? Please see the Moodle.org FAQ for more details. --Helen Foster 04:49, 18 December 2008 (CST)
Helen, thanks for the hint. But isn't that the usual manual way of wiki linking? But on second thought that might really be the best way of linking to FAQ pages as it keeps getting the forums cluttered with too many (automatic) links. In fact, it just might be a matter of good practice to put advice of lasting value from the forums into a more structured form of documentation and nothing which could or should be done in an automatic and technical way... --Frank Ralf 05:11, 19 December 2008 (CST)

Security Notification registration

Hi Helen,

It was suggested to me through the #moodle channel on freenode that I raise this concern with you.

I'm developing a moodle installation behind a firewall on a non-public URL and am interested in subscribing to security updates (prompted to check this after seeing a moodle vulnerability mentioned on Bugtraq). I had previously attempted to subscribe by registering our installation through the admin pages, however that registration was rejected as the site was located behind a firewall and not accessible.

Due to that rejection, I wasn't subscribed to security updates.

I now find myself in the unfortunate position where I cannot subscribe to security updates without having a public facing site (which I can't reasonably know is secure as I'm not receiving security updates through your mailing list).

The burden for those of us who have an internal site they're developing (or perhaps is in production) is that we must now create a public facing site to register for the sole purpose of receiving security updates. If the thought is that only parties interested in maintaining a moodle site should have access to those messages, perhaps a different measure could be put into place (a code that appears once moodle is installed, for example).

I've tried subscribing through sympa@lists.moodle.org, however that method does not work either.

Could you please provide a process for folks like me to get on the security updates list without having to install moodle on a public web server first?

Thanks!

- P.

Hi Paul, how about subscribing to the security announcements forum, where all important security issues are published. --Helen Foster 04:34, 18 December 2008 (CST)

Unseen (not hidden) activities

Hi Helen (This is partly my attempt at practising here by the way!) I've posted several times recently about the concept of 'unseen' topics with resources that can be linked to on the course page where hidden ones wouldn't work. is there documentation about that somewhere here ? If so, where? Then I can point Moodlers to it next time.If not, shall I write it? Thanks - Mary Cooch

Hi Mary, I've just had a quick look and can't find any documentation about unseen topics, so it would be helpful if you could write some, perhaps here: Course homepage. Thanks in advance :-) --Helen Foster 17:20, 19 December 2008 (CST)
Helen - please can you check what I have done as you know I'm still a novice and don't want to put the wrong thing in the wrong place! Also, if you look on my usertalk Chris Colman said it might be useful on the html linking page? Mary Cooch

Downloading Moodle Core

Hi Helen, I came across Moodle just this morning, and read a little about its design, and loved it, it is perfect for the project Im starting.

Ive gone to the download page, to download the Moodle core zip package, but when I click on the link to download I get the following message;


'A server error that affects your login session was detected. Please login again or restart your browser.'

( Continue )


I had a look around the FAQ pages, to see if there was anything on there, but it only mentions about people who already have moodle and are having this difficulty,

Please could you send me an alternative link,

Kind Regards Andrew

Hi Andrew, I left a comment on your talk, just in case you were in a hurry to play with Moodle. --Chris collman 07:40, 1 January 2009 (CST)
Hi Andrew, I hope you've been successful in downloading Moodle by now. Chris, thanks for your helpful comments :-) --Helen Foster 01:21, 2 January 2009 (CST)

"experimental:" prefix

Marc Grober 12:00, 12 January 2009 (CST)

We started using experimental: as a prefix because there was some confusion about the use of Development: as a prefix.....

In the Moodle docs, Development: appears to cover Moodle developer documentation, not docs under development, so we wanted to use a prefix that connote that the docs were, as we suggest, "experimental" (i.e. not ready for prime time). I had not come across Experimental as the search is a bit temperamental and searching for the root, experiment, produced no result.....

Perhaps we need a different topic name?

I have encouraged AT to ask you to move these pages out of the experimental: topic but I think she feels they are not quite ready and I want to respect hre wishes on this.

We also have some experimental pages under development with respect to gradebook "cases".

I would encourage you to discuss the progress on all these pages with AT.

Thanks


Marc, thanks for your comments. The use of experimental: as a prefix is fine by me. Alternatively you could use a Moodle Docs template to add a message saying that the page is experimental. --Helen Foster 02:41, 13 January 2009 (CST)
Marc and Helen, something new to me. I found 7 pages when I searched on "experimental:" and found 7 Article title matches. 6 started with "experimental:" and of course "Experimental". Wondering if an alternative draft to Main Page should be done that way with the Experimental template.  :)--Chris collman 06:00, 13 January 2009 (CST)
Helen, thanks for moving some of the experimental: pages. The page here, however, has yet to be moved: [1]. Vis-a-vis topics/categories, I think it makes sense to have a category that is not searched by default so that users do not find materials that is not ready for prime time. By the same token, I think, as I mentioned above, that Development: is problematic because it confuses as far as whether it is a topic for Developers or addresses material under development, which are really two different areas. Likewise, as long as there is an Experimental page the use of experimental: could cause confusion. I would argue for three distinct categories.... Marc Grober 12:16, 24 January 2009 (CST)
As I understood your (Helen's) comment (posted I don't recall where) you (Helen) were I think suggesting that what I was really suggesting was a new name space such that folks could develop documents that were not included in a default search..... which I think is exactly what I was looking for.... So the question becomes can and should we do such a thing..... --Marc Grober 23:44, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
Marc, I guess you're referring to my forum post Re: Not including pages in the Moodle Docs search. How about using a Moodle Docs template for now to indicate docs under development and add them to an appropriate category, then when there are sufficient pages to warrant it, we can create a new namespace and move all the pages into it. --Helen Foster 11:46, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

Talk:Helen's page is over 32k

FYI: I got that warning. Maybe a subpage for the older stuff and a link, so we don't loose some stuff. Of course alternatively, if I deleted all my comments/questions, that would shorted it a lot :) --Chris collman 06:04, 13 January 2009 (CST)

Seriously, I would be happy to edit my posts here down to a nub or nothingness. I think some of the language requests for help could be put in one heading and shortened, without losing anything. --Chris collman 06:13, 13 January 2009 (CST)
Chris, thanks for creating talk. I think it's a good solution :-) --Helen Foster 02:51, 14 January 2009 (CST)

See also

  • talk for older comments

Registered Users Bug with Mediawiki

Hi, talk a work-around for a bug resulting in registered users stats on Special:Statistics not updating properly. I think I am encountering this same bug on my internal wiki now. I know that was a long time ago, but do you remember what you did to fix it/what the work-around mentioned was? Thanks, --Adrian Archer 11:02, 4 March 2009 (CST)

Hi Adrian, here are Eloy's workarounds (easy to do with phpMyAdmin):
  1. To refresh the count of pages, if it's not working: table: site_stats, field: ss_total_pages, setting it to -1 should force recalculation of pages
  2. To refresh the count of registered users, delete the contents of the "cached statistics" table
Thanks to Eloy for recalling them :-) I hope you are able to upgrade to a newer MediaWiki version soon. --Helen Foster 09:01, 5 March 2009 (CST)
Thanks so much for the quick response, that sounds like it should work. I'm actually using Version 1.13.3, so I guess the bug still exists. --Adrian Archer 09:17, 5 March 2009 (CST)
Hmm, Moodle Docs is actually using version 1.11.2, though we're hoping to upgrade very soon (MDLSITE-657). --Helen Foster 09:35, 5 March 2009 (CST)

Function if in grade calculations?

Hi Helen

Thanks for your jobs.

Sorry for my lousy english.

I am trying to use the "if" function in "Grade calculations" in a similar way as is done in "opencalc"

do you know if this is possible?

How to introduce a note of recovery, only for a few students, without changing the original calification?

My email is trujillo@unex.es

Thanks

Using Moodle for Teachers

Hi Helen,

I teach math at Woodland Middle School in Woodland, WA. I'm also just beginning work with the Ubuntu Learning Project (name?). Is your book (Using Moodle - Teaching with the Popular Open Source Course Management System) available for download on Moodle Docs free to teachers? If so, is there some type of creative commons license? Or should we just link to Moodle Docs? I found your book extremely useful when I taught a 3-day Moodle Bootcamp to teachers this summer.

Thanks, Mark Knudson

Hi Mark, glad to hear you found my book useful :-) It's available for download under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike licence here: Using Moodle book. --Helen Foster 19:11, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

PHP Settings by Moodle version

Hi Helen,

I'm new to this community (and to Moodle) and am not sure how I should request an update to the documentation relating to a Moodle PHP extension requirement - specifically zlib. I noticed that this page: https://docs.moodle.org/no/Installering_av_Moodle has a section stating that "The zlib extension is required for zip/unzip functionality." under the PHP Extensions and Libraries, but it doesn't exist here: https://docs.moodle.org/en/PHP_settings_by_Moodle_version

The PHP_settings_by_Moodle_version is a Stub and is waiting for review - I was thinking about updating it with the text from the https://docs.moodle.org/no/Installering_av_Moodle page.

Looking for a little direction.

Thanks! Andy

Hi Andy,
Thanks for your kind offer to update the documentation PHP settings by Moodle version. Please feel free to go ahead and do so :-) (I asked in our developer chat and was informed that zlib is required for versions of Moodle up to 1.9 and Moodle 2.0 onwards will come with native PHP zip support so it needs the "zip" extension instead.)
For future reference, you're always welcome to edit pages in Moodle Docs and help improve our documentation. If you're not quite sure of something, you can leave a note in the page comments. Thanks again! --Helen Foster 11:45, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

Query re Cool Course Competition

Two questions re the Cool Course Competition: 1) How can teachers know whether the modules and blocks they use are core or not? Is there a list somewhere?(2) Why are some entries in their own native theme, while most entries are using the competition site's theme? How can I upload my course so that it retains its own theme? Thanks, Thomas Brown 00:16, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Hi Thomas, an easy way to check which modules and blocks are core i.e. included in the standard Moodle packages is to login to the Moodle Demonstration Site as an admin and check Administration > Modules > Activities > Manage activities and Administration > Modules > Blocks > Manage blocks.
Regarding the course theme, if you force a theme in the course settings, it will be used, otherwise the site theme will be used. --Helen Foster 11:22, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
Do you mean the "Settings" page in the course's Admin block? My Settings page doesn't have any theme-related options. Did I look in the wrong place? tnx, Thomas Brown 23:55, 16 January 2010 (UTC)
It appears that the site admin can make a setting that allows teachers to force a theme -- so I can do that now. Which raises another question: Does my theme have to be installed on the Cool Course site for it to work there, or can my backup import the theme features and bring them along into the Cool Course site? tnx again, Thomas Brown 03:58, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
Apologies for not mentioning that course themes need to be enabled by an admin in Theme settings; glad you figured things out! Yes, your theme needs to be installed on the competition site for it to work, as a course backup does not include theme features. All themes included in standard Moodle packages are available on the competition site. --Helen Foster 09:32, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

I think I have a bigger problem now that my course is on the competition web site. None of the links to course resources work! I must have royally messed up my backup somehow. I included the resources in the backup, but...Thomas Brown 21:08, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

Testing out the restore of my competition entry on my own site, I find that the html links that I've put in the Topic Outline labels go to random id numbers, and so don't open the resources they're supposed to and give me a page not found browser error instead. However, if I simply click on edit for one of the labels, and then save it without changing anything, now suddenly all of the links are in working order. So, is it possible for me or someone else to do this fix on my competition entry, so that it starts working? While we're in there fixing it, can we change it to custom corners? Thanks yet again...Thomas Brown 21:48, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
No worries, it's a good test for the course backup and restore process! I've reported the problem you describe in the tracker - MDL-21380. --Helen Foster 15:02, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Curious, why here?

Firstly, thanks for the post here which drew my attention to coolcourses.moodle.org. Really Cool and Neato. Secondly, shouldn't most of this discussion be in the "Competition Lounge"? Thirdly, there were some special effects I am dying to know "how they do that?" and I just looked at each course in the first topic! Fourthly, thanks to all who contributed. --Chris collman 13:00, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Hi Chris, just wondering why you never noticed the Cool Course Competition moodle.org news item? Regarding the Competition lounge, the fact that it was only created a few hours ago probably explains why nobody has posted there yet. How about posting your "how they do that?" question and thanks there. --Helen Foster 15:12, 21 January 2010 (UTC)
I am just a stick in the mud sometimes. I will take you up on your excellent suggestion. --Chris collman 16:46, 22 January 2010 (UTC)


nln materials query

Dear Helen, Sorry to contact you this way - I have been recommended to you by several of your former colleagues on the ILT Champs list. I am conducting a research thesis at the University of Nottingham into the uptake and use of the nln materials amongst the FE sector, and have been advised that you would have an interesting view on this programme. If you could spare me a few minutes of your time to have a discussion, then please could you drop me an email at ttxla4@nottingham.ac.uk? Thank you very much. Rob Enbgelbright says "hello" btw. Many thanks, Laurel Armstrong

Hi Laurel, I've just emailed you :-) --Helen Foster 13:46, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Jmol filter

Hi Helen,

I noticed that you had updated the Jmol filter and wonder if you could tell me the status of this filter, and also the Jmol resource type and the Java Molecule Editor (for allowing students to add chemical structures as answers in quizzes). Do they work in 1.9 and 2.0?

On a similar note, there doesn't seem to be a direct way for students to put subscripts and superscripts into answers. I have resorted to adding a table of useful chemical symbols in the question, which students can copy and paste. Is there a setting somewhere that allows students to add formatted text?

Hi Mike, please see the comments on the Jmol resource type for the latest information on it. You may also wish to contact Geoffrey Rowland.
Regarding adding chemical symbols, you may find the discussions listed in Chemistry/Biochemistry helpful. --Helen Foster 14:58, 7 June 2010 (UTC)

permission to edit brazilian portuguese version of docs.moodle.org

Hello, Helen

don't really know if you are the right person to ask, but, could you give me permission to edit brazilian portuguese version of docs.moodle.org ? I help maintain the language pack along with Gilvan Marques, as you can see at http://cvs.moodle.org/lang/pt_br_utf8/?sortby=date#dirlist . The last update of the home page was in august 2007, and also mention 1.8 as the current stable and focus of translators. I would like to make it a translated copy of the current english home page and also translate the release notes of 2.0 as first step...

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your offer to edit the Brazilian Portuguese Moodle Docs. You should find that when you login you already have editing rights (all logged-in users can edit pages). --Helen Foster 09:41, 25 July 2010 (UTC)

Brazilian docs home pagin "was protected against new editions"

Hello, Helen

i cannot edit that page because "This page was protected against new editions.", and it only allows me to see and copy source code. Could you unlock, please? Thanks, Daniel

Sorry I hadn't noticed that the homepage was protected. I've just unlocked it now. --Helen Foster 05:59, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

About the new page I added on ForumNG

Thanks for fixing it up and putting it in what I presume is a better place with a better name. Now, questions about ettiquette: is this an OK page to have? I'm really pondering what is my voice (like wanting to promote ForumNG) vs Tim's voice (who fixed and answered the FAQ's and sort of speaks from the devlopers POV). Stuff gets lost in Moodle.org forums. Who would have looked in the developers forum for some of these conversations? Few people go to the tracker and vote.

Derek, thanks for creating documentation for ForumNG. I've added a link to it from http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=2927 Thanks also for posting in the forum module forum and encouraging people to vote for the tracker issue. These are the best things you can do for new features you'd like considered for inclusion in the Moodle core. --Helen Foster 12:05, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
Thanks for this Helen, this is really cool. No doubt you will notice another page I have created [Development:Forum_requirements] which is a little flag waving to see what is out there. I do not think there is enough thought being put towards Forums - and digging around in the developer forums I can see why: no-one lkes the original code and it seems to much to either fix it or re-do it. I am sad that key fixes/requests from 2006-7 are still launguishing in the tracker. eg the edit time for Q&A forums. So, maybe some conversaton can occur over the next months on What We'd Like In Forums For 2.1.  :) Derek Chirnside 01:48, 10 August 2010 (UTC)
Note that Activity_module_tests effectively has a list of current forum features.--Tim Hunt 07:26, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Renaming pages in pt_br wiki?

Hello, Helen

i'm writing to you to know the possibilities to rename some pages in brazilian wiki. I remember of a "move" functionality in mediawiki, maybe you could allow me to do so onnly in brazilian wiki? Or i can list you the page renames and you do the job? Basically is to translate some pages that were originally created in english. Kind regards, Daniel

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your contributions to the Brazilian Portuguese wiki. I have just given you admin rights so you can move pages. --Helen Foster 12:51, 20 September 2010 (UTC)


Hello, Helen

thank you for give me the admin rigths! I will do my best to do a good work. --Daniel Neis Araujo 13:54, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

how to create moodle hosting server?

Hi Helen

I am from mongolia. We want to create moodle hosting server. What should I do? From where can I take information about creating moodle hosting. My email address yaponhel@gmail.com Thank you

Ulzii

Hi Ulzii, please see Installing Moodle. If you have any questions, visit the Using Moodle Installation problems forum. --Helen Foster 22:59, 9 May 2011 (WST)