Hi. When I am in the Course categories page (the one with the index and search box of all site courses), I can hit the "turn editing on" button as administrator, and I can then click "blocks editing on". I can create a block and move it to either the left or right column, but when I turn both those buttons "off" the block is gone. It does not seem to reside anywhere.
I would like to have a block of info explaining more about the philosophy of the courses, instead of just giving them that index and search capability right away.
Any thoughts are much appreciated,
Jamie
PS Here is screen grab of what I see after I have created and moved my block, BEFORE turning it all off.
Hi. Maybe I should add this to the Moodle Tracker as a bug? I was hoping that I was just doing something wrong... I have searched and searched, but the words "block" and "courses" bring up about a zillion posts about other issues.
In reply to Jamie Robe
Re: Can create but not see a block on the Course categories page
by Helen Foster -
Hi Jamie,
I don't know why the blocks editing on/off button appears on the course categories page, because as far as I know, it's not possible to add any blocks to the page.
However, what you can do is add a description to each course category. I realise this is not quite the same as adding text to the course categories page itself though, so if you particularly want to do this, please go ahead and create an issue in the tracker.
I don't know why the blocks editing on/off button appears on the course categories page, because as far as I know, it's not possible to add any blocks to the page.
However, what you can do is add a description to each course category. I realise this is not quite the same as adding text to the course categories page itself though, so if you particularly want to do this, please go ahead and create an issue in the tracker.
In reply to Helen Foster
Re: Can create but not see a block on the Course categories page
by Jamie Robe -
Thanks Helen. I will contemplate how to word it. At the very least, it is buggish since it let me actually "create" my block, but then it never shows up when I turn editing off.
The page would be perfect for me as-is, if I could just have a tiny paragraph to give people some background about the courses, etc.
I am sure I could hack something together, but I have tried to build my site 100% upgradable
The page would be perfect for me as-is, if I could just have a tiny paragraph to give people some background about the courses, etc.
I am sure I could hack something together, but I have tried to build my site 100% upgradable
A agree it is confusing. The blocks button there is actually related to the blocks that appear on the admin screens. There is no facility (yet) for blocks on the category page, apart from the admin ones that appear when editing is on.
Improvements to page layout/navigation/blocks is currently being discussed in relation to 'what should we change in Moodle 2.0'. See Development:Navigation_2.0. I have added a link to this discussion there. It is probably not worth filing an issue in the tracker about this yet.
Improvements to page layout/navigation/blocks is currently being discussed in relation to 'what should we change in Moodle 2.0'. See Development:Navigation_2.0. I have added a link to this discussion there. It is probably not worth filing an issue in the tracker about this yet.
Thanks. I will hold off on the tracker thing then.
I think I have read discussions about adding sticky blocks to more things than just mymoodle and classroom pages. I have found that while I am developing my site, the mymoodle page is the easiest to work with to get virtually any desired effect. The frontpage and other classrooms are more problematic, while making pages like the course categories work in a very customized site much more difficult.
I am sure that it leads to much hacking, which then leads to reluctance to upgrade versions, etc.
My two cents based on my experiences to date: Systematically try to turn everything (like the course categories page) into blocks or mayeb a new type called super-blocks. These would be different to regular bloks in that they would typically be more complicated and provide more core system functionality. Then, add sticky blocks to a web-page variant called virtual-pages, which could created whereever needed and hold the super-blocks and normal blocks.
Another path, which I am taking now, is to use an ajax library to pull the content from one page into another. I have been using classrooms as shells for main "pages" in my site, and I will plop the course categories and other parts of teh site into them, so I can have other things in there as well. The advantage of that is that my upgrade path is much more clear... I hope
Thanks for the link to the development doc - I will read through those in detail. Where is the timeframe for 2.0 tracked on the site? I woudl like to help with testing or something if I can. Better to put actions towards ideas than just spouting off. Keep up the good work!
Jamie
I think I have read discussions about adding sticky blocks to more things than just mymoodle and classroom pages. I have found that while I am developing my site, the mymoodle page is the easiest to work with to get virtually any desired effect. The frontpage and other classrooms are more problematic, while making pages like the course categories work in a very customized site much more difficult.
I am sure that it leads to much hacking, which then leads to reluctance to upgrade versions, etc.
My two cents based on my experiences to date: Systematically try to turn everything (like the course categories page) into blocks or mayeb a new type called super-blocks. These would be different to regular bloks in that they would typically be more complicated and provide more core system functionality. Then, add sticky blocks to a web-page variant called virtual-pages, which could created whereever needed and hold the super-blocks and normal blocks.
Another path, which I am taking now, is to use an ajax library to pull the content from one page into another. I have been using classrooms as shells for main "pages" in my site, and I will plop the course categories and other parts of teh site into them, so I can have other things in there as well. The advantage of that is that my upgrade path is much more clear... I hope
Thanks for the link to the development doc - I will read through those in detail. Where is the timeframe for 2.0 tracked on the site? I woudl like to help with testing or something if I can. Better to put actions towards ideas than just spouting off. Keep up the good work!
Jamie
Thanks for raising this issue Jamie. I have been wrestling with exactly the same problem and have assumed it has been a glitch in either my browser or our version of Moodle. Very frustrating to appear to have that option only to find it doesn't work.
It would be a useful option to develop!