Moodle 2.0 Files Display

Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Nancy K Hoke -
Number of replies: 19

Greetings - I have a test site for Moodle 2.0 where I have been working with the new File Picker.  I have a question regarding the folders.  When I look at Server Files in the File Picker and display the directory each file has a folder and then there is a another folder titled files and subfolders is created.

 

So I am clicking several times to get to my file.  Is this correct?  Am I doing something wrong when I upload the file?

Thank you so much for your help - I deeply appreciate it.

Nancy K. Hoke - Khalifa University

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In reply to Nancy K Hoke

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Kathy Cannon -

I think you are seeing common behavior. It seems odd to me that there is an extra layer for "files and subfolders" but I see the same. I used to tell people that Moodle is not as "click-happy" as other apps. A lot has changed in the file upload steps now.

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In reply to Kathy Cannon

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Nancy K Hoke -

Thank you Kathy.  Being a staff of one I deeply appreciate a little reassurance.  big grin

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In reply to Nancy K Hoke

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Peter Ruthven-Stuart -
Picture of Plugin developers

Hello Nancy,

Yes, this does appear to be standard behavior. I think the reason why there are subfolders is that with the new moodle 2 file system, any file that is added to an activity or resource permanently belongs to that activity or resource (i.e. it's copied to that activity or resource). And so any activity or resource now has its own internal file structure.

For example, in the above screenshot I can see that you've added five 'file' resources to a course called 'Moodle 2.0'. Each resource has its own directory called 'Files and Folders', which in your case contain just one docx file each, but they could contain more files.

I've attached a screemshot of one of my courses in which there is just a File resource and a Forum activity. You can see a similar file structure.

Attachment Server_File_Structure_in_Moodle2.png
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In reply to Peter Ruthven-Stuart

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Sharon Strauss -
Picture of Testers

Peter,

Thanks for the explanation.

My two cents. I agree with Kathy that this adds a lot of clicks to a system which seemed relatively straightforward and click-free in Moodle 1.9.

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In reply to Peter Ruthven-Stuart

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mark Emery -

My file list looks similar, but if I try and pick a file that already exists I get an error from the filepicker that the file already exists! Instead of giving me a reference to the existing file, I have to give it a new name and get a reference to the new name and then there are two files the same in the filepicker. Makes no sense at all to try and reuse a file like an image for example.

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In reply to Nancy K Hoke

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Tim Hunt -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers

You aren't doing anything wrong when you upload the file.

What I don't understand is why you are going into the file-picker, and trying to find your file again. That should not be something you have to do very often.

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In reply to Tim Hunt

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mark Emery -

We are having a similar problem with draftfiles. The filepicker creates a ref like this: /moodle/draftfile.php/14/user/draft/336944580/multimedia.png

but another user can't then see that image on the course topic. If I go in an repick the file, it is there in the course file list but when I pick it I get a ref like this:

/moodle/draftfile.php/16/user/draft/684875488/multimedia1.png

It won't let me use the same name becuase it already exists and now only I can see the image in the course topic.

How do we move the image out of the user draft area so all students can see them?

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In reply to Mark Emery

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mary Cooch (personal account) -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Testers

What precise version of Moodle are you using?

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In reply to Mary Cooch (personal account)

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mark Emery -

V2.0.2

We can't upload a file in any manner that another user can see in course view other than the uploader. Only external links are viewable as all of the uploaded files are in the user's draft file area.

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In reply to Mark Emery

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Elena Ivanova -

Hi Mark,
Can you please describe exact steps that your users take to load the files? smile

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In reply to Elena Ivanova

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mark Emery -

Very straight forward, edit a course topic and in the topic summary click the insert/edit image button to get the filepicker. Use the Upload a file option in the file picker to load the image. It appears under the course repository in the server files picker, but always creates a draft user reference that only the user picking the file can see.

Another user can pick the file from server files but they will get a draft reference via their user id to the copy they make. If its in the same topic they must give it a new name because it already exists.

I have also uploaded into a file resource and a folder resource on the course topic successfully, but they also create draft references to the files that only I can see in course view.

This ref is from an image picked from a folder resource on the course topic: hxxp://moodle.xxx.com.au/moodle/draftfile.php/16/user/draft/652496338/image.png

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In reply to Mary Cooch (personal account)

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mark Emery -

Correction: it's not the uploader who only can see the file, it is the user who picked the file and created the reference to it. Initially that is the uploader, but if a second user picks the same file using the Server files repository only they can see the draft reference they create.

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In reply to Mark Emery

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Elena Ivanova -

Hi Mark,

Sorry, it is still not clear - where exactly they do not see it?
Can you please create screenshots of what one user sees, what another sees, and what you think they should see.

Server files is not a repository. This is a "preview" of files that you have in all of your Moodle courses (where you have instructor access)
When your second instructor picks a file (uploaded by another instructor to some Resourse) via Server files previewer, he creates a copy of that file.

That "user/draft" reference is a one-time identifier, and it is not a stable URL - it changes dinamically every single time you look at the file in the editing mode. smile

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In reply to Elena Ivanova

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mark Emery -

The file uploader doesn't work for me on this site.

The creator sees an image and everyone else see a red cross where the image should be.

in both cases the same image url is used, which look like this:

hxxp://moodle.xxx.com.au/moodle/draftfile.php/16/user/draft/869750976/Planets1.png

hxxp://moodle.xxx.com.au/moodle/draftfile.php/16/user/draft/652496338/Crown.jpg

We have had a number of instances where every linked image has been replaced with brokenfile.php and we've had to repick them to repair. The temporary nature of draft file might explain why this is happening.

My real question is how are files made to be not draft?

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In reply to Mark Emery

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Elena Ivanova -

Assuming users are using the File Picker to grab/copy the images, and are not trying  to provide links to anything that looks like "hxxp://moodle.xxx.com.au/moodle/draftfile.php/16/user/draft/869750976/Planets1.png", I would suspect a bug

p.s. I guess I am still confused by your sentence:"in both cases the same image url is used, which look like this: hxxp://moodle.xxx.com.au/moodle/draftfile.php/16/user/draft/869750976/Planets1.png" - One cannot and should not link to those urls.

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In reply to Elena Ivanova

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Mark Emery -

The URLs are returned by the filepicker. A few times every link has broken in a course at the same time and we've had to repick every image to repair them and also given them a new name because they already exist (of course).

I've made every attempt to answer your questions and you've not attempted to answer any of mine. I'm giving up on this thread, it is not going anywhere useful.

p.s. I knew it was a bug at the start of this.

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In reply to Mark Emery

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Elena Ivanova -

Mark, before we can tell you the cause of trouble, we need to know the issue.
Without direct access to your installation, we can only guess, based on your description, what the issue can be. We are not prophets.

It can be a bug, but it can be very well a user error.
To rule out the user error  I have asked you for:
a) screenshots. This is the most helpful thing that you can provide.
b) clarification on exact steps, plus terminology. Some of yours statements sound rather incorrect.

To say something is a bug, once we confirm it is not the user error, we need to verify that bug somehow. Then it can be added to the tracker and fixed. So far no one else jumped in to say that they had the same issue, so if you want help/fix, you need to provide very clear review and scenario for developers to replicate it.

best

p.s. I see that you have already opened the Tracker ticket, which does have a much better explanation. I would advise you to link to the tickets if you post in the forum, therefore no ones time would be lost on basic troubleshooting.

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In reply to Elena Ivanova

Re: Moodle 2.0 Files Display

by Laurie Webster -

I am getting the same problem as Mark. I am on version 2.0.2 using Classroom Revolution's hosted site. I did not have this problem with the first course I did about 6 weeks ago. We may have been on 2.0.1, but I am not sure.

None of my uploaded files for the new course are moving from draftfile to plugin files status. Therefore I have to embed the file or image each time I want to use it. Before I created a template web page with images and was able to copy and paste the html code into other web pages for the course. This time, the image shows up when I paste the code in, but when I save it, the image goes away (broken image icon).

I think it's a new bug possibly.

Laurie Webster

p.s. I am the administrator, course designer, and course facilitator all rolled into one. wink

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