Is there a simple way to download every course document?

Is there a simple way to download every course document?

by Michael Vaughn -
Number of replies: 6

We're on Moodle 2.3.4, which is hosted by an outside provider (no FTP access). 

Our faculty and staff occassionally use a Moodle course for search committees where they share applicant files and comments. I have a faculty who needs to download dozens of files that have been added to a search committee site so they can be sent over to Human Resources, but I cannot find a simple way to do this. 

The File Picker will gladly show me a list of every file that's been uploaded to the course, and even lists them in their relevant folders. However, the File Picker only lets me add new files, not download them. Is there a simple way to download everything at once? This was a simple process in Blackboard Learn, and I'm struggling to find similar functionality in Moodle.

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In reply to Michael Vaughn

Re: Is there a simple way to download every course document?

by Heather Williams -

I don't know if this helps, but I have a course with a lot of resources that are  pdfs. If I backup the course with just those resources, I can download the backup and unzip it on my local hard drive. Then there is a folder named 'files' in it with subfolders and inside those are copies of the pdfs with hash string names. I can then open them with adobe and rename them.

I can't think of another way of doing this at the moment, I'm sure someone else has an easier way?

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In reply to Heather Williams

Re: Is there a simple way to download every course document?

by Michael Vaughn -

This is an intriguing idea. I think the challenge for me is we're talking about three dozen folders, each with at least 5 documents in it. If they come out with hashed filenames, that's an awful lot of renaming and organization mixed

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In reply to Michael Vaughn

Re: Is there a simple way to download every course document?

by ben reynolds -

So, these folders were uploaded as resources? Not into an Assignment or anything, right?

I haven't tried this in Win 7, but under XP, you could get a simple DOS batch file that would run to do the renaming of files inside a folder. I found it years ago somewhere on the web.

Probably, all you really have to do is rename the 36 folders to something meaningful & then attach a prefix to the filenames within that connects them to the particular folder.

Or get an intern to sort all the files out smile

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In reply to Michael Vaughn

Re: Is there a simple way to download every course document?

by Eder dos Santos -

Hi!

How do you upload these files? If you do it under a Folder, you should edit the folder, so the File Picker enables a "Download All" option (sorry for the string, I'm using spanish and portuguese distributions at the moment).

Hope it can be useful.

Best regards

Eder

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In reply to Eder dos Santos

Re: Is there a simple way to download every course document?

by Michael Vaughn -

Hi Eder, What they've done is upload each candidate's documents as a folder. Your solution is excellent for downloading just that folder. The challenge I have is that they also have about three dozen candidates in the course, each with their own folder, so they'd have to do this for each individual folder. 

I may end up recommending this solution. I just wish there was a way to snag all the original files, since I can I see them all in the File Picker (but I can't download them--argh!). 

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In reply to Michael Vaughn

Re: Is there a simple way to download every course document?

by Randy Thornton -
Picture of Documentation writers

Michael,

You can do this as follow:

1) Make a new Folder

2) Edit it, then Add all the relevant files in the other Folders into it by choosing Server in the filepicker and navigating to them and selecting them

3) Then use Download All in the new Folder

This works because those uploaded files are not actually "in" the Folders at all (as 1.9 course files were), but are really in Moodle's repository and referenced from the Folder. Using the Filepicker and going to Server, you can Add files to folders from other folders, from other activities and resources, and even from other courses as long as you have the permission to see them.

Now, having said that, depending on how many files you have, it may be as much work to do this as having the faculty download the zips from each folder, but it will give you one single zip to download and it lets you be selective as well (if you need.)

 

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