An idea for the URL resource icon in Moodle reflects the link resourced

An idea for the URL resource icon in Moodle reflects the link resourced

by Ken Task -
Number of replies: 1
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers

Many are discovering the advantages of using Google Drive/MS One Drive (other) for
document storage and serving (including videos and audios).  In Moodle, one uses a URL resource and the icon stays the same for all such resources in a course.   The only way to indicate the URL is on Google Drive/One Drive or other is to use some designator in the link to the resource ... like a '(GD)' for a Google Drive resource.

So ... a proposal ...

* An alternate set of URL resource icons for: Google Drive/Docs, MS One Drive, other.

* A system wide setting to use alt URL icons ... with pre-selects for Google Drive and/or
Microsoft's One Drive, etc.

* A setting in a course to use alt URL icons and which set.

* When creating a URL resource to such a document/file, option to choose which icon.

Would make a Moodle more user friendly ... user is informed by icon before clicking any
such URL resource.

If y'all (am from Texas!!!) think it's worth doing, please see the Tracker:
https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-50858

'spirit of sharing', Ken

Average of ratings: Useful (2)
In reply to Ken Task

Re: An idea for the URL resource icon in Moodle reflects the link resourced

by Tim Hunt -
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This is a good idea in principle.

I don't see any need for a new setting. Different icons are just better. It would be a setting you never want to turn off, and unnecessary settings are just bad usability.

If possible, the icons should be configurable, and managed using the same screen where you manage the other file type icons.

The only difficulty I see is that for other file types, the icons are controlled just by the file extension. Here you would need to look at more of the URL. I don't know if the current API extends naturally to handle that, I have not looked.

Note that the current API does use the file extension to determine the icon. For example if you like to http://example.com/file.pdf you get a pdf icon. This is good. I think that even after your change, if you like to https://drive.google.com/file.pdf, it should be a PDF icon. It should only be a Google doc, or Google spreadsheet icon, if you are linking to one of those.

Thanks for working on this.

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