2.0.2 - 06 jul 2007 - Dmitry Pupinin [moodle.org member]
* bug fixed: empty Gradebook
* bug fixed: error if block instance added before module instance
* bug fixed: wrong link on report tab when no session added
* bug fixed: Activity report looks good
+ link from Activities block point directly to Attendances (because it can't be more than one)
* bug fixed: Wrong link when adding a session for a date that had already been added
* bug fixed: Error when settings updated
* en_utf8 lang updated (thanks to A. T. Wyatt)
+ en_us_utf8 lang added (contain only differences from en_utf8)
You can get latest daily build here:
http://download.moodle.org/plugins/mod/attforblock.zip (module)
http://download.moodle.org/plugins/blocks/attendance.zip (block)
Remember, you MUST install module and block together! Only in this case
Attendance will work! (code rewriting not finished yet. In future it will be
corrected)
New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Number of replies: 80
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
Hi, Dmitry!
I am missing some strings when looking at the role definition for teacher.
I am not sure how to track down these strings. I don't remember checking this before, so perhaps I did not do a good job of bug reporting! Or maybe I just did not install the language files correctly. But I don't have missing strings anywhere else that I can see.
Here is a screen shot. Thank you for any advice!
atw
I am missing some strings when looking at the role definition for teacher.
I am not sure how to track down these strings. I don't remember checking this before, so perhaps I did not do a good job of bug reporting! Or maybe I just did not install the language files correctly. But I don't have missing strings anywhere else that I can see.
Here is a screen shot. Thank you for any advice!
atw
In reply to A. T. Wyatt
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
Greetings, Dmitry!
I found two more little things:
1) Missing string for Open Office export
2) Missing studentview.html help file.
I will attach the screen shot to show the missing string. I will attach this missing help file.
atw
I found two more little things:
1) Missing string for Open Office export
2) Missing studentview.html help file.
I will attach the screen shot to show the missing string. I will attach this missing help file.
atw
In reply to A. T. Wyatt
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
Here is the missing help file. Sorry, I can only do the English!
atw
atw
In reply to A. T. Wyatt
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Thanks!
Fixed.
Fixed.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Mark Pearson -
Dmitri,
Are the fixes mentioned above now rolled in to the zip files whose links you posted above?
I have just taken a look and it seems that they are. Thanks
What about Vinokourov out of the Tour huh?
Mark
Are the fixes mentioned above now rolled in to the zip files whose links you posted above?
I have just taken a look and it seems that they are. Thanks
What about Vinokourov out of the Tour huh?
Mark
In reply to Mark Pearson
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Zip files above is daily build from CVS, so it have latest changes!
>What about Vinokourov out of the Tour huh?
I don't understand you... What's you mean?
>What about Vinokourov out of the Tour huh?
I don't understand you... What's you mean?
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Miroslav Fikar -
Hi Dmitry,
groups selector in attendances.php shows numerical codes (right in figure) instead of groupnames as in report.php (left in figure). It seems that you call two different functions for the same action.
Best,
Miroslav
Moodle: 1.8.2+, Attendance: 2.0.2
groups selector in attendances.php shows numerical codes (right in figure) instead of groupnames as in report.php (left in figure). It seems that you call two different functions for the same action.
Best,
Miroslav
Moodle: 1.8.2+, Attendance: 2.0.2
In reply to Miroslav Fikar
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Richard Webb -
I just noticed this as well. When you look at reports it shows the groups properly but when you go to take attendance it shows the numbers.
In reply to Miroslav Fikar
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Miroslav Fikar -
Hm, I was able to show group names in attendances instead of numerical codes by changing line 111 in mod/attforblock/attendances.php :
// print_group_menu($groups, $groupmode, $currentgroup, "attendances.php?id=$id&attsid=$attsid&sort=$sort"); setup_and_print_groups($course, $groupmode, "attendances.php?id=$id&attsid=$attsid&sort=$sort");
In reply to Miroslav Fikar
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
Hurray! I will try this!
Thanks,
atw
Thanks,
atw
Very exciting!
I am still new at php, but does this replace line 111 and 112? And do just copy and paste exactly as listed.
Thanks,
John
I am still new at php, but does this replace line 111 and 112? And do just copy and paste exactly as listed.
Thanks,
John
Find this line around line 111
print_group_menu($groups, $groupmode, $currentgroup, "attendances.php?id=$id&attsid=$attsid&sort=$sort");and replace it with this line
setup_and_print_groups($course, $groupmode, "attendances.php?id=$id&attsid=$attsid&sort=$sort");
In reply to Miroslav Fikar
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Fixed!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks so much!!! It worked perfectly.
John
John
When I install these modules, all of of my topics disappear when I turn editing on! I installed this about a month ago with the same result and then this morning using the latest zips. The only error I get when I nav to the Admin page is that version.php can not be read. I copied it from another mod and the install appeared to go smoothly. Without adding the mod or the block to any courses though, all topics disappear when I turn editing on.
Help! The first time I had to completly rebuild the site - this site is small and only used by a handful of people so it is my "test" site but I really dont want to have to rebuild again. ALso, I need to install this on our production site but cant proceed until I see it work.
Thanks!
Jeff
In reply to Jeff Hague
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
Greetings, Jeff!
I think that this problem is caused by something failing in your setup. Many people have posted on the issue, and usually manage to solve it by turning debugging on and noting where the page load fails. It might be attendance, and it might be something else! It is almost always a third-party block though.
In my experience, the problem is caused by some code calling a block or module that no longer exists or is corrupted in the instance. Easiest fix is to re-install the missing block, but sometimes you can't (because it hasn't been updated for the current version of Moodle). Other things you can try are digging through all the relevant directories, removing the files completely, and then re-installing. Some things require files in multiple places, so you tend to forget where all of them are! If you remove only half the files, you will get the "turn editing on vanishes everything" problem.
I do hope you get it figured out. I can tell you that the attendance block is working properly in our instance, 1.8.2+ updated September 7.
atw
I think that this problem is caused by something failing in your setup. Many people have posted on the issue, and usually manage to solve it by turning debugging on and noting where the page load fails. It might be attendance, and it might be something else! It is almost always a third-party block though.
In my experience, the problem is caused by some code calling a block or module that no longer exists or is corrupted in the instance. Easiest fix is to re-install the missing block, but sometimes you can't (because it hasn't been updated for the current version of Moodle). Other things you can try are digging through all the relevant directories, removing the files completely, and then re-installing. Some things require files in multiple places, so you tend to forget where all of them are! If you remove only half the files, you will get the "turn editing on vanishes everything" problem.
I do hope you get it figured out. I can tell you that the attendance block is working properly in our instance, 1.8.2+ updated September 7.
atw
In reply to Jeff Hague
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Bob Gettings -
I had the same problem and the answer is really quite simple. The name of the block is attendance. The name of the module is attforblock. When I mixed them up I got the same results as you. Apparently installing a block as a module causes havoc with the editing system in Moodle and all of the weeks or units of all courses disappear.
One could hope for clearer naming so that iddyits like me would have an easier life but to be a devil's advocate, Dmitry does state clearly which is which in the message at the top of this discussion.
Oh well! LOL
One could hope for clearer naming so that iddyits like me would have an easier life but to be a devil's advocate, Dmitry does state clearly which is which in the message at the top of this discussion.
Oh well! LOL
In reply to Bob Gettings
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Chris Tusa -
I had a question. I have the mod installed but it's indicating the following:
This block can work only with an attendance activity. Please add the activity to this course.
How do I add the activity to the course?
Thanks.
Chris
This block can work only with an attendance activity. Please add the activity to this course.
How do I add the activity to the course?
Thanks.
Chris
In reply to Chris Tusa
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
Greetings, Chris!
When you turn editing on, you can look in the "activity" dropdown box and add attendance the same way you add any assignment, forum, or other interactive object.
If you don't want attendance to show in your gradebook, you can then hide it. You use the block to take attendance (which still works even though the activity is hidden), and the students can see their report. (My recollection is that this happens automatically, but you can check the student roles if there is a problem).
Of course if you DO want it in the gradebook, don't hide the activity or set the gradebook to show ALL activities even those that are hidden. Personally, I always put the attendance activity in the summary topic at the very top of my course.
Hope you get it to work! We love this block.
atw
When you turn editing on, you can look in the "activity" dropdown box and add attendance the same way you add any assignment, forum, or other interactive object.
If you don't want attendance to show in your gradebook, you can then hide it. You use the block to take attendance (which still works even though the activity is hidden), and the students can see their report. (My recollection is that this happens automatically, but you can check the student roles if there is a problem).
Of course if you DO want it in the gradebook, don't hide the activity or set the gradebook to show ALL activities even those that are hidden. Personally, I always put the attendance activity in the summary topic at the very top of my course.
Hope you get it to work! We love this block.
atw
In reply to Jeff Hague
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Chris Tusa -
Hi,
I had a question. I installed the attendance module successfully, but the block is indicating that the attendance block can work only with an attendance activity. It suggests that I add the activity to the course. Any idea how I do this?
Thanks in advance,
Chris
cmtusa@lsu.edu
I had a question. I installed the attendance module successfully, but the block is indicating that the attendance block can work only with an attendance activity. It suggests that I add the activity to the course. Any idea how I do this?
Thanks in advance,
Chris
cmtusa@lsu.edu
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Ahmed abdelkader -
hi all
please i want attendance block and module
i use moodle 1.8.1
i want it support arabic language
i will be grateful of you
thank you
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by joe cool -
Hello,
Thanks for the work on the attendance code!
I have used it and like it.
I notice that Moodle 1.8 is what the attendance code works with, but I thought I would try it out with Moodle 1.9, and report any problems I found. So I did.
I just installed the latest (as of Nov 14, 2007) attendance block and module in Moodle 1.9.2.
I noticed these things:
- under the Report tab, display of Months and Weeks worked, but "All Taken" reported "Nothing to display"
- the activity was missing some language information, since it appeared as modulename on the main course page (the block did not have this problem)
This was a quick test with 1 student - but I thought the info may be useful. Other than the above, it seems to work. I have not done extensive testing, however.
Thanks for the work on the attendance code!
I have used it and like it.
I notice that Moodle 1.8 is what the attendance code works with, but I thought I would try it out with Moodle 1.9, and report any problems I found. So I did.
I just installed the latest (as of Nov 14, 2007) attendance block and module in Moodle 1.9.2.
I noticed these things:
- under the Report tab, display of Months and Weeks worked, but "All Taken" reported "Nothing to display"
- the activity was missing some language information, since it appeared as modulename on the main course page (the block did not have this problem)
This was a quick test with 1 student - but I thought the info may be useful. Other than the above, it seems to work. I have not done extensive testing, however.
I just installed attendance module successfully exceptmodulename in the activity list. Can anyone tell me how to fix this?
Thanks.
Thanks.
In reply to Shin Okada
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Florian Steinfeltz -
Hi,
have the same Problem with Moodle 1.8.4+, previous updated from 1.8.2+.
Additionally i have copied the language Files into the lang/de_utf8 and en_utf8 Folder, like in http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=90061, but it don't solve the problem.
Any ideas?
Florian
have the same Problem with Moodle 1.8.4+, previous updated from 1.8.2+.
Additionally i have copied the language Files into the lang/de_utf8 and en_utf8 Folder, like in http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=90061, but it don't solve the problem.
Any ideas?
Florian
In reply to Florian Steinfeltz
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Shin Okada -
Hi Florian, I found the solution int the other thread.
1. Go to \moodle\blocks\attendance\lang\en_utf8\help COPY "block_attendance" folder into \moodle\lang\en_utf8\help
2. COPY \moodle\blocks\attendance\lang\en_utf8\attforblock.php and block_attendance.php into \moodle\lang\en_utf8
you usually need to put a copy of the language file in en_utf8 or whichever language pack you are using .
In reply to Shin Okada
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Florian Steinfeltz -
Hi Elvis,
I forget to copy the attforblock.php and block_attendance.php into /moodle/lang/en_utf8
Thanks for help, that's fix my problem.
Florian
I forget to copy the attforblock.php and block_attendance.php into /moodle/lang/en_utf8
Thanks for help, that's fix my problem.
Florian
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Minor bugfix in report.php Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
Hi Dmitry,
perhaps by messing about in ways that one wouldn't ordinarily, I found what I think is a small bug in the reports. The totals (P,A,L,E,Grade) are counted based on the sessions since the course.startdate. However, the report shows gradings for all sessions, even before course.startdate (suppose you changed the startdate). This can lead to confusing reports like the one below.
Attached is a patch, causing the report to only show those sessions which occur after startdate and therefore report the totals and individual sessions consistently.
Thanks very much for the great add-on.
Gavin
PS why can it not be found under moodle.org's "modules and plugins" section. The only reason I found out about this module was a colleague sent me a URL.
perhaps by messing about in ways that one wouldn't ordinarily, I found what I think is a small bug in the reports. The totals (P,A,L,E,Grade) are counted based on the sessions since the course.startdate. However, the report shows gradings for all sessions, even before course.startdate (suppose you changed the startdate). This can lead to confusing reports like the one below.
Attached is a patch, causing the report to only show those sessions which occur after startdate and therefore report the totals and individual sessions consistently.
Thanks very much for the great add-on.
Gavin
PS why can it not be found under moodle.org's "modules and plugins" section. The only reason I found out about this module was a colleague sent me a URL.
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: Minor bugfix in report.php Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Thanks Gavin!
Fixed.
Will be autopublished tomorrow and available via links in first post!
>why can it not be found under moodle.org's "modules and plugins" section.
Only one problem - my poor english...
Could you write description for module? Just send me it and I'll publish it...
Fixed.
Will be autopublished tomorrow and available via links in first post!
>why can it not be found under moodle.org's "modules and plugins" section.
Only one problem - my poor english...
Could you write description for module? Just send me it and I'll publish it...
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: Minor bugfix in report.php Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
I has added new record about Attendance module:
http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=1062
http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=1062
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: Minor bugfix in report.php Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
I did approve this entry this morning and I added the short description.
Thank you again for this block! It is used quite a bit at our institution!
atw
Thank you again for this block! It is used quite a bit at our institution!
atw
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dave Emsley -
I have just installed the module and block as per read me files and the notifications tell me it has installed OK.
However when I add an attendance block to a course it tells me to add an activity - fair enough. However when I add an activity I get the error:
Could not add a new instance of attforblock
What am i doing wrong?
Cheers
In reply to Dave Emsley
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Mark Lew -
I have given my teachers permission to export their attendance report and am receiving this message "Sorry, but you do not currently have permissions to do that (attendance:export)".
As an administrator, I can export, but my teachers can not.
In reply to Mark Lew
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by A. T. Wyatt -
Greetings, Mark!
Try this:
http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=78474
It is a work around, but pretty effective!
atw
Try this:
http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=78474
It is a work around, but pretty effective!
atw
In reply to Mark Lew
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Is your teacher "Non-editing teacher"?
By default only teachers with editing rights can export. But you can override this right using Roles->Override roles.
By default only teachers with editing rights can export. But you can override this right using Roles->Override roles.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
> I have given my teachers permission to export their attendance report and am receiving this message "Sorry, but you do not currently have permissions to do that (attendance:export)".
Sorry! It's my fault...
Fixed.
Will be available tomorrow after daily build...
PS: You can only replace file export.php from module!
Sorry! It's my fault...
Fixed.
Will be available tomorrow after daily build...
PS: You can only replace file export.php from module!
Dmitry,
I continue to really appreciate this module and we are preparing to use it very wide scale at my university from this April.
I am going to need to create a large number of courses and pre-set them with attendance dates for teachers. If I could create a 'template' attendance pattern in a course and then import it into other courses it would make my job MUCH easier. Currently this is not possible....I guess due to the lack of backup support.
Is there any forecast date for when the 'backup support' is going to be implemented for the attendance module/block?
Or is backup support even related to the issue I'm having??? If I click on "import" from a course that doesn't not have the attendance mod/block installed, and then navigate to a course that has the attendance mod/block to try to import it, all the other activities from that course appear but the attendance activity does not.
Maybe this isn't related to backup.....?
Jason
I continue to really appreciate this module and we are preparing to use it very wide scale at my university from this April.
I am going to need to create a large number of courses and pre-set them with attendance dates for teachers. If I could create a 'template' attendance pattern in a course and then import it into other courses it would make my job MUCH easier. Currently this is not possible....I guess due to the lack of backup support.
Is there any forecast date for when the 'backup support' is going to be implemented for the attendance module/block?
Or is backup support even related to the issue I'm having??? If I click on "import" from a course that doesn't not have the attendance mod/block installed, and then navigate to a course that has the attendance mod/block to try to import it, all the other activities from that course appear but the attendance activity does not.
Maybe this isn't related to backup.....?
Jason
In reply to Dave Emsley
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
You can add only one instance of module for each course.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dave Emsley -
AFAIK I am only adding a single instance of the module?
In reply to Dave Emsley
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Chris Tusa -
How exactly do you add the activity. That's where I'm stuck.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by joe cool -
I found a problem or 2 with Moodle 1.9 beta 3 - updated via cvs on Dec 30, 2007.
I thought the information might be useful, so here it is!
I noticed the admin/index.php was blank.
I turned maximum debugging on via the admin settings.
In attforblock, settings.php, config.php was not included or found.
I changed this line
require_once('../../config.php');
to
require_once($CFG->dirroot.'/config.php');
and that error disappeared.
However, I had other errors...
A required parameter (id) was missing
Stack trace:
* line 5741 of lib/weblib.php: call to debugging()
* line 296 of lib/moodlelib.php: call to error()
* line 14 of mod/attforblock/settings.php: call to required_param()
* line 27 of admin/settings/plugins.php: call to include()
* line 4037 of lib/adminlib.php: call to include()
* line 545 of admin/index.php: call to admin_get_root()
the above was on the page moodle-site/admin/
(Please note: the line numbers might be off by 1 or 2, since I tried making a few changes to fix this - but they should be close!)
I looked and the line in attforblock/settings.php was
$id = required_param('id', PARAM_INT);
// Course id
I wondered if this was not set because I was in the admin page, not in a course.
So, on a course page (the default course, CF101) I see this:
print_header() was sent a string as 3rd (CF101 -> Attendance) parameter. This is deprecated in favour of an array built by build_navigation(). Please upgrade your code.
* line 2338 of lib/weblib.php: call to debugging()
* line 48 of mod/attforblock/manage.php: call to print_header()
Course Fullname 101
*
Navigation needs to be updated to use build_navigation()
* line 3542 of lib/weblib.php: call to debugging()
* line 37 of theme/standardwhite/header.html: call to print_navigation()
* line 2553 of lib/weblib.php: call to include()
* line 48 of mod/attforblock/manage.php: call to print_header()
You are here
* Moo
* / ► CF101
* / ► Attendance
But, the block seems to be working, in spite of the errors. With debugging off, the only noticeable thing I recall was that some admin pages were not visible.
I used this block in Moodle 1.8 without this problem - but that was an older version of Attendance, and older version of Moodle.
I hope the above information is helpful.
I thought the information might be useful, so here it is!
I noticed the admin/index.php was blank.
I turned maximum debugging on via the admin settings.
In attforblock, settings.php, config.php was not included or found.
I changed this line
require_once('../../config.php');
to
require_once($CFG->dirroot.'/config.php');
and that error disappeared.
However, I had other errors...
A required parameter (id) was missing
Stack trace:
* line 5741 of lib/weblib.php: call to debugging()
* line 296 of lib/moodlelib.php: call to error()
* line 14 of mod/attforblock/settings.php: call to required_param()
* line 27 of admin/settings/plugins.php: call to include()
* line 4037 of lib/adminlib.php: call to include()
* line 545 of admin/index.php: call to admin_get_root()
the above was on the page moodle-site/admin/
(Please note: the line numbers might be off by 1 or 2, since I tried making a few changes to fix this - but they should be close!)
I looked and the line in attforblock/settings.php was
$id = required_param('id', PARAM_INT);
// Course id
I wondered if this was not set because I was in the admin page, not in a course.
So, on a course page (the default course, CF101) I see this:
print_header() was sent a string as 3rd (CF101 -> Attendance) parameter. This is deprecated in favour of an array built by build_navigation(). Please upgrade your code.
* line 2338 of lib/weblib.php: call to debugging()
* line 48 of mod/attforblock/manage.php: call to print_header()
Course Fullname 101
*
Navigation needs to be updated to use build_navigation()
* line 3542 of lib/weblib.php: call to debugging()
* line 37 of theme/standardwhite/header.html: call to print_navigation()
* line 2553 of lib/weblib.php: call to include()
* line 48 of mod/attforblock/manage.php: call to print_header()
You are here
* Moo
* / ► CF101
* / ► Attendance
But, the block seems to be working, in spite of the errors. With debugging off, the only noticeable thing I recall was that some admin pages were not visible.
I used this block in Moodle 1.8 without this problem - but that was an older version of Attendance, and older version of Moodle.
I hope the above information is helpful.
In reply to joe cool
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Fixed.
Now Attendance compatible with Moodle 1.9.
Now Attendance compatible with Moodle 1.9.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Matthew Rigdon -
For those Users of MSSQL Server I have something For you! I recently installed the Attendance Module and was not able to get it to work, so i modified the SQL scripts and was able to create the two scripts necessary for creating my tables in my database and the appropriate relationships as well. I hope this might be considered for addition in to the next release for those of us that use MSSQL server. A few things my table prefix is statically assigned as mdl_* for all my tables so you will have to fix that for your mdl instance if your prefix is different.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Mark Lew -
Dmitry,
Is there a way to make the radio buttons so that more than one option can be applied. In particular, I am looking at the Excused button. We have to track absences and tardies and whether they are excused or not. We also have to track dismissals, but you do not have a column for that.
Mark
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Chris Tusa -
Hi,
I had a question. I installed the attendance module successfully, but the block is indicating that the attendance block can work only with an attendance activity. It suggests that I add the activity to the course. Any idea how I do this?
Thanks in advance,
Chris
cmtusa@lsu.edu
I had a question. I installed the attendance module successfully, but the block is indicating that the attendance block can work only with an attendance activity. It suggests that I add the activity to the course. Any idea how I do this?
Thanks in advance,
Chris
cmtusa@lsu.edu
I believe that, when editing is turned on, you can add
1) blocks - such as calendar or online users
2) a resource - such as a web page
3) an activity - such as a quiz
The blocks are usually available on the right column, and the resources and activities in the center column.
I believe that the attendance module requires both
- an attendance block
- an attendance activity
You would add the attendance activity as you would normally add another activity, such as a quiz, forum or assignment.
More detail:
Click the button to Turn Editing On. Then in the center column, look for a drop-down list with the words
Add an activity...
For each topic, or week (depending on whether your course uses topics or weeks), you will see this drop-down list. The top one is a good choice.
If you are using the social format for your course, instead of weeks or topics, then I think you will see a block named Social Activities. There you can select an activity to add.
If you don't see it, you might be able to add Social Activities as a new block (under Blocks, select the block from the "Add..." drop-down list).
Then select the attendance activity from the list.
1) blocks - such as calendar or online users
2) a resource - such as a web page
3) an activity - such as a quiz
The blocks are usually available on the right column, and the resources and activities in the center column.
I believe that the attendance module requires both
- an attendance block
- an attendance activity
You would add the attendance activity as you would normally add another activity, such as a quiz, forum or assignment.
More detail:
Click the button to Turn Editing On. Then in the center column, look for a drop-down list with the words
Add an activity...
For each topic, or week (depending on whether your course uses topics or weeks), you will see this drop-down list. The top one is a good choice.
If you are using the social format for your course, instead of weeks or topics, then I think you will see a block named Social Activities. There you can select an activity to add.
If you don't see it, you might be able to add Social Activities as a new block (under Blocks, select the block from the "Add..." drop-down list).
Then select the attendance activity from the list.
To clarify, I will re-word my last few paragraphs (changes are bold and underlined):
...
Add an activity...
For each topic, or week (depending on whether your course uses topics or weeks), you will see this drop-down list. The top topic or week is a good choice as the place to put the attendance activity.
If you are using the social format for your course, instead of weeks or topics, then I think you will see a block named Social Activities. There you can select an activity to add.
If you don't see it, you might be able to add Social Activities as a new block (under Blocks, select the block from the "Add..." drop-down list).
Anyway, after finding the "Add an activity..." drop-down list,
select the attendance activity from the list.
...
Add an activity...
For each topic, or week (depending on whether your course uses topics or weeks), you will see this drop-down list. The top topic or week is a good choice as the place to put the attendance activity.
If you are using the social format for your course, instead of weeks or topics, then I think you will see a block named Social Activities. There you can select an activity to add.
If you don't see it, you might be able to add Social Activities as a new block (under Blocks, select the block from the "Add..." drop-down list).
Anyway, after finding the "Add an activity..." drop-down list,
select the attendance activity from the list.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Richard Webb -
I've been using attendance with Moodle 1.8.3, but have noticed that sometimes when I take attendance, the attendance module works fine EXCEPT it does not change the status of the session from untaken to taken on a small percentage of the sessions. Attached is a screen capture to illustrate this. In looking at the figure (all of the sessions through February 13 are recorded) I noticed one common denominator among the sessions that are not recorded as taken: They all have apostrophes in the description. I tried to change the name to drop the apostrophe and then go through the process of taking record again, but it did not change the behavior. So I'm pretty much baffled.
When tabulating the student's attendance score, the score is taken from all sessions but the possible score omits the four that are shown as not taken. Thus all of my students have >100% attendance at this point. I haven't updated my attendance module since the start of 2008, so if this has been addressed since December my apologies. If it hasn't been addressed, it would be cool if someone could figure out what is going on.
Thanks,
Richard
Edit: Added screen capture of report
When tabulating the student's attendance score, the score is taken from all sessions but the possible score omits the four that are shown as not taken. Thus all of my students have >100% attendance at this point. I haven't updated my attendance module since the start of 2008, so if this has been addressed since December my apologies. If it hasn't been addressed, it would be cool if someone could figure out what is going on.
Thanks,
Richard
Edit: Added screen capture of report
In reply to Richard Webb
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Very interesting!
I'll find bug and will make update with recovering.
I'll find bug and will make update with recovering.
In reply to Richard Webb
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Dmitry Pupinin -
Fixed (database will corrected automatically while upgrade).
Version of module changed to 2.0.3
PS: Links for download in first post.
Version of module changed to 2.0.3
PS: Links for download in first post.
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Dmitry (or anyone),
I am begging to know how I can import attendance from one course to another. I REALLY need to be able to do this and if it is something simple that I'm just overlooking I'm going to feel like an idiot but that's ok
If it is a feature that needs to be added (programmed) into the attendance module I'm willing to throw out some funds to help with the development if necessary.
Does anyone else want to do what I'm trying to do? It can't be just me...
Setting up attendance templates (3 in our case) and then importing them into other courses will make things not just easier but possible for us so this is a make or break issue for me right now.
Jason
I am begging to know how I can import attendance from one course to another. I REALLY need to be able to do this and if it is something simple that I'm just overlooking I'm going to feel like an idiot but that's ok
If it is a feature that needs to be added (programmed) into the attendance module I'm willing to throw out some funds to help with the development if necessary.
Does anyone else want to do what I'm trying to do? It can't be just me...
Setting up attendance templates (3 in our case) and then importing them into other courses will make things not just easier but possible for us so this is a make or break issue for me right now.
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
Do you know any SQL?
If you do, it should not be a big deal to write a few SQL queries to create the block and the activity to your specification in a course. Below, I've written queries to show the three types of rows which you'd need to insert. You might need to create mdl_attendance_settings per course (below are just defaults), you need to create a row per attendance session in mdl_attendance_sessions and you need to create a block instance for the course in mdl_block_instance.
You can write SQL queries like
INSERT INTO mdl_attendance_settings (courseid,status,acronym,description,grade) VALUES (1,'P','P','Present',3), (2,'P','P','Present',6);
which would insert two new settings over-riding the present grade on courses with id 1 and 2 into mdl_attendance_settings etc.
Alternatively you could put together a few spreadsheets with the values you need to insert and use LOAD DATA INFILE to load them into each table.
If you need more help with this post. I'm a little busy at the moment but this may help get you started.
Gavin
mysql> select * from mdl_attendance_settings;
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| id | courseid | status | acronym | description | grade |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| 1 | 0 | P | P | Present | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | A | A | Absent | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | L | L | Late | 1 |
| 4 | 0 | E | E | Excused | 1 |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)
mysql> select * from mdl_attendance_sessions LIMIT 4;
+----+----------+---------+------------+---------+------------+--------------+-------------+
| id | courseid | creator | sessdate | takenby | timetaken | timemodified | description |
+----+----------+---------+------------+---------+------------+--------------+-------------+
| 11 | 2 | 5 | 1196208000 | 804 | 1196254913 | 1196255199 | |
| 12 | 2 | 5 | 1196294400 | 5 | 1196327117 | 1196352874 | |
| 13 | 2 | 5 | 1196380800 | 5 | 1196414255 | 1196442129 | |
| 14 | 2 | 5 | 1196640000 | 5 | 1196681825 | NULL | |
+----+----------+---------+------------+---------+------------+--------------+-------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)
mysql> select mdl_block_instance.* from mdl_block_instance INNER JOIN mdl_block ON mdl_block_instance.blockid=mdl_block.id WHERE mdl_block.name='attendance';
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| id | blockid | pageid | pagetype | position | weight | visible | configdata |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| 15 | 29 | 2 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 86 | 29 | 0 | admin | l | 2 | 1 | |
| 49 | 29 | 3 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 52 | 29 | 4 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 53 | 29 | 5 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 54 | 29 | 6 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 65 | 29 | 7 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)
If you do, it should not be a big deal to write a few SQL queries to create the block and the activity to your specification in a course. Below, I've written queries to show the three types of rows which you'd need to insert. You might need to create mdl_attendance_settings per course (below are just defaults), you need to create a row per attendance session in mdl_attendance_sessions and you need to create a block instance for the course in mdl_block_instance.
You can write SQL queries like
INSERT INTO mdl_attendance_settings (courseid,status,acronym,description,grade) VALUES (1,'P','P','Present',3), (2,'P','P','Present',6);
which would insert two new settings over-riding the present grade on courses with id 1 and 2 into mdl_attendance_settings etc.
Alternatively you could put together a few spreadsheets with the values you need to insert and use LOAD DATA INFILE to load them into each table.
If you need more help with this post. I'm a little busy at the moment but this may help get you started.
Gavin
mysql> select * from mdl_attendance_settings;
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| id | courseid | status | acronym | description | grade |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| 1 | 0 | P | P | Present | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | A | A | Absent | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | L | L | Late | 1 |
| 4 | 0 | E | E | Excused | 1 |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)
mysql> select * from mdl_attendance_sessions LIMIT 4;
+----+----------+---------+------------+---------+------------+--------------+-------------+
| id | courseid | creator | sessdate | takenby | timetaken | timemodified | description |
+----+----------+---------+------------+---------+------------+--------------+-------------+
| 11 | 2 | 5 | 1196208000 | 804 | 1196254913 | 1196255199 | |
| 12 | 2 | 5 | 1196294400 | 5 | 1196327117 | 1196352874 | |
| 13 | 2 | 5 | 1196380800 | 5 | 1196414255 | 1196442129 | |
| 14 | 2 | 5 | 1196640000 | 5 | 1196681825 | NULL | |
+----+----------+---------+------------+---------+------------+--------------+-------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)
mysql> select mdl_block_instance.* from mdl_block_instance INNER JOIN mdl_block ON mdl_block_instance.blockid=mdl_block.id WHERE mdl_block.name='attendance';
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| id | blockid | pageid | pagetype | position | weight | visible | configdata |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| 15 | 29 | 2 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 86 | 29 | 0 | admin | l | 2 | 1 | |
| 49 | 29 | 3 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 52 | 29 | 4 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 53 | 29 | 5 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 54 | 29 | 6 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 65 | 29 | 7 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
Thanks. I think your message is in response to mine...right?
I don't know much SQL. Really almost none but I have tinkered a little.
I think I understand what you have explained here. Are you saying that I could generate the attendance settings for all of my courses using an SQL command or set of commands?
The spreadsheet option sounds even better to me but I'm not sure if I can get it all set up or not..
I need to generate attendance settings (specific dates over the course of a semester - three different patterns) for quite a few courses and I was thinking that importing them from a template course would be the best way but I guess, if my skills were up to par, I could do it other ways too.
Maybe I'll tinker with my development site and see if I can figure it out using the example you've provided here.
Jason
Thanks. I think your message is in response to mine...right?
I don't know much SQL. Really almost none but I have tinkered a little.
I think I understand what you have explained here. Are you saying that I could generate the attendance settings for all of my courses using an SQL command or set of commands?
The spreadsheet option sounds even better to me but I'm not sure if I can get it all set up or not..
I need to generate attendance settings (specific dates over the course of a semester - three different patterns) for quite a few courses and I was thinking that importing them from a template course would be the best way but I guess, if my skills were up to par, I could do it other ways too.
Maybe I'll tinker with my development site and see if I can figure it out using the example you've provided here.
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
Hi,
that's pretty much the idea.
In order to create an attendance block and sessions on a given course, you need to add one row to the mdl_block_instance table which is the same as adding the attendance block through the webpage.
You then need to add a row to the mdl_attendance_sessions table for each date a given course needs to call attendance, which is equivalent to creating the date sessions in the web interface.
You can do this by running SQL insert commands like the example I've given.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/2207/sql1.html
Alternatively, it might be easier to create a spreadsheet with all of the records you need to add for a given table. You can then export them to CSV format and use the LOAD DATA INFILE SQL command to import the rows into each table. That might be easier initially.
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/load-data.html
http://www.modwest.com/help/kb6-253.html
Gavin
that's pretty much the idea.
In order to create an attendance block and sessions on a given course, you need to add one row to the mdl_block_instance table which is the same as adding the attendance block through the webpage.
You then need to add a row to the mdl_attendance_sessions table for each date a given course needs to call attendance, which is equivalent to creating the date sessions in the web interface.
You can do this by running SQL insert commands like the example I've given.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/2207/sql1.html
Alternatively, it might be easier to create a spreadsheet with all of the records you need to add for a given table. You can then export them to CSV format and use the LOAD DATA INFILE SQL command to import the rows into each table. That might be easier initially.
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/load-data.html
http://www.modwest.com/help/kb6-253.html
Gavin
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
Thanks. I understand the logic here, it's just that my tech skills (MySQL & PHP) are way behind. I got to thinking how nice it would be to be able to integrate what I'm trying to do into the batch course upload addon. I see how this could be done (from a logic perspective) but I'm afraid I don't have the skills to do it.
I guess what I'm going to do is make a copy of my development instance of Moodle (I'm sure I'll screw it up) and then play around with the MySQL commands that you have provided and see if I can get it down before going to my production instance.
Thanks again
Jason
Thanks. I understand the logic here, it's just that my tech skills (MySQL & PHP) are way behind. I got to thinking how nice it would be to be able to integrate what I'm trying to do into the batch course upload addon. I see how this could be done (from a logic perspective) but I'm afraid I don't have the skills to do it.
I guess what I'm going to do is make a copy of my development instance of Moodle (I'm sure I'll screw it up) and then play around with the MySQL commands that you have provided and see if I can get it down before going to my production instance.
Thanks again
Jason
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
Thanks so much for your help here. I've been trying to get my head around all of this and have finally managed to figure it out (I think).
I just have one question about the mdl_block_instance table in the database. I know that I need to create new rows in this table for each instance of the Attendance block but I can't figure out what the connection (relation) is between each block instance created in mdl_block_instance and the course that it is to appear in?
I see the courseid in the mdl_attendance_sessions and mdl_attendance_settings but can't seem to figure out the logical connection for the instance? Is the pageid field in mdl_block_instance what connects each instance to a course?
Jason
Thanks so much for your help here. I've been trying to get my head around all of this and have finally managed to figure it out (I think).
I just have one question about the mdl_block_instance table in the database. I know that I need to create new rows in this table for each instance of the Attendance block but I can't figure out what the connection (relation) is between each block instance created in mdl_block_instance and the course that it is to appear in?
I see the courseid in the mdl_attendance_sessions and mdl_attendance_settings but can't seem to figure out the logical connection for the instance? Is the pageid field in mdl_block_instance what connects each instance to a course?
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
The purpose of this table is to tell moodle to place a block on the course page.
I have 6 courses here which are using the attendance block/module (Ignore the one with id=86, I'm not sure what that is myself!). The mdl_block table has an entry for attendance with id=29. My mdl_block_instance table contains:
mysql> select * from mdl_block_instance WHERE blockid=29;
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| id | blockid | pageid | pagetype | position | weight | visible | configdata |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| 15 | 29 | 2 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 86 | 29 | 0 | admin | l | 2 | 1 | |
| 49 | 29 | 3 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 52 | 29 | 4 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 53 | 29 | 5 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 54 | 29 | 6 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 65 | 29 | 7 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)
So, obviously the blockid of 29 means attendance (but it might not be 29 for you), the id is auto-generated, the pageid is the id value from the mdl_course table entry for the course you want attendance on (so I have attendance on courses with IDs 2,3,4,5,6,7). The position tells you which side of the page (l,r) the block should appear and the larger the weight, the further down the side of the page it'll appear (we have zero so they're all near the top).
Gavin
I have 6 courses here which are using the attendance block/module (Ignore the one with id=86, I'm not sure what that is myself!). The mdl_block table has an entry for attendance with id=29. My mdl_block_instance table contains:
mysql> select * from mdl_block_instance WHERE blockid=29;
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| id | blockid | pageid | pagetype | position | weight | visible | configdata |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
| 15 | 29 | 2 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 86 | 29 | 0 | admin | l | 2 | 1 | |
| 49 | 29 | 3 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 52 | 29 | 4 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 53 | 29 | 5 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 54 | 29 | 6 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
| 65 | 29 | 7 | course-view | r | 0 | 1 | |
+----+---------+--------+-------------+----------+--------+---------+------------+
7 rows in set (0.00 sec)
So, obviously the blockid of 29 means attendance (but it might not be 29 for you), the id is auto-generated, the pageid is the id value from the mdl_course table entry for the course you want attendance on (so I have attendance on courses with IDs 2,3,4,5,6,7). The position tells you which side of the page (l,r) the block should appear and the larger the weight, the further down the side of the page it'll appear (we have zero so they're all near the top).
Gavin
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
Thanks. If you look at mdl_course table the course id column is just "id" so I wasn't sure if "pageid" in mdl_block_instance referred to the course or not.
I think I'm going to make one template course with the attendance sessions that I need and then export the attendance sessions from that course using PHPMyAdmin and then use that file as a template for creating the attendance sessions in other courses. All I will need to do is change the course ID and then use the LOAD DATA INFILE command that you mentioned previously. I'm learning a little SQL as I go but at this point feel more comfortable with PHPMyAdmin as opposed to using direct SQL from the command line of my server.
This should allow me to create the sessions fairly rapidly. I am still going to have to go an look up the ID for all my courses which will be a little time consuming but nothing near what it would be to try to generate all these sessions by hand through the web interface. I guess I could export a csv file of mdl_course to speed that up too.
Thanks again for your help. Once I accomplish what I'm trying to do I'll post a quick 'how to' for anyone that may be in the same boat as me.
Jason
Thanks. If you look at mdl_course table the course id column is just "id" so I wasn't sure if "pageid" in mdl_block_instance referred to the course or not.
I think I'm going to make one template course with the attendance sessions that I need and then export the attendance sessions from that course using PHPMyAdmin and then use that file as a template for creating the attendance sessions in other courses. All I will need to do is change the course ID and then use the LOAD DATA INFILE command that you mentioned previously. I'm learning a little SQL as I go but at this point feel more comfortable with PHPMyAdmin as opposed to using direct SQL from the command line of my server.
This should allow me to create the sessions fairly rapidly. I am still going to have to go an look up the ID for all my courses which will be a little time consuming but nothing near what it would be to try to generate all these sessions by hand through the web interface. I guess I could export a csv file of mdl_course to speed that up too.
Thanks again for your help. Once I accomplish what I'm trying to do I'll post a quick 'how to' for anyone that may be in the same boat as me.
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Ahhhh 
I haven't been working on this long enough to want to pull out my hair yet but I'm heading in that direction.
I managed to add the necessary row and fields to mdl_block_instance but the block did not 'appear' in the course that I added it to. The course ID is correct as I can also see it in the address bar of my browser when I access that particular course.
I thought maybe the block had not appeared yet because I still needed to add rows and fields to mdl_attforblock and mdl_attendance_settings and eventually mdl_attendance_sessions.
I tried to add the rows and fields to mdl_attendance_settings as follows:
"","82","P","S","Super","3"
"","82","A","P","Present","2"
"","82","L","L","Late","1"
"","82","E","A","Absent","0"
using Import from PHPMyAdmin which uses the LOAD DATA INFILE command. I have a very strange problem though. Every time I try to add the 4 rows listed above, I only get 2 rows successfully added and every time they are the one containing 'Super' and the one containing 'Late'. It skips 'Present' and 'Absent' every time.... I've tried all kinds of things (using different field separators, different enclosures, using just 'Import csv file' instead of 'csv using LOAD DATA' but nothing seems to work. Every time I just get those two rows.
I also went back to the course (number 82) to see if the attendance block was showing up but no luck, it's not there.
I am probably missing something really simple...... can't, for the life of me, figure out what it is though.
Advice and help will, as always, be greatly appreciated.
Jason
Edit - I manged to add the 2 rows through phyMyAdmin by clicking on Insert and adding one row at a time (not how I want to do it for 200+ courses) but the block still doesn't show up in the course I've added everything to...
I haven't been working on this long enough to want to pull out my hair yet but I'm heading in that direction.
I managed to add the necessary row and fields to mdl_block_instance but the block did not 'appear' in the course that I added it to. The course ID is correct as I can also see it in the address bar of my browser when I access that particular course.
I thought maybe the block had not appeared yet because I still needed to add rows and fields to mdl_attforblock and mdl_attendance_settings and eventually mdl_attendance_sessions.
I tried to add the rows and fields to mdl_attendance_settings as follows:
"","82","P","S","Super","3"
"","82","A","P","Present","2"
"","82","L","L","Late","1"
"","82","E","A","Absent","0"
using Import from PHPMyAdmin which uses the LOAD DATA INFILE command. I have a very strange problem though. Every time I try to add the 4 rows listed above, I only get 2 rows successfully added and every time they are the one containing 'Super' and the one containing 'Late'. It skips 'Present' and 'Absent' every time.... I've tried all kinds of things (using different field separators, different enclosures, using just 'Import csv file' instead of 'csv using LOAD DATA' but nothing seems to work. Every time I just get those two rows.
I also went back to the course (number 82) to see if the attendance block was showing up but no luck, it's not there.
I am probably missing something really simple...... can't, for the life of me, figure out what it is though.
Advice and help will, as always, be greatly appreciated.
Jason
Edit - I manged to add the 2 rows through phyMyAdmin by clicking on Insert and adding one row at a time (not how I want to do it for 200+ courses) but the block still doesn't show up in the course I've added everything to...
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
Hi Jason,
I know you're trying to avoid the command line by using php_myadmin, but I really would suggest learning the command line. Life is so much clearer there and you can show us the commands you're running so it's clear to us what you're doing. MySQL has excellent manuals filled with examples for all statements, including LOAD DATA INFILE and SELECT, which are pretty much the only ones you need here.
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax.html
> I tried to add the rows and fields to mdl_attendance_settings as follows:
>
> "","82","P","S","Super","3"
> "","82","A","P","Present","2"
> "","82","L","L","Late","1"
> "","82","E","A","Absent","0"
I presume from this that you're setting the course id to 82 and the blank entries are the IDs. Setting courseid=0 will set the default for all courses.
I haven't used PHPMyAdmin, but I would have thought you should just leave out the id field entirely. Trying to set the id to the empty string should fail -- though perhaps PHPMyAdmin interprets this some other way. You also cannot create multiple entries with the same id or the same (courseid, status), but you don't appear to have tried that.
Have you considered just updating the 0 rows to change the defaults for all courses, rather than creating entries for every course?
Gavin
I know you're trying to avoid the command line by using php_myadmin, but I really would suggest learning the command line. Life is so much clearer there and you can show us the commands you're running so it's clear to us what you're doing. MySQL has excellent manuals filled with examples for all statements, including LOAD DATA INFILE and SELECT, which are pretty much the only ones you need here.
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/sql-syntax.html
> I tried to add the rows and fields to mdl_attendance_settings as follows:
>
> "","82","P","S","Super","3"
> "","82","A","P","Present","2"
> "","82","L","L","Late","1"
> "","82","E","A","Absent","0"
I presume from this that you're setting the course id to 82 and the blank entries are the IDs. Setting courseid=0 will set the default for all courses.
mysql> select * from mdl_attendance_settings LIMIT 10;
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| id | courseid | status | acronym | description | grade |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| 1 | 0 | P | P | Present | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | A | A | Absent | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | L | L | Late | 1 |
| 4 | 0 | E | E | Excused | 1 |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| id | courseid | status | acronym | description | grade |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
| 1 | 0 | P | P | Present | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | A | A | Absent | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | L | L | Late | 1 |
| 4 | 0 | E | E | Excused | 1 |
+----+----------+--------+---------+-------------+-------+
I haven't used PHPMyAdmin, but I would have thought you should just leave out the id field entirely. Trying to set the id to the empty string should fail -- though perhaps PHPMyAdmin interprets this some other way. You also cannot create multiple entries with the same id or the same (courseid, status), but you don't appear to have tried that.
Have you considered just updating the 0 rows to change the defaults for all courses, rather than creating entries for every course?
Gavin
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
Reading again, I'm just going to show you how to do this directly in SQL.
Remove all the other entries you've created for this course:
DELETE FROM mdl_attendance_settings WHERE courseid=82;
This is the insert statement you want:
INSERT INTO mdl_attendance_settings
(courseid,status,acronym,description,grade)
VALUES (82,'P','S','Super',3),
(82,'A','P','Present',2),
(82,'L','L','Late',1),
(82,'E','A','Absent',0);
or just update the defaults with four statements of this form:
UPDATE mdl_attendance_settings SET
courseid=0,
status='P',
acronym='S',
description='Super',
grade=3
WHERE id=1;
changing the id and values each time.
The LOAD DATA INFILE way is as follows:
LOAD DATA INFILE '/home/admins/gavinmc/tmp.csv' REPLACE
INTO TABLE mdl_attendance_settings
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
ENCLOSED BY '"'
(courseid,status,acronym,description,grade);
but you must REMOVE the opening empty string of each row so the first column in your CSV file is courseid.
Gavin
Remove all the other entries you've created for this course:
DELETE FROM mdl_attendance_settings WHERE courseid=82;
This is the insert statement you want:
INSERT INTO mdl_attendance_settings
(courseid,status,acronym,description,grade)
VALUES (82,'P','S','Super',3),
(82,'A','P','Present',2),
(82,'L','L','Late',1),
(82,'E','A','Absent',0);
or just update the defaults with four statements of this form:
UPDATE mdl_attendance_settings SET
courseid=0,
status='P',
acronym='S',
description='Super',
grade=3
WHERE id=1;
changing the id and values each time.
The LOAD DATA INFILE way is as follows:
LOAD DATA INFILE '/home/admins/gavinmc/tmp.csv' REPLACE
INTO TABLE mdl_attendance_settings
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
ENCLOSED BY '"'
(courseid,status,acronym,description,grade);
but you must REMOVE the opening empty string of each row so the first column in your CSV file is courseid.
Gavin
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
Thanks again for your help and patience with a beginner.
I think I'm dealing with several issues at the same time here and haven't probably made them clear enough.
My understanding is that if I create rows and fields in the following tables:
mdl_block_instance
mdl_attendance_settings
mdl_attforblock (this one too?)
and eventually
mdl_attendance_sessions
that the block will appear in the course specified.
So, in mdl_block_instance I created a new row that looks like this:
812 | 33 | 82 | course-view | r | 1 | 1 |
The column headings are (id, blockid, pageid, pagetype, position, weight, visible
At this point, should I be able to navigate to the course (82) and see the attendance block? It seems that this should make the block appear but it does not.
My next problem is related to the settings in mdl_attendance_settings and not being able to import the csv file correctly. (only 2 of the 4 rows get imported). I did go ahead and put them in one line at a time but still don't see the attendance block/mod when I go to the course (id is 82).
I also created a row in mdl_attforblock that is the same as other lines in that table but with the appropriate course id (82) but still no attendance block/mod on the course page.
My development instance of Moodle is a MAMP package running on my laptop. I guess I can access SQL directly by using the terminal. I'll give that a try using the commands you've provided and see how it works.
It seems that I've been able to create the rows and fields correctly but the block isn't showing up so I'm confused. I even went to the course via my browser and created the block via the web interface and then went back to the database to see the new row in the database with all the same values (except for the incremental id of course). Creating the attendance block via the web site adds the row to mdl_block_instance right after the one that I added manually. It seems like I'm missing something when I add the block manually into the database...
Also, in regards to the mdl_attendance_settings, it seems that you are saying that if I just change the defaults I won't have to make any other changes to mdl_attendance_settings...? But when I look at the mdl_attendance_settings, there are rows (4 of them) for every instance of the attendance block I have created on my site.....so don't I need to create those rows for the attendance block of each course that I want it in?
This is a study in database organization for me in addition to manipulation. I don't think I completely understand the relations between the tables (block_instance, attendance_settings, attforblock) yet and apologize for my bone headedness. If you can grant me a little more patient assistance I will probably eventually figure it out
Thanks
Jason
Thanks again for your help and patience
I think I'm dealing with several issues at the same time here and haven't probably made them clear enough.
My understanding is that if I create rows and fields in the following tables:
mdl_block_instance
mdl_attendance_settings
mdl_attforblock (this one too?)
and eventually
mdl_attendance_sessions
that the block will appear in the course specified.
So, in mdl_block_instance I created a new row that looks like this:
812 | 33 | 82 | course-view | r | 1 | 1 |
The column headings are (id, blockid, pageid, pagetype, position, weight, visible
At this point, should I be able to navigate to the course (82) and see the attendance block? It seems that this should make the block appear but it does not.
My next problem is related to the settings in mdl_attendance_settings and not being able to import the csv file correctly. (only 2 of the 4 rows get imported). I did go ahead and put them in one line at a time but still don't see the attendance block/mod when I go to the course (id is 82).
I also created a row in mdl_attforblock that is the same as other lines in that table but with the appropriate course id (82) but still no attendance block/mod on the course page.
My development instance of Moodle is a MAMP package running on my laptop. I guess I can access SQL directly by using the terminal. I'll give that a try using the commands you've provided and see how it works.
It seems that I've been able to create the rows and fields correctly but the block isn't showing up so I'm confused. I even went to the course via my browser and created the block via the web interface and then went back to the database to see the new row in the database with all the same values (except for the incremental id of course). Creating the attendance block via the web site adds the row to mdl_block_instance right after the one that I added manually. It seems like I'm missing something when I add the block manually into the database...
Also, in regards to the mdl_attendance_settings, it seems that you are saying that if I just change the defaults I won't have to make any other changes to mdl_attendance_settings...? But when I look at the mdl_attendance_settings, there are rows (4 of them) for every instance of the attendance block I have created on my site.....so don't I need to create those rows for the attendance block of each course that I want it in?
This is a study in database organization for me in addition to manipulation. I don't think I completely understand the relations between the tables (block_instance, attendance_settings, attforblock) yet and apologize for my bone headedness. If you can grant me a little more patient assistance I will probably eventually figure it out
Thanks
Jason
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
I tried
INSERT INTO mdl_attendance_settings
(courseid,status,acronym,description,grade)
VALUES (82,'P','S','Super',3),
(82,'A','P','Present',2),
(82,'L','L','Late',1),
(82,'E','A','Absent',0);
from PhpMyAdmin and it worked perfectly. I mean, the 4 rows were created without problem. I'm not sure why the LOAD DATA INFILE command wasn't working though PHPMyAdmin but...
Anyway, I'm still stuck on how to get the block to 'appear' on my course page.
Jason
I tried
INSERT INTO mdl_attendance_settings
(courseid,status,acronym,description,grade)
VALUES (82,'P','S','Super',3),
(82,'A','P','Present',2),
(82,'L','L','Late',1),
(82,'E','A','Absent',0);
from PhpMyAdmin and it worked perfectly. I mean, the 4 rows were created without problem. I'm not sure why the LOAD DATA INFILE command wasn't working though PHPMyAdmin but...
Anyway, I'm still stuck on how to get the block to 'appear' on my course page.
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
Hi,
your LOAD DATA command may have failed due to the leading empty string? Did you try my suggested LOAD DATA command from the command line interface? I've tested it and it works if you remove the initial empty string.
I added a block to a new course just now with:
INSERT INTO mdl_block_instance (blockid,pageid,pagetype,position,weight,visible) VALUES (29,12,'course-view','r',0,1);
where 29 came from this:
mysql> select * from mdl_block WHERE name='attendance';
+----+------------+------------+------+----------+---------+----------+
| id | name | version | cron | lastcron | visible | multiple |
+----+------------+------------+------+----------+---------+----------+
| 29 | attendance | 2007070201 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
+----+------------+------------+------+----------+---------+----------+
and 12 is the courseid which comes from:
mysql> select id,shortname,fullname from mdl_course WHERE shortname='German';
+----+-----------+----------+
| id | shortname | fullname |
+----+-----------+----------+
| 12 | German | German |
+----+-----------+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
The block immediately appeared at the top-right of that course page.
Gavin
your LOAD DATA command may have failed due to the leading empty string? Did you try my suggested LOAD DATA command from the command line interface? I've tested it and it works if you remove the initial empty string.
I added a block to a new course just now with:
INSERT INTO mdl_block_instance (blockid,pageid,pagetype,position,weight,visible) VALUES (29,12,'course-view','r',0,1);
where 29 came from this:
mysql> select * from mdl_block WHERE name='attendance';
+----+------------+------------+------+----------+---------+----------+
| id | name | version | cron | lastcron | visible | multiple |
+----+------------+------------+------+----------+---------+----------+
| 29 | attendance | 2007070201 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
+----+------------+------------+------+----------+---------+----------+
and 12 is the courseid which comes from:
mysql> select id,shortname,fullname from mdl_course WHERE shortname='German';
+----+-----------+----------+
| id | shortname | fullname |
+----+-----------+----------+
| 12 | German | German |
+----+-----------+----------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
The block immediately appeared at the top-right of that course page.
Gavin
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
Thanks again. Actually I think I had the empty string in my command. I'll try it again today just as you have outlined here.
I guess my next step (after I get this to work) will be to test the LOAD DATA INFILE as that's really what I'm going to need to be able to do.
Thanks again. Hopefully I'll be posting here again later with success and a 'how to' process.
Jason
Thanks again. Actually I think I had the empty string in my command. I'll try it again today just as you have outlined here.
I guess my next step (after I get this to work) will be to test the LOAD DATA INFILE as that's really what I'm going to need to be able to do.
Thanks again. Hopefully I'll be posting here again later with success and a 'how to' process.
Jason
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
I'm going to be SO happy when I finally get this to work but unfortunately I'm not there yet.
Can I verify a couple of things? I am using Moodle 1.8.4+ Are you using this same version of Moodle?
It seems, from your posts, that I should be able to make the Attendance block appear on my course page with the settings that I want by modifying the following 2 tables in the database:
mdl_attendance_settings
mdl_block_instance
I've added the necessary rows (now from SQL command line) and still am not getting the block on the page so I'm wondering if modifications need to be made to additional tables in the database such as:
mdl_attforblock
mdl_course_modules
Later, if I can ever get this to work, I know I will have to add the sessions that I want to pre-load each course with, by adding rows to:
mdl_attendance_sessions
Anyway, do I need to add information to attforblock and/or course_modules?
Jason
I'm going to be SO happy when I finally get this to work but unfortunately I'm not there yet.
Can I verify a couple of things? I am using Moodle 1.8.4+ Are you using this same version of Moodle?
It seems, from your posts, that I should be able to make the Attendance block appear on my course page with the settings that I want by modifying the following 2 tables in the database:
mdl_attendance_settings
mdl_block_instance
I've added the necessary rows (now from SQL command line) and still am not getting the block on the page so I'm wondering if modifications need to be made to additional tables in the database such as:
mdl_attforblock
mdl_course_modules
Later, if I can ever get this to work, I know I will have to add the sessions that I want to pre-load each course with, by adding rows to:
mdl_attendance_sessions
Anyway, do I need to add information to attforblock and/or course_modules?
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin, (and anyone else who is following this )
I started wondering what would happen if the 'visible' setting conflicted with a different block on the same page as there are 3 blocks already on the right side of the page that I was trying to add the Attendance block to so I changed the visibility from 0 to 4 and the block showed up!
The problem is the block says
"This block can work only with an attendance activity. Please add the activity to this course."
So, I went to mdl_attforblock and added the activity (I thought) to my course but nothing showed up.
So, then I went to mdl_course_modules and added the activity to the course. After adding it there (mdl_course_modules) it showed up on the left side of the course screen in the "Activities" block but when I click on it I get an error.
Maybe there are tables in my database from older versions of the Attendance mod/block? I'm getting closer but not quite there yet.
Jason
P.S. Just discovered something strange - I can't add the Attendance activity to my course through the web interface. I get an error saying that another attendance activity cannot be added....? But the one that appear in the Activities block doesn't work either....?
I started wondering what would happen if the 'visible' setting conflicted with a different block on the same page as there are 3 blocks already on the right side of the page that I was trying to add the Attendance block to so I changed the visibility from 0 to 4 and the block showed up!
The problem is the block says
"This block can work only with an attendance activity. Please add the activity to this course."
So, I went to mdl_attforblock and added the activity (I thought) to my course but nothing showed up.
So, then I went to mdl_course_modules and added the activity to the course. After adding it there (mdl_course_modules) it showed up on the left side of the course screen in the "Activities" block but when I click on it I get an error.
Maybe there are tables in my database from older versions of the Attendance mod/block? I'm getting closer but not quite there yet.
Jason
P.S. Just discovered something strange - I can't add the Attendance activity to my course through the web interface. I get an error saying that another attendance activity cannot be added....? But the one that appear in the Activities block doesn't work either....?
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Anyone 
Another table that seems to be related here is
mdl_course
The field "modinfo" contains information about the modules displayed within that course (their position, visibility etc.).
After experimenting a little with the Attendance module it seems that I don't even need to install the block....? If I install the module (activity) and use it to set up sessions and the settings then can't I just take attendance through the module each time. What do I need the block for?
My need to be able to create over 200 attendance instances (complete with settings and sessions) is turning into a complete study of how the attendance package is designed. It's fun but I'm running out of time
Jason
Another table that seems to be related here is
mdl_course
The field "modinfo" contains information about the modules displayed within that course (their position, visibility etc.).
After experimenting a little with the Attendance module it seems that I don't even need to install the block....? If I install the module (activity) and use it to set up sessions and the settings then can't I just take attendance through the module each time. What do I need the block for?
My need to be able to create over 200 attendance instances (complete with settings and sessions) is turning into a complete study of how the attendance package is designed. It's fun but I'm running out of time
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Still exploring and experimenting and would REALLY appreciate any help or advice that anyone can provide
Looking at the database table that I referred to in my last post (mdl_course) I checked the contents of the 'modinfo' field when the attendance module (attforblock) was not activated on my course and when it was activated and got the following
Without the attforblock activity
a:1:{i:595;O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:2:"cm";i:595;s:3:"mod";s:5:"forum";s:7:"section";s:1:"0";s:4:"name";s:10:"News+forum";s:7:"visible";N;s:5:"extra";s:0:"";}}
With the attforblock activity
a:2:{i:595;O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:2:"cm";i:595;s:3:"mod";s:5:"forum";s:7:"section";s:1:"0";s:4:"name";s:10:"News+forum";s:7:"visible";N;s:5:"extra";s:0:"";}i:597;O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:2:"cm";i:597;s:3:"mod";s:11:"attforblock";s:7:"section";s:1:"0";s:4:"name";s:10:"Attendance";s:7:"visible";s:1:"1";s:5:"extra";s:0:"";}}
Without the attforblock activity 'activated', the Attendance block is not usable so I need to find a way to add the attforblock module via the database if I have any hope of being able to add attendance in a bulk fashion (at least that's what it seems like to me).
Does anyone have any experience doing this?
Gavin (if you are still there ) do you add the attendance module (attforblock) via the database as well? I've now been successful in adding the block via the database but it's not usable without the activity installed.
Jason
Looking at the database table that I referred to in my last post (mdl_course) I checked the contents of the 'modinfo' field when the attendance module (attforblock) was not activated on my course and when it was activated and got the following
Without the attforblock activity
a:1:{i:595;O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:2:"cm";i:595;s:3:"mod";s:5:"forum";s:7:"section";s:1:"0";s:4:"name";s:10:"News+forum";s:7:"visible";N;s:5:"extra";s:0:"";}}
With the attforblock activity
a:2:{i:595;O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:2:"cm";i:595;s:3:"mod";s:5:"forum";s:7:"section";s:1:"0";s:4:"name";s:10:"News+forum";s:7:"visible";N;s:5:"extra";s:0:"";}i:597;O:8:"stdClass":6:{s:2:"cm";i:597;s:3:"mod";s:11:"attforblock";s:7:"section";s:1:"0";s:4:"name";s:10:"Attendance";s:7:"visible";s:1:"1";s:5:"extra";s:0:"";}}
Without the attforblock activity 'activated', the Attendance block is not usable so I need to find a way to add the attforblock module via the database if I have any hope of being able to add attendance in a bulk fashion (at least that's what it seems like to me).
Does anyone have any experience doing this?
Gavin (if you are still there
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
I'm sorry Jason, but I'm very short of time to look at this at the moment.
What you need to think about is this. You're trying to run the exact same SQL commands which the moodle attendance block itself does in creating each attendance module.
So, one approach to understand what's going on is:
1. Set up a test server and install moodle attendance.
2. On your database, turn up the debug output so that each query gets output into a text file.
3. Login and create a new course. Record the time on the server.
4. Now set up attendance in that course via the webpages.
5. Record the time on the server.
6. Now look at the log file and see what SQL commands got run.
On a debian linux system with mysql, it appears you turn on the query logging by uncommenting this line in /etc/mysql/my.cnf
#log = /var/log/mysql/mysql.log
and restarting mysql.
Gavin
What you need to think about is this. You're trying to run the exact same SQL commands which the moodle attendance block itself does in creating each attendance module.
So, one approach to understand what's going on is:
1. Set up a test server and install moodle attendance.
2. On your database, turn up the debug output so that each query gets output into a text file.
3. Login and create a new course. Record the time on the server.
4. Now set up attendance in that course via the webpages.
5. Record the time on the server.
6. Now look at the log file and see what SQL commands got run.
On a debian linux system with mysql, it appears you turn on the query logging by uncommenting this line in /etc/mysql/my.cnf
#log = /var/log/mysql/mysql.log
and restarting mysql.
Gavin
In reply to Gavin McCullagh
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin,
Thanks and I'm sorry to be a pest. I'm rather obsessed with this at the moment as my deadline is slowly creeping up on me
I was going at the problem from a less effective direction (i.e. looking at the database before and after setting up the attendance module in a course). I think your suggestion presents a much more efficient and thorough solution. I'll give it a try this weekend when I can sit down at the server uninterrupted for an extended period of time.
Thanks again. I'll post back (hopefully with a success story) toward the end of the weekend.
Jason
Thanks and I'm sorry to be a pest. I'm rather obsessed with this at the moment as my deadline is slowly creeping up on me
I was going at the problem from a less effective direction (i.e. looking at the database before and after setting up the attendance module in a course). I think your suggestion presents a much more efficient and thorough solution. I'll give it a try this weekend when I can sit down at the server uninterrupted for an extended period of time.
Thanks again. I'll post back (hopefully with a success story) toward the end of the weekend.
Jason
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Jason Hollowell -
Gavin (and anyone else following this thread inside the main thread )
I've finally managed to figure out how to:
1. Get the attendance module to 'appear' in a course through manipulation of the database.
and
2. Insert attendance sessions into each instance created.
The process (for #1) involves modification of the following tables in the database:
mdl_attforblock
mdl_course_modules
mdl_course_sections
mdl_course
The module simply needs to be added for each course in mdl_attforblock. That part is rather simple. Adding it to mdl_course_modules isn't too complicated either. For mdl_course_sections, if adding the module to the top center block ('0') the sequence needs to be modified so that Moodle knows in which order to display the default News Forum and the Attendance activity.
The hardest part is that in mdl_course, the modinfo field must be modified to include information about the module you have added (in this case Attendance). If you don't make this modification, nothing is displayed in the top center block. Under activities "Attendances" will be displayed but clicking on it produces an error.
I'm working on first getting the task I need completed and will then try to write this up in a more user friendly post. At that point I'll start a new thread (and link to it in a response here) rather than continue to add on to this forum.
Many thanks to Gavin for pointing me in the right direction and helping with great suggestions that allowed me to figure this out!
Jason
P.S. As for #2 (adding attendance sessions) that will just involve adding the appropriate rows to mdl_attendance_sessions. I'm going to be doing that as well and will include more detailed instructions for that process as well.
I've finally managed to figure out how to:
1. Get the attendance module to 'appear' in a course through manipulation of the database.
and
2. Insert attendance sessions into each instance created.
The process (for #1) involves modification of the following tables in the database:
mdl_attforblock
mdl_course_modules
mdl_course_sections
mdl_course
The module simply needs to be added for each course in mdl_attforblock. That part is rather simple. Adding it to mdl_course_modules isn't too complicated either. For mdl_course_sections, if adding the module to the top center block ('0') the sequence needs to be modified so that Moodle knows in which order to display the default News Forum and the Attendance activity.
The hardest part is that in mdl_course, the modinfo field must be modified to include information about the module you have added (in this case Attendance). If you don't make this modification, nothing is displayed in the top center block. Under activities "Attendances" will be displayed but clicking on it produces an error.
I'm working on first getting the task I need completed and will then try to write this up in a more user friendly post. At that point I'll start a new thread (and link to it in a response here) rather than continue to add on to this forum.
Many thanks to Gavin for pointing me in the right direction and helping with great suggestions that allowed me to figure this out!
Jason
P.S. As for #2 (adding attendance sessions) that will just involve adding the appropriate rows to mdl_attendance_sessions. I'm going to be doing that as well and will include more detailed instructions for that process as well.
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Juliana Cordeiro -
Hello Gavin,
Would you mind sharing your code to automate the attendance?
I am new to Moodle and I have a project to create attendance automatically for specific courses so instructors do not need to add the sessions. I believe it is close to what you've accomplished here.
Thanks,
Juliana
In reply to Jason Hollowell
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Gavin McCullagh -
> Thanks. If you look at mdl_course table the course id column is just "id" so I wasn't sure if "pageid" in mdl_block_instance referred to the course or not.
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of this naming scheme. I'd be inclined to have every table id more clearly named, eg mdl_course.courseid so cross-references would be more obvious.
> Thanks again for your help. Once I accomplish what I'm trying to do I'll post a quick 'how to' for anyone that may be in the same boat as me."
Please do!
Gavin
Yeah, I'm not a big fan of this naming scheme. I'd be inclined to have every table id more clearly named, eg mdl_course.courseid so cross-references would be more obvious.
> Thanks again for your help. Once I accomplish what I'm trying to do I'll post a quick 'how to' for anyone that may be in the same boat as me."
Please do!
Gavin
In reply to Jason Hollowell
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In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Richard Webb -
Thanks for the quick update. I tried it on my "test server" (aka my laptop) and it fixed a database file and worked as expected. However, when we installed it on our working Moodle site, it did not repair the database. I tested and when I create a new session with an apostrophe in the description (ummm, was that actually the problem or did I notice a false pattern?) it worked fine so future sessions shouldn't be a problem.
To make sure what I did is clear, I created a zip file with the mod/attforblock, blocks/attendance, and lang/(all of them) and sent it to the computer administrator (I am the Moodle administrator, but I don't have access to the computer or installing files--doesn't make sense but that's the way our computer services department trusts faculty with computers) who copied the structure into the Moodle directory. He said that when he went to "an admin page" which I assume is the blocks or modules page, it showed lines indicating that the database had been updated. However, he said after it showed the database update info, it said he had to log in as administrator (he couldn't have arrived at that page without being logged in as administrator). Thus I'm guessing something funky happened in the database repair.
Anyhow, is there a sql command I can manually enter to repair the database?
Thanks for all of your efforts!
Richard
To make sure what I did is clear, I created a zip file with the mod/attforblock, blocks/attendance, and lang/(all of them) and sent it to the computer administrator (I am the Moodle administrator, but I don't have access to the computer or installing files--doesn't make sense but that's the way our computer services department trusts faculty with computers) who copied the structure into the Moodle directory. He said that when he went to "an admin page" which I assume is the blocks or modules page, it showed lines indicating that the database had been updated. However, he said after it showed the database update info, it said he had to log in as administrator (he couldn't have arrived at that page without being logged in as administrator). Thus I'm guessing something funky happened in the database repair.
Anyhow, is there a sql command I can manually enter to repair the database?
Thanks for all of your efforts!
Richard
In reply to Richard Webb
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Richard Webb -
As an addendum, I talked to the administrator again and he indicated that his Moodle session had timed out when he clicked on the admin page that was supposed to fix the database. I looked at the sessions database and saw that the sessions in question had all of the data for the session being recorded except who did it. So, not knowing the ins and outs of SQL, I simply edited the sessions involved (only about 20) and everything is now good on our installation.
Richard
Richard
In reply to Dmitry Pupinin
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In reply to Deleted user
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by ranganath t.m -
hi all,,
I am new to Moodle, i am trying to add attendance module to my moodle,
i followed the instructions as specified , but soon i login as admin in hitting with an error called
Plugins check
The following tables show the modules, blocks and filters that have been detected in your current Moodle installation; They indicate which plugins are standard, and which are not. All non-standard plugins should be checked and upgraded to their most recent versions before continuing with this Moodle upgrade.
|
on the other side i am getting with
blocks/attendance attendance Non-standard (about to be installed)
. if i click upgrade again i am hitting with a error called
Plugin "mod_attforblock" is defective or outdated, can not continue, sorry.
Debug info: Missing mandatory en language pack.
Stack trace:
- line 462 of \lib\upgradelib.php: plugin_defective_exception thrown
- line 265 of \lib\upgradelib.php: call to upgrade_plugins_modules()
- line 1425 of \lib\upgradelib.php: call to upgrade_plugins()
- line 311 of \admin\index.php: call to upgrade_noncore()
pls can any one help me .
thanks in advance.
In reply to ranganath t.m
Re: New STABLE version of attendance (v2.0.2) for Moodle 1.8.2
by Luis Ramón López -
Are you using Moodle 2.0.x? In that case, you should install an upgraded module that works with it. Look at #CONTRIB-2196.