Files can be a useful way of disseminating important information. You may wish to share policy documents or task briefs for use or reference on your course page.
There are a number of ways you can add a file to your course:
- By adding it as a resource (using Add a file or resource)
- By dragging and dropping it directly onto the course page
- By uploading a ZIP file and then selecting a file as the main file (this will be displayed)
- By a text link using the hyperlink tool and file picker
(The video above is taken from the Totara Academy course on Course resources).
Adding a file
To add a file as a resource follow these steps:
- Go to the course and Turn editing on.
- Click Add a resource or activity in the section you want to add the file to.
- From the list of resources select File and then click Add.
- Configure the settings to your preferences.
- Click Save and return to course to finish.
Alias
When you use the file picker to add an existing file from either your Private file area in Totara Learn or a repository file (such as Server file or an external connected repository) you will have two options.
- Make a copy of the file: This makes a seperate copy of the file. The file is now duplicated and not linked to the original file, so you can make changes without affecting the original.
- Create an alias/shortcut to the file: This creates a link to the original file, meaning that any changes to the original file will be disseminated across any aliases.
Which option you choose depends on whether you wish for this instance of the file to affected by changes to the original or not.
Aliases can be a good way of preventing extra storage space being taken up (by only having a single copy of a file) and means that you only have to make changes once and it will be applied to all the file's aliases across the site.
Drag and drop
If you want your file to show up as a downloadable link on your course, and you do not immediately wish to configure any other settings, then you can drag and drop it directly onto the course page.
- Go to the course and Turn editing on.
- Find the file on your computer and hover the mouse pointer over it, then press and hold the left mouse button so that you can drag it.
- Drag it over to the section you want to add it to on the course and drop it by releasing the left mouse button.
You can then edit your file settings as detailed in the Editing section below.
From a ZIP folder
It is possible to upload a ZIP folder and then set a file to display as the main file. This could be useful if for example you wanted to upload an exported website, as you could upload this as a ZIP folder and then set the index.html page as the main file.
Via a link
If you want to link to a file in an external repository, instead of uploading a copy to the course, you can add the file to the course as a hyperlink in a text area. However, if you choose this method then you will not be able to configure the settings in the same way.
- Go to the course and Turn editing on.
- Add some text (for example via a label or using the topic description).
- Highlight the text and click the hyperlink icon (
) to create a link. - Select From a repository and then upload or browse for your file.
- Choose the file and click Select this file.
- When you are done click Save and return to course.
Editing a file
Once you have added a file to a course you may wish to edit it. While you cannot edit the file itself through Totara Learn you can change how it is configured and adjust the settings as desired.
- Go to the course and Turn editing on.
- Alongside the file you wish to edit click Edit.
- Select Edit settings from the dropdown menu.
- Configure the settings to your preferences.
- Click Save and return to course to finish.
Course settings
You can configure the settings for the file resource to your preferences.
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The name of the file as it will appear on the course page. | - |
| Description | A description of the file, might include a summary of the file contents or its purpose in the course. | - |
| Display description on course page | Displays the description, entered in the previous setting, on the course page. | - |
| Select files | This is where you add a file, either by dragging and dropping it or using the file picker. | If you are selecting an existing file through the file picker please see Alias for more information. |
| Display | This setting, together with the file type and whether the browser allows embedding, determines how the file is displayed. Options may include:
| - |
| Show size | Displays the file size (such as 2.5MB). | - |
| Show type | Displays the type of file (such as PDF or .doc). | - |
| Show upload/modified date | Shows when the file was last created or edited. | - |
| Pop-up width (in pixels) | If you have chosen In pop-up as the Display type then you can set the width of the pop-up window. | - |
| Pop-up height (in pixels) | If you have chosen In pop-up as the Display type then you can set the height of the pop-up window. | - |
| Display resource description | Displays the resource description when displaying the file content. This is different from Display description on course page as this setting controls if the description is displayed within the resource. Only available for Automatic, Embed and In frame display options. | It will only work with Automatic if the display option used is Embed or In frame. |
| Use filters on file content | Select the type of file to apply filters to either:
For more information see the Filters page. | This may cause problems for some Flash and Java applets. |
| Common module settings | See Common moule settings for more. | - |
| Restrict access | See Restrict access for more. | - |
| Activity completion | See Activity completion for more. | - |
| Tags | See Tags for more. | - |
Plugin settings
As a Site Administrator you can set the defaults for the file resource settings on courses. Users can still change the settings on an individudal resource but these settings will be the default.
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Frame height | When a web page or an uploaded file is displayed within a frame, this value is the height (in pixels) of the top frame (which contains the navigation). | - |
| Available display options | Decide which display options to make available to users. If an option is not allowed here it will not appear to users. The display options are:
| If you select the Embed option then any media files such as images (e.g. JPEG or PNG), videos (e.g. MP4) or audio (e.g. MP3 or WAV) can be embedded on the course page. Other file types will be added as links to open or download the file. |
| Display | Set the default display mode from the available options selected above. | - |
| Show size | Set the default for whether to displays the file size (such as 2.5MB). | - |
| Show type | Set the default for whether to display the type of file (such as PDF or .doc). | - |
| Show upload/modified date | Set the default for whether to show when the file was last created or edited. | - |
Pop-up width (in pixels) | Specifies default width of popup windows. | - |
| Pop-up height (in pixels) | Specifies default height of popup windows. | - |
Select default for the type of file to apply filters to either:
For more information see the Filters page. | This may cause problems for some Flash and Java applets. Please make sure that all text files are in UTF-8 encoding. |
The Totara Academy has a whole course dedicated to using Course resources in Totara Learn. Here you can learn more on how to use various course resources, see best practice, and give it a go yourself.
