Repositories enable users to access and upload files from their computers or external repositories, such as Flickr, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Enabled repositories are available in the file picker.
(The video above is taken from the Totara Academy course Plugins and Advanced features).
Enabling repositories
Before they can be used repositories must be enabled by a Site Administrator.
- From the Site administration menu go to Plugins > Repositories > Manage repositories.
- Alongside the repository you want to enable from the dropdown menu in the Active column select either:
- Enabled and visible: The repository is available and can be used via the file picker by any user.
- Enabled but hidden: The repository is available but users cannot see it in the file picker.
- Click Settings alongside the repository you just enabled.
- Complete any required settings, including adding IDs and secrets/passwords for external repositories.
- Click Save.
If you are enabling an external repository you can see more guidance in the additional repositories section.
Standard repositories
Repositories enabled by default include:
| Repository | Description |
|---|---|
| Embedded files | Gives access to files previously embedded using the text editor. |
| Server files | This gives access to files elsewhere on Totara according to your permissions. |
| Recent files | The last files you have uploaded, according to the context. The recent files repository will only show file types appropriate to context of where you are accessing the repository, e.g. it will only show the most recent compatible file types for a particular resource/activity type. See Recent files for details on configurable settings. |
| Upload a file | You use this for browsing for and uploading a file from your computer or USB. |
| Private files | Your own personal storage area for files. |
Additional repositories
Additional repositories may be enabled by a Site Administrator. These include:
| Repository | Description |
|---|---|
| Google Drive | Bring in files from your Google Drive account. |
| YouTube videos | Search for and display YouTube videos. |
| Flickr | Search for and display images from your personal Flickr account. |
| Flickr public | Search for and display images from Flickr. |
| Picasa web album | Search for and display images from your Picasa account. (Picasa has now been retired by Google). |
| EQUELLA repository | Bring in files from an EQUELLA repository. |
| URL downloader | Download files, images from a particular URL. |
| Wikimedia | Search for and display media from Wikimedia. |
| Amazon S3 | Link to or copy files from Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) account. |
| Box | Bring in files from your Box account. |
| Dropbox | Bring in files from your Dropbox account. |
| File system | Access files uploaded to a folder on your server (by, eg FTP). |
| Legacy course file | Use the old system from 1.1 of course files. |
| Merlot.org | Bring resources in from Merlot.org. |
| WebDAV repository | Bring in files using webdav. |
| Open Sesame | Bring in files from Open Sesame. |
| Microsoft OneDrive | Bring in files from your Microsoft OneDrive account. The One Drive repository doesn't work with Office 365 business account. |
Settings
Each repository type has configurable settings associated with it. These include both settings frequently found across repositories and unique settings only found for certain types.
To configure the settings for a repository follow these steps:
- From the Site administration menu go to Plugins > Repositories > Manage repositories.
- Click the Settings link alongside the repository type you wish to configure.
- Complete any available settings (see below for more details on frequent settings and specific repositories).
- Click Save.
Frequent settings
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Repository plugin name | You can give the repository a different name if you prefer or leave it blank to use the default name. | All repository types. |
| Client ID | With an external repository it is likely you will require a client ID which is obtained from that service's developer portal when you set up Totara there. | Many external repository types. |
| Client secret | With an external repository it is likely you will require a client secret (or password) which is obtained from that service's developer portal when you set up Totara there. | Many external repository types. |
| Key | Rather than an ID and secret sometimes an external repository will require a key (this could be an API key or a license key). The key can normally be obtained from the external services developer portal. | Many external repository types e.g. Merlot, Flickr public, YouTube. |
Recent files
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Repository plugin name | You can give the repository a different name if you prefer or leave it blank to use the default name. | - |
| Number of recent files | Set the number of recent files you want to display. By default this is 50 files. | - |
Dropbox
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dropbox API key | You can get your API Key from the Dropbox developers portal. When setting up your key please select Full Dropbox as the Access level. | - |
| Dropbox secret | You can get your secret from the Dropbox developers portal whilst setting up your API key. | - |
| OAuth 2 redirect URI | This is preset and will be something like https://yoursitename.com/admin/oauth2callback.php | - |
| Cache limit | Enter the maximum size of files (in bytes) to be cached on server for Dropbox aliases/shortcuts. Cached files will be served when the source is no longer available. Empty value or zero mean caching of all files regardless of size. | - |
EQUELLA
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allows you to add an EQUELLA repository on a course. | See the EQUELLA page for set-up instructions. | |
| Allows you to add an EQUELLA repository to a specific user. | See the EQUELLA page for set-up instructions. |
File system
There is a lot of setup required to use the file system repository. Please see the file system Help pages for more information.
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allow admins to add a file system repository instance to a course (configurable only by admins) | Allows a Site Administrator to add a File system repository to a course. | - |
| Allows a Site Administrator to add a File system repository to a user. | - |
Amazon S3
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| You can give the repository a different name if you prefer or leave it blank to use the default name. | - | |
| Enter the access key obtained from the Amazon S3 developer portal. | - | |
| Enter the secret key obtained from the Amazon S3 developer portal. | - | |
| Configure the endpoint URL. | - |
WebDAV
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allows you to add a WebDAV repository to a course. | - | |
| Allows you to add a WebDAV repository to a specific user. | - |
Common repository settings
As a Site Administrator you can configure some site-wide settings for repositories. These are different from frequent settings, which are settings that are found across a number of repository types.
To configure the common settings follow these steps:
- From the Site administration menu go to Plugins > Repositories > Manage repositories.
- Configure the available settings.
- Click Save changes when you are done.
| Setting | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cache expire | The amount of time that file listings are cached locally (in seconds) when browsing external repositories. | - |
| Get file timeout | Timeout in seconds for downloading an external file into Totara. | - |
| Sync file timeout | Timeout in seconds for syncronising the external file size. | - |
| Sync image timeout | Timeout in seconds for downloading an image file from external repository during syncronisation. | - |
| Allow external links | This option enables all users to choose whether or not external media is copied into Totara or not. If this is off then media is always copied into Totara (this is usually best for overall data integrity and security). If this is on then users can choose each time they add media to a text. | - |
| Legacy course files in new courses | By default, legacy course files areas are available in upgraded courses only. Please note that some features such as activity backup and restore are not compatible with this setting. | - |
| Allow adding to legacy course files | If a course has legacy course files, allow new files and folders to be added to it. | - |
Google OAuth
If you wish to integrate Google services (such as Google Drive and Picasa) as repositories (or portfolios) then the first thing you will need to do is register with Google and set up your Google API Console Project.
You will then need to enable the desired API, for example to use Google Drive as a repository you need to enabled the Google Drive API in the Google API Console.
Configuring repositories
Once you have set up your Google API you will need to follow these steps:
- From the Administration menu go to Plugins > Repositories > Manage repositories.
- Enable the Google service you want (e.g. Google Drive).
- This will then prompt you to enter the Client ID and Secret which you will be able to get from your Google API Console. If you're not automatically prompted for the extra details then you can click the Settings link.
- Click Save when you are done.
You can follow the same steps for portfolios, but go to Plugins > Portfolios > Manage portfolios under the Site administration menu instead.
The Totara Academy has a whole course dedicated to using Plugins and Advanced Features in Totara Learn.
