Utilizing My Private Files
Ever wonder what the best way is to locate and update the files you share within your course resources and activities? Every user on a Moodle™ site including students has their own area to save files. By using the My private files area you save server space updating time and it helps you organize your files in one location.
My Private Files is a user specific area where files can be individually uploaded drag and dropped directly from your PC or uploaded using a zip file to bulk upload files. Files saved in this location are accessible at all site levels and can be used and reused in multiple locations. Through using this centralized location for all files instructors are able to find their files easily and update them in one place as long as they are aliased.
Inside of the File Manager it is a good idea to create a folder structure to organize course files. Think about what kinds of files are in use in the course across the institution and shared in multiple courses. This will help determine the best folder structure for you. It is important to set-up a file structure from the beginning as this will help in finding course files updating them and ensuring that aliases are not broken.
When adding a private file to content there are two options an instructor can either alias or copy. A copy of the file means that it resides within the resource/activity only and to update or locate the file the instructor would need to go to each module that it is connected to and make edits. An alias allows for the instructor to make a link to the file saved in the private area. Once a file is aliased then the file can be updated within the My Private Files area and all locations in which it is aliased will also be updated.
Remember the following steps to make the most use of the My Private Files area:
- Turn Editing on and add the My Private Files block to either My Home or your course home pages.
- Choose Manage my private files
- Create folder hierarchy.
- Upload files to the folders. Files can be bulk uploaded through the use of a zip file.
- Don’t forget to save changes before exiting the My Private Files.
- Use the thumbnail view to see a quick view of images and file types.
- Alias files to resources and activities.
You can learn more about these features in The Moodle™ File Repository webinar.
~Janelle Gieseke