Introduction

In addition to the standard training material, you can further enrich your course layout and content using widgets, including the File repository area widget.

This widget allows you to activate a dedicated section in which you can drop files and allow users to upload and download the files they want to share. The goal is to create a new section, independent from the standard training material area, that users can use to download attachments quickly and easily.

Adding the widget

To add the File repository area widget, access the Admin menu from the gear icon in the top right corner, then select the Course management item in the E-learning section. Find the course in the list, click on its description to access the course area, and move to the Training material tab.

Click Add course widgets under the Training Materials section. Select File repository area from the list of widgets and define the size of the widget. Select Save changes to confirm.

Configuring the widget

To configure the widget, click on the gear icon, and select the Settings option. From the settings area, you can set whether normal users (without special permission in the course) can create folders, upload files and link URLs in the widget. When this option is selected, use the File limit area to set the maximum number of files that each user can upload to the widget. Set this value to zero for an unlimited number of uploads. 

When this option is NOT selected, only Superadmins, instructors, and Power Users with the Course / Edit permission can create folders, upload files and link URLs. 

Finally, you can set the default visibility for the files uploaded in the widget, that is whether they will be visible for everyone, or only for the selected user levels. Remember that each file uploaded in the widget can then have its own visibility.

When you've selected a certain enrollment level to view files in the widget, other enrollment levels will still be able to see the widget and any folders that you've created in the widget, but they will not be able to see the files within the folders. When you're finished, press Save changes.

Please note! This widget is not paginated, meaning that the entire list of files and folders is displayed on a single page.

Using the widget

Click on the plus icon, then choose if you want to:

Create a folder

Create a folder to organize the files in the widget by setting its name and its parent folder. When you create a new folder, it is displayed as the last folder in the widget at the bottom of the folder list. 

Hover your mouse at the bottom of the folder row to drag and drop the folder in the list, edit its details or delete it. 

Upload a file

Upload a file at a time by setting its name, its location (the folder of belonging), and its visibility: either to all of the users enrolled in the course or to selected enrollment levels. 

The supported file formats are ZIP, DOC, XLS, PPT, JPG, GIF, PNG, TXT, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, PDF, FLV, ODS, ODT, ODP, and CSV. 

If you are uploading a file for an Instructor-Led Training (ILT) course, in the upload phase move to the File visibility tab to select whether the file will be visible to all of the course sessions or to selected sessions only. When selecting sessions, their start and end dates are expressed in UTC.

Link a URL

Link an external URL in the widget by entering a URL at a time and setting its name, its location (the folder of belonging), and its visibility: either to all of the users enrolled in the course or to selected enrollment levels.

If you are linking a URL for an Instructor-Led Training (ILT) course, in the upload phase move to the File Visibility tab to select whether the URL will be visible to all of the course sessions or to selected sessions only.

Power Users and the File repository area widget

If you are using the File repository area widget in conjunction with Power Users, remember the following:

• the Power Users with the Course / Edit permission can see all of the files stored in the widget of the courses assigned to them. Without this permission, they can see the files in the widget as regular users according to the widget visibility settings on the uploaded files.
• when the Allow normal users to upload files is not selected, only Power Users with the Course / Edit permission can create folders, upload files and link URLs in the widget.