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Drag and Drop Upload in Moodle

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In Moodle, you can drag files directly from your computer desktop or an application window into your course.

Known Issues

  • This feature works with recent versions of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and with Safari 6 for Mac OS 10.7 and later.
  • Drag-and-drop does not work with Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 or earlier, or Safari 5.x or earlier.
  • If you aren't able to reliably rearrange resources that you have just uploaded, refresh the page.
  • You cannot drag and drop a folder of files into Moodle.

Drag and Drop Upload within an Activity

When uploading files from within an activity, you can drag and drop files directly into the Files area

  1. Arrange your computer desktop windows so that you can view both your browser window and your files on your computer (e.g., in an open folder or on your desktop).
  2. Drag files from your computer, and release them on top of the blue arrow in the Select files area. 
    The files area
    The files will appear in the Select files area.
    Files area full
    Note: If you have the Google Drive application installed and you are dragging files from your Google Drive into Moodle, use caution when uploading a .gdoc file. Files with a .gdoc extension are in a Google proprietary format and must be viewed online in Google Apps. To add a .gdoc file to Moodle using drag-and-drop that can be viewed outside Google Apps, see Convert a .gdoc to Use Outside Google.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save changes (or Post to Forum if attaching a file to a forum).

Drag and Drop Files into a Section on your Course Page

Instructors can add File resources directly to a course page using drag-and-drop.

  1. On your course home page, click Turn editing on (top right). Editing icons and links will appear.
  2. Locate the Topic or Weekly Section where you will add the file. (If you are using the Collapsed Topic format in your course, first open the section.)
  3. Scroll down (if needed) so that you can see the bottom of the Topic or Weekly Section. New resources will always be added to the bottom a Section.
  4. Arrange your computer desktop windows so that you can view both your browser window and your files on your computer (e.g., in an open folder or on your desktop).
    Screenshot showing how to drag and drop a file into Moodle(click to enlarge)
    Note: You cannot drag and drop a folder of files from your computer, but if you add a Folder resource, you can drag multiple files at once onto the blue arrow on the Update/Edit Folder page (see above).?
    • To upload a single file: 
      Drag a file from your computer into the bottom of a course Section. An indicator stating "Add file(s) here" will show where the file will appear in the course section when you release your mouse button.
    • To upload multiple files at once:
      Hold down the CTRL key and click the file names (for Mac use COMMAND+click), then drag into the Section in Moodle. The words "Add file(s) here" will show where the files will appear in the course section when you release your mouse button.
      The file(s) will be titled for the file name (without a file extension, i.e., no .pdf).
    • To upload a .zip archive containing multiple files
      Drag a file from your computer into the bottom of a course Section. The words "Add file(s) here" will appear. When you release the file, a pop-up window will ask what to do with the file.  Choose between:
      • Unzip files and create folder: This will create a Folder resource containing the unzipped files.
      • Create a file resource: This will post the .zip file as a File resource that your students can download and unzip.
      • Add a SCORM package:  If you have been provided with a .zip file containing a SCORM package (e.g., from a textbook publisher), the archived files will be posted as a SCORM package.?? 
        Click Upload.  Moodle will add the content to your course.?
  5. Note: If you have the Google Drive application installed and you are dragging files from your Google Drive into Moodle, use caution when uploading a .gdoc file. Files with a .gdoc extension are in a Google proprietary format and must be viewed online in Google Apps. To add a .gdoc file to Moodle using drag-and-drop that can be viewed outside Google Apps, see Convert a .gdoc to Use Outside Google.
  6. Click the link to make certain the file opens properly. To adjust the settings for the uploaded item, click its Update icon (Moodle update icon).
    Note: If you upload a .zip file from MAC OS into a folder, there may be unneeded files in the folder that will confuse your students.  For details see Add a Folder of Files to Moodle.
  7. To move the resource from the bottom of the section, use the Move icon? (Moodle move icon) to drag the label into position. For details, see Reorder Sections or Items in your Moodle Course.


Drag and Drop an Image to Create a Label

You can drag an image onto your course page and choose whether to display it embedded in a Label or as a clickable resource.

  1. Drag an image from your desktop onto your course page. When prompted, select Add image to course page, then click Upload. The image will appear on the course page.  

  2. Labels appear at the bottom of the section when first added. Use the Move icon (Moodle move icon) to drag the label into position. For details, see Reorder Sections or Items in your Moodle Course.