Moodle 4.5: reusing a previously uploaded image

This image of Palhinhaea cernua will see use in multiple places within a Moodle ethnobotanical course. While the file could be uploaded each and every time the file is used, this consumes server space. This also means that any update to this image has to be done in multiple places in the course. 

Once an image was previously uploaded, that image can be accessed by choosing to add an image from the rich content editor.

In the image upload dialog box is the option to Browse repositories at the lower right.

In the File picker choose Server files. Only the blue text is active, the grey arrows are not active. Click or tap on the blue text for the term and course where the image is located.

Navigate to where the file was uploaded. In this example the file is located in a Book resource that holds images of plants.

The chapters of the flora are titled alphabetically.

In this instance a plant that was long known as Lycopodium cernuum was later reclassified as Lycopodiella cernua. More recently the plant was reclassified as Palhinhaea cernua. Many sources and documents still use the older names. The flora is meant to be a cross-reference guide to plant names from the scientific name to local names in the languages of Micronesia. With older sources using the prior names, for educational purposes this plant will appear in two locations in this flora

Selecting the file will open a dialog box where an option to Make a copy or Link to the file is available.

An explanation of the difference between making a copy versus linking a file:

When an uploaded file is re-used elsewhere on Moodle, the teacher has the option to make a copy (a new, unconnected version) or to link to it (formerly known as a shortcut or alias).

If a link is created, then when the original file is updated, it will change in all instances of the link. So a teacher might add course notes to their private files for example, and then add them into a number of courses. When the teacher makes an alteration in the file in their private files, this alteration will be reflected in all instances of the course notes.- Working with files

In the flora the desired behavior would be for the image to update across the resource and elsewhere that the image is used, hence the choice to link to the file. This also reduces the server space being used by avoiding uploading multiple copies of the same file.

The alternate text is local to the page on which the image appears. 

The Moodle Book resource takes time to set up but can be a better way in which to make resources accessible in a course than the use of uploaded PDF and Word documents. Moodle Books reflow to fit the device screen size and display natively in the Moodle app. Images also automatically rescale to fit the screen size. The Book resource can also function as a replacement for uploading presentations. The interface that moves the student from chapter to chapter is essentially the same as for a presentation. For more information on the Book resource reference Book resource and Book settings.

Images (and other file types) can be reused across many other activities and resources, not just in Books. There are some specific situations in which a file cannot be linked, most of these are student-facing situations:

• an assignment submission
• a forum post attachment
• a workshop submission
• a quiz essay
• a database activity file field