The file resource enables you to provide a file as a course resource for your learners. Where possible, the file will be displayed in the course interface; otherwise your learners will be prompted to download it. The file may include supporting files, so for example an HTML page may have embedded images.

Note that your learners will need to have the appropriate software to open the file.

A file may be used to share presentations given in class, or course handouts, learning journals, templates of forms, further reading, etc. You could provide draft files of certain software programs for your learners to edit and submit for assessment.

To add a file, switch editing on, go to your course’s homepage and click on the + Add an activity or resource button.

This will give you a screen full of options. Click on the File icon to open the New File page.

Add the title of your file in the Name field. You can choose to add a summary of the new file in the Description box and display this on your course’s homepage by ticking the Display description on main page tickbox.

Click on the Select files box to open a new pop-up window with the heading File picker.

Click on the Choose File button to find the file you want to upload.

Check that the author and licence information are correct in the Author field and the Choose licence drop-down list. and the licence.

Click on Upload this file to return to the New File screen.

If you click on the Appearance arrow, there are further options in the Display drop-down for you to choose how the link is displayed.

• Automatic: The best display option for the file type is selected by default.
• Embed: The file will appear in a small scrolling area on your course’s homepage.
• Force download: When they click on the file, your learners will be given a prompt to download it.
• Open: The file opens directly in your learner’s browser in the same window, which means that unless they use the browser’s Back button they will be navigating away from your course. (An intermediate page may display in some cases). It is therefore a good idea to put some help text in the Description field suggesting that they hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on the file, which will open it in a new tab in their browser.
• In pop-up (do not use): The file opens in a new browser window. In general, pop-up windows are considered user-hostile because they don’t always work well with accessibility software. 

If you want to share the file’s size and format, and confirm when it was uploaded to your course homepage, you can do so by ticking the Show size, Show type and Show upload/modified date tickboxes.

You can choose to display the file size, such as ‘3.1 MB’, beside links to the file. If there are multiple files in this resource, the total size of all files is displayed.

You can also show the type of the file, such as ‘Word document’, beside links to the file. If there are multiple files in this resource (i.e. if you have uploaded a whole folder of files), the start file type is displayed. If the file type is not known to the system, it will not display.

Will your learners need to visit this page in order to complete your course? Make sure that the Completion conditions are correct.

Click on Save and return to course.