This guide explains how to install Moodle for the first time. It goes into some detail + about some of the steps, in order to cover the wide variety of small differences between + web server setups, so this document may look long and complicated. Don't be put off by this + - I usually set Moodle up in a few minutes!
+Take your time and work through this document carefully - it will save you time later on.
+Sections in this document:
+++Moodle is primarily developed in Linux using PHP, Apache and MySQL, and regularly + tested with PostgreSQL and in Windows XP and Mac OS X environments.
+All you should need are:
++
+- a working installation of PHP (version + 4.1.0 or later), with the following features enabled (most PHP installations + these days will have all of these): +
++
+- JPEG and/or PNG image editing support via the GD library
+- Sessions support
+- File uploading allowed
+- a working database server: MySQL or PostgreSQL are recommended. (MSSQL, Oracle, Interbase, Foxpro, Access, ADO, Sybase, DB2 or ODBC are also theoretically supported but will require you to manually set up the database tables).
+On a Windows platform, the quickest way to satisfy these requirements is + to download FoxServ, + or EasyPHP which will install Apache, + PHP, and MySQL for you. Make sure you enable the GD module so Moodle can process + images - you may have to edit php.ini and remove the comment (;) from this + line: 'extension=php_gd.dll'.
+ +On Mac OS X I highly recommend the fink + project as a way to download easily-maintainable packages for all of this.
+ +If you're on Linux or another Unix then I'll assume you can figure all this out for yourself! ;-)
+ +
+
++There are two ways to get Moodle, as a compressed package and via CVS. These + are explained in detail on the download page on http://moodle.com/
+After downloading and unpacking the archive, or checking out the files via + CVS, you will be left with a directory called "moodle", containing + a number of files and folders.
+You can either place the whole folder in your web server documents directory, + in which case the site will be located at http://yourwebserver.com/moodle, + or you can copy all the contents straight into the main web server documents + directory, in which case the site will be simply http://yourwebserver.com.
+
+
++Here is a quick summary of the contents of the Moodle folder, to help get + you oriented:
+++config.php - the only file you need to edit to get started
+
+ version.php - defines the current version of Moodle code
+ index.php - the front page of the site+
+- admin/ - code to administrate the whole server
+- auth/ - plugin modules to authenticate users
+- course/ - code to display and manage courses
+- doc/ - help documentation for Moodle (eg this page)
+- files/ - code to display and manage uploaded files
+- lang/ - texts in different languages, one directory per language
+- lib/ - libraries of core Moodle code
+- login/ - code to handle login and account creation
+- mod/ - all Moodle course modules
+- pix/ - generic site graphics
+- theme/ - theme packs/skins to change the look of the site.
+- user/ - code to display and manage users
++
++Moodle will also need some space on your hard disk to store uploaded files, + such as course documents and user pictures.
+ +Create a directory for this purpose somewhere. For security, it's best that + this directory is NOT accessible directly via the web. The easiest way to do this + is to simply locate it OUTSIDE the web directory, otherwise protect it + by creating a file in the data directory called .htaccess, containing this line: +
++ +deny from all+To make sure that Moodle can save uploaded files in this directory, check that + the web server software (eg Apache) has permission to write + to this directory. On Unix machines, this means setting the owner of the directory + to be something like "nobody" or "apache".
+ +On many shared hosting servers, you will probably need to restrict all file access + to your "group" (to prevent other webhost customers from looking at or changing your files), + but provide full read/write access to everyone else (which will allow the web server + to access your files). Speak to your server administrator if you are having + trouble setting this up securely.
+ +
+
++You need to create an empty database (eg "moodle") in your database system + along with a special user (eg "moodleuser") that has access to that database + (and that database only). You could use the "root" user if you wanted to, but + this is not recommended for a production system: if hackers manage to discover + the password then your whole database system would be at risk, rather than + just one database. +
+Example command lines for MySQL:
++ # mysql -u root -p + > CREATE DATABASE moodle; + > GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP,INDEX,ALTER ON moodle.* + TO moodleuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword'; + > quit + # mysqladmin -p reload ++Example command lines for PostgreSQL:
++ # su - postgres + > psql -c "create user moodleuser createdb;" template1 + > psql -c "create database moodle;" -U moodleuser template1 + > psql -c "alter user moodleuser nocreatedb;" template1 ++(For MySQL I highly recommend the use of phpMyAdmin + to manage your databases).
+As of version 1.0.8, Moodle now supports table prefixes, and so can safely share + a database with tables from other applications.
+
+
++Firstly, make sure that your web server is set up to use index.php as a default + page (perhaps in addition to index.html, default.htm and so on).
+In Apache, this is done using a DirectoryIndex parameter in your httpd.conf + file. Mine usually looks like this:
+++DirectoryIndex index.php index.html index.htm+Just make sure index.php is in the list (and preferably towards the start + of the list, for efficiency).
+Secondly, Moodle requires a number of PHP settings to be active for it to + work. On most servers these will already be the default settings. + However, some PHP servers (and some of the more recent PHP versions) may + have things set differently. These are defined in PHP's configuration + file (usually called php.ini):
+++file_uploads = 1 +magic_quotes_gpc = 1 +short_open_tag = 1 +session.auto_start = 0 ++If you don't have access to httpd.conf or php.ini on your server, or you + have Moodle on a server with other applications that require different + settings, then you can OVERRIDE all of the default settings. + +
To do this, you need to create a file called .htaccess in Moodle's + main directory that contains definitions for these settings. + This only works on Apache servers and only when Overrides have been allowed. +
++DirectoryIndex index.php index.html index.htm +php_value magic_quotes_gpc 1 +php_value file_uploads 1 +php_value short_open_tag 1 +php_value session.auto_start 0You can also do things like define the maximum size for uploaded files: +
+ ++php_value upload_max_filesize 2M +php_value post_max_size 2M +The easiest thing to do is just copy the sample file from lib/htaccess + and edit it to suit your needs. It contains further instructions. For + example, in a Unix shell: +
++ +cp lib/htaccess .htaccess+
+
++Now you can edit the configuration file, config.php, using a + text editor. This file is used by all other files in Moodle.
+To start with, make a copy of config-dist.php and call it config.php. We + do this so that your config.php won't be overwritten in case you upgrade Moodle + later on.
+Edit config.php to specify the database details that you just defined (including + a table prefix - notice this is REQUIRED for PostgreSQL), as + well as the site address, file system directory and data directory. + The config file has detailed directions.
+For the rest of this installation document we will assume your site is at: + http://example.com/moodle
+
+
++The admin page should now be working at: http://example.com/moodle/admin. + If you try and access the front page of your site you'll be taken there automatically + anyway. The first time you access this admin page, you will be presented with + a GPL agreement with which you need to agree before you can continue with the setup.
+(Moodle will also try to set some cookies in your browser. If you have + your browser set up to let you choose to accept cookies, then you must + accept the Moodle cookies, or Moodle won't work properly.) +
Now Moodle will start setting up your database and creating tables to store data. + Firstly, the main database tables are created. You should see a number of SQL statements followed by + status messages (in green or red) that look like this:
+++CREATE TABLE course ( id int(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment, category + int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0', password varchar(50) NOT NULL default + '', fullname varchar(254) NOT NULL default '', shortname varchar(15) NOT + NULL default '', summary text NOT NULL, format tinyint(4) NOT NULL default + '1', teacher varchar(100) NOT NULL default 'Teacher', startdate int(10) + unsigned NOT NULL default '0', enddate int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default + '0', timemodified int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0', PRIMARY KEY (id)) + TYPE=MyISAM
+SUCCESS
+...and so on, followed by: Main databases set up + successfully.
+If you don't see these, then there must have been some problem with the database + or the configuration settings you defined in config.php. Check that PHP isn't + in a restricted "safe mode" (commercial web hosts often have safe mode turned + on). You can check PHP variables by creating a little file containing <? + phpinfo() ?> and looking at it through a browser. Check all these and try + this page again.
+Scroll down the very bottom of the page and press the "Continue" + link.
+Next you will see a similar page that sets up all the tables required by + each Moodle module. As before, they should all be green.
+ +Scroll down the very bottom of the page and press the "Continue" + link.
+ +You should now see a form where you can define more configuration variables + for your installation, such as the default language, SMTP hosts and so on. + Don't worry too much about getting everything right just now - you can always + come back and edit these later on using the admin interface. Scroll down + to the bottom and click "Save changes".
+ +If (and only if) you find yourself getting stuck on this page or the next + page, unable to continue, then your server probably has what I call the + "buggy referrer" problem. This is easy to fix: just edit + your config.php and set the variable buggy_referrer to true, then + try the page again.
+ +The next page is a form where you can define parameters for your Moodle site and the + front page, such as the name, format, description and so on. + + Fill this out (you can always go back and change these later) and then press + "Save changes".
+ +Finally, you will then be asked to create a top-level administration user + for future access to the admin pages. Fill out the details with your own name, + email etc and then click "Save changes". Not all the fields are + required, but if you miss any important fields you'll be re-prompted for them. +
+++++++++++Make sure you remember the username and password you chose + for the administration user account, as they will be necessary to + access the administration page in future.
+Once successful, you will be returned to the main admin page, which contain + a number of links arranged in a menu (these items also appear on the home + page when you are logged in as the admin user). All your further administration + of Moodle can now be done using this menu, such as:
++
+- creating and deleting courses
+- creating and editing user accounts
+- administering teacher accounts
+- changing site-wide settings like themes etc
+
+
++Some of Moodle's modules require continual checks to perform tasks. For example, + Moodle needs to check the discussion forums so it can mail out copies of posts + to people who have subscribed.
+The script that does all this is located in the admin directory, and is called + cron.php. However, it can not run itself, so you need to set up a mechanism + where this script is run regularly (eg every five minutes). This provides + a "heartbeat" so that the script can perform functions at periods + defined by each module.
+Note that the machine performing the cron does not need to be the same + machine that is running Moodle. For example, if you have a limited web hosting + service that does not have cron, then you can might choose to run cron on another + server or on your home computer. All that matters is that the cron.php file is + called every five minutes or so.
+First, test that the script works by running it directly from your browser:
+++http://example.com/moodle/admin/cron.php+Now, you need to set up some of way of running the script automatically and + regularly.
+Running the script from a command line
+You can call the page from the command line just as you did in the example + above. For example, you can use a Unix utility like 'wget':
+++wget -q -O /dev/null http://example.com/moodle/admin/cron.php+Note in this example that the output is thrown away (to /dev/null).
+The same thing using lynx:
+++lynx -dump http://example.com/moodle/admin/cron.php > /dev/null+Alternatively you could use a standalone version of PHP, compiled to be run + on the command line. The advantage with doing this is that your web server + logs aren't filled with constant requests to cron.php. The disadvantage is + that you need to have access to a command-line version of php.
+++/opt/bin/php /web/moodle/admin/cron.php + + +(Windows) C:\apache\php\php.exe C:\apache\htdocs\moodle\admin\cron.php + ++Automatically running the script every 5 minutes
+On Unix systems: Use cron. Edit your cron settings from the commandline + using "crontab -e" and add a line like:
+++*/5 * * * * wget -q -O /dev/null http://example.com/moodle/admin/cron.php+On Windows systems: The simplest way is to use my package moodle-cron-for-windows.zip + which makes this whole thing very easy. You can also explore using the built-in + Windows feature for "Scheduled Tasks".
+ +
++Now that Moodle is running properly, you can create a course.
+Select "Create a new course" from the Admin page (or the admin + links on the home page).
+Fill out the form, paying special attention to the course format. You don't + have to worry about the details too much at this stage, as everything can + be changed later by the teacher.
+Press "Save changes", and you will be taken to a new form where + you can assign teachers to the course. You can only add existing user accounts + from this form - if you want to create a new teacher account then either ask + the teacher to create one for themselves (see the login page), or create one + for them using the "Add a new user" on the Admin page.
+Once done, the course is ready to customise, and is accessible via the "Courses" + link on the home page.
+See the "Teacher Manual" for more details + on course-building.
+
+ +
Version: $Id$
+ +