Skip to main content
UNSW Sydney Logo
Teaching
Mobile search
mobile nav menu button
  • About
  • Teaching
    • New to teaching
    • Educational design
    • Assessment and feedback
    • Evaluating education
    • More...
  • Educational Technology
    • Support
    • Training
    • TELT Administrator
  • Events & News
    • Upcoming events
    • Recent news
    • Event recordings & resources
    • Subscribe to education news
  • Awards
    • Awards
    • Fellowships
    • Gathering evidence of your teaching practice
  • Professional Development
    • Beginning to Teach (BTT)
    • Teaching Accelerator Program
    • Foundations of L&T (FULT)
    • Course Design Institute (CDI)
    • Self-paced learning
    • Academic Mentoring
    • More...
  • Contact & Support
  • About
  • Teaching
      1. New to teaching
      2. Educational design
      3. Assessment and feedback
      4. Evaluating education
      5. More...
  • Educational Technology
      1. Support
      2. Training
      3. TELT Administrator
  • Events & News
      1. Upcoming events
      2. Recent news
      3. Event recordings & resources
      4. Subscribe to education news
  • Awards
      1. Awards
      2. Fellowships
      3. Gathering evidence of your teaching practice
  • Professional Development
      1. Beginning to Teach (BTT)
      2. Teaching Accelerator Program
      3. Foundations of L&T (FULT)
      4. Course Design Institute (CDI)
      5. Self-paced learning
      6. Academic Mentoring
      7. More...
  • Contact & Support

Breadcrumb

  1. Teaching
  2. Technologies
  3. Educational Technology
  4. Moodle
  5. Build Courses in Moodle
  6. Build Your Moodle Course
  7. Adding Course Content

Create and Organise Private Files in Moodle

Overview

The private files area is for holding files, for use in any of your courses, that you wish to remain inaccessible by students or other course developers or teachers.

This page instructs you on how to add files to the private files area, how to use private files in a course, and how to organise private files.

When to use

Put a file in the private files area if you want to keep it inaccessible to all other Moodle end-users.

It will still be visible to the Moodle administrator.

Benefits

You can link to a single file in your private files from one or more of your courses. This, together with increased security, is the main advantage of placing files here.

Guide

Step by step instructions

Step by step instructions 

  • Access the private files area
  • Upload a file to the private files area
  • Use a private file in an activity
  • Use a private file in a course 
  • Private files storage
  • Organise Private files 

Access the private files area

  1. Navigate to your dashboard by logging on to Moodle.
  2. Turn page editing on by clicking the customise this page button on the top-right of the page.
  3. Add the "private files" block by clicking "add a block" and selecting "private files"
  4. You will now see the block on the left hand side of your screen

Upload a file to the private files area

  1. Navigate to the My private files page by clicking on Manage private files in the Private files block.
  2. On the My private files page, drag and drop the file into the Files box.
  3. The file displays in the Files box. Click Save changes.

Use a private file in an activity

  1. Navigate to an activity that allows file uploads, e.g. Discussion Forum.
  2. In the upload section of the activity, click Add file.
  3. Click Private files on the left-hand side, and select the file you want to upload. 

Use a private file in a course

To use a private file within one of your courses, go to the Legacy course files page and upload the file from the Private files area, before inserting it into the course from the legacy course files using the File picker.

To upload a file from your private files to the legacy course files:

  1. In the Settings block, under Course administration, does Legacy course files display?
    • If yes, click it and continue to the next step.
    • If no:
      • Click Edit settings.
      • On the Edit course settings page, into the Legacy course files field, select Yes.
      • Click Save changes. Repeat step 1.
         
  2. On the Legacy course files page, click Edit legacy course files.

    MicrosoftTeams-image (18)
  3. On the legacy course files editing page, in the files box, click Add.

    MicrosoftTeams-image (17)
  4. In the File picker, click Private files.

    MicrosoftTeams-image (16)
  5. Select the desired file.

     
  6. In the file upload window, choose either Make a copy of the file or Link to the file, complete the other fields as necessary and click Select this file.

          

 

    7. The uploaded file displays on the Manage private files page. Click Save changes.

     MicrosoftTeams-image (15) 0

The file is now uploaded to the course-specific files area. You can link it to your course in several places.

When you edit the file and upload a new version (with the same filename) to the legacy course files, users who click the link will see the updated version.

Private files storage

In the Private files page, you can check the amount of space left in your Private files storage through the tooltip shown below.

storage

Organise private files

  1. Navigate to the Private Files page.
  2. On the My private files page, you can:
    • Add new files to the folder or Create folder as needed.

      MicrosoftTeams-image (14)
    • Click any folder icon to show a pop-up window where you can delete, zip, rename, move or add a path for the folder. Click Update.

      MicrosoftTeams-image (13)
    • Click any file icon to show a pop-up window where you can download, delete, rename, add author/license/path details and click Update.

      MicrosoftTeams-image (7) 0
  3. Click Save changes on the My private files page to save your changes.
    MicrosoftTeams-image (15) 1

Additional information

Further assistance

If you experience technical or other issues, consult the Where to get help page.

  • Educational Technology
    • Moodle
      • Login
      • Dashboard
      • Build Courses in Moodle
        • Orientation to Moodle
        • Request Course through myUNSW
        • Build Your Moodle Course
          • Course Design
          • Course Home Page
          • Adding Course Content
            • Activities
            • Resources
            • Add a Book
            • Upload a File
            • Using Blocks
            • Attendance
            • Create a Folder
            • Atto Text Editor
            • Text Editor
            • Blog
            • Copy Text from Word
            • IMS content package
            • Chat
            • Tables
            • Choice
            • Create a Lightbox Gallery
            • Legacy Course Files
            • Create a Label
            • Database
            • Images
            • Create a Web Page
            • Dialogue
            • Video
            • Add a URL
            • Feedback
            • Forum
            • Hide Resource or Activity
            • Glossary
            • Restrict access
            • Activity Completion
            • Group
            • Group Selection
            • Lesson
            • SCORM Package
            • Create a Questionnaire
            • Use the Moodle Calendar
            • Add test students
            • Survey activities
            • Course menu block
            • Create Wiki Activity
            • Scheduler activity
            • Create media gallery
            • Dropbox files
            • Course overview
            • Create a Checklist Activity
            • StudentQuiz
            • VoiceThread Instruction
          • Assessment Tools
          • Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
          • Personalized Learning Designer
          • Team Builder
        • Bring Content into your Teaching Instance
        • Facilitate and Deliver Course
        • Uploading grades to SIMS using Astra
      • Course Administration
      • Moodle Releases
      • Moodle Upgrade Project
      • Feature Requests
      • Contacts
      • Index of all support pages
    • Lecture Recording+
    • Turnitin
    • theBox
    • Other eLearning Tools
    • Feature Requests
    • Book a Consultation
    • Digital Media Support & Equipment
    • Immersive Technologies
    • TELT Service Status
    • Known System Issues
    • System Maintenance Windows

Events & news

CEP Lightning Workshops T1 2023
LET'S Meet T1 2023
More
Back to top
  • Print
  • Share
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google
    • Email
  • Home
  • About
  • Educational Technology
  • Events & news
  • Awards
  • Contacts

Authorised by Pro Vice-Chancellor Education
UNSW CRICOS Provider Code: 00098G, TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12055, ABN: 57 195 873 179
Teaching at UNSW, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia Telephone 9385 5989

Footer menu

  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright & Disclaimer
  • Accessibility
  • Report an incident
  • Complaints
  • Site Map
  • Site Feedback
Page last updated: Friday 17 December 2021