When a user uses Make Archive in the File Manager, that creates a file courseID.tar.gz in the course's templates folder. The intent is the user should download that file and store it wherever they like. But if they leave it undeleted in their templates folder, there is a problem. It is a large file. And later the server admin might archive the course, ending up with a large archive file buried inside the server admin's archive file.
And you can imagine things getting worse if the instructor uses Make Archive in a new course nest semester that was cloned from a course that already had one of these archive files sitting in it. I tried that just now. The first archive file was 1.2 MB. The second one was 2.5 MB. And this is a course where I don't have many students or things like large image files.
I actually ran into this within the past year, where one institution was making their own archive files in this manner, and it is a course that routinely has around 500 students and local problems with image files. I noticed the regular course archive file had reached a GB in size after a few years of this.
So I propose a change to the Make Archive tool. When you click it, that just makes you locally download the archive file. It never gets written to the course's templates folder. And if this change is made, having Make Archive inside the File Manager wouldn't make sense anymore. The Make Archive button could move somewhere else.
When a user uses
Make Archivein the File Manager, that creates a filecourseID.tar.gzin the course's templates folder. The intent is the user should download that file and store it wherever they like. But if they leave it undeleted in their templates folder, there is a problem. It is a large file. And later the server admin might archive the course, ending up with a large archive file buried inside the server admin's archive file.And you can imagine things getting worse if the instructor uses
Make Archivein a new course nest semester that was cloned from a course that already had one of these archive files sitting in it. I tried that just now. The first archive file was 1.2 MB. The second one was 2.5 MB. And this is a course where I don't have many students or things like large image files.I actually ran into this within the past year, where one institution was making their own archive files in this manner, and it is a course that routinely has around 500 students and local problems with image files. I noticed the regular course archive file had reached a GB in size after a few years of this.
So I propose a change to the
Make Archivetool. When you click it, that just makes you locally download the archive file. It never gets written to the course's templates folder. And if this change is made, havingMake Archiveinside the File Manager wouldn't make sense anymore. TheMake Archivebutton could move somewhere else.