---
title: "Course file settings"
slug: "course-file-settings"
updated: 2025-07-22T10:52:18Z
published: 2025-07-22T11:18:31Z
canonical: "totara.help/course-file-settings"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://totara.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Course file settings

## Course settings

You can configure the settings for the file resource to your preferences.

| **Setting** | **Description** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Name | The name of the file as it will appear on the course page. | - |
| Description | A description of the file, which might include a summary of the file contents or its purpose in the course. | - |
| Display description on course page | Displays the description, entered in the previous setting, on the course page. | - |
| Select files | This is where you add a file, either by dragging and dropping it or using the file picker. | If you are selecting an existing file through the file picker please see [Alias](https://help.totaralearning.com/display/TH14/Course+files#Coursefiles-alias) for more information. |
| Display | This setting, together with the file type and whether the browser allows embedding, determines how the file is displayed. Options may include: - **Automatic**: The best display option for the file type is selected automatically - **Display link**: A link to the file is displayed along with the file description - **Embed**: The file is displayed within the page together with the file description and any blocks - **Force download**: The user is prompted to download the file - **Open**: Only the file is displayed in the browser window - **In pop-up**: The file is displayed in a new browser window without menus or an address bar - **In frame**: The file is displayed within a frame below the navigation bar and file description - **New window**: The file is displayed in a new browser window with menus and an address bar | If you are using the [**Pathway** course format](/19/docs/pathway-course-format) then you will only be able to select the **Display link** or **Embed** options. |
| Show size | Displays the file size (such as 2.5MB). | - |
| Show type | Displays the type of file (such as PDF or .doc). | - |
| Show upload/modified date | Shows when the file was last created or edited. | - |
| Pop-up width (in pixels) | If you have chosen **In pop-up** as the **Display** type then you can set the width of the pop-up window. | - |
| Pop-up height (in pixels) | If you have chosen **In pop-up** as the **Display** type then you can set the height of the pop-up window. | - |
| Display resource description | Displays the resource description when displaying the file content. This is different from **Display description on course page** as this setting controls if the description is displayed within the resource. Only available for **Automatic**, **Embed** and **In frame** display options. | It will only work with **Automatic** if the display option used is **Embed** or **In frame**. |
| Use filters on file content | Select the type of file to apply [filters](/19/docs/what-are-filters) to either: - None - All file - HTML files only | This may cause problems for some Flash and Java applets. |
| Common module settings | See [Common module settings](/19/docs/common-module-settings) for more. | - |
| Restrict access | See [restricting access](/19/docs/restricting-access-to-course-activities) for more. | - |
| Activity completion | See [activity completion](/19/docs/activity-completion) for more. | - |
| Tags | See [tags](/19/docs/what-are-tags) for more. | - |

## Plugin settings

As a Site Administrator you can set the defaults for the file resource settings on courses. Users can still change the settings on an individual resource but these settings will be the default.

| **Setting** | **Description** | **Notes** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Frame height | When a web page or an uploaded file is displayed within a frame, this value is the height (in pixels) of the top frame (which contains the navigation). | - |
| Available display options | Decide which display options to make available to users. If an option is not allowed here it will not appear to users. The display options are: - **Automatic**: The best display option for the file type is selected automatically - **Embed**: The file is displayed within the page together with the file description and any blocks - **In frame**: The file is displayed within a frame below the navigation bar and file description - **New window**: The file is displayed in a new browser window with menus and an address bar - **Force download**: The user is prompted to download the file - **Open**: Only the file is displayed in the browser window - **In pop-up**: The file is displayed in a new browser window without menus or an address bar | If you select the **Embed** option then any media files such as images (e.g. JPEG or PNG), videos (e.g. MP4) or audio (e.g. MP3 or WAV) can be embedded on the course page. Other file types will be added as links to open or download the file. |
| Display | Set the default display mode from the available options selected above. | - |
| Show size | Set the default for whether to displays the file size (such as 2.5MB). | - |
| Show type | Set the default for whether to display the type of file (such as PDF or .doc). | - |
| Show upload/modified date | Set the default for whether to show when the file was last created or edited. | - |
| Pop-up width (in pixels) | Specifies default width of popup windows. | - |
| Pop-up height (in pixels) | Specifies default height of popup windows. | - |
| Use filters on file content | Select default for the type of file to apply [filters](/19/docs/what-are-filters) to either: - None - All file - HTML files only | This may cause problems for some Flash and Java applets. Please make sure that all text files are in UTF-8 encoding. |

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