Manhattan College Knowledge Base

Backing up and Restoring Moodle Courses

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Moodle offers two ways that older courses can be copied and reused:

  • If the older course is located on the same Moodle server, it can be imported into a new Moodle course site.
  • If the course is on a separate Moodle server, it will need to be backed up on that server and restored into the new course site on the current Moodle server.

This tutorial will cover the backing up and restoring process.

Backing Up In Moodle 4.0+

The instructions provided here are specifically for backing up courses in Moodle 4.X. If you are working with older versions of Moodle, the process for backing up courses will differ.

Begin the backup process

Navigate to the course site that you would like to copy content from.  In the Course Menu select More and choose Course reuse.

Select desired course reuse method

A dropdown menu menu at the top of the screen allows you to choose the course reuse method you would like to use.  Select Backup.

Initial settings

The backup process has five steps.  The first is Initial settings.  In most cases, the default settings on this screen can be left unchanged.  Click the Next button at the bottom of the screen.

Schema settings

On this screen, you can choose individual items to include or exclude from your backup.  To backup all class content, leave all items selected and click on Next. If there are items that you do not want to backup, click on the check mark beside that item to deselect that item. Deselecting the bold section headings (e.g., "General" in the below example) will remove all items in that section from the backup file.

Confirmation and review

This screen allows you to double-check the settings you've chosen.  You can also change the filename of the backup file.  However, keep the extension of the file as .mbz so Moodle can recognize it as a backup file when you restore it.  When satisfied, click the Perform backup button at the bottom of the screen.  A backup file will be created, and a confirmation message will appear. Click on Continue.

Download backup file

Backup files will appear in the User private backup area.  Locate the correct backup file and click on Download.  Save the backup file to the desired location on your computer.  The backup file is now ready to be uploaded into a new Moodle class or saved for use at a later date.

Backing Up In Moodle 3.8

The instructions provided here are specifically for backing up courses in Moodle 3.8. If you are working with newer versions of Moodle, the process for backing up courses will differ.

Begin the backup process

Navigate to the course site that you would like to copy content from. In the gear menu on the right side of your screen, choose Backup

Initial settings

The backup process has five steps.  The first is Initial settings.  In nearly all cases, the default settings on this screen can be left unchanged.  Click the Next button at the bottom of the screen.

Schema settings

On this screen, you can choose individual items to include or exclude from your backup.  To backup all class content, leave all items selected and click on Next. If there are items that you do not want to backup, click on the check mark beside that item to deselect that item. Deselecting the bold section headings (e.g., "General" in the below example) will remove all items in that section from the backup file.

Confirmation and review

This screen allows you to double-check the settings you've chosen.  You can also change the filename of the backup file.  However, keep the extension of the file as .mbz so Moodle can recognize it as a backup file when you restore it.  When satisfied, click the Perform backup button at the bottom of the screen.  A backup file will be created, and a confirmation message will appear. Click on Continue.

Download backup file

Backup files will appear in the User private backup area.  Locate the correct backup file and click on Download.  Save the backup file to the desired location on your computer.  The backup file is now ready to be uploaded into a new Moodle class or saved for use at a later date.

Restoring in Moodle 4.X

The instructions provided here are specifically for restoring courses in Moodle 4.X. This is the current version of Moodle.

Begin the restore process

Navigate to the course site that you would like to copy content into.  In the Course Menu select More and choose Course reuse.

Select desired course reuse method

A dropdown menu menu at the top of the screen allows you to choose the course reuse method you would like to use.  Select Restore.

Upload the backup file

Option 1: In the Import a backup file section, click on Choose a file... In the window that appears, click on Choose File. Browse to the backup file (.mbz) you created in the last section and stored on your computer, and click on Open. Once you have selected the correct file, click on Upload this file.

Option 2: Drag the backup file (.mbz) you created in the last section and stored on your computer and drop it in the upload area.

Initiate restore

The name of your backup file will now appear in the Import a backup file box.  Click the Restore button below it.

Confirming the restore

The Confirm screen will appear.  Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on Continue.

Choose destination

On the Destination page, in the Restore into this course section, leave Merge the backup course into this course selected and click on Continue.

Initial settings

The Settings screen will appear. Leave the default settings as-is and click on Next.

Schema settings

On this screen, you can choose individual items to include or exclude from the restore. To restore all class content, leave all items selected and click on Next. If there are items that you do not want to restore click on the check mark beside that item to deselect it. Deselecting the bold section headings (e.g., "General" in the below example) will remove all items in that section from the import.

Be sure that Overwrite course configuration remains set to "No."

Review and perform restore

The Review screen will appear. This screen allows you to double-check the settings you've chosen.  When satisfied, click the Perform restore button at the bottom of the screen.  

Restore completion

When the restore is finished, a confirmation message will appear. Click on Continue to view the course with the newly-imported content.

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