Exporting Moodle forum messages

[lindylou]

Help!

 

I am using my Moodle playpen site for a text conferencing research project. The staff running the project are hoping to get an export of the messages, and presumably things like the time-stamps. I imagine this data will be used in the research report.

 

I have tried the Moodle forums, but got swamped and lost. I have tried logging into the course, turning on editing and using the Admin\backup option to export the forum data. But the files I get out of that don't make sense, just lots of folders that seem empty. I also tried digging into the MySQL but no luck. ](*,)

 

Can anyone help, in words that a Moodle newbie and non-techie will understand?

 

Linda D

[Ric_]

May be misunderstanding what you require but would copy and paste not work?

[CyberNerd]

not much of an expert on this either but I suspect what you'll need to do is create a script that runs a custom mysql query on the forum database. I'd start by looking at the php that displays the forum text and see if you can figure out the sql syntax from that.

[mighty.grey.eagle]

The Moodle forums can send out e-mails of the postings. Can these not be used?

[lindylou]

May be misunderstanding what you require but would copy and paste not work?

 

Of course!! Why didn't I think of that? :oops: A bad habit of mine - never take the easy route if there's one that makes you walk through fire! Just tried it out and it could be that is all the researchers need. I'm meeting with them on Thursday so will find out then

 

CyberNerd - thanks for your suggestion. My SQL skills are very rusty, so I'll need to recruit a colleague for that bit but that is what I was looking to do . . . I think

 

Mighty Grey Eagle - brilliant suggestion also! If the researchers elect to have full forum postings sent to them, they will get all the data they need.

 

Like I say, I'll meet this team and see what they expect. The project is an OU one, funded from somewhere, so I guess the report and findings will have to look the business in the end.

 

Thanks Edu-Geekers, I appreciate the advice.

 

Linda D