Documentation

Getting Started

Dear customer,

first of all, thank you for choosing Theme Lambda for Moodle. Lambda is a Bootstrap based theme with a sharp design and it offers various style and layout options. I hope that you will be satisfied with it.

This documentation should help you get started. It covers everything you need to know to get the theme up and running. Please read this documentation thoroughly, if you still experience any difficulties please get in touch with me at my Help Center:
Support for Lambda - Premium Moodle Theme

Are you upgrading your Moodle core software from version 3 to 4 or to the new version 5? Please have a look at the FAQ in the Updates section.

Installation

Upload and install via ZIP file

  1. Login to your Moodle site as an admin.
  2. Go to Site administration > Plugins > Install plugins.
  3. In your downloaded package from ThemeForest, open the folder Theme. Choose the appropriate upload file for your Moodle version:
    • Moodle version 4: theme_lambda2_moodle_4.zip
    • Moodle version 5: theme_lambda2_moodle_5.zip
  4. Upload the ZIP file in the folder.
  5. Check the plugin validation report, then click the button 'Install plugin'.

During the next steps the Moodle database will be upgraded. Though you can already set up the theme options at this stage, it is recommended to leave the theme options at the default settings at first and just klick Save Changes to continue.

Changing the default theme

The Moodle theme selector

An administrator can set a theme for the site from Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme selector.

Go to Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme selector

  • Click on the "Select theme" button next to the type you wish to change Moodle 4.0 - 4.2 only
  • Scroll down to see the previews of the available themes and click on the "Use theme" button to chose the theme
  • The next screen will provide information about the theme. Click "Continue"
The selected theme may be overridden if user/course or category themes have been allowed in the Moodle core theme settings.

Overview: Site home page sections

How to configure and style the Moodle site home page

Show overview page

Home page demo contents

Visit the Help Center

In order to download and install the frontpage contents which are used at Theme Lambda's demo site, please visit our Help Center:

RedPiThemes Help Center

How to sign in at the Help Center:

  1. To create a new account, you will be required to login with your existing Envato account. This step is necessary to verify your purchase, no further account details or informations will be submitted.
    You do not need an active support subscription to download the demo contents. All files and other help articles can be downloaded by all Lambda customers at any time.
  2. You will find the article "Theme Lambda demo contents" in the "Featured articles" section right after your login.
    There you will find a detailed tutorial for restoring the Site Home contents from the demo site.
  3. You can also search for further help articles and private support tickets.

Adding the menu

Theme settings

An administrator can add the menu via the Moodle theme settings in Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme settings.

Custom menu items

You are able to create the custom menu by entering custom menu items one per line into the setting. Each item which is preceded by a hyphen (-), will appear on a drop down menu below the previous top level item. So items that are NOT preceded by a hyphen appear on the top level of the menu (always visible).

The content of each item is constructed of up to three bits, each separated by a | (Shift + \) character. The bits are label | url | tooltip.

  • label: This is the text that will be shown within the menu item. You must specify a label for every item on the menu.
  • url  This is the URL that the user will be taken to if they click the menu item. This is optional, if not provided then the item will not link anywhere.
  • tooltip  If you provide a URL you can also choose to provide a tooltip for the link that is created with the URL. This is optional and if not set the label is used as the tooltip for the menu item.

The following is an example of how you would create a custom menu:

Moodle community|http://moodle.org
-Moodle free support|http://moodle.org/support
-Moodle development|http://moodle.org/development
-Moodle News|http://moodle.org/news
Moodle company
-Moodle commercial hosting|http://moodle.com/hosting
-Moodle commercial support|http://moodle.com/support

Adding a content page

The "Main menu" block

To add static pages to your Moodle site, you can use the "Main menu" block.
First, go to the frontpage of your Moodle site and turn editing on ("Administration" > "Turn editing on"). Now:

  • From the "Add block" dropdown, add the main menu block if it is not already present
  • At the 'Main menu' block, click "Add an activity or resource" and choose Page. There, you can add your contents and informations.

You might want to have the pages at the Moodle custom menu bar instead of being shown in an additional block. With "turn editing on" still enabled at the frontpage, you should see a "Blocks moved into the area below will only be seen by admins" area. Here you can place any Moodle block so that it won't appear at the content area. In the block settings of the main menu block (click on the small cogwheel icon), please select the "hidden" position for *both* "Where this block appears" > "Default region" *and* "On this page".
The main menu block is now hidden for your users, but you can use the links of the "content pages" that you created there for your custom menu (see screenshot in the attachment).

Opening the menu links in a new tab

It is possible to open the links at the custom menu in a new tab by adding the target="_blank" attribute to code for the menu like:

Moodle Homepage|http://moodle.org" target="_blank

But please note: You mustn't put a closing quote mark on the end of the statement, that will be added by the Moodle renderer and otherwise the link won't work.

Usability Settings

Force users to login

Moodle offers the "force users to login" settings option. Many administrators prefer the Moodle login page to serve as the Site Home for non-logged in users because they want to provide a more "restricted access" look. With this setting option enabled, all visitors and users start at the standard Moodle login page. This implies that they have to login first before they can see any other page of your Moodle site - this includes also the Site Home with the slider and any contents that you might have added there.

A site administrator can change this kind of site policy in "Site administration" > "Security" > "Site security settings". Here, check the option "Force users to login".

The Moodle Dashboard

About the Dashboard

The Dashboard is a customisable page for providing users with details of their progress and upcoming deadlines. The default Dashboard includes the Moodle core "Timeline" and "Calendar" blocks.

Users can normally customise their personal Dashboard, adding or removing blocks and changing block positions. They can revert their Dashboard back to the original blocks as follows:

  1. Activate the 'Edit mode' switch.
  2. Click the 'Reset page to default' button.
An administrator can reset the Dashboard for all users via Site administration > Appearance > Default Dashboard page.

Hiding the Dashboard

If deadlines and calendar events are not used in your site then the Dashboard may be removed from the top navigation from Site administration > Appearance > Navigation and unchecking 'Enable Dashboard'. A different home page can then be set for users.


Default home page

For new installations, Dashboard is the default home page for logged in users. An administrator can change the default home page in Site administration > Appearance > Navigation and choose between "Home", "My courses", "Dashboard" or "User preference".


Setting the default Dashboard

An administrator or manager can set the default blocks for all users from Site administration > Appearance > Default Dashboard page. Clicking the button 'Reset Dashboard for all users' will then apply these settings to the Dashboard for everyone on the site.


Preventing users from customizing their Dashboard

By default, users can customize their Dashboard and add blocks. An admin can prevent this as follows:

  1. Go to Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles
  2. Edit the authenticated user role and untick the "Manage Dashboard blocks capability"

Theme options

Configurable settings

To access the configurable options for Theme Lambda go to Site Administration > Appearance > Themes > Lambda.

Lambda's settings page is structured via tabs fo each section at the top. You can expand/collapse the sub-sections to access the configurable setting options.

»General« settings page

General Layout

Setting option Description
Set Page Layout
Set Page Width

You can choose between a "boxed" and a "wide" page layout. For both options, you can define a (maximum) width for the page.

Page width for the "wide" layout

Page width for the "boxed" layout
Theme Main Color
Theme Secondary Color
Page background color

For each element you can either use the color picker or enter the color code.

  • The main color of the theme affects mulitple components to produce the color you wish to apply across your Moodle site.
  • The secondary color of your theme is used for the default Moodle button.
  • The page background color will be used if no background image is uploaded or if you lower the opacity for the background image.
Background image At the Moodle file picker, you can upload your own background image. If none is uploaded the defined background color for the page (see above) will be used.
Repeat uploaded image? If you have uploaded a tiled background (like a pattern), you should mark the checkbox to repeat the image over the background at the header. Otherwise the image will scaled to be as large as possible so that the header area is completely covered by the background image.
Background Image Opacity The opacity property specifies the opacity/transparency of the background image. If you reduce the opacity for the background image, the defined background color (see above) will also appear.
Button Border Radius This property rounds the corners of all buttons at your Moodle site.

Logo & Favicon

Setting option Description
Logo

You can upload your logo at the general Moodle "Appearance" settings. The settings there are for defining two variants of a logo to be used as part of the interface for your site.

  • A full logo to be used as decoration by some themes (such as core themes). This image can be quite high resolution because it will be scaled down for use (and cached for performance). Logos that are wider than they are high usually give better results. Formats accepted: PNG and JPG.
  • A compact version of the same logo as above, such as an emblem, shield or icon. The image should be clear even at small sizes. Formats accepted: PNG and JPG.
Logo with main background color

Display your site logo with the main background color. This can be useful if you want to use a white logo without changing the background for the entire header area.
Favicon A favicon is an icon typically displayed in the address bar of a browser accessing the site or next to the site name in a list of saved bookmarks. Images with a transparent background and 32px height will work best. Formats accepted: PNG, JPG and ICO.

Course UI

Setting option Description
Course Title

Choose how to display the title of a course for the main course page. Available options:

  1. default (like common page title)
  2. with course image banner
  3. hide course title

Hiding the course title can be useful if you want to prevent further scrolling before the course content is displayed, or if you want to use a custom course title in the main region area.

default (like common page title) - the page title can be defined at the "Header" settings tab.

with course image banner

hide course title
Course Banner Height If you have selected the option "with course image banner" for the course title (see above), you can specify a height for the banner image here.
Moodle Activity Icons

Activities are interactive tools used to engage students in learning and assess their progress. Here you can choose between different designs for the activity icons within your courses. Available options:

  1. default
  2. Moodle contextual icons
    This setting option depends on your Moodle version: You can either switch to a contextual background color (Moodle 4.4 - 5.0) or to a contextual line color (Moodle 4.0 - 4.3).
  3. monochrome
  4. main background color with dark icons
  5. main background color with bright icons
  6. secondary background color with dark icons
  7. secondary background color with bright icons

icons with contextual background color

icons with contextual line color

monochrome

dark icons with background color

light icons with background color
Back To Course Button Show a Back to course button at the bottom of a course activity or resource. This might help students to navigate back to the main course page.
List of courses

Choose a layout for the courses in the course category view. You can select to show your courses in a list or in a grid view:

course list

course list (minimal)

course tiles

course tiles (minimal)
Category style for list of courses

With this settings option you can choose a style for the course categories at the Moodle course index page. With the default settings, Lambda uses a course orientated presentation which displays all courses within a certain category - this also includes courses of a subcategory. A filter for the available categories can be found at the right column of the page. Other available options:

  1. Courses only with categories as filters
  2. Default Moodle category list
  3. Show course categories as cards
  4. Show course categories as tiles with images

To define an image for the category tiles (setting option no. 4), simply add an image to the Moodle course category description. To read more about the Moodle core category management, see also: Course categories at the official Moodle docs.
Lambda will use the first image at the category description for the category tile. If no image can be found, one of the course images within the category will be used instead.
Course Enrolment Page
Enrolment Page Layout

Course enrolment is the process of marking users as participants in the course. On the course enrolment page, users can see the course details, but they cannot take the course yet. Available options:

  1. Default Moodle course enrolment page
  2. Lambda custom course enrolment page (small course image)
  3. Lambda custom course enrolment page (large course image)
  4. Lambda custom course enrolment page (hero course image)

Default Moodle course enrolment page

Lambda custom course enrolment page (small course image)

Lambda custom course enrolment page (large course image)

Lambda custom course enrolment page (hero course image)

At the custom course enrolment page you can also show the course tags:

You can take a look here at the official Moodle docs to learn more about adding course tags.
Course Custom fields on Enrolment Page

Choose where you would like to show the optional course custom fields. Check the box to display the course custom fields only on the enrolment page. This might be useful if you are using multiple course custom fields.
Otherwise, they will be also displayed at the course list layout.

You can take a look here at the official Moodle YouTube channel to learn more about custom course fields.
Term Free Courses If you offer paid courses on your learning platform, you may also want to promote free courses. In this case, you can enter the relevant text here (e.g. “Free offer!”). Schools and universities can leave this text field blank if all courses are freely available anyway.

TipYou can add the "Lambda Content Block" plugin to the course main page and set its type to "Course Contacts". This automatically adds a block which displays all teachers of a course with contact quicklinks, as well as a quicklink to the participants list.

Just go to the block's configuration page and open the section "Where this block appears". Select "Any page" to make the block visible for the complete course and also the course enrolment page.

TipWith the "Lambda Content Editor" you can use the "Course Enrolment Info" addon for the course summary.

This addon adds a content section which appears only on the course enrolment page. This can be useful if you want to display further information (like a "What you will learn" section) and content about the course without also listing it on the overview page with all courses.

Moodle Drawers & Blocks

Setting option Description
Footer Blocks

You can choose between the following block style variations:

block style 01

block style 02

block style 03

block style 04
Choose sidebar style You can choose between a light and a dark style for the Moodle sidebar drawers.

Moodle Login Page

Setting option Description
Moodle Login Form Position

You can choose between different positions for Moodle login form. Available options:

  1. centered login form
  2. left aligned login form
  3. right aligned login form


left aligned login form
Login Page Hide Username/Password Form

If you prefer that your users login with other existing accounts (e.g. Google), then you can check this box to hide the default username/password form. An additional button will be displayed to show/hide the form.
Moodle Login Page Background

Here you can choose between different options for the background of the Moodle login page. Available options:

  1. Background image
  2. Background slideshow (up to four images)
  3. Full screen video background
  4. Custom background color
Login Page Background Image/Color Depending on your choice for the "Moodle Login Page Background" setting (see above), you can either use the Moodle file picker to upload your background images or a video file (mp4), or define a background color using the color picker.

Dashboard & My Courses

Setting option Description
Dashboard Banner Image Here you can upload a custom banner image for the Moodle Dashboard page. If no image is uploaded, the default page title will be displayed.
Dashboard Info Stats When you check the box, your users will see a statistics block at the top of the Moodle Dashboard page. The information depends on the user role: An administrator will see site information such as the number of courses available or online users. A student will see the number of courses enrolled or completed.
Dashboard Block Columns

Here you can choose between different block region layouts for the Moodle Dashboard page. Available options:

  1. All blocks with 100% width (default)
  2. All blocks with 50% width (masonry)
  3. First block 100% width, following blocks 50% width (masonry)
  4. Last block 100% width, previous blocks 50% width (masonry)
My Courses Banner Image Here you can upload a custom banner image for the Moodle "My Courses" page. If no image is uploaded, the default page title will be displayed.
Banner Height Select a height for the optional banner image at the Moodle Dashboard or "My Courses" page.

The following image shows a sample Dashboard page with a Dashboard Image Banner, Dashboard Info Stats enabled and the block columns set to First block 100% width, following blocks 50% width (masonry).

»Header« settings page

General header style

Setting option Description
Header Style

Here you can choose the layout for the header:

Logo left (with login form), Menu below

Logo center, Menu below

Logo left, Menu right

Logo left, Menu right (float)
Main Logo Height (px) Logo height in pixels. Logo width will be set automatically.
Height for the compact version of the logo Logo height in pixels for the compact version of the site logo such as an emblem, shield or icon.
Page Header/Title

With this setting option you can choose a style for the page title:

The following options are availbale:
  • Title left aligned
  • Title centered with divider
  • Title with main background color
  • Title with main background color and course image

Colors and background

Setting option Description
Upload custom header image
With Menu below header styles only 		At the Moodle file picker, you can upload your own background image. If none is uploaded the defined background color for the header (see below) will be used.
Repeat header image?
With Menu below header styles only 		If you have uploaded a tiled background (like a pattern), you should mark the checkbox to repeat the image over the background at the header. Otherwise the image will scaled to be as large as possible so that the header area is completely covered by the background image.
Header Color,
Header Font Color,
Header Border Color,
Custom Menu Color,
Custom Menu - Links,
Menu Drop-down Items,
Menu Drop-down Items - Links

For each element you can either use the color picker or enter the color code. The following screenshots show the configurable elements for different header styles.

"Logo left, Menu below" header style"

"Logo left, Menu right" header style

The screenshots contain the following elements:

  1. Header Color
  2. Header Font Color
  3. Header Border Color
  4. Custom Menu Color
  5. Custom Menu - Links
  6. Menu Drop-down Items
  7. Menu Drop-down Items - Links
Header Border,
Header Border Width		 This allows you to set the position and width of the edge of the header area (position 3) in the above screenshots).

Login and Navigation

With Custom Login Link URL and Custom Login Link Text you can enter a custom URL and a caption for your additional link at the login form. This will override the setting from the dropdown.
Setting option Description
Custom Menu Home Link You can choose from the list of available options for the Home link (the first item in the custom menu). Available options:
  1. Home
  2. Short site name (this is defined at the Moodle core Site home settings).
  3. Icon
  4. Hide/remove the home link in the custom menu
Search box on Navigation Bar You can choose to show/hide the "search courses" form at the navigation bar with Hide the Moodle breadcrumb navigation for non-logged in and guest users?
  1. always visible
  2. hide for non-logged in and guest users
  3. always hidden
Breadcrumb Navigation Would you like to hide the Moodle breadcrumb navigation for non-logged in and guest users? The following options are available:
  1. always visible
  2. hide for non-logged in and guest users
  3. always hidden
With Logo left (with login form) header style or with modal login page
Additional Login Link,
Custom Login Link URL,
Custom Login Link Text		 Here you can choose to show an additional link at the login form of the theme:
  1. None
  2. Link to the Moodle "Create new account" page
  3. Link to the Moodle "Forgotten your username or password?" page
  4. Link to the Moodle login page
With Logo left (with login form) header style or with modal login page
Oauth2

Mark the checkbox to use the Moodle Oauth2 authentication plugin instead of the default login form.

Please note: You have to configure this authentication method at the Moodle core settings first.

»Site Home« settings page

With the following setting options you can create a hero section for your Moodle home page including a responsive slideshow with images and videos. The Slideshow component is fully responsive and supports touch and swipe navigation as well as mouse drag for desktops.

General Site Home Settings

Setting option Description
Site Home Section Headings

At the general Moodle Site home settings administration page, you can access the Moodle core options to configure the front page. You can display any combination of the following: news items, a list of courses, a list of enrolled courses, a list of course categories, a list of categories and courses, a course search box or none. The order is determined by a combination box.

With this setting option, you can choose a style for the headings of the Moodle core site home items. Available options:

  1. default (left aligned)
  2. left aligned with divider
  3. centered
  4. centered with divider
Clean Main Region Layout

The main region content is displayed within a content container. Check the box if you prefer a full and clean layout for the main content area on the Moodle front page.

Default Layout

Clean Main Region Layout
Hide page header for front page resources

You can mark the checkbox to remove the general page title for resources which are added to the site home page. Useful for custom page items if you would like to use your own headings within the content area.

Site Home Hero Section - General Options

Setting option Description
Number of Slides

Select the number of slides for the slideshow. You can create a dynamic slideshow of up to 16 slides for you to promote important elements of your site.

Please note: If you only select a single slide, a static image will be displayed and the following settings for Autoplay, Transition Effect and Slideshow Navigation Style will have no further effect. However, you can assign a caption to the image.
Autoplay Select if you want to make a slide automatically advance after a certain amount of time.
Autoplay Interval You can set the interval in milliseconds between switching slides.
Transition Effect You can set the animation option for the transition effect of the slides. Possible values are as follows:
  1. slide - slides slide in side by side
  2. fade - slides fade in
  3. scale - slides are scaled up and fade out
  4. pull - slides are pulled from the deck
Ken Burns effect Mark the checkbox to add a Ken Burns effect to the slide images. This may be useful depending on the aspect ratio of your images and the amount of text in the captions. Otherwise, the captions may not fit the adjusted image height for mobile devices.
Slideshow Navigation Style

Here you can choose between different general designs for the slideshow navigation:

Animated arrows (default)

Chevron icons (light background, centered)

Chevron icons (dark background, centered)

Chevron icons (light background, bottom)

Chevron icons (dark background, bottom)

Bullet pagination
Navigation Hover If true the navigation buttons (prev, next) will be visible on hover state only, if false they will be always visible.
Hide captions on mobile devices Mark the checkbox to hide the slideshow captions on mobile devices. The Ken Burns Effect is an automatic animation that moves and scales photos over time.

Site Home Hero Section - Manage Slides

Setting option Description
Image

You can upload the images for the slideshow via the Moodle filepicker.

The images within the slideshow are responsive. That means that they will automatically adjust to your screen resolution and the size of your browser window. If you use images with different aspect ratios, they will be scaled to the aspect ratio of the first image file to ensure that the slideshow always has a consistent height.
If you are using video files only, then the video will use a 16:9 widescreen format by default.
You can set a custom aspect ratio for the hero area in the "Advanced" settings for the hero section (see below).
Caption text for the slide Add a content overlay for your slide. Font color, size and position are taken directly from the Moodle text editor.
Slide Caption Position & Effect Choose a position and an animation effect for the heading and caption of the slide. Possible values are as follows:
  1. centered - element fades in
  2. left - element slides in from the left
  3. right - element slides in from the right
Slide Background Color Select a background color for the slide/caption. Available options:
  1. Light
  2. Dark
  3. Theme Main Color
  4. Light, Headings with Main Background Color
  5. Dark, Headings with Main Background Color
  6. None

You can define all font sizes and heading styles directly within the Moodle text editor. But for the setting options "Light/Dark, Headings with Main Background Color" you have to define a heading style and a paragraph section to get the correct result:

Select a heading style within the text editor and add another paragraph.

The heading will be displayed with the same color you have defined as the "main color" for Lambda at the »General« settings page. The paragraph has a light/dark background color.
Full Slide Background

Mark the checkbox if you would like to use the defined background color for the complete slide image. Otherwise the background will be used for the caption only.

Default caption

Caption with full slide background

Site Home Hero Section - Advanced Settings

Setting option Description
Image Ratio Override The slideshow always takes up the full width of its parent container. The height adapts according to the defined ratio. The ratio is by default automatically detected from the uploaded image files. In case that you want to override the default value, you can enter a new ratio here, like 16:9. It's recommended to use the same ratio as the background images. For example, just use their width and height, like 1600:1200.

»Fonts« settings page

Setting option Description
Font type selector

Choose if you want to use a Google web font or if you would like to upload your own custom font file.
Font Selector - Body Depending on your setting for the Font type selector, you can either choose from a list of Google web fonts or upload your own custom font file here.

Body fonts to choose from

Click on the font name to preview it.

Please note: The default font "Open Sans" is included in the theme files and is therefore self-hosted on the server. All other fonts are loaded online from fonts.googleapis.com.
  1. Open Sans
  2. Arvo
  3. Bree Serif
  4. Cabin
  5. Crimson Text
  6. Encode Sans
  7. Enriqueta
  8. Gudea
  9. Imprima
  10. Lato
  11. Lekton
  12. Nunito
  13. Montserrat
  14. PT Sans
  15. Raleway
  16. Roboto
  17. Rubik
  18. Solway
  19. Ubuntu
  20. Vollkorn
  21. Work Sans
Body Text Size Adjust the global font size for the body text. The text size for the headings will adapt to this setting.
Font Selector - Headings Depending on your setting for the Font type selector, you can either choose from a list of Google web fonts or upload your own custom font file here.

Heading fonts to choose from

Click on the font name to preview it.

Please note: The default font "Open Sans" is included in the theme files and is therefore self-hosted on the server. All other fonts are loaded online from fonts.googleapis.com.
  1. Open Sans
  2. Abril Fatface
  3. Arvo
  4. Bevan
  5. Bree Serif
  6. Cabin
  7. Crimson Text
  8. DM Serif Display
  9. Encode Sans
  10. Enriqueta
  11. Gudea
  12. Imprima
  13. Josefin Sans
  14. Lato
  15. Lekton
  16. Lobster
  17. Nunito
  18. Montserrat
  19. Pacifico
  20. PT Sans
  21. Raleway
  22. Roboto
  23. Rubik
  24. Solway
  25. Ubuntu
  26. Vollkorn
  27. Work Sans
Font Heading Color,
Font Body Color,
Link Color

The screenshot below shows a sample course page with

  1. heading,
  2. body text,
  3. link.
Use Linearicons With this setting option, you can load an additional free icon font pack with 170 linear icons. Click here to verify the included icons in the Linearicons icon pack.

»Advanced« settings page

Setting option Description
Theme preset A preset is a file designed to be added to the theme and provides pre-defined layouts and styles. Currently, the following presets are available:
  • default: Default styling for Lambda
  • legacy: Provides some designs and styles that ensure compatibility with the previous version of Lambda.
Custom SCSS Whatever CSS rules you add to this textarea will be reflected in every page, making for easier customization of this theme.
Bootstrap 4 to Bootstrap 5 Converter Moodle 5 only Moodle 5 is based on the Bootstrap 5 framework. By selecting the checkbox, you can automatically convert a large number of Bootstrap 4 classes and data attributes to their Bootstrap 5 counterparts. If you have already created content under Moodle 4 with the Lambda Content Editor plugin or have manually created components based on Bootstrap 4, then this option is useful for continuing to use your existing Bootstrap 4 components.

Managing blocks

General information

Blocks are a type of content items, similar to resources. They are used to provide an overview of the course itself or enhance your core course content. They can be added to the Dashboard and to special Moodle block positions.

More information on blocks is available at the official Moodle Docs.

Add and edit blocks in Moodle

Add a block

  1. Enable Edit mode in the top left of the page.
  2. Lambda offers various block positions. The default Moodle block position is at the right site panel.
    Expand the right side panel with the arrow and click the Add a Block button.

  3. Select the type of block you would like to add.
  4. Click on block type in the accordion to read a brief description of the function of the block.

Edit the block settings

  1. Ensure editing is on.
  2. Locate the block you would like to edit, click the cog icon in the title section.

  3. You can either:
    • Configure block settings. Settings are different for each type of block. Follow the prompts to customise your block as required and then click Save changes.
    • Hide/Show a block. When the eye icon is 'open', the block is displayed in the student view. When the eye icon is crossed out, the block is hidden from student view.
    • Check permissions.
    • Delete a block. You'll be prompted with a confirmation message before the block is deleted.

Move a block

  1. For the block you would like to move, click and hold the move arrow icon.
  2. Click and drag the block to the desired new position. A shaded outline will show how the block will look in its new position.
  3. Release your mouse when you are happy with the block's position.
  4. The block's new position will automatically be saved.

Blocks within courses

With Lambda you have the option to position Moodle blocks before or after your Moodle course content. A course instructor can use this to create useful course information blocks or contents to enhance the course design.

The "Top Block Position" and the "Bottom Block Position" are available for the main course page as well as for the Moodle "Page" and "Book" resource type.

Customizing the Dashboard

By default the Dashboard is the first page students and users see when they log in to Moodle. With a new installation, it contains three blocks: A "Timeline", "Calendar" and from the Block drawer, the "Recently accessed items" block. The Dashboard is a personal page which users can customize to their liking.

Lambda also offers various setting options that allow the administrator to define the general layout of the dashboard: "Dashboard & My Courses" settings

All users can configure the Dashboard individually according to their wishes. They can move, remove or add blocks that provide additional information about the learning environment. If you would like to know how a site administrator can set up the default Dashboard or how to prevent users from customizing the Dashboard, please have a look here.

Adding content

General information

The text editor is a field where you can enter content that will display within your Moodle course.

The default editor is known as the TinyMCE editor in new installations of Moodle 4.2 onwards. An older editor Atto editor is also available but due to be phased out. A plain text editor is also available

The administrator decides which editors to enable or disable in Site administration > Plugins > Manage editors. The default editor for all users is the editor listed first. Individual Moodle users can, if allowed by the admin, choose their own text editor from the Preferences link in the user menu top right.

Please note: Since TinyMCE is the default editor for the latest Moodle versions, we recommend using this text editor. All of the following examples refer to TinyMCE.

Blocks and resources

In Moodle, a "Text and Media" resource refers to a content module that allows educators to embed a variety of media elements, such as images, videos, and external web content, alongside text. This resource type provides a multimedia-rich experience for learners, enabling the integration of diverse content formats within a single resource. A resource can be added anywhere within the main content region of the course.

Basically the same applies to the Moodle block “Text”. The difference is that a block cannot be placed within the main content region of a course, but only in the specified block positions. However, with Lambda you have the option to position Moodle blocks before or after your Moodle course content.

Lambda Content Block plugin

General information

This is an optional block plugin which offers more setting options than the default Moodle "Text" block. It also allows you to add image slideshows or show course contacts with a simple to use interface.

It has the standard Moodle Text editor for formatting text, adding images or creating links, switching to code view and allows any valid HTML mark-up to be used. This enables embedding video, sounds and other files which can add unique elements to a course or site page.

Download

In order to download the "Lambda Content Block" plugin, please visit the Help Center: RedPiThemes Help Center

How to sign in at the Help Center:

  1. To create a new account, you will be required to login with your existing Envato account. This step is necessary to verify your purchase, no further account details or informations will be submitted.
    You do not need an active support subscription to download the demo contents. All files and other help articles can be downloaded by all Lambda customers at any time.
  2. You will find the article "Lambda content plugins" in the "Featured articles" section right after your login.
    There you will find the download link for the plugin.
  3. You can also search for further help articles and private support tickets.

Installation

  1. Login to your Moodle site as an admin and go to Site administration > Plugins > Install plugins.
  2. Upload the downloaded ZIP file.
  3. If your target directory is not writeable, you will see a warning message.
  4. Check the plugin validation report

Usage

  1. Enable Edit mode in the top left of the page.
  2. Click the "Add a block" button at the block position where you would like to place the new content block. At the following modal window, choose "Lambda Content Block".
Please note: First you need to set one of the existing block types. The following types are available: Text and Media, Slideshow and Slider. To do so, Click the cog icon in the block header and select "Configure Lambda Content Block block". At the following configuration page, you can choose the block type from the dropdown menu at the top.

Configuration

Setting option Description
Text Editor Add the content for your block. It has the standard Moodle Text editor for formatting text, adding images or creating links, switching to code view and allows any valid HTML mark-up to be used. This enables embedding video, sounds and other multimedia elements.
Background Settings
Background Color Here you can use the available color picker to select a background color for the content.
Background Image At the Moodle file picker you can upload your own background image for the block.
Background Image Property Specify the size of a background-image. Available options:
  1. contain: Resize the background image to cover the entire container, even if it has to stretch the image or cut a little bit off one of the edges.
  2. cover: Resize the background image to make sure the image is fully visible.
  3. repeat: This property sets if a background image will be repeated. This is useful if you would like to use a pattern for the background.
  4. parallax: With parallax scrolling the background image is moved at a different speed than the foreground content while scrolling.
Horizontal Image Position Here you can deinfe the horizontal position for the background image: center, left or right.
Vertical Image Position Here you can deinfe the vertical position for the background image: center, top or bottom.
Background Image Opacity The opacity property specifies the opacity/transparency of the background image.
Border Radius Use this property to add rounded corners to the image.
Width & Margins
Full Page Width Mark the checkbox to display the block with the full (main region) page width.
Horizontal Spacing inside (padding) Padding is used to create space within an element. Here you can define the amount of horizontal spacing.
Vertical Spacing inside (padding) Padding is used to create space within an element. Here you can define the amount of vertical spacing.
Vertical Spacing outside (margin) Margin is the space around an element's outer border. Here you can define the amount of vertical spacing.
Where this block appears & On this page
General Moodle block setting options These settings are part of the general Moodle core settings for blocks. See also: Block settings - MoodleDocs

Example with background image and color

"Lambda Content Block" at the "top" position of a course:

Configuration settings for this block:

Setting option Description
Text Editor Add further content above the slideshow like a heading. It has the standard Moodle Text editor for formatting text, adding images or creating links, switching to code view and allows any valid HTML mark-up to be used. This enables embedding video, sounds and other multimedia elements
Number of Slides Choose the number of slides for the slideshow. You can define up to 10 slides.
Slideshow Settings
Autoplay Select if you want to make a slide automatically advance after a certain amount of time.
Autoplay Interval You can set the interval in milliseconds between switching slides.
Transition Effect You can set the animation option for the transition effect of the slides. Possible values are as follows:
  1. slide - slides slide in side by side
  2. fade - slides fade in
  3. scale - slides are scaled up and fade out
  4. pull - slides are pulled from the deck
Slideshow Navigation Style Here you can choose between different styles for the slideshow navigation. Available options:
  1. Arrows (always visible)
  2. Arrows (show on hover)
  3. Bullet pagination
Image Ratio The slideshow always takes up the full width of its parent container. The height adapts according to the defined ratio. It's recommended to use the same ratio as the background images. For example, just use their width and height, like 1600:1200.
Slide
Image You can upload the images for the slideshow via the Moodle filepicker.
Heading Optional: Add a heading to the slide which will appear as a content overlay.
Text Optional: Add a text to the slide which will appear as a content overlay.
Content Position & Style This setting allows you to place the content anywhere inside the slide. Available options:
  1. Center
  2. Bottom
  3. Overlay Left
  4. Overlay Right
  5. Overlay Bottom
  6. Overlay Bottom Right
For the overlays you can choose between a light and a dark, opaque background color.
Button Caption & URL Otional: This will create a button for your caption with a link to the entered URL.
Where this block appears & On this page
General Moodle block setting options These settings are part of the general Moodle core settings for blocks. See also: Block settings - MoodleDocs

Appearance of the slideshow with different settings

Slideshow with captions (dark overlay left) and arrow navigation:

Slideshow with captions (light overlay bottom right) and bullet navigation:

Setting option Description
Text Editor Add further content above the slideshow like a heading. It has the standard Moodle Text editor for formatting text, adding images or creating links, switching to code view and allows any valid HTML mark-up to be used. This enables embedding video, sounds and other multimedia elements
Number of Slides Choose the number of slides for the slideshow. You can define up to 10 slides.
Slider Settings
Gap Select the checkbox if you want the images to be displayed with a small gap between each other. Otherwise the images will be inserted directly next to each other.
Slide Set Define the maximum number of slides that should be visible at the same time. Please note: This setting depends on the actual screen width.
Navigation Style Here you can choose between different styles for the slideshow navigation. Available options:
  1. Arrows (always visible)
  2. Arrows (show on hover)
  3. Navigation outside
Caption/Overlay Style Here you can choose a style for the slide captions:
  1. Always visible (white text color)
  2. Always visible (dark text color)
  3. Always visible (light overlay)
  4. Always visible (dark overlay)
  5. Always visible (maincolor overlay)
  6. Visible on hover (white text color)
  7. Visible on hover (dark text color)
  8. Visible on hover (light overlay)
  9. Visible on hover (dark overlay)
  10. Visible on hover (maincolor overlay)
  11. Content under slide image
Slide
Image You can upload the images for the slideshow via the Moodle filepicker.
Heading Optional: Add a heading to the slide which will appear as a content overlay.
Text Optional: Add a text to the slide which will appear as a content overlay.
Button Caption & URL Otional: This will create a button for your caption with a link to the entered URL.
Where this block appears & On this page
General Moodle block setting options These settings are part of the general Moodle core settings for blocks. See also: Block settings - MoodleDocs

Appearance of the slider with different settings

Images with headings, captions (hover effect) and link (button):

Images with link (button, always visible):

Images with headings, captions (displayed as card under the slide image):

Setting option Description
Add link to the profile page You can enable this setting option to add a link to the profile page for the users who appear in this block.

The user roles to be shown as course contacts can be defined at the Moodle core "Course contacts settings via Site Administration > Appearance > Courses.

Appearance of the block

Link to the profile page enabled:

Setting option Description
Gallery images You can upload all images for the gallery via the Moodle filemanager.

Appearance of the block

Image gallery page at the demo site

General setting options Description
Number of pricing tiers Define the number of pricing cards which will be displayed (1 - 4)
Gap Mark the checkbox if the pricing cards should be displayed with a padding between them.

Settings for each pricing card and appearance of the block

First card with "light background" style, second with "shadow" style applied.

Lambda Content Editor plugin

General information

This is an optional plugin for the Moodle TinyMCE editor that provides a set of addons which help to build advanced site layouts much easier, without coding knowledge.

The plugin allows you to create a much more attractive design to improve the layout of your courses.

Download

In order to download the "Lambda Content Block" plugin, please visit the Help Center: RedPiThemes Help Center

How to sign in at the Help Center:

  1. To create a new account, you will be required to login with your existing Envato account. This step is necessary to verify your purchase, no further account details or informations will be submitted.
    You do not need an active support subscription to download the demo contents. All files and other help articles can be downloaded by all Lambda customers at any time.
  2. You will find the article "Lambda content plugins" in the "Featured articles" section right after your login.
    There you will find the download link for the plugin.
  3. You can also search for further help articles and private support tickets.

Installation

  1. Login to your Moodle site as an admin and go to Site administration > Plugins > Install plugins.
  2. Upload the downloaded ZIP file.
  3. If your target directory is not writeable, you will see a warning message.
  4. Check the plugin validation report

Admin Settings

To access the configurable options for Theme Lambda go to Site Administration > Plugins > Text Editors > Lambda Content Editor Plugin.

Setting option Description
Allow Students to use Plugin By default, only users with a teacher role or higher are allowed to use the content editor plugin. The plugin should be used to enhance the display of content in a course or the entire site, but not for student submissions. However, if you still want to allow your students to use the plugin, you can mark the existing checkbox.

Usage

  1. Click the Add Addon icon in the TinyMCE editor toolbar.
  2. Select an addon which you want to insert.
  3. Define the setting options in the following pop-up window.
  4. Adapt images, headings and texts directly within the TinyMCE editor.
Addon Description Example on the demo page
Bootstrap Alert Provides contextual feedback messages Lambda Demo Site - Alerts
Badges A small count and labeling component Lambda Demo Site - Badges
Bootstrap Card A flexible and extensible content container Lambda Demo Site - Bootstrap Cards
Blockquote For quoting blocks of content from another source Lambda Demo Site - Blockquotes
Jumbotron Component for showcasing hero unit style content Lambda Demo Site - Jumbotron
Collapse Toggles the visibility of content Lambda Demo Site - Collapse
Bootstrap Grid Responsive grid system with columns which will re-arrange depending on the screen size Lambda Demo Site - Bootstrap Grid
Infobox Visually emphasized info boxes for different purposes Lambda Demo Site - Infobox
Imagebox Component with image positioned above further text content Lambda Demo Site - Imagebox
Iconbox Styles and customizes icons and use them with further text content Lambda Demo Site - Iconbox
Course Banner Adds a banner with course image, name and category Lambda Demo Site - Course Banner
User Profile Add a collection of information associated with a user Lambda Demo Site - User Profile
Accordions & Tabs For building vertically collapsing accordions or generate a tabbed interface Lambda Demo Site - Accordions & Tabs
FX Card Content container with advanced styling options Lambda Demo Site - FX Cards
Headings Defines and styles titles and subtitles Lambda Demo Site - Headings
List Provides additional list styles Lambda Demo Site - Lists
Buttons Adds contextual buttons Lambda Demo Site - Buttons
Course Enrolment Info Adds a content section which appears only on the course enrolment page (useful if you want to display further information and content about the course without also listing it on the overview page with all courses) Lambda Demo Site - Course Enrolment
Single Icon Allows you to insert a formatted Font Awesome or Linearicon icon. Please have a look at the section below ("Using Font Awesome") for more informations. Lambda Demo Site - Typography
Intro Image Attach an image as an introduction to the page. This addon adds a section with an intro image and overlying container for a heading. Lambda Demo Site 02

Using Font Awesome

General information

Icons can be important to web projects because they are a visual way to help add meaning to elements. Font Awesome is the most popular way to add font icons to your website. Font Awesome icons are created using scalable vectors, so you can use high quality icons that work well on any screen size - saving valuable time because you do not need to create and save these graphics yourself.

Font Awesome is a very popular icon library and toolkit, used by millions of designers, developers, and content creators.

TipAt Lambda's »Fonts« settings page you can load the additional Linearicons icon pack, which provides another set of 170 linear style icons. Click here to verify the included icons in the Linearicons icon pack.

Updates

Installing an update

To update the theme, you have to download the new version at themeforest - just login there with your existing account and click on the "Downloads" tab:

Video courtesy of Envato Pty Ltd..

Now you can update the theme just like a new installation: Go to "Administration" > "Site administration" > "Plugins" > "Install plugins" and upload the corresponding installation file for your Moodle version there - that's all!


Changelog

View complete version history


Upgrading to Moodle 4: FAQ for updating from Lambda version 1.9x

Note: Lambda 2 is a completely new developed plugin for Moodle 4 with a new code base and new settings options. It will therefore not update the existing version Lambda 1.9x, but will appear as a new, standalone theme. Please take a look at the FAQ below to learn about the recommended steps for the transition.
Q. What does it imply that Lambda 2 is installed as a new standalone theme?

The installation package won't update your existing version of the theme. So you have to select Lambda 2 as your new default theme at the Moodle theme selector.

Q. Why is Lambda 2 installed as a new theme and my existing version 1.9 not updated?

Version 1.9 of Lambda is still based on the version for Moodle 2.5 originally developed in 2014. A lot has happened since then. Moodle 4 has completely different requirements and offers a new user experience. Unfortunately, it was no longer possible to implement all of these new approaches with the old version. The best option is therefore to consider Lambda 2 as a new theme. This is the best way to manage the transition: You can continue to run your Moodle site with the existing version of Lambda 1.9x while setting up the new version.

Q. How can I set up Lambda 2 in peace while my Moodle site continues to run version 1.9x?

Please follow the steps below:

  • Go to Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme settings and mark the checkbox "Allow cohort themes".
  • Access Site administration > Users > Accounts > Cohorts and click the "Add new cohort" tab at the top of the page. You can give the new cohort a name like "Lambda 2 test". In the "Force theme" dropdown please choose "Lambda 2". Now click "Save changes".
  • Now add yourself to the newly created cohort. Access Site administration > Users > Accounts > Bulk user actions. Search for your user profile with a new filter at the top of the page. Then select your user name in the list below. After that, select “Add to Cohort” from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page.
  • That's it. As a member of the newly created cohort, you can now work with Lambda 2 as the active theme while all other users will still view your Moodle site with the default theme.
  • To change the theme back for your own user, go to Site administration > Users > Accounts > Cohorts and click the cog icon to edit the newly created cohort. Then you can select "do not force" at the "Force theme" dropdown.

Please note: It is recommended to use the "allow cohort themes" settings and not "allow user themes". In this case, all users could otherwise choose their own theme via their profile settings.

Q. If have many custom contents which I have created before. Now they don't work with Lambda 2. How should I proceed?

Go to Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Lambda 2. Now click the "advanced" tab at Lambda's settings page. Now select “legacy” from the "Theme preset" drop-down menu. This layout file will embed all style classes which were used in Lambda 1.9x.

Please note: This preset is only for temporary use when you would like to adapt your older Bootstrap 2.3 based contents you were using with the previous versions of Lambda 1.9x. It might interfere with other elements of current Moodle 4 instances. Once everything is set up, it is recommended to switch back to the "default" preset again.

Upgrading to Moodle 5: FAQ

Q. Moodle 5 uses a new version of Bootstrap. Is there anything I should be aware of?

If you have already created content under Moodle 4 with the Lambda Content Editor plugin or have manually created components based on Bootstrap 4, then you can use the "Bootstrap 4 to Bootstrap 5 Converter" setting option. By enabling this setting, Lambda will automatically convert a large number of Bootstrap 4 classes and data attributes to their Bootstrap 5 counterparts. So this option is useful for continuing to use your existing Bootstrap 4 components.
To access the configurable options for Theme Lambda go to Site Administration > Appearance > Themes > Lambda. Here, please open to the "Advanced" tab.

Support

Visit the Help Center

If this documentation doesn't answer your questions, please feel free to open a ticket at the Help Center:

RedPiThemes Help Center

Note: While we aim to provide the best support possible, please keep in mind that it only extends to verified buyers. All support inquiries are answered there within a few hours. We attach great importance to customer support and spend a lot of time helping all customers not only with questions about the theme, but also with problems that affect the LMS Moodle in general.

How to sign in at the Help Center:

  1. To create a new account, you will be required to login with your existing Envato account. This step is necessary to verify your purchase, no further account details or informations will be submitted.
  2. You will find the "Featured articles" section right after your login with further tutorials or download files for the demo contents and additional plugins.
  3. You can also search for further help articles and private support tickets.


If you are satisfied with Lambda and the support, please rate this item!

So if you are happy, please rate Lambda 5 stars at ThemeForest. It keeps us motivated for improving the product & support. If you aren't satisfied and think the theme can't earn 5 stars, please submit a ticket about your issues, we'll do our best to turn your experience into a good one.

How to rate an item at ThemeForest:

  1. Login into your Account on ThemeForest.
  2. When successfully logged in, move your Mouse over your username as seen at the image.
  3. Navigate to your Downloads.
  4. Search for Theme Lambda, move your mouse over the last star and click - done!

Source & Credits

Documentation HTML Template:

Fonts:

Scripts