Currently there is an admin setting wihthin file submisisons for the maximum number of files which can be accepted.

Plugins > Activity modules > Assignment Submission plugins > File submissions

assignsubmission_file | maxfiles

The default value is 20 meaning assignments within the system can be configured to accept up to 20 files.

However when an assignment is created it should not necesarily default to 20 files. It would make more sense if it were to default to "1" as it used to.

Since this change was made we see academic staff forgetting to change this setting meaning students can upload multiple files when they are only expected to submit one. Students who submit multiple drafts up to the deadline are subsequently missing the fact they need to delete previous attempts before uploading new files. It is a complete mess.

This change was made as a result of the following tracker where one Moodler had asked that the default be set to the highest value and not the lowest (we would prefer the lowest as I suspect would most Moodle users):

https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-62279

There seems to have been a mis understanding as to the purpose of that setting in relation to the assigment settings in that it is a maximum value in the admin settings and not meant to be the default value applied to all assignments.

Given the original requestor of that change had a legitimate reason for needing to default ot the maximum, and we have a legitimate reason for needing to default to the minimum it would make sense to add another setting along the lines of:

Plugins > Activity modules > Assignment Submission plugins > File submissions

assignsubmission_file | default_maxfiles

This would allow us to retain the current maximum limit of 20 files but default newly created assignments to "1". Academics wanting to alter the value could do so. Likewise the requestor of MDL-62279 could set the value according to their needs.

To explain further the difference:

assignsubmission_file | maxfiles = maximim number an academic can select in the assignment settings

default_maxfiles = the default / "selected" value in the drop down list in the assignment settings

So where maxfiles = 20 and default_maxfiles = 1 teachers would see a drop down list 1-20 with 1 as the default selected value

Shere maxfiles = 20 and default_maxfiles = 10 teachers would see a drop down list of 1-20 with 10 as the deafult selected value

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