When you automatically create groups, Moodle creates a number of groups that you specify and then takes all the students enrolled in the course and allocates them to these groups. Moodle will put the currently enrolled students in these groups even if they already belong to another group in the course.

To automatically create a group, use the following steps:

1. Click on the Auto-create groups button. The Auto-create groups page is displayed.
2. In the Naming scheme field, enter a name for all the groups that will be created. You can enter any characters. If you enter @, it will be converted to sequential letters. If you enter #, it will be converted to sequential numbers. For example, if you enter Group @, Moodle will create Group A, Group B, Group C, and so on.
3. In the Auto-create based on field, you will tell the system to choose either of the following options:
   • Create a specific number of groups and then fill each group with as many students as needed (Number of groups)
   • Create as many groups as needed so that each group has a specific number of students (Members per group)

4. In the Group/member count field, you will tell the system to choose either of the following options:
   • How many groups to create (if you choose the preceding Number of groups option)
   • How many members to put in each group (if you choose the preceding Members per group option)

5. Under Group members, select who will be put in these groups. You can select everyone with a specific role or everyone in a specific cohort.
6. The setting for Prevent last small group is available if you choose Members per group. It prevents Moodle from creating a group with fewer than the number of students that you specify. For example, if your class has 12 students and you choose to create groups with five members per group, Moodle will normally create two groups of five. Then, it will create another group for the last two members. However, with Prevent last small group selected, it will distribute the remaining two members between the first two groups.
7. Click on the Preview button to preview the results. The preview will not show you the names of the members in groups, but it will show you how many groups and members will be in each group.