Question Writer 3 Manual/Print Version
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
[edit] Introduction
Question Writer 3 is a quiz authoring tool for Microsoft Windows. It allows the user to:
- create online quizzes with a variety of question formats,
- publish the quizzes online and
- receive results by email
Three versions of the software are available:
Basic: available free but limited to multiple choice questions only
Standard: all you need to create quizzes complete with 7 question types – Multiple Choice; Multiple Response; True or False; Fill in the Blank; Matching; Sequencing; Essay
Professional: fullest version of the software with added features including the partial credit question type, – and the facility to create sections and explanation pages; add your own background and loader images and adjust image quality.
 |
Question Writer 3 Professional Version has several features in addition to those described for the Standard Version. Explanation of how these features can be used will appear alongside the explanation for the related Standard Version feature with a PRO symbol to highlight that the explanation relates to Professional Version only. |
[edit] How Help Works
This manual contains a Quick Start Tutorial which should help you create your first quiz but there are also 5 chapters which describe how to use the software in more detail. The Extras chapter outlines some new or different ways to use the software. If you experiencing some difficulties you might find some useful information in the Frequently Asked Questions chapter.
You can print this manual if you prefer. We have a PDF version and a print version and you will find links to both on the front page. The print version (see table of contents) is automatically updated if you refresh your browser before printing, but the page layout is not as good as the PDF version.
The current PDF version was produced on 15th August 2009 and might not include everything that is available online. The online manual is added to and amended on a regular basis, when a signficant change has been made (eg a new chapter or new tutorial) we will generate a new PDF version.
In addition you can
- visit the support pages of Question Writer online at http://www.questionwriter.com/support.html
- ask your own question in the Question Writer Forum at http://www.questionwriter.com/qwforum/
- check for the latest developments at the Question Writer blog at http://www.questionwriterblog.com/
[edit] Before you start
Have your quiz ready – think about what type of questions you want to write and above all be sure that you know the correct answer!
[edit]
The normal screen view has 4 parts:
1. At the top there is the menu bar with drop down menus and
2. a tool bar with buttons for a selection of the most frequent actions from the menu.
The rest of the screen is split in two -
3. on the left is the action panel where you can see the questions you have added in a tree structure and
4. on the right is the preview panel where the quiz will be displayed if preview is selected.
As you take actions, eg adding a question, a properties window will pop up and you can tick boxes or enter text as required.
When you click on Preview you will get a preview of whatever you have selected so if have first clicked on the Quiz icon (in the left hand pane or Action Panel) you will be given a preview of the whole quiz. If you have selected a particular question in the Action Panel when you click on Preview you will see a preview of that question only.
You can also right click on either the quiz icon or the individual questions in the tree structure and you will be able to choose an action from a drop down menu.
Question Wr/Quiiter 3 Manual/Quick Start Tutorial
[edit] Quiz Options
[edit] Introduction to Quiz Options
When you first open Question Writer 3 you will see the following screen:
Most of the screen appears blank but at the top there is the title bar (which tells you that you have opened Question Writer and which version); a menu bar with 3 menu options and below that a tool bar with 2 buttons.
To start creating your first quiz, click on the button New Quiz.
Double click on the Quiz-Untitled icon in the action panel. A properties window will open; this is where you will define the settings for your quiz.
Alternatively you can click on the Properties button on the tool bar while the Quiz is highlighted.
Question Writer 3 Manual Options/Quiz Details
[edit] Title
Enter the name of your quiz in the quiz title box. You can change this (and any other of the properties later if you change your mind).
The title will usually appear at the top of the page throughout your quiz. You can opt to stop the title from appearing on every page by unticking a box in General Question Properties
The title can also be used to identify your quiz if you're using the online results server to collect responses and scores.
[edit] Pass Score Percentage
Enter the passing % score as a number – you can set this figure as high or low as you like. The default is set at 80%. Only enter the number here - you won't be able to enter the percentage(%) sign.
[edit] Feedback Method
You can select from the 3 choices in the drop down box:
- After Each Question
- End of Quiz
- No Question Feedback
If you select After Each Question, the quiz taker will see if they answered correctly as soon as they click on the next question button.
If you select End of Quiz, the quiz taker will be shown their performance on each question as a review at the end of the quiz.
If you select No Question Feedback, the quiz taker will not receive feedback on individual questions.
|
In addition there is a tick box where you can opt to Show Question Feedback For Incorrect Answers only – if the quiz taker gets all the answers correct they will not be given any individual question feedback. |
[edit] Time Limit the Quiz
If you want to limit the time that can be spent on the quiz tick the box and then enter the time in seconds, minutes or hours. After the time limit is up, the quiz taker will be automatically forwarded to the end of the quiz to review their results and any feedback given.
[edit] Randomization
If you choose to use randomization, the quiz will automatically select a random set of questions from the total question pool in the root level of your quiz. For example you might set the value to 10. 10 questions will then be selected from the question bank for this quiz and asked in a random order. If you have 10 or fewer questions in the question bank, then all of the questions will be asked, but still in a random order.
Randomization is useful if you are expecting quiz takers to re-sit the quiz repeatedly. The more questions in your pool the better as it reduces the chances that they will see the same questions time after time.
Randomization works by generating a specified number of randomized quizzes when you publish the quiz - then one of these 'pre-randomized' quizzes is selected for the user to take when he accesses the quiz. You set or change the number of pre-randomized quizzes to be loaded as part of the Quiz Details set up. Remember to upload all of the files generated when you publish the quiz online.
|
With the Professional Version you can randomly choose which sections are used too. Quiz randomization randomizes what's directly inside the quiz and doesn't change what is inside sections or subsections. (Either a whole section will be asked or not asked and count as one selection.) Section properties also allows you to further randomize what appears inside sections. |
[edit] Number of Pre-Randomized Quizzes
If you're using any randomization in your quiz or sections, Question Writer handles this by generating a number of pre-randomized quizzes when you publish. One of these is selected at random each time a quiz-taker accesses the quiz. It is usually better to have more rather than less of these pre-randomized quizzes as this minimizes the possibility that two quiz-takers will see the same quiz or the same quiz-taker will see the same quiz twice in a row.
Balance this against the time it takes to publish your pre-randomized quizzes and the space that the pre-randomized quizzes will take up.
See Frequently Asked Questions for an idea of how this can be used.
[edit] Introduction
This page allows you give initial instructions to the Quiz Takers and collect basic identifier information from them. The “next” button will not appear until all the input fields have something entered in them – so forcing the quiz takers to supply you with their id information.
[edit] Display Instructions
If you tick the Display Instructions box a short message will be shown to the quiz taker at the start of the quiz. You can amend the text of this message if you wish.
You can also include an image (or audio or video as .swf) in this screen. You do this by browsing for the required image, uploading and then adding it. For more detailed instructions see Adding Questions.
[edit] User Identification
A Tick box gives you the option collect a personal identifiers for your quiz takers, eg Name or ID number.
|
[edit] User IdentificationWith the Professional version, tick boxes allow you to set and collect up to 5 different identifiers for your quiz takers, eg Name, ID number, Email address, Company, Location. You can change the name of each identifier in Other Labels. These identifiers will appear in the results reports. [edit] Field Length for User DataAllows you to input the field length for the user identification fields. You can enter anything you feel appropriate - but remember that space on a web page is limited. |
[edit] Question Options
[edit] General Question Properties
This window contains a series of tick boxes relating to the appearance of the question on the screen, most of which are self explanatory.
[edit] Show Question Number
The question number can be displayed at the top of each question page using this option
[edit] Randomize Question Options
This randomizes the order in which answer options are displayed in Multiple Choice, Multiple Response and Partial Credit question types. In Sequencing and Matching question types, options are always randomized.
[edit] Display Point Values For Questions
The number of points awarded for each questions is shown to bottom right hand side of the question if this option is selected.
[edit] Display Title With Each Question
This option displays the title of the quiz at the top of each question page.
[edit] Use Image Zooming
When an image or piece of Flash is displayed with a question, it can optionally be shown in the top left hand corner and zoomed to full size when the mouse moves over it. If this option is not selected, the image appears at its default size at the top of the question.
[edit] Never Show Back Button with Questions
|
When this box is ticked the back button will not appear in each question, this means that quiz takers will not be given the option to go back over earlier answers. |
[edit] Force Attempt at Every Question
|
When this box is ticked the quiz takers will have to enter an answer before they can proceed to the next question. This ensures that they attempt each question in the quiz. |
[edit] Question Scoring Options
[edit] Award Partial Credit for Sequencing and Matching Questions
|
This tick box allows you to give quiz takers credit for an answer that is not 100% correct in the sequencing and matching question types. For matching questions a score based on the number of correct matches is awarded. For sequencing questions, a more complex scoring method is used by calculating the number of correct relative pairs sequenced. (There's an article here that goes into more detail, [[1]]). |
[edit] Allow Overall Negative Marks From Partial Credit Questions
|
You can choose whether or not you allow negative scores for Partial Credit Questions. These negative scores will the be set against positive scores achieved in other questions. If you don't allow negative scores, the minimum score that can be awarded for any question is 0. |
[edit] Allow Overall Negative Mark for Whole Quiz
|
If you tick this box and you have used negative scoring you will be able to award an overall negative score for the quiz. |
[edit] Fill in the Blank Question Options
[edit] Fill In The Blank Answers Must Use Correct Capitalization
This determines whether the scoring for Fill In The Blank style questions is case sensitive. If the required answer was 'Blue' but the quiz taker entered 'blue' - they would not score any points if this option is selected.
|
[edit] Award Points for Answers with Spelling ErrorsA very big drawback to Fill In the Blank questions is having to identify the exact characters that a quiz taker must type in to get a question right. This feature allows you to award full or partial marks to quiz takers who come close enough. You can also specify how close they have to be. The default setting is 30%, meaning 3 errors in a 10 letter word or 1 in a 4 letter word. An error is either
You can still define multiple correct answers, and the one with fewest errors compared to the student's answers will be used [edit] Award only Partial Credit for Spelling ErrorsThis tick box enables partial credit to be awarded for partially correct answers. |
[edit] Appearance Settings
[edit] Text Settings
This section allows you to use HTML or a variety of embedded fonts (selected from a drop down box) and to select a different font or font size for your title or body text to replace the default fonts set up within the theme used.
[edit] Use HTML To Format Text
When this option is switched on, you can change the way text is displayed by using HTML formatting.
<b>bold</b>
This will make the text inside the tags bold.
<i>italic</i>
This will make the text inside the tags italic.
<font face="Arial" size="24" color="red">Arial Red at point size 24</font>
This will make the text inside the tags point size 24, color red, font face Arial. Relative sizes can be used - eg -2,-1,+1,+2 to make the text relatively larger or smaller. Absolute sizes can be used also - eg 36. Absolute sizes smaller than 8 are treated as HTML sizes (1 is very small, 7 is very large). Font colors can be HTML colors(red, yellow, white etc) or RGB style colors (color="#FFCCFF")
<p align="center">Center Alignment</p>
This causes a new paragraph to be created and any text in that paragraph to be aligned in the center.
<br>
This creates a new line.
<sup>superscript</sup> E = MC<sup>2</sup>
This will make the enclosed text appear as a superscript.
<sub>subscript</sub> The chemical symbol for Oxygen is 0<sub>2</sub>
This will make the enclosed text appear as a subscript
HTML formatting can be used in all text fields with one exception - it cannot be applied to the text that appears on next and back buttons.
[edit] Embed Font
When the quiz taker enters text at the keyboard, the quiz can either use a system font or (with this option checked) an embedded font. Using an embedded font guarantees that the font will be used and the chosen characters will be available. You can ensure that all the letters and accents that a user might want to enter are embedded by choosing the right character set for the quiz taker's language.
The embedded font is used in the Fill in the Blank and Essay style questions. It is also used when the user is prompted for Name/UserID at the start of the quiz.
For text entry in Japanese and other languages with large character sets, it is usually better to switch off this option as the number of characters is very large and leads to a very large file size.
[edit] Override Title Text Font
Each theme can define a different font to use in the quiz for titles - you can override that selection by choosing your own font here.
[edit] Override Title Text Font Size
As well as changing the font used you can also change the default font size for the titles. This could be useful eg if you want to display your quiz using an OHP and need to make sure everyone in the room can read the text.
[edit] Override Body Text Font
Each theme can define a different font to use in the quiz for body text - you can override that selection by choosing your own font here.
The body text font is also used for text entry, next and back button text, and generally any text that isn't Title text.
[edit] Override Body Text Font Size
You can override the default font size used in the body text. This might be useful eg if you have particularly long questions and have trouble fitting them on to a single page.
[edit] Theme Images
[edit] Override Background
|
If you have the Professional Version of Question Writer 3 you can add your own background image or piece of Flash in place of the one from the theme. See also Background Image. |
[edit] Override Loader Image
|
You can also use your own loader image - this is the image or Flash the quiz taker will see while the quiz is loading. See also Loader Image. |
[edit] Jpeg Image Quality
|
Use this option to adjust the quality of any jpg images used. Set the size/image quality balance to suit your own quizzes. If your quiz is designed for use on a CDROM - usually you'll want to have high quality images and a large file size. If the quiz is to be available over the internet you'll often want a lower quality image and a smaller file size to minimize quiz download times. |
[edit] Publish as Flash Version
You can choose which version of Flash your images will be saved and published as - by selecting from the drop down box. The higher the version number that you select, the better the image quality will be.
[edit] Web Settings
[edit] Introduction to Web Settings
The Web Settings Properties box allows you to define how the quiz acts when it is viewed online.
[edit] Send Results over the Internet
[edit] Send Results via Website to Email
If you tick this box you will be able to enter an email address in the text box. Make sure that you input the correct address of the email account where you would like the results to be sent. By default, all results sent to that email address will be automatically received and stored by the Question Writer Tracker server. To change the settings so that the results are only emailed and not stored by the Tracker server you must register with Question Writer Tracker and change the account preferences associated with that email address.
[edit] Send Results Before Showing Any Feedback
If you tick the Send Results Before Showing Any Feedback box, the results will be sent to the server before any feedback is displayed to the quiz-taker. This prevents the quiz-taker from shutting down the quiz after he sees what his score is, but before his results have been transmitted.
[edit] Use a Custom Results Server
If you're using your own script to process results, you can enter the address of your own server and results will be sent here. By default, Question Writer's server address will appear in this box.
[edit] Use a Customs Results Backup Server
You can also define the backup server, which is used if the main server can't be reached. If you're not using a backup server, just make this the same as the main server, and the quiz will continue to try to reach the main server until it is reachable. By default, Question Writer's server address will appear in this box.
[edit] After Quiz
If you wish you can direct the quiz taker to a new web page when they complete the quiz. You do this by ticking the box in the After Quiz section and entering the relevant web address.
You may want the quiz window to close when it is complete. This is suited for situations where the quiz taker needs to go back to their previous window that may not be web based. Enter this URL http://www.questionwriter.com/common/close.html to attempt to close the quiz window.
[edit] Browser Options
If you tick the Browser Options tick box this will ensure that the quiz expands to fill as much of the browser window as possible. Sometimes this stretching will distort the quality of a bitmap (jpeg/gif) style background and you may prefer to have the quiz always shown at its default resolution.
[edit] Metadata (SCORM)
If you publish your quiz as SCORM you can add Metadata to your quiz. Metadata will be used to identify your content in the Learning Management System (LMS) or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). You can add the following 4 metatdata elements to the question:
- Title
- Description
- Identifier
- Keywords
[edit] Report Settings
[edit] Report Options
A series of tick boxes allow you customize the appearance of the results screen, with the option to add your own message for quiz takers who have passed or failed. You can also choose not to show the results at all.
The results screen will be shown at the end of the quiz along with any feedback that you have chosen when setting up the Feedback Method in Quiz Details.
|
The option to display the system date and time is available only to authors using the Professional version of Question Writer 3. |
[edit] Report Export Options
[edit] Allow User To E-mail Report to
You can give the quiz taker the option to press a button on the final report screen to email their report. This will use the user's e-mail client and the user will have the opportunity to change the e-mail address / report details.
This is a convenience for the user - the results by e-mail service offered in the Web Settings is much more reliable for most purposes.
[edit] Allow User To Print Report
You can give the quiz taker the option to press a button on the report screen to print their report. This can be a good way to provide a certificate for the quiz-taker.
[edit] Report Labels
This section allows you to customize the text labels that appear on the report screen.
|
The option to display the system date and time is available only to authors using the Professional version of Question Writer 3. |
[edit] Other Labels
This section allows you to customize other text labels giving you the maximum opportunity to personalize your quiz.
[edit] About Questions
[edit] Introduction to Questions
The Standard version of Question Writer allows you to set 7 different types of question.
- Multiple Choice
- Multiple Response
- True/False
- Fill in the Blank
- Sequencing
- Matching
- Essay
|
The Professional version of Question Writer has an additional 2 question types:
|
Question Writer allows you to randomly select the questions asked in a quiz from a question pool. You can have a very large number of questions in a pool (tested up to 10,000) from which to create a random quiz. However, you should limit the number of questions actually asked in a quiz to 200 questions without question feedback, or 100 with feedback.
If you need your quiz to have more questions, it is best to create multiple quizzes of around 100/200 questions and link them together using the After Quiz option.
[edit] About Questions
[edit] Introduction to Questions
The Standard version of Question Writer allows you to set 7 different types of question.
- Multiple Choice
- Multiple Response
- True/False
- Fill in the Blank
- Sequencing
- Matching
- Essay
|
The Professional version of Question Writer has an additional 2 question types:
|
Question Writer allows you to randomly select the questions asked in a quiz from a question pool. You can have a very large number of questions in a pool (tested up to 10,000) from which to create a random quiz. However, you should limit the number of questions actually asked in a quiz to 200 questions without question feedback, or 100 with feedback.
If you need your quiz to have more questions, it is best to create multiple quizzes of around 100/200 questions and link them together using the After Quiz option.
[edit] Adding Questions
It is easy to add a question to your quiz. This can be done either by clicking on Add Question on the menu bar
and then selecting the type of question:
Or by clicking on the icon on the tool bar for the particular question type that you wish to add.
Or by right clicking when your mouse is over the quiz icon and selecting Add, then select your question type.
For each question type a properties window will open where you can add relevant information along with the question text. Each question type allows you to:
- add an image
- set the number of points that a correct answer will score and
- give appropriate question level feedback.
To add an image, simply tick the include image box and then use the browser to select and insert the image of your choice. The image should be in a .jpg or .gif format. Once you have selected the image you want using the Add Files... button you click the Use File button and the image will appear in your question.
After you have entered your question details you can see a preview of how it will appear onscreen by clicking on the preview button at the bottom of the properties window.
There are some handy tips on how to improve the quality of your images in our blog [[2]].
Once you are satisfied with the question properties click OK. You will then be returned to the Action Panel and will be able to see the questions already added.
[edit] Multiple choice
First enter the text of the question in the Question Body text box and then enter the options from which the quiz taker will have to choose. You can enter up to 26 options. Remember you must check the box beside the correct option. Only one option can be correct for a Multiple Choice Question and the user will either get full marks for a correct answer or no marks for an incorrect answer.
Select Individual Option Feedback to give the quiz-taker feedback that is specific to the option selected.
[edit] Multiple Response
As with the multiple choice question, you enter a range of answers for the quiz taker to choose from. This time there can be more than one correct answer. Remember to tick all the answers that are correct. The quiz-taker only receives points if he selects all the answers that are correct - otherwise he gets no points. If you want to award points for a partially correct answer, use the Partial Credit question.
[edit] True or False
In this question type you can enter a statement rather than a question. The quiz taker then has to decide if the statement is true or false. Remember to tick the correct option.
[edit] Fill in the Blank
For this type of question you can input a range of possible correct answers. For example if there are abbreviations commonly used you can include them, with all possible varieties of punctuation - if Saint Peter was the answer, you could allow for St Peter; Saint Peter; and St. Peter.
In the advanced settings properties window you can opt to require that the capitalization of the answer be correct.
You can change the length of the "blank" by adding as many underscores _______ as you need.
|
In addition if have you the latest Professional Version of Question Writer 3 you can opt to allow some error and to award full or partial marks to students who come close enough. You can specify how close by changing the %error allowed. The default setting is 30%, meaning 3 errors in a 10 letter word or 1 in a 4 letter word.
An error can be one of the following:
This is set up as part of the Quiz Properties in Question Options. |
[edit] Sequencing
In this type of question you will be asking the quiz taker to place a selection of statements in the correct order. You should be sure that there is only one correct order (unlike the example!). The quiz taker will be able to drag and drop the answers into a grid.
You can opt to award marks only to quiz-takers who get the entire sequence correct - or you can award partial credit where some pairs have been correctly sequenced relative to each other. Question Scoring Options
See the Question Writer Blog article for detailed information on how the partial credit scoring works with Sequencing Questions. [[3]]
[edit] Matching
With this type of question you are asking the quiz taker to match pairs; for example countries and capital cities or heroes and heroines. The quiz taker will be able to drop and drag one element of the pair to make the match.
You can opt to award marks only to quiz-takers who get the all the matches correct - or you can award partial credit proportional to how many correct matches have been made.
[edit] Essay
In this question type you can ask the quiz taker to write a short Essay. The subject of the essay is described in the Question Body box and you can limit the height of the text box entering the number of lines. Essay questions are not automatically scored and so the feedback for these questions is limited to a single piece of text, written in advance. You can switch this feedback off by unticking Display Feedback Page for Essay Questions in Quiz Options - Other Labels.
[edit] Partial Credit
|
The Partial Credit question type is a powerful multiple choice question that allows you to specify the number of points awarded for each option and the number of options that the quiz taker can choose. This allows you to award partial credit for partially correct answers and implement negative marking schemes to discourage quiz-takers from guessing answers. For more information see Scoring Questions and Question Scoring Options in Quiz Set Up. |
[edit] Explanation
|
The Explanation question is not really a question type. You can use it to add text and/or an image to a page in the quiz, without needing to have an interactive element of score. This is useful if you want to:
|
[edit] Scoring Questions
As you enter each question you can assign the points awarded for that question. This allows you to apply a different weighting to each question. You can also choose whether or not to display the points awarded for each question in Advanced Settings General Questions Options.
You set the pass score for the quiz as a percentage of the overall mark by entering the percentage as a number in the Quiz Details properties.
|
Partial Credit style questions allow you to assign different points for different answer options. Negative points for answer options can also be awarded this way. You can also choose whether those negative points are set against the overall points for a quiz by checking the Allow Overall Negative Marks box in the Question Scoring Options section of Question Options in the Quiz properties. Partial credit scoring can also be used with Matching and Sequencing questions to allow you to award partial credit for partially correct answers in these question types. The partial credit scoring for Matching questions is straightforward enough - it is proportional to the number of correct matches the quiz-takers makes. When Partial Credits are applied to sequencing questions you can give most of the marks where the quiz-taker knows the basics and extra credit for those fully in command of the topic. The scoring is based on correct relative pairs; the number of possible pairs depends on the number of elements or choices. If you have 6 elements you will have 15 possible relative pairs. The scoring works by subtracting the number of incorrect pairs from the number of correct pairs and maps it to the number of points available for the question. The mark is given rounded to the nearest whole number. For more detail on how this works see the February 2008 blog posting[4]. |
[edit] Question Display
You can choose how much information is displayed with each question by tick the appropriate boxes in Question Options, General Question Properties or amending the text displayed via Other Labels - both sections of the Quiz Properties.
[edit] Question Metadata
|
Metadata is data about data. It is useful if you are organising a lot of questions, you can use metadata to describe each question. You can add Metadata to any question by right clicking while your mouse is over the question in the Action Pane and selecting the add option. The metadata properties window will open and you can add four metadata elements to the question:
The question will then appear with an information icon below it in the quiz tree. |
The Title you use in the metadata will be used as an identifier for the question in the Question Writer Tracker.
Question Writer 3 Manual/About Questions/Time Limit Questions
[edit] Sections
[edit] Introduction to Sections
|
Grouping questions into sections opens up many possibilities. Each section can be individually randomized and have its own time limit. Sections can also contain subsections, allowing a tree structure for a really detailed control over question selection and timing. |
[edit] Sections
[edit] Introduction to Sections
|
Grouping questions into sections opens up many possibilities. Each section can be individually randomized and have its own time limit. Sections can also contain subsections, allowing a tree structure for a really detailed control over question selection and timing. |
[edit] Sections
[edit] Introduction to Sections
|
Grouping questions into sections opens up many possibilities. Each section can be individually randomized and have its own time limit. Sections can also contain subsections, allowing a tree structure for a really detailed control over question selection and timing. |
[edit] Question Balancing
|
You can use sections to balance the questions in a quiz. For example you want to set a quiz with easy, medium and hard questions and randomly select 30 questions from a pool or 90. You will want the generated quiz to have 10 easy, 10 medium and 10 hard questions. Even with a random selection of questions you can guarantee the balance by grouping the questions under 3 sections and then choosing to ask 10 questions selected randomly from each section.
 |
[edit] Mandatory Questions
|
Sometimes you will want to make sure that the quiz takers always answer certain questions but want the other questions in the quiz to be randomly selected. For example, if you collect information from the quiz taker at the start of the quiz, email address, gender, age. You can easily achieve this by leaving these questions outside the sections, and apply randomization as part of the section properties.
 |
[edit] Time Limit Sections
|
If you want to time limit some questions but not others, for example not the information gathering type questions mentioned in Mandatory Questions, you can easily achieve this by applying a time limit within the sections.
 |
[edit] Linking Questions
|
Some questions are linked to each other, for example in a reading comprehension quiz you could have 5 questions grouped around one reading passage. If you create the reading passage and the linked questions within a section you can them generate a random selection of sections and quiz takers will find a different reading passage each time they try the quiz but always have the right questions for that reading.
 |
[edit] Look and Feel
[edit] Themes
The simplest way to change the look of your quiz is to choose a new theme. This is very easy to do.
Both the Standard and Professional versions of Question Writer come with a range of themes.
You can find out when new themes are released by subscribing to the Question Writer Newsletter, or you can read the regular updates on the blog. [5]
To add or change the theme, click the 'Switch Themes' button. A list of themes will appear and you can select a different theme. A dialogue box will appear telling you that the theme has been changed.
You can then Preview the quiz to see how it looks with the new theme.
[edit] Fonts (choice, embedded)
You can change the fonts and the font sizes used in the quiz in the text settings. See Text Settings for more details.
[edit] Text Formatting using HTML
You can choose to use HTML text formatting to change the appearance of text in your quiz, or to add special symbols. See Text Settings for more detail.
[edit] Include Image
You can add an image to each individual question by ticking the 'Add Image' checkbox in the question property details. See the section on Adding Questions for more information.
If you want quiz takers to be able zoom the image with their mouse, tick the 'Use Image Zooming' checkbox in Appearance Settings - Jpeg Image Quality.
[edit] Adding Flash Animation
You can add flash animations to a question by creating your animation with a Flash tool, exporting it as Flash 8 (or earlier) and attaching it to your question. You add your Flash animation file in the same way as you would add an image, see the section on Adding Questions for more information.
Image zooming also applies to Flash content - if you want quiz takers to be able zoom the Flash content with their mouse, tick the 'Use Image Zooming' checkbox in the Question Options General Question Properties. Usually if the Flash is interactive, you'll want this switched off.
Using Flash content is a good way to include audio and video in your quiz.
[edit] Adding Audio
You can associate an audio file with a question by including a piece of Flash (.swf) that has the audio embedded. A good tool for creating these pieces of Flash is Hoo Technologies, MP3 to SWF Converter. Here is a link to their website where you can download a free trial version of the software: [[6]].
[edit] Convert MP3 to Flash
To use the audio file in Question Writer 3 it must be embedded in a .swf (Flash) format. There are a range of ways you can do this, but in this tutorial we'll show how to do it using Hoo Technologies MP3 to SWF converter.
When you open the MP3 to SWF Converter you will see the following screen:
The first step is to add the MP3 files to convert. You can do this one file at a time or a whole folder at once.
When you click on the Add Files button a browser will open allowing you to select the file that you want to convert. Double click on the file and it will appear in the converter window:
When you have added the files that you want to convert to SWF you need to change some of the settings before you convert them for use in your quiz. Click on the Options button.
A window will open giving you various options.
You can experiment with these, but for use with Question Writer, we recommend that you untick the Play automatically and Loop Play boxes.
The control SWF drop down list gives you options about what sort of audio player will appear in the question and you can change the colors of buttons.
When you have set the options click OK and you will go back to the main screen. You are now ready to convert the file.
This part is really easy – just click on Convert All. The file will be converted to MP3 and a window will open giving you options about where you want to save the file.
The file is now ready to add to your quiz.
There is also a guide to using the Hoo Technologies MP3 to SWF converter on their website [[7]].
[edit] Add Audio to the Question
You are now ready to go back to Question Writer 3 and your audio quiz.
When you have added the question type to your quiz, a properties window will open where you can add relevant information. To add audio, use the same process as adding an image. First tick the Include Image box.
and then use the browser to select add the .swf audio file that you want to use. Once you have selected the audio file that you want using the Add Files... button you click the Use File button.
A final step is to make sure that the Use Image Zooming option in Question Options, General Question Properties is not ticked.
After you have entered your question details you can see a preview of how it will appear onscreen by clicking on the preview button at the bottom of the properties window.
You will be able to see an example of an audio quiz online by following this link [[8]].
[edit] Adjust Image Quality
|
You can adjust the image quality of jpg images using the sliding scale in the Appearance Settings-Jpeg Image Quality properties window. |
In both Standard and Professional versions, you can also adjust the Flash Version of the published images in Appearance Settings - Publish as Flash Version. Flash saved as version 8 will display a better resolution image.
[edit] Change Background and Loader Image
|
If you own the Professional Version you can further personalize your quiz by adding your own background image and by changing the screen loader image. This can be done in Theme Images. You add the images in the same way that you add an image to a question (About Questions). You can use any .gif,.jpg or .swf (v8 or earlier). This means that your quiz can fit seamlessly into your website or corporate brand. For best results, use images with the same dimensions as the theme you are using. The most common size is 800x600. Higher resolution is generally better - but often a jpeg/bitmap style background won't look so good when it is resized for the browser. Instead - switch off the web setting, 'maximize in browser', or even better, use vector images inside a Flash file for the best results. [edit] What Dimensions To UseTo find out the right dimensions for the theme you're using - deselect the web setting 'maximize in the browser', then publish for the web and have a look at the html code . . . there will be a line similar to,
writeFlash("v"+rand(10)+"italy.swf","800","600"
The 800 and 600 are the exact dimensions that the theme uses. Alternatively, you can also look at the .qws or .qwz files directly with notepad to find the values . . . they look like <pair name="flashmoviewidth" value="800" /> <pair name="flashmovieheight" value="600" /> |
[edit] Save and Publish
[edit] Save your Quiz
When you are happy with the content, set up and appearance of your quiz, or for security while you are still working on it, you can save it. As with all Windows software to save your file simply select File and Save from the menu bar or click on the Save Quiz button on the tool bar. All quizzes are saved with a .qwz extension.
If you wish to save the quiz under a new name, eg you have made some changes or additions to an existing quiz use the Save As option under File on the menu bar.
[edit] Question Writer Tracker
Question Writer Tracker is a free service from Question Writer. It allows you to track and analyze the results for all your quizzes published on line and also provides webspace where you can upload your quizzes for easy access.
Once your quiz is published online you can create user tokens to restrict access to the quiz, eg to people who have paid or have reached some other criteria. See the Question Writer blog for more detail on this [[9]]
To use this service you will have to register on the Question Writer website [[10]]. Enter your email address as your user name and a password (one that you will remember!).
An email will be sent to your email address asking you to confirm that it is really you that is registering and once you have verified that, you will be able to publish quizzes to Question Writer Tracker and login and view your results.
You also have the option to amend your account details at any time. This includes your contact details, your Google Analytics ID and the automatic emailing of all results (even if you have not ticked the box in Web Settings).
If you want to have results sent to the Tracker you will have to use the same email address in the set up to Send Results over the Internet as you used to set up your tracker account. You can use the Question Writer results service for all quizzes, whether they are published using the Question Writer Tracker webspace or your own website. More information on the results service can be found in the Results section of this chapter.
[edit] Publish to the Web
Before you go ahead and publish to the web check the Web Settings properties and make sure that you have ticked the Browser Options box to maximise the quiz in the browers and given a link for quiz takers to jump to after completing the quiz.
When you select Publish to the Web, Quiz Writer will create files for you to load your quiz onto your website.
You will be asked if you would like to open the directory with the files. Say Yes and you will see a directory with at least 3 files:
- an HTML document (*.html )
- one or more Shockwave Flash file (*.swf)
- And a Jscript Script File (*.js)
If you are using pre-generated random quizzes there will be an .swf file for each quiz generated.
All the files contained in the directory have to be uploaded to your website in a new folder or directory. The actual process for doing this will depend on your website. If you do not already have a website see Create a Web Page for some help in making your own website and publishing your quizzes online or you could just Publish to Question Writer Tracker.
[edit] Publish to Question Writer Tracker
Before you go ahead and publish Question Writer Tracker you must set up your Tracker account. Details on how to do this are shown in Question Writer Tracker.
When have registered you will have 100MB storage space and a monthly bandwidth allowance of 1GB (1024MB) for free. All the quizzes you publish this way will be automatically tracked for you, so you can log on any time to see the results and analyse the responses to questions.
When you select publish to Question Writer Tracker, Question Writer will ask you to enter the email and password that you used when you registered for your Tracker account.
Question Writer will then automatically create the files and publish them on the Question Writer Tracker web page. A pop up box will appear monitoring the progress. When this has been completed a message will appear confirming the success of the operation.
You can then paste the link directly onto your own website, or into an email or other document for distribution to whoever you want to access your quiz.
If you click yes on this message you will be taken directly to your quiz.
The quiz will be listed in Question Writer Tracker under the name that you gave as the Title to the Quiz in Quiz Properties, not the name that you have saved the quiz file under. If you generate a new version of the same quiz, any older version will be overwritten in Question Writer Tracker, unless you give the new version a new name as Quiz Title. When you publish to tracker with the same quiz title you will be given a prompt to confirm that you do want to overwrite an existing quiz.
When you next you log into Question Writer Tracker, go to the Quizzes page. Here you will be able to see all the quizzes you have uploaded to Tracker along with information about how much of your free space you have used. You can also copy the link for any of your published quizzes, use the link to go to the quiz or remove the quiz by clicking on the red cross beside it.
At the top right hand of the screen you will see menu options allowing you to view or amend the details of your Tracker Account, go to the Results page or Log Out.
[edit] Publish for Printing
If you select the Publish for Printing option in the Publish menu you will create an HTML based document optimized for printing. The print option respects randomization - so you will create a different print document for each randomized version created.
Additionally two versions of each quiz are created - one with room for the quiz taker to write answers, and one which also includes the feedback and scoring.
You can use your default browser to print the quiz - Internet Explorer and the Opera browser will create the best results. As the document is HTML, it is fairly easy to change if you want to edit your quiz after publishing it.
Question Writer 3 uses CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for the print option so you can completely change the design of the printed document. The template files are located in 'C:\Program Files\Question Writer 3\Publishing\Print' - any changes you make to these files will be reflected in all of your future printed quizzes.
[edit] Publish to SCORM
If you choose to publish to SCORM, Question Writer will create single file. This will be a zip file and is a SCORM 1.2 compliant package. You'll be able to import this file into your SCORM compliant LMS (Learning Management System) / VLE (Virtual Learning Environment).
When users attempt the quiz in the LMS/VLE, the quiz will send back the overall score and the results for each individual question to the LMS/VLE.
[edit] Publish Questions in Text Format
|
You can publish your questions to text format which can be useful if you need to find out how to format your questions for import (and create a basis for importing future changes to the quiz) or to export your questions for use in another system. Respondus in particular can import this kind of text format. The text format just includes the raw questions - none of the theme, properties or section settings. |
[edit] Publish to QTI 1.2
|
QTI stands for Question and Test Interoperability. It is an exchange format used for transferring questions and tests between different systems. So content that you create with Question Writer can now be exported in QTI 1.2 format for re-use in other systems. When you select Publish to QTI 1.2 a series of files are generated in their own folder for you to use as appropriate. |
[edit] Publish to QTI 1.2 for Pearson VUE
|
If you own the Professional Version of Question Writer 3 you will have the option to export your questions in a QTI format specially constructed to ensure compatibility with the Pearson VUE QTI compiler.
All of the question types except for the sequencing question type are supported but most of the quiz options and settings are not. |
[edit] Create a Web Page
Even if you do not already have a website it is quite simple to put your quiz online. There are many different ways to do this without having any technical knowledge or having to pay for someone else’s expertise.
There are many free website creation sites online, you can easily find them in any search engine. Before you go too far in setting up your new website make sure that you can load all the files that are needed to run your quiz. Be warned, while there are probably more that will let load the .swf files that you need to run a single quiz, finding one that will permit you to load .html files is a bit more difficult.
These files are needed to create a single link and run multiple random generated quizzes. So if you are using the Randomize option you will need to create a website where you can upload .html files.
[edit] Using Spanglefish
A free website provider that will allow the upload of .html files is [Spanglefish.com].
The site creation is not automated, but the team at Spanglefish react very speedily (less than 10 minutes in my case) to the requests for new sites.
Once you have your site created you can download their own online manual to help with creating pages and editing text, although it is very straightforward.
To put your quiz online, you first of all need to open the Library page where you can upload your files. To start with this will not be a visible page, to make it visible you go to the Switch Pages On/Off tab in Site Admin and select Visible for the Library page.
Once in the Library page you can easily upload your quiz files. If you are going to be uploading a lot of files to your website you will probably want to create a folder for the quiz.
You do this by clicking on the New Folder button.
When you are ready, click on the Upload File button. A window will pop up asking where you want to upload the document to, you browse and select the appropriate folder.
When you click Continue you will be able to browse for the Question Writer files that you need.
Remember to upload all the files created when you published your quiz - there should be at least 3.
Once you have finished uploading the files you will probably want to make the Library page invisible to your public and only accessible to those with administrator privileges on your web page. This is achieved in the Switch Pages On/Off tab in Site Admin, this time choose Protected.
You can add a link to your quiz as part of your home page, or by creating a new page:
In the editing box click on the hyperlink symbol
And browse in other to find the .html file that you just uploaded.
Your quiz is now loaded and available online.
You can see the web page created for this tutorial at http://www.spanglefish.com/questionwriter/
[edit] Publishing SCORM exams to Ecampus or WebCT
Learning Management Systems (LMS) allow authenticated student access to exam and other materials under a variety of protocols. This section describes release of published Question Writer 3 SCORM exams under Blackboard learning Systems Ecampus, one of a number of current LMS systems in use in academia.
[edit] Setting up QW3 SCORM exams in Ecampus
SCORM modules may be published and released under Ecampus. This requires four main steps
[edit] 1. Upload the Question Writer 3 SCORM export to Ecampus
You do this by using the Ecampus File Manager package to upload the Question Writer 3 files from the local computer to your Ecampus storage area for the specific class in question. You can keep the original filename of the SCORM module created by Question Writer 3, or you can rename it at this stage.
[edit] 2. Create a SCORM
You do this in the Ecampus SCORM package, by hitting the "Create SCORM module" radio button and giving the module a title (i.e. "Exam #1", etc), specifying the file location of the uploaded Question Writer 3 SCORM, and setting navigation control/table of contents options. This is the SCORM that is linked to from the Course Content area, and is the Question Writer 3 SCORM with a wrapper.
[edit] 3. Link to the SCORM from the Course Content area
Navigate to the Course Content area, and specifically to the folder where the exam will be placed. Then "Add Content Link...SCORM Module" allows browsing of the SCORM created in step (2).
[edit] 4. Selective release of the SCORM link
The SCORM created in (3) can, by default, be executed by any class member (including students) if no selective release criteria are specified, as may be done in the Selective Release package. Here, editing the selective release criteria may be done by Ecampus member (individual), group (a number of members), or by date/time interval. If no criteria are added, then Ecampus will release unconditionally.
In addition to selective release, the folders in the course area as well as the links themselves may all be individually "HIDDEN" or "SHOWN". This is also controlled in the selective release area.
This means that if an exam link named "bar" lies within a folder named "foo", then one can HIDE foo and, even if bar has no selective release criteria set, no student will be able to see the link or execute the exam. HIDE is not member or group specific and is in effect a quick way to make the folder inaccessible to all (even the course designer).
Limitations of selective release: as of this writing (11/2008), there is no selective release of SCORMs by IP address. This is in contrast to the selective release allowed for Ecampus's own assessment modules. If you want to have selective release by IP address (i.e., to accommodate exam administration only in a proctored lab), then the instructor must create a "check in" group and release the exam to students by adding their names to this group after they have admitted the students to the lab. This is a serious drawback of using SCORM modules within Ecampus for this type of exam administration, and hopefully will be amenmded in future versions of the LMS.
[edit] Nature of Question Writer 3 exam execution in Ecampus
Question Writer 3 SCORM exams will run very similarly to how they do as an html. They run in their own applet window, which is initially minimized by default and must be maximized manually by the student if a full-sized window is desired. But in all other ways, Question Writer 3 exams will look and feel just as they did while being viewed in Question Writer 3 itself.
[edit] Reporting of results
Question Writer 3 transfers exam results as a final average (expressed as a percent of 100%, only) truncated at the integer percent below the grade. Thus, 78.9% will report as "78". It will report to the SCORM gradebook, using the Title of the Question Writer 3 exam entered under "Quiz Details" in Question Writer 3, e.g. "Exam 2", etc. If the same exam is run multiple times, only the most recent grade is retained. If a 2nd SCORM exam is uploaded with the same Title, then the grade listing is saved as a new field in the SCORM gradebook, such as "Exam 2(1)".
Somewhat frustratingly, SCORM gradebook fields may only be added by a SCORM module being run, and once created may not be edited or deleted by the Instructor. They may, however, be used to calculate user-created fields in the regular gradebook (non-SCORM) for the course.
Of course, grades may be submitted externally to a results server outside Ecampus, as for other environments. This may require that a current version of Java is installed on the exam computers and that no firewall or local network restrictions are applied to prevent this.
[edit] Summary
SCORM module execution of Question Writer 3 exams under Ecampus is reasonably robust and produces exams that are very close facsimiles of what one sees in Question Writer 3 itself. Execution in a LAN environment of suitable speed is clean, fast, and robust. Potential drawbacks do (as of 11/2008) exist:
a) SCORM results are limited in quantity in Ecampus; external results service is virtually required
b) no IP address filtering may be performed to allow secure lab exam administration
c) exams terminated prematurely/unintentionally may not be restarted with retention of completed questions
d) exams <may> be restarted without retention of earlier questions, and may be done so multiple times (Ecampus does not limit re-execution)
Item (d) may be addressed by modifying the index.html within the /Publishing/SCORM folder of Question Writer 3. A modified index.html may prevent re-taking of the exam or require password override to retake.
Despite the shortcomings, Question Writer 3 exams are still generally higher in quality than those available in most LMS assessment packages, and all of the shortcomings above may be worked around.
Question Writer 3 SCORM exams in Ecampus are a viable alternative to LMS-based testing.
[edit] Quiz Results
Once you have published your quiz online and invited your quiz takers to participate, you will start to get results.
[edit] Email Results
If you ticked the Send Results Over The Internet options in Web Settings and added your email address, you will receive an email with the results for each participant.
Sometimes an over zealous email client will post your quiz results to your spam box, so if you are not receiving expected emails, the first place to check is your spam box.
The email subject line will contain the participant's name, their overall score and their % score. The email content will look something like this – the exact appearance will depend on your email client though the content will remain the same. (The picture shown here does not give the full email message.)
If you asked an essay question, the answer written by the participant will appear but there will be no score against this question. The quiz cannot automatically score an essay question and you will have to decide for yourself what the score an individual answer will receive.
At the bottom of the email is a link to the Question Writer results service website.
[edit] Question Writer Tracker - Results Server
If you click on this link at the bottom of an emailed result you will be taken through to the online results server at http://www.questionwritertracker.com/quizdata . The first time you use this service you will have to register. See Question Writer Tracker for more information on this service.
When you login and select results you will see the results screen with a line for each quiz that you have published with the results server in the setup.
To the right of the quiz title you can see 3 icons:
- A red cross – this will remove the quiz results from the server
- A white question mark in a blue circle – this will take you to a list of the questions and from there an analysis of the responses (see picture at the end of this section)
- A green Excel icon - for exporting your results
If you have entered a Question Title in the question Metadata (professional version only) it will appear here, if not Question Writer 3 will automatically the title as the first 60 characters of the actual question.
[edit] Exporting Quiz Results
When you click on the export to .csv file option a download window will appear on your screen asking if you want to open or save the file. If you click Open, Excel will be opened and your results appear, with a line for each quiz taker. You can then manipulate the data as you wish.
If you have set an essay type question you can enter the mark for each participant and then recalculate the total score.
[edit] View Results online
If you click on the quiz title you will be taken to the results page.
Clicking on any of the column headings will sort the results in ascending order and then with another click descending order according to that column, ie alphabetical in order of name or number order for the % or pass score etc.
Clicking on the red cross beside the result will delete that individual result.
Clicking on the result will produce a Summary Report for that individual.
If you click on any of the questions within that Summary Report you will be shown an analysis of all answers given to that question.
[edit] Extras
[edit] Drag and Drop Questions between Quizzes
Question Writer 3 makes it easy to drag and drop questions between quizzes. For example if you are writing a new quiz on capital cities and already have a quiz about European cities, you can simply open drag and drop the relevant questions into your new quiz.
[edit] Question Writer API
There is a code library to help creating Question Writer quizzes. If you'd like to export to the Question Writer format from your .NET application or website, you can use this [QW_API.dll] - there's also full documentation on how to use it[[11]]
[edit] Importing Questions
|
Question Writer supports importing questions in two formats:
|
A new quiz window will appear containing the questions that you have imported. You will have to enter your Quiz Title and Introduction Screen details, and set the quiz up for feedback etc.
The importer doesn't always work perfectly - there can be a lot of variation in the way questions are formatted. If you experience difficultly importing a set of questions - send the file you're importing to support@questionwriter.com and we will do our best to correct any problems with the import routine.
[edit] Moodle XML format
|
Question Writer 3 supports importing questions from Moodle XML format. See Moodle.org for more information [[12]]. |
[edit] Text Format
|
Question Writer supports the import of questions from text files. These may be saved in txt or rtf files but you must follow the format as described on this page. Question Writer text import supports the following question types:
The import format for multiple choice questions has required elements and optional elements, each of which is described below. This is followed by an explanation of the formatting required for true-false, paragraph, short answer, matching and multiple response questions. As well as importing the question and answer text you can also import your question feedback and any image that you wish to include in the question. |
[edit] Multiple Choice (required elements)
Each question must begin with a question number with dot “.” or parentheses ”)”. There must be at least one space between the number and question wording.
Example: 3) Who was the 1st president of USA?
Example: 3. Who was the 1st president of USA?
Each answer choice must start with a letter (a-z) and dot ”.” or parentheses “)”.
a. Bill Clinton
b. Richard Nixon
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. George Washington
[edit] Multiple Choice (optional elements)
[edit] Title
Each question can include a title. The title will be included as part of the question body. The title must be placed before the question wording and prefaced by “Title:”.
Example:
Title: 1st president of USA
3) Who was the 1st president of USA?
a. Bill Clinton
b. Richard Nixon
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. George Washington
Correct answers can be indicated in two ways:
- An asterisk character “*” can be placed in front of the correct choice (no space between it and ordering letter)
- A list of correct answers can be placed at the end of a quiz file. Its start is indicated with a keyword “Answers:“. Answer should be placed directly following this line (no blank lines between!). These answers are the last element of a document, everything that is placed after answers will be ignored.
Example:
Answers:
1. A
2. D
3. D
4. C
If you do not provide any answers, Question Writer will set the correct answer as the first option by default.
[edit] Question Feedback
Another optional element is question feedback. This can be placed right after the question. Feedback for a correct answer must start with “@” character. It must be followed be a space!
Example:
Title: 1st president of USA
3) Who was the 1st president of USA?
a. Bill Clinton
@ No. He was 42nd president!
b. Richard Nixon
@ Far away… he was 37th…
c. Thomas Jefferson
@ Close, but still not right – he was the 3rd president of the United States.
*d. George Washington
@ Exactly!
Feedback doesn’t need to be specified for every available option. Also, general feedback for the whole question can be placed right after the question wording – before the first choice. It is also prefaced by a “@” character with a space for Incorrect answer feedback and by a "~" for correct answer feedback.
Example:
Title: 1st president of USA
3) Who was the 1st president of USA?
~ Correct, George Washington was the 1st president. He took the office on April 30, 1789 and left it on March 4, 1797. He was not a member of any party.
@ No, in fact George Washington was the 1st president. He took the office on April 30, 1789 and left it on March 4, 1797. He was not a member of any party.
a. Bill Clinton
b. Richard Nixon
c. Thomas Jefferson
*d. George Washington
[edit] Importing an Image with the Question
You can include an image for display with the question by adding:
Example:
[img: "filename.jpg"]
immediately after the question number. The image must be saved in the same folder as the text file for importing.
[edit] Importing True or False Questions
Importing "true or false" questions is similar to importing multiple choice questions (see above). These examples show the right way to do it.
Example:
3) Was George Washington the 1st president of USA?
*a) True
b) False
Example:
3) Was George Washington the 1st president of USA?
*a. T
b. F
The “True” or “T” choice must be placed first, before the “False” or “F” answer. This helps the Question Writer to correctly identify the question as true or false question type. If the order is different, the question will be interpreted as a multiple choice question.
Other elements of a question (title, feedback) can be added in the same way as described above for multiple choice. The same rules apply when indicating the correct answers.
[edit] Importing Essay Questions
When importing an essay question, all elements must be prefaced by an expression “Type:P”.
Example:
Type: P
Title: Richard Nixon resignation.
4. Why did Richard Nixon resign from the presidency?
Question Writer doesn’t support sample answers for essay questions, so the answer should be left blank.
Example:
a)
Example:
Answers:
1. A
2. B
3. C
4.
5. B
[edit] Importing Fill in the Blank Questions
Fill in the Blank questions must begin with a “Type:S” expression. All other parts of a question are handled in the same way.
Example:
Type: S
Title: Election in 1961?
5. Who was elected as the 35th president of USA in 1961?
Question Writer allows only one correct answer for each question, but it allows multiple forms of that answer.
Example:
Type: S
Title: Election in 1961?
5. Who was elected as the 35th president of USA in 1961?
a. JFK
b. John F. Kennedy
c. John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Answers can also be placed at the end of document, in a similar way to multiple choice questions.
Multiple forms of an answer are indicated by repeating the question number.
Example:
Answers:
…
4. A
5. JFK
5. John F. Kennedy
5. John Fitzgerald Kennedy
[edit] Importing Matching Questions
The process of importing a "matching" question is again similar to importing multiple choice questions, but there are some key differences. The first line of formatting must start with "Type: MT".
Each answer (which contains both portions of a match) must begin with a letter followed by a dot "." or a parentheses ")". Both parts are separated by an “=” character. Each pair should not contain new line characters, blanks etc.
Example:
Type: MT
Title: Presidents and parties
4) Match the correct president and political party he was a member of.
a. Dwight D. Eisenhower = Republican
b. Woodrow Wilson = Democratic
c. William H. Harrison = Whig
Spaces before or after the "=" symbol are optional, but it is important that an answer only uses it for a purpose of separation. If you plan to list correct answers for other questions at the bottom of the document, simply skip the number for all questions that are of the matching variety.
[edit] Importing Explanation Questions
This kind of question should be prefaced with “EX” character in the type section.
Example:
Type: EX
Title: Quiz explanation.
4. You have 10 minutes for all questions – please be accurate and fast.
This question type shouldn’t have a particular answer specified, so it must be left blank just like the answer for paragraph question.
[edit] Importing Sequencing Questions
To import a sequencing question, use the ‘Type: SEQ’:
Example:
Type: SEQ
Title: Italian cities’ population.
5. Order these Italian cities by population – largest population at the top.
Example:
A. Rome
B. Milan
C. Naples
D. Turin
E. Palermo
F. Genoa
The correct answer is indicated by the way in which the elements are ordered. If you plan to list correct answers for other questions at the bottom of the document, skip the number for any sequencing questions.
[edit] Importing Partial Credit Questions
Partial credit question type must be prefaced with a type declaration "Type: PC".
The maximum number of answers that can be selected can also be defined. The syntax of this part is = Max{x} where x is the integer. If no maximum is declared, the default value is 1. Note: This doesn’t need to be the number of correct answers, just the maximum number the user may select.
Each of answers must be followed by a “=” sign and the number of points. If there are no points specified, the default value is 0.
Example:
Type: PC
Title: Example partial credit question.
6. Which of the following answers is the most correct? = Max{2}
a. The best answer = 10
b. More or less fine = 5
c. Not too good = 1
d. Wrong! = 0
Partial credit questions can also include general feedback. Points awarded for each Partial Credit question must be defined in the question and can’t be defined at the end of the document.
[edit] Sample Import File
You can find a sample of an .rtf document containing questions on the Question Writer Website [[13]]. You can use this to try out importing questions to a quiz, or even as a template to prepare your own questions and answers for importing.
You can also export or publish a file in text format, and use that file as a reference for future import files.
[edit] Language Selector
You can change the language of Question Writer 3 by using the language selector. You select the language you want to use in the Language menu that is visible before you've opened or created any quizzes in the interface.
After you've changed the language, you need to restart the application for the change to kick in. The languages currently supported are:
- English
- Danish
- French
- German
- Italian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Norwegian
- Spanish
- Swedish
- Turkish
- Japanese
[edit] Flash Lite 2
Flash Lite 2 is the latest Flash player for mobile phones [[14]]. Flash Lite 2 can manage basic Question Writer quizzes as long as the theme is kept simple and the questions are limited in number (about 10 with no feedback or 5 with feedback). This will improve as phones use more memory and better processors.
There is some sample Question Writer content for FlashLite 2 [[15]](double size in browser, click here to download .swf to try on your phone[[16]]).
The sample uses the scenario of an estate agent (or realtor) entering details of a new rental property. It works well as a quick and easy form - it can be used for form filling in a situation where a keyboard isn't practical. It uses the texting mechanism so can be completed with one hand. Here's the theme download (.qws)[[17]]
[edit] PlayStation Portable
The Playstation Portable is a mobile gaming device that now supports Flash 6, and so you can run Question Writer tests and quizzes on it. It has a large screen for a mobile device, with widescreen proportions (480x272). You can use the existing themes with the PSP, but it looks best with a theme that is specifically designed for it.
Here's a sample quiz that we've made for the PSP, [[18]] (or here, stretched for desktop use[[19]] ), the source for the quiz[[20]], and the theme (.qws)[[21]] file too.
Kudos to Radu Chiotan [[22]] for creating a great theme and Delia Mihai [[23]] for the cool background.
When publishing for the PSP - there are a few things to take into account:
- Turn off the Maximize in browser option - this will ensure the quiz appears at the correct size.
- Users can't use the keypad to tab between the buttons. Users must use the pointer device and X button.
- It's a good idea to avoid the use of scrollbar, this will help to preserve memory on the device.
- You'll get between 5 questions with feedback or 20 questions without running out of memory - it depends on all the factors that go into your quiz - more question types, with scrollbars and feedback, and complex buttons and themes all increase pressure on the memory and can lead to an 'out of memory' error on the device.
- Users have to click once on the Flash before starting the quiz to focus/activate it.
- Users can download tests and quizzes to use offline, or live on the internet.
- The PSP runs quite a bit more slowly than desktop flash, users will have to wait a second or two after clicking a button for the effect to show up.
- PSP supports Flash 6, but Flash 6 doesn't allow sending results to our service. There is a way around this if you send the results back to your own server. Flash 7 is required to use the 'Results by Email' service.
[edit] Frequently Asked Questions
 |
This section aims to help you to get the best out of Question Writer 3 by answering some of the questions that users ask. You can also visit the support pages of Question Writer online [[24]].
This features:
|
|
Why am I not receiving E-mail results? |
There can be a number of reasons why you might not be receiving the results by e-mail.
[edit] 1. Quiz Set Up
Check you have ticked the box in Send Results over the Internet and given a correct email address for the results to be sent to. You should make sure that the url for the results server and back up results server are correct. If you are not using your own custom server, the address for the server should be - http://www.quiz-software.com/results/resultsqw3.php?email=
and for the back up server - http://www.xquestion.com/results/resultsqw3.php?email=
You should then choose the Publish to the Web option in Publish menu and upload all (at least 3) files to your website. See Create a Web Page for more information on uploading files to your web page.
[edit] 2. Quiz Taker Set Up
The quiz taker needs to have internet access to send the results through to our server. Check they can access these websites to ensure they have access to the main server and backup server.
http://www.quiz-software.com/qwresults
http://www.xquestion.com
The quiz taker should access the quiz through the webpage (index.html) for results to be sent by e-mail. See Create a Web Page for an idea of how you can do this.
[edit] 3. E-mail Box Set Up
We send a lot of e-mails with results and some mail programs get confused and think these e-mails are spam. Check your spam box and any e-mail filter rules to ensure that the results are not being sent to spam. In some instances, your e-mail service provider may not forward the e-mails to you if it identifies them as spam. If this happens we recommend you alert your e-mail service provider, but often the fastest way to correct this is to set up another e-mail box to receive the e-mail. Many people have had good success with Gmail. http://www.gmail.com
[edit] 4. Set up your results server account
You might find it easier to view your results online with the results server [[27]]. You can register to view your results online. You may also subscribe/unsubscribe from the results by email service here.
There is more information about the results service in the chapter on Results.
|
How Can I Enter Chemical or Maths Symbols? |
You can enter most symbols and equations using the HTML formatting feature. The formatting allows subscripts and superscripts which are particularly useful for mathematical and chemistry formulae. See Text Settings to learn how to include HTML formatted text.
If you need to enter symbols which are not included in the current HTML set, you can write your equation using some other software eg in MSWord and then take a snapshot. You can then load this image to the question. For more information on adding images see Adding Questions.
|
I would like to add a fun quizzes to my website to keep visitors coming back - how can I make sure they won't get the same questions everytime they log in? |
You can have more questions in your quiz than are asked at each attempt. Use the randomization to select a number of questions from a larger bank of questions in the quiz on each attempt.
If you're asking 10 questions on each try - set the quiz up to ask 10 questions randomly selected from the 100 or 1,000. Or have sections containing 10 questions each, and randomly select one from each section.
The default for generating pre-randomized quizzes is set at 5 - you can increase this to, eg, 50-100 to ensure a good random spread for 10 from 1000.
|
Is it possible to download the quiz results in Excel format? |
Yes! This is a feature of the online interface. You can access it here http://www.quiz-software.com/qwresults/ You'll need to register and log-on to view the results. You'll see a small Excel icon beside the quizzes - click on this to download the results as an Excel file.
See the chapter on Results for more information.
|
What software can I use to create my own theme for use in a quiz? |
The Professional version allows you to use any .jpg or.gif file as a background image. You can also use any Flash image/animation (up to Flash version 8) as a background.
You can set this up as part of the quiz properties, in Advanced Settings - Theme Images. You will see an input box called Override Background where you can browse for and select the file name of your image.
You can use Photoshop or Paintshop to create the images and Flash Studio to create Flash files.
|
Can I Import questions from or Save results to a MySQL database? |
You can't import data directly into Question Writer from a database. However you can export from the database to the Text Import Format and import these files into Question Writer.
If you're using the 'results by e-mail' service, in addition to sending you the results by e-mail, we also store all of your results for you in a database. Once you're logged into this service, you can also download the results and responses as a excel file. See the Chapter on Save and Publish for more details on this.
If this functionality doesn't suit your needs, you can have the quiz send the results and responses to your own server using the Custom Results Server - however you may need a programmer to help process the results into your own database.
To help with this, we have made available a small PHP application that allows you to have results from your Question Writer quizzes written to your own MySQL database.
You can download it here from our blog [[28]]
It comes with installation instructions, but you'll need to be able to set up a database and upload some files to your webserver. It stores the data it receives in two tables - one table for the quiz results, and one table that stores the responses to the individual questions. Once the data is in your database, you'll need to decide what to do with it. We have kept it fairly basic - you won't need anything more than MySQL 4+ and PHP 5+ and you might well get away with less.
|
Why can't I use Enter to move to the next question? |
There is a keyboard navigation facility in Question Writer 3 - it uses the standard keyboard navigation commands - use TAB to choose the right control and enter to hit it.
As the enter key (or return key) is used in essay questions, it can't be used solely for advancing through questions, but the TAB/Enter is a well known and supported keyboard navigation method.
|
I would like to set a different set of questions to people depending on how they answer the first question, for example different questions for male or female contestants. Is it possible to ask a branching or dynamic question? |
Unfortunately, Question Writer 3 doesn't support branching (asking different questions based on previous responses). However you could create two separate quizzes, and get the user to click on the correct link on your web page.
|
I have several large question banks and it is becoming difficult to sort out repeat questions from new entries. Is there a way to sort questions alphabetically within a quiz? |
Unfortunately there is no automatic search feature. You can set up the questions in sections or some kind of section hierarchy which would help to find similar questions.
Another idea is to scan for duplicate questions. You can do this by opening the source file (the .qwz) in Word or a text editor and search for the search term - this will help you at least know if the question is present. (Do not resave in the text editor)
|
What are all the different versions of Question Writer, and which is best for me? |
There are currently 3 versions of Question Writer 3 available:
- Basic - this is available free for personal use
- Standard
- Professional
For full features and prices of the three versions see the website[[29]].
You'll also find a description of these versions in the Introduction to this manual.
If you have not used Question Writer 3 before you can download the Trial version and try it out. Download from the Question Writer 3 Website.[[30]]
You may also see mention of 'Personal' and 'Publisher' Edition in the blog or Support Forum. The Personal Edition was the version 2 equivalent of (and has now been replaced by) the Basic Version. Publisher Edition was designed for use by developers and is no longer available to license.
|
Does Question Writer 3 support "right to left" script? |
Unfortunately, at present Question Writer 3 does not support right to left text.
Even if a right to left ISO embedded font is used, any right to left text that is entered will be flipped over when the quiz is viewed.
It is possible, if you have time and determination, to input your right to left text with all words and letters in reverse order.
The example given below shows part of the front page of the Italian quiz sample with arabic script. The resulting quiz shows the script characters in their standalone form, which makes reading much slower. If you attempt this workaround, you will also have to make sure that you do not use any question types which require a written answer (fill in the blank or essay types).
|
How do I uninstall Question Writer 3? |
[edit] Automatic Uninstall
You can usually uninstall the software satisfactorily by using
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs (Windows XP / 2000)
Control Panel -> Programs -> Uninstall Software (Windows Vista)
Choose the 'Question Writer 3' entry and the software will be uninstalled.
[edit] Manual File Deletion
You should always try to automatically uninstall the software first when removing the software. Following that, you can also try to manually delete all the files associated with Question Writer.
You'll need to choose your system setting 'Show Hidden Files And Folders / System Files'. There are steps on how to do that here http://www.xtra.co.nz/help/0,,4155-1916458,00.html
Remove the following directories from your file system -
C:\Program Files\Question Writer 3
C:\Program Files\Question Writer 3 Basic
(Windows 2000 / Windows XP)
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Local Settings\Application Data\Central Question Ltd
(Windows Vista)
C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local\Central Question Ltd
Replace 'Your Name' with your user name or the profile name with which Question Writer was installed.
|
Why do I get an error message when I try to activate my License? |
This problem is probably caused by the license file being corrupted somewhere in the e-mail process, either the e-mail server or e-mail client. The likely culprit is an over-zealous anti-virus program. You will probably be getting a message like this -
"A valid license could not be obtained for QuestionWriterLicense. Please contact Central Question Ltd. for assistance. DETAILS: Unexpected error. Could not load license pack: The root element is missing."
The problem can be solved by sending the license file inside a zip file. If you do get this message or experience similar difficulties, please contact us at support@questionwriter.com to discuss alternative ways of getting your license to you.
|
What happens at the End of the quiz? |
Often users ask why nothing happens at the end of the quiz or occasionally report that the quiz "gets stuck on "Finished" - with a loading bar in an endless loop going from 0 to 100"
That loading bar is actually just an animation - to get rid of it and to save any confusion on the part of your quiz takers, it is best and tidiest to redirect the quiz takers to another web page after the quiz is completed. You can do this using the After Quiz setting. You can tell people that this will happen using the Finished Quiz Screen Text in Other Labels.
|
What is the maximum number of questions I can have in a quiz? |
You can have up to 100 questions with question feedback or 200 questions without question feedback in a quiz. Having too many questions in a quiz will slow down the performance and may cause unexpected problems with the quiz.
If you need more questions - a good idea is to split the quiz into parts of around 100 questions each and link each part automatically by adding a URL to the After Quiz option in Quiz Options - Web Settings. You can either do this invisibly or you can add some explanation and give the quiz taker the opportunity to have a comfort break - by adding some text into Finished Quiz Screen Text in Quiz Options - Other Labels.
|
Can I treat users differently at the end of the quiz, depending on whether or not they passed? |
When you set a pass mark for the quiz you can customize the pass or fail messages that appear in the report screen at the end of the quiz. Enter your messages in Report Options.
If you are sending your quiz takers on to a new site or another section of the quiz and their destination will vary if they passed or fail you can add a link within the Pass/Fail messages in the Report Settings. The user will be able to click to go to the right location after the quiz.
Remember to switch on 'Use HTML to format text' in the Appearance Settings and the HTML will look something like this:
<a href="http://www.yourwebaddress.com">Click Here To Continue</a>
|
Can I get a hard copy of the questions? |
Yes, Question Writer 3.3 has the option to "Publish for Printing" which creates an HTML document. You can find out more about this in Publish for Printing.
An alternative approach is to start from the other end. If you write the questions in a Word document, you could reformat them slightly and save the document as a .txt or .rtf file then import the questions into Question Writer. See Text Format for more details on this.
|
What are the system requirements to run Question Writer 3? |
For the quiz author, Question Writer 3 requires:
- Windows 2000 / XP / Vista (any version) / 7
- .NET 1.1+
- Flash 6+
We recommend:
- Processor of 1Ghz
- Ram of 1GB
We do not currently have a Mac version of the software, however some of our users have had success using the Parallels for Mac software with Windows XP and the latest version of Question Writer. You can read about this on our forum [31]
People taking the quiz will need to have an internet ready pc with Flash 6 (Flash 7+ is recommended). Quiztakers using Macs should be able to access the quizzes online without any problems.
|
How can I install my Question Writer 3 License? |
Many users decide to buy Question Writer 3 after experimenting with a free trial version. The downloaded trial version is exactly the same as the full version, but will expire after 30 days if a license isn’t purchased. When the license is purchased you can continue using the same downloaded software – assuming that the license is for the same version that you have been trialling (Standard or Professional). You do not need a license for the Basic Version.
When you purchase Question Writer 3 your license will be emailed to you, usually within 1 working day of your purchase. If your license has not arrived within a reasonable period, first check your spam. Many email servers will not recognise the email containing the license as valid mail. If you are sure that you have not received your License get in touch with Question Writer 3 by emailing support@questionwriter.com.
When your email arrives you should download the license and when prompted choose to save it to a known location on your hard drive eg you can create a QW3 folder.
You do not need to open the file.
The next time that you open Question Writer 3 you can install the license. When you open a trial or unlicensed version of Question Writer 3 you will see the following screen.
Click on I already have a license and use the browser to load your license.
Now each time that you open Question Writer 3 you will see that you have a properly licensed version.
Occasionally the license file sent to you will get corrupted in the mail system and you might see an error message. If this happens get in touch with us and we will send your license again, usually in a zipped file. See Why do I get an error message when I try to activate my License?
|
Can I save and publish the quiz on a CD? |
Yes, you can easily save the .qwz files to a CD eg for back up, and you can also save your published .html and .swf files to CD. Just follow your normal procedure for saving files to CD. Users can then access the quiz from the CD via their browser.
You can also first convert the .swf files to a .exe file using software known as a Flash Projector and then save them to CD. This way Windows users will be able to access the quiz even if they do not have flash installed on their pc. You can go online and easily find Flash Projector software to download free of charge.
See the chapter Save and Publish for more information on saving and publishing your quiz.
|
Can I send results to more than one email address? |
When you are setting up your quiz, you can only enter one email address in Send Results Via Website to E-mail.
If you need to circulate the quiz results to a number of different people you can do this by creating a new email account that will automatically forward all emails to a list of addresses. Gmail is one email service that will do this successfully. You can then enter that email address in the quiz set up.
See Results for more information on results.
|
How can I add good quality images to my quiz? |
You add an image to a question as part of the question properties, see Adding Questions for more detail. The images can be in either .gif or .jpg format
If you want quiz takers to be able zoom the image with their mouse, tick the 'Use Image Zooming' checkbox in the Appearance Settings Jpeg Image Quality.
Flash saved as version 8 will also display a better resolution image, so change the Flash Version to '8'. Most people have Flash version 9 or better by now so this should not be a problem.
|
If the images in your quiz are blurry or of a low quality, there's a couple of extra things that can help a lot with image quality if you have the Professional version of the software.
|
You will need to republish your quiz after changing any of the options to see the new results.
|
What is Question Writer Tracker? |
Question Writer Tracker is a free service from Question Writer. All users of Question Writer can register for the Question Writer Tracker service and use it to track and analyze the results for all your quizzes. By selecting to 'Send Results Via Website to E-mail' the quiz takers score and responses will, by default, be recorded and stored by the Question Writer Tracker system. You can select to turn this off if required. Question Writer Tracker also provides 100mb free webspace where you can upload your quizzes with a single click.
For more information on Question Writer read the Save and Publish chapter of this manual, and especially Results. There is also a lot of information on Question Writer Tracker in our Blog [[32]] - you can easily find relevant articles by entering Question Writer Tracker in the blog search box.
Go To Introduction, Basic Navigation, Quiz Options, About Questions, Sections, Look and Feel, Save and Publish, Extras or Quick Start Tutorial
|
What is the reason for this error message I get when I try to publish to Question Writer Tracker? |
This error message indicates that Question Writer is having difficulty connecting to the internet. This can be for a number of different reasons.
[edit] Internet Connection
First of all you should check that you can access other websites on your computer, if you can then your internet connection is okay.
[edit] Firewall
It might also be that your firewall or security software is preventing access to the internet from Question Writer. This is likely to be the problem even if you can connect to the Question Writer Forum. The forum link launches your browser, but the quiz upload accesses the internet directly from within the software.
Try disabling the firewall temporarily to see if that helps (and confirm if that is causing the problem) but remember to enable it again as it is not a good idea to keep your firewall switched off.
Usually an alert will be displayed (from your firewall) asking you if you want to let the software (Question Writer) connect to the internet - you've got to tell it 'Yes'. If it doesn't ask, it might have an exception list where you can add Question Writer to the list of exceptions. The steps to follow will depend on the firewall you're using - but if you've got Vista or XP, you can access the built in firewall at
Start->Control Panel->Security Center->Windows Firewall->Allow a Program Through Windows Firewall->Add Program->Browse
and Choose,
C:\Program Files\Question Writer 3\QuestionWriter.exe
Your firewall might also be on your router or corporate network in which case you may have less control over it. You should speak to your systems administrator for help in resolving the problem.
[edit] Proxy Settings
If your computer is on a network that uses a proxy to connect to the internet and you're using .NET 1.1, this can cause difficulties for Question Writer. If you think this might be the problem there are two ways to resolve the problem.
1. Uninstall the .NET 1.1 framework. You can do this in Add/Remove programs, and the relevant entry is 'Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1'. You'll need a more recent version of the framework installed too. You may already have one installed - try starting Question Writer to find out. If not, you can download .NET 2.0 from Microsoft. [[33]]
2. Change your proxy setting in Internet Explorer so they are are set statically, rather than dynamically. You can do this in Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> Lan Settings -> Proxy Server.
Make sure 'Use a proxy server for your LAN' is checked.
The values for 'Address' and 'Port' should be available from your system administrator.
See Publish to Question Writer Tracker for more information on Question Writer Tracker.
|
Why is it that when I try to preview my quiz I only see one question? |
When you press the preview button, you will get a preview of whatever you have got selected. If you just want to see how one question will appear when published, click on that question in the left hand pane (1) and then click on the preview button (2).
Question Writer caches older previews of questions and quizzes separately - updating a preview of a question will not update the preview of the whole quiz.
To preview the whole quiz, select the quiz by clicking on the green Quiz icon in the top left,(3) and then click preview.
Another point to note is that running the preview is not the same as publishing the quiz. The preview will show you how the quiz will look when it is published, but in order for the quiz to be read and used by other people you will need to Publish your Quiz.
|
How can I use Question Writer to create a survey? |
It is easy to create a survey type questionnaire using Question Writer, using either multiple choice;
True/False;
or Essay type questions;
If you want to use the questionnaire to measure overall satisfaction numerically you could also use Partial Credit questions with variable scoring, eg
In the Quiz set up you need to
- Set feedback to “No Question Feedback”
- Untick Display Points Value for Questions in General Question Properties
- Disable the Display Report page
- Enter an appropriate message in End of Quiz
As with all Question Writer quizzes, the results can be sent to Question Writer Tracker and then downloaded to Excel if you want to do further analysis.
|
What do I need to do to load a new version of Question Writer? |
To find out which version of the software you currently have, you can click on Help and About in the Question Writer Menu Bar, the version number will also appear on the top left of the application window.
To install a new version you have to take 2 steps:
- Uninstall the old version
- Download the new version
[edit] Uninstall the Old Version
Before you can load a new version of the software you should uninstall your existing version. This can be done automatically via your computer's operating system (eg Windows Vista or Windows XP) or manually. We recommend that you try the automatic uninstall option first.
[edit] Automatic Uninstall
You can usually uninstall the software satisfactorily by using
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs (Windows XP / 2000)
Control Panel -> Programs -> Uninstall Software (Windows Vista)
Choose the 'Question Writer 3' entry and the software will be uninstalled.
[edit] Manual File Deletion
You should always try to automatically uninstall the software first when removing the software. Following that, you can also try to manually delete all the files associated with Question Writer.
You'll need to choose your system setting 'Show Hidden Files And Folders / System Files'. There are steps on how to do that here [[34]]
Remove the following directories from your file system -
C:\Program Files\Question Writer 3
C:\Program Files\Question Writer 3 Basic
(Windows 2000 / Windows XP)
C:\Documents and Settings\Your Name\Local Settings\Application Data\Central Question Ltd
(Windows Vista)
C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local\Central Question Ltd
Replace 'Your Name' with your user name or the profile name with which Question Writer was installed.
[edit] Download the New Version
This is relatively straightforward. You will find a link to the download on the newsletter or email that we sent informing you of the update, or on the relevant Blog article. In addition the download link on our website will always download the latest version of the software: [[35]]
When you click on the link the download will start automatically (unless your browser prompts you to take some action). Once the file is downloaded, you can simply open or run the file and the Question Writer Installer will install the program - you will be prompted to answer some questions about where the files should be stored and who should be given access to the software (if there is more than one person using your pc.)
Question Writer will automatically detect if you have a valid license and install it. If your license is not valid for the upgrade, you can purchase an upgrade online.
[edit] GNU Free Documentation License
Version 1.2, November 2002
Copyright (C) 2000,2001,2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
0. PREAMBLE
The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other functional and useful document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software.
We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does. But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference.
1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
This License applies to any manual or other work, in any medium, that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. Such a notice grants a world-wide, royalty-free license, unlimited in duration, to use that work under the conditions stated herein. The "Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as "you". You accept the license if you copy, modify or distribute the work in a way requiring permission under copyright law.
A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.
A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.
The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. If a section does not fit the above definition of Secondary then it is not allowed to be designated as Invariant. The Document may contain zero Invariant Sections. If the Document does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none.
The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. A Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may be at most 25 words.
A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a format whose specification is available to the general public, that is suitable for revising the document straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Transparent file format whose markup, or absence of markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers is not Transparent. An image format is not Transparent if used for any substantial amount of text. A copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".
Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification. Examples of transparent image formats include PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary formats that can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and the machine-generated HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some word processors for output purposes only.
The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License requires to appear in the title page. For works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.
A section "Entitled XYZ" means a named subunit of the Document whose title either is precisely XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses following text that translates XYZ in another language. (Here XYZ stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", "Endorsements", or "History".) To "Preserve the Title" of such a section when you modify the Document means that it remains a section "Entitled XYZ" according to this definition.
The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice which states that this License applies to the Document. These Warranty Disclaimers are considered to be included by reference in this License, but only as regards disclaiming warranties: any other implication that these Warranty Disclaimers may have is void and has no effect on the meaning of this License.
2. VERBATIM COPYING
You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow the conditions in section 3.
You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, and you may publicly display copies.
3. COPYING IN QUANTITY
If you publish printed copies (or copies in media that commonly have printed covers) of the Document, numbering more than 100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.
If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.
If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general network-using public has access to download using public-standard network protocols a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free of added material. If you use the latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the Document.
4. MODIFICATIONS
You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in the Modified Version:
- A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the History section of the Document). You may use the same title as a previous version if the original publisher of that version gives permission.
- B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in the Modified Version, together with at least five of the principal authors of the Document (all of its principal authors, if it has fewer than five), unless they release you from this requirement.
- C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the Modified Version, as the publisher.
- D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
- E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to the other copyright notices.
- F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license notice giving the public permission to use the Modified Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in the Addendum below.
- G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's license notice.
- H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
- I. Preserve the section Entitled "History", Preserve its Title, and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new authors, and publisher of the Modified Version as given on the Title Page. If there is no section Entitled "History" in the Document, create one stating the title, year, authors, and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the previous sentence.
- J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and likewise the network locations given in the Document for previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the "History" section. You may omit a network location for a work that was published at least four years before the Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to gives permission.
- K. For any section Entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications", Preserve the Title of the section, and preserve in the section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
- L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
- M. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may not be included in the Modified Version.
- N. Do not retitle any existing section to be Entitled "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant Section.
- O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section titles.
You may add a section Entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by various parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text has been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of a standard.
You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the old one.
The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.
5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
You may combine the Document with other documents released under this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your combined work in its license notice, and that you preserve all their Warranty Disclaimers.
The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name but different contents, make the title of each such section unique by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the combined work.
In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled "History" in the various original documents, forming one section Entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections Entitled "Acknowledgements", and any sections Entitled "Dedications". You must delete all sections Entitled "Endorsements."
6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other documents released under this License, and replace the individual copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents in all other respects.
You may extract a single document from such a collection, and distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that document.
7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage or distribution medium, is called an "aggregate" if the copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the legal rights of the compilation's users beyond what the individual works permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this License does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which are not themselves derivative works of the Document.
If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one half of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed on covers that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the electronic equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic form. Otherwise they must appear on printed covers that bracket the whole aggregate.
8. TRANSLATION
Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special permission from their copyright holders, but you may include translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a translation of this License, and all the license notices in the Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also include the original English version of this License and the original versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a disagreement between the translation and the original version of this License or a notice or disclaimer, the original version will prevail.
If a section in the Document is Entitled "Acknowledgements", "Dedications", or "History", the requirement (section 4) to Preserve its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the actual title.
9. TERMINATION
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided for under this License. Any other attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.
Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you have the option of following the terms and conditions either of that specified version or of any later version that has been published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation.
