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Qedoc Quiz Maker Changelog

What's new in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.7.0

Nov 9, 2012
  • Facebook integration: the Qedoc Quiz Player can upload scores from the Player to their Facebook wall in the form of a post. The user can choose between different images to accompany their post. The Player includes dialogues to help users through the process, although it is in fact extremely simple. The resulting Facebook post is uncomplicated - it includes the module title and cumulative score, together with a link back to the module's page on qedoc.org (assuming it exists).
  • Fix to the horizonally laid-out variant of the category matching question type where lines are drawn between corresponding pairs.
  • Multiple choice button questions types can now include mixed text and image response options.
  • The menubar of the Qedoc Quiz Player has a new "results" menu, which is a consequence of the increased number of results options (e.g. printing, Facebook posting) which have gathered during previous released.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.6.4 (May 21, 2009)

  • The media bank now supports deletion of multiple row selections.
  • The module description can no longer be viewed while a test is in progress (Player). We made this change because we noticed that sometimes the descriptions of modules contain the answers - e.g. in those modules which contains lists of vocabulary.
  • The web version of the Player has improved management of background images. These are now cached better so that on subsequent loading of the Player, background images appear instantaneously.
  • A bug affecting user management has been fixed in the web version of the Qedoc Quiz Player.
  • Results discarding. "Results discarding" is when the Player's record of a user's previous attempts is deleted.
  • In commercial versions of the Quiz Maker, it is now possible to signal removal of the "discard results" option from the Player when a specific module is played. This makes it more difficult, but not impossible, for a student to delete all their previous results.
  • Discarding of results is now more thorough than before - previously not everything was fully deleted.
  • The Quiz Maker has an additional option for automatic discarding of results of the module build number has changed since the module was last played. Authors can use this when updating a module to ensure that results from old versions of the module are no longer kept. Keeping stored results may not make sense if a module is rewritten or substantially restructured.
  • A bug was fixed in the Player where multiple choice questions continued to display correctness icons (ticks and crosses) even when "mark-as-you-go" correction was deactivated.
  • The media bank operation for batch editing of permissions has been extended to cover the copyright/source field as well. This is helpful when an author has entered large numbers of media items and has forgotten to enter the copyright and permissions details correctly.
  • Restrictions on loading modules with ND licences into the Quiz Maker has been lifted. While the ND-restriction may prohibit modification by others, nevertheless others should be able to inspect such modules, and the original authors need to be able to load versions issued by Qedoc or by their own colleagues. The requirements of the ND licence can be met instead during human review of submissions. Note: CC-BY-NC-ND is not generally available to authors, but is used occasionally when valuable and irreplaceable source materials have originally been released with ND restrictions.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.6.1 (Mar 26, 2009)

  • Image files with JPEG extensions are now recognized as JPG files.
  • The description editor (Quiz Maker) has an additional function which can be used to extract lists of items from data tables. This is useful if you are creating (e.g.) a vocabulary training module and wish to easily extract a list of vocabulary items into the module description.
  • Commercial users can additionally export activities to an extremely simple pipe-separated format (multiple choice and short answer only). This is a useful shortcut when converting large numbers of simple questions into a data table. The format can already be imported - the lack of an export was inconsistent.
  • Problems with sequential (non-random) ordering of questions in the Quiz Player may have been ironed out.
  • Gapfill questions which use manually selected gaps now have additional options: alternative answers for the text fields can now be specified.
  • The data table selector on the flashcard activity definitions (Quiz Maker) now has a refresh button for refreshing the list of data tables in order to display freshly created data tables.
  • The data table editor now has a manual format selection combobox in addition to automatic format detection. This helps with cases where automatic format detection fails.
  • A small visual bug in the Quiz Player has been fixed where the penultimate progress icon would display as "wrong" rather than "unattempted" when an activity was played through for the 2nd time in the same session.
  • Corrected problem with Player toolbar alpha level introduced in version 2.5.6.
  • Player now has a memory tracker - like the Quiz Maker, but in a different place - launched from the "help" menu.
  • A bug in the Player has been fixed which affected the marking of auto-generated arithmetical exercises where several questions were combined into one screen.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.6.0 (Mar 1, 2009)

  • Italian language pack for Quiz Player now included, raising the number of languages to 11.
  • "History" icon removed form question bank toolbar (Quiz Maker).
  • Extra buttons/functions on the description editor (Quiz Maker) to help generate quicker, more informative descriptions based on module content.
  • Removed rule for "minimum 5 questions before upload" (Quiz Maker). This is because large flashcard decks don't actually need more than 1 question (as a template).
  • Multiple text response question type now has additional triple row and triple column layouts.
  • Fixed bug where closing the publication confirmation box with the X-icon resulted in submission of the module rather than cancellation of the submission. (Quiz Maker)
  • Changes to how the Qedoc software deals with MP3's on Windows Vista.
  • Changed to the bug report submission dialogue.
  • Rewrote the way flashcard MC-distractors are generated (Quiz Player). Appears to work much better now.
  • New question type: fill-in tables. The question type displays a grid of fields and simply expects the contents of a data table to be typed in correctly. The author can specify row and column labels. Colour-coded correction is optional.
  • Font size selector maximum limits raised from 72 to 256 pixels on all font controls.
  • Added a fix/update to Moodle export format. The newer Moodle export format (undocumented) requires the category name to be nested inside a new text tag, otherwise a fatal error occurs during parsing. Qedoc now exports to the new format standard.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.5.6 (Feb 9, 2009)

  • Simplification of publication dialogues in Quiz Maker.
  • Media bank allows editing of multiple permissions fields - speeds things up when you've forgotten to enter the correct permissions for each image.
  • Bugfix to activity unlocking conditions (Quiz Player).
  • New "copyright acknowledgement" feature for all individual tasks, better enabling an author to enter acknowledgements to quoted sources and claim fair use on short extracts from texts. In particular, this addresses a problem with random gapfill exercises, where it was not possible to footnote a passage with its source without the source also having some gaps inserted as part of the exercise. The new feature also adds an advice section on the use of quotes and extracts in educational materials.
  • Bugfix so that media occurring in presentation pages are also counted in the media bank uses column (Quiz Maker).
  • Added 5 new background images and themes to the 10 already available. See background images for more information.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.0.4 (Aug 4, 2008)

  • Internationalisation
  • Language pack upgrades for: French (minor changes);
  • Spanish (major changes - now complete)
  • It is now possible to delete multiple selections of tasks (the copy operation could already be applied to multiple selections).
  • Using the global category icon on the question bank toolbar, it is now possible to add a category to a selection of multiple questions (mouse/keyboard selected). Previously the global category option only added a category to all questions.
  • A bug preventing printing of results from the Quiz Player has been fixed.
  • It is now harder to corrupt modules with certain extended characters.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.0.3 (Apr 21, 2008)

  • A second kind of slider task has been added which handles numbers with decimal points.
  • In random gapfills taks, you can now configure minimum number of characters in a gap (was 3).
  • In addition to printing multiple choice tests, the software will now also print short answer (simple text response) tests.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.02 (Dec 12, 2007)

  • Structural reshaping of modules
  • Presentations will no longer be separately defined from any other kind of thing. Presentations will consist of elements defined in the question bank. A presentation will simply be one among several kinds of activity.
  • Assessments (or quizzes) will become another kind of activity. Activities will mostly consist of quizzes and presentations (or lessons), but may also include new activity types such as surveys (vaguely supported up to now but never really used), revision tests (defined entirely differently from the conventional quiz), writing assignments.
  • Version 2.0 will have two kinds of backwards compatibility:
  • - Version 1.x modules, with separate presentations, will be converted at runtime, so that they can be played in the Qedoc Quiz Player as if they were version 2.0 modules.
  • - It will probably be possible to play version 2.0 modules in older versions of the Qedoc Quiz Player.
  • The Qedoc Quiz Maker will have a new activity bank in a separate tab, rather like the question bank.
  • Activities can be arranged in multiple columns.
  • Detailed descriptions can be added to the short title of each activity.
  • The short title of each activity can be accompanied by an image, in which case the "icon-title" combination turns into a button which can be pressed to access the activity.
  • Activity menu fonts can be defined.
  • The activity bank will calculate and display the minimum and maximum scores available in an activity, taking into account all possible combinations of random questions pulled from a larger bank.
  • Task score scaling. The activity bank will allow the points for each individual question to be scaled out of a constant value. Quizzes with different scores for each question can be set, for a specific activity, to behave as if each question had the same score attached. This forces all questions to have identical weight in the overall score.
  • Activity score scaling. The activity bank will also allow a fixed maximum score for the activity as a whole. The raw total score will be scaled up or down in proportion to this maximum score. This means that points set for each question are no longer absolute values; instead they are relative values which determine the relative weight of the questions in the final outcome.
  • The Qedoc Quiz Maker's toolbars and menu systems have been completely revised to provide better access to frequently needed or difficult-to-find functions.
  • In addition, the toolbars now have labels. A right-click context menu on the toolbars allows labels to be removed (or reinserted). The toolbar preferences are stored between sessions.
  • Property tables for editing questions such as multiple choice and gapfill can now be undocked. Undocking is a one-click procedure which moves the table to the centre of the screen and enlarges it for easier editing. A re-dock button allows redocking.
  • Every text component in the Qedoc Quiz Maker, including the smallest text fields, now has an additional context menu function which launches an enlarged editing box for easier editing of the contents of the text component.
  • In version 2.0 we have added right-to-left component orientation to multiple choice questions. Right-to-left component orientation helps speakers of languages such as Hebrew and Arabic. In addition, language packs for Russian and Portuguese have been added.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.60 (Aug 14, 2007)

  • List-reordering question types now support images and audio clips
  • Anagrams: numerous cosmetic changes to the interface; additional options
  • Hangman: numerous cosmetic changes to the interface
  • Text fields: cosmetic changes to the interface
  • Gapfills: gapfills were very substantially enhanced in this version.
  • Improved lengths of text fields
  • Improved line wrapping on most types (other than the original type)
  • Underscores in text fields now adjust to font size; underscore text fields considerably improved in appearance.
  • Filtered text gapfill now supports phrases
  • Appearance of normal text fields (i.e. without underscores) improved
  • Filtered multiple choice gapfill reverts to random multiple choice gapfill if there is any error
  • Can now use colour coding to mark correct/incorrect responses
  • HTML tags activated in text segments
  • Redesigned editor panels for all random and filtered gapfill types
  • Filtered and random types now have optional "progressive" correction ("refuse incorrect")
  • Non-words (i.e. letter sequences and phrases) can now be set as gaps with filtered gapfills
  • Optimized layout of labels and textfields for when gaps are inside a word
  • The tag is now an alternative to �
  • Programming added to filtered gapfills to prevent smaller words which form part of larger filtered word from interfering with filtering of the larger words
  • Filtered drag-and-drop gapfills are now case-sensitive
  • Media no longer starts automatically when a question is viewed; the learner must prompt the start.
  • Compact media playback interface added for pair matching and gapfills (lacks progress bar).
  • Images in multiple choice and gapill combo and list controls limited to 32 pixels in height (automatic resizing).
  • Images in other multiple choice tasks limited to 150 x 100 pixels (automatic resizing).
  • Images in most drag-and-drop interfaces limited to 150 x 100 pixels (automatic resizing).
  • Module library: ALT/SHIFT/CTRL clicks can now open modules, as well as double-click.
  • Task wizard now filters drag-and-drop tasks instead of mouse-driven tasks.
  • A split pane has been added to main interface of the Qedoc Quiz Maker, allowing the contributor to resize the panes.
  • Upgraded French translation
  • Added German translation
  • The help system is undergoing major changes, a lot of which were introduced in this version. Rather than packaging a monolithic set of documentation with the Qedoc Quiz Maker, the documentation is being moved in two directions.
  • Firstly, some documentation and help is being moved to the controls themselves. Many controls now have tiny help icons which provide help both on mouse-move and mouse-click. Users are provided with help precisely at the point of need, without having to search through large blocks of documentation first.
  • Secondly, documentation is being moved to this site, where it can be constantly updated and improved.
  • Both changes include substantial extensions and improvements to the help system, and ensure that the help system will be able to evolve more in line with the software itself and with users' needs and questions.
  • Specific changes include:
  • Context-sensitive control-specific help pop-ups have been widely implemented.
  • The media bank help button now displays an icon key like the question bank.
  • The control-specific help buttons now also have a tooltip with the same content as the pop-up dialogue.
  • The help tab for browsing the packaged has been removed, along with the packaged help system.
  • The editor panel main help button now advises on using the small help icons.
  • Printing and email submissions: HTML tags now stripped
  • Email submission: questions and answers should now be UTF-safe
  • Implemented Mediawiki / Wikiversity export
  • Import facility for Hot Potatoes added
  • Mac-compatiblity of the web launch version has been improved
  • A user with a password can only be deleted if the password is entered.
  • A check now run on the selected player before editing is allowed.
  • An incorrect password now clears all selections on the player list.
  • Assessment options: added option for hiding the ?-button (until marked) as some users may accidentally use this button
  • Assessment options: added option for hiding the abandon button
  • Welcome display: if organisation string is "-1" it should not display
  • The sun attempts icon had lost its special cloud state (for disabled); now corrected

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.53 (Jul 23, 2007)

  • The major feature in this release is the addition of email submission of results. An author can optionally specify their email address for results to be sent back to. They can optionally restrict access to this feature (e.g. to their own students) by specifying a password.
  • When editing a data table, clicking the cancel button now reverts to the original state rather than wiping the table.
  • There are additional data table functions for duplicating and pivoting a table. Pivoting means rotating the table 90 degrees, so that its rows become columns and vice versa.
  • There is a new data table variable which allows access to exact cells (specified by row and column) without shuffling the data table.
  • There is a new batch function for changing the layout of multiple choice responses.
  • The search-and-replace function has been upgraded so that it can also operate properly on HTML tags and data table variables.
  • Response font settings now also take effect on: anagram responses, hangman task types, essay-type fields for typing in a lot of text.
  • The text areas in essay-type and text editing questions now automatically resize to a larger size when the font is enlarged.
  • Pair-matching: when a column layout is used and the text on the right and left sides is disproportionate in size (e.g. because one side has very short phrases while the other side has a whole paragraph), the entire response will now automatically shift to off-centre so that more space is allocated to the side with more text.
  • The layout of the media metadata forms has been redesigned and the image previews now resize, allowing better handling of previews of larger images.
  • The web launch version of the Qedoc Quiz Player has been substantially optimized and tweaked. The byte size has been cut by a further 500 kB.
  • As learning communities do not work with the default guest login, the error report for this situation has been modified accordingly.
  • Some marking problems with undisplayed task types using text fields was corrected.
  • A problem with the new context-sensitive help buttons was preventing some of the new question types (from version 1.5.2) displaying in the task wizard. Now fixed.
  • From version 1.5.2, modules with just 1 level skipped over the menu so that the quiz could be started more quickly. This feature had a bug which created problems when retaking the quiz in the same session. Now fixed.
  • Retrieved from "http://imint.com/en/index.php?title=Version_1.5.3"

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.52 (Jul 9, 2007)

  • Three new question types have been added. These are all variations of pair-matching questions.
  • Pair-matching grid: this is a simple version of the classic memory game. The "cards" are turned up all the time which allows easier matching and also allows the use of more difficult kinds of match.
  • Pair-matching columns: instead of a grid, the buttons of pairs form two opposed columns, where it is known that one item must be taken from each side.
  • Pair-matching rows: a rotated version of the above, which may be more suitable for matching images rather than text.
  • In all the above question types, matched items can be text, image or audio clips.
  • [edit]Improvements to existing question types
  • Drag and drop: the border width around draggable items has been increased.
  • Pair matching with lines: in the question types where pairs are matched by drawing lines between them, there has been some extensive fine tuning. The lines are more responsive to the mouse. Additionally, the lines jump towards nodes when the mouse approaches the node, making it easier to "fasten" a line to a node.
  • Typed response: in the variant of this question type which has a virtual keyboard and multiple text fields, the size of the letters on the virtual keyboard can now be user-defined.
  • Memory games and associated pair-matching question types: the correct matches are now displayed after a question has been attempted, so that a learner can see their mistakes and have a chance to improve in subsequent attempts; font sizes on buttons are now set by the normal font controller for the response rather than a separate control; the editor interface has generally been improved.
  • Essay-type questions: a problem with non-opaque enclosing panels has been fixed.
  • [edit]Player management
  • Player management refers to the ability of the Qedoc Quiz Player to allow multiple users to create player profiles, complete with name, avatar and other details. The changes below extend an overhaul of the player management system started in version 1.5.1.
  • Modules can now be played in "guest" mode with no logged on player. The guest is always selected by default when the Quiz Player is started.
  • As the password options may have been confusing some users, the password options are disabled by default.
  • The creation, storage and deletion of player profiles has been largely rewritten. The player manager works much more smoothly as a result, and a number of bugs have disappeared.
  • Player profiles can now be edited after creation. In particular, this means that players can change their avatars without losing their progress records.
  • [edit]Deployment
  • There have been numerous improvements to the web start version of the Qedoc Quiz Player. This is the version which can pop up from websites.
  • When run on Windows, the web start version of the Qedoc Quiz Player now supports flash, quicktime, MP3's and numerous other media formats.
  • The byte size of the web start version of the Qedoc Quiz Player has been reduced by about 5 MB, so that it is now very approximately 4 MB (a download is only required the first time it is run).
  • The web start version of the Qedoc Quiz Player now initially starts in a 800 x 600 window rather than full screen, which makes for more elegant launching. Module authors can choose to have their modules resize the window to full screen if required.
  • It is no longer necessary to log on as a player when running the web start version of the Qedoc Quiz Player. The Player launches with a "guest" player logged on. If a user wants to, they can define one or more players and avatars, which will be remembered across sessions.
  • The web start version of the Qedoc Quiz Player now includes all the language packs: French, Spanish, Dutch, Greek and Korean. For faster starting, the default language when started is always English.
  • [edit]Internationalisation
  • Greek and Korean language packs are now inluded with the Qedoc Quiz Player. The interface language can be changed instantly.
  • [edit]Other changes
  • Licencing of modules is being upgraded from version 2.5 to version 3.0 of the Creative Commons licences for artistic and educational resources.
  • Bugs relating to selection ranges on the question bank interface have been fixed; these bugs crept in with version 1.5.1.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.44 (Mar 15, 2007)

  • Support for Moodle XML format. The Qedoc Quiz Maker can export to and from Moodle, a popular free and open source virtual learning environment or learning management system. This means that you can transfer simple quizzes into a browser-based environment as part of your quiz deployment strategy. See: exporting to Moodle.
  • The Qedoc Quiz Maker now has an export manager and an import manager. These are special mini-applications which provide easy access to a growing range of import/export options.
  • The Qedoc import manager includes a diagnostics system for locating input format errors for you and filtering out errors to maximize the number of imported questions. Corrupted data input sections can be manually edited and tested in the import manager to see if format errors have been removed. When the data passes the diagnostics system, the remaining erroneous questions will be imported as well.
  • The various new options available in the import and export managers mean that it is now much easier to move questions between modules using copy-and-paste actions. Output data can be copied from the export manager, a new module loaded, and the data copied straight from the clipboard into the import manager. See exporting and importing questions between modules.
  • The task wizard has been modified to filter printable questions and questions which can be exported to Moodle.
  • A tool has been added which copies modules straight from the Qedoc Quiz Maker into the Qedoc Quiz Player and then launches the Qedoc Quiz Player. (Commercial version only).

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.31 (Oct 8, 2006)

  • Improved presentations;
  • PDF support.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.25 (Aug 26, 2006)

  • Enhancements to multiple choice question types.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.23 (Jul 25, 2006)

  • Context menus added to text components: copy and paste functionality now properly implemented in these controls.
  • Undo function (10-level) applied to text components.
  • Spinner (number selection) controls completely rewritten; new ones are easier to operate and more reliable.
  • Miniature rewards symbols now display on level menu in Quiz Player.
  • Minor changes to rewards system: additional icons and improved rewards calculations.
  • Closing dialogues now make sense.
  • Futher fixes and improvements to sound FX system.
  • Licence collection system overhauled.

New in Qedoc Quiz Maker 1.11 (May 26, 2006)

  • Mathematical extensions