With this form you can create a so-called quiz pack.
A quiz pack is a file which you can transfer from author to
author and from server to server.
It contains the definition of one or more quizzes and/or questionnaires
(in what follows simply called quizzes)
together with all their associated files.
This form must also be used when you want to
unpack
a quiz pack stored on another server on the internet or
stored on your own computer. Read more
here.
When a quiz pack is created it is presented to you on your screen
in plain text which you can store on your computer.
A quiz pack has a special format of which most is incomprehensible
to humans.
Nonetheless it is presented on your screen because this
is a simple way of letting you store it on your computer.
Just click the File button (or similar) in your browsers top menu, then on
Save as ... and enter a file name at a suitable directory
on your computer (or wherever the file can be retrieved).
The file should have the extension .txt.
You are only able to read and comprehend
the first lines of the file stating among
other things a date and time and a list of names of
quizzes and associated files contained in the file
together with any description of the contents of the pack.
You may change the first lines of the file before the line
starting with the word "begin".
You could for example add
your own comments concerning the pack.
But the slightest change of the file from this line onwards
may result in your file being impossible to unpack (if
you have no other copy of your files you will have to consider them lost).
Notice that a quiz pack ipso facto contains the specifications of the
correct answers to the quizzes and that even if the file may
look unintelligible, it can be unpacked by skilled persons.
For this reason it will not be stored as a file on the quizserver
where it was assembled, nor on a server to which it is transferred
unless otherwise specified, see below.
(But notice that it might become stored in your browsers cache).
To create a quiz pack enter in the long entry field
the names (only) of the quizzes you want packed
(or, if a list of current names are presented to you,
click one or more of these - at the same time using the
CTRL-button, maybe).
Then click the button "Create quiz pack".
After a short while you'll have the pack displayed on
your screen.
Proceed as described above.
If you write a name in the the entry field labelled
"Simultaneously with creation of pack:"
a copy of the quiz pack will be made accessible to anyone
with access to your quiz server
in the same way as your dialog quizzes
are accessible to anyone.
The name may contain letters, digits, underscore and hyphen
starting with a letter.
If, for instance, you write xxx in the entry field your pack will be
accessible in the location field of a browser
as http://DOMAIN/AUTHOR/xxx_pck.txt, where DOMAIN
is your server domain name (e.g. www.quizcenter.com) and AUTHOR
is your identification.
Please notice the _pck.txt added to the name you indicate.
A public quiz pack must be copied (saved) into a computer
before it can be unpacked by an(other) author on a(nother) server.
An HTML-page can be created with links to your public packs.
Any author with access to that page can then download any of your packs
to his/her own computer for later transfer and unpacking
on his/her QuizComposer server.
Before unpacking a quiz pack you should
examine whether you have quizzes or questionnaires on the present server
which will be overwritten (deleted) by quizzes and questionnaires
having the same name in the pack.
Use the entry fields and buttons at the
bottom
of this form to either unpack a quiz pack on the internet
or transfer anf unpack a quiz pack on your computer.
For a quiz pack on the internet enter its complete URL
(Universal Ressource Location) on the internet, then click
the associated button.
For a quiz pack on your computer enter its
full name (including path) of the file containing the quiz pack.
If present use the Browse... button close to the entry field
to get the name right.
Then click the associated button "Transfer and unpack above quiz pack".
After a while a log file (if not an error message) will appear on
your screen indicating whether the unpacking process went well
or not.
If you get a message about an unknown (or missing) file,
then probably there is a quiz in the pack which refers to a
file not being present on the server (it wasn"t present
before the transfer and it isn"t included in the pack).
If there is no message following the name of a quiz (followed
by a colon) other than "Location..." then the unpacking proces
(probably) went well.
If the quiz is a new one it will first appear on the list of your quizzes
and questionnaires after a reload of that page.
Clicking a button also reloads the page listing your quizzes et cetera.
