MicroTest III Help Contents

Quick Reference

Program Overview

Opening MicroTest III

Opening a Question Bank

Creating a New Question Bank

Adding and Editing Questions and Figures

Creating a Test

Printing Questions

Importing Questions

List of All Topics


Quick Reference

Starting MicroTest III

1.	Click the Start button.

2.	From the Start menu, click Programs.

3.	From the MicroTest III hierarchical pop-up menu, click on the MicroTest III application.  The Welcome to MicroTest dialog will display.

Quick Start

The opening dialog box allows you to choose the Quick Start feature, which will guide you through  the process of Creating a Test or Creating a Question Bank, or the use the Experienced User feature.

NOTE: If you choose Experienced User and then decide you want to use Quick Start, you can access it from the Help menu.

NOTE:  While using Quick Start, click the Back button to edit a previous step.  To end the test creation process at any time click the Stop button.

Creating a Test Using Quick Start

Click the Create a Test button and follow the steps below:

Step 1.  Select a Question Bank

1	Click the Open Question Bank button.  The Select a Question Bank to Open dialog will display.

2	Highlight the name of the Question Bank you want to open.

3	Click the Open button.

4	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Step 2.  Name Your Test

1	Click the Name Test button.  The Name Test dialog will display.

2	Type the name of the test you want to create in the File Name field.

3	Click the Save button.

4	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Step 3.	 Select Questions for Your Test

There are three ways you can select test questions: by selecting odd, even or all questions, using the Auto Select feature, or using the Manual Select feature.  All options are discussed below:

Select Odd, Even, or All Questions from a Chapter

1	Click the drop down menu arrow to scroll through the chapter list.

2	To select a chapter click on the specific chapter name

3	To select Odd, Even or All questions from a chapter click the appropriate button.  Use the Clear button to remove selected questions from a specific chapter.

NOTE: Strong linked questions will not be included when using the Odd or Even choice, as selecting one selects them all.

4	Repeat steps 1-3 to select question(s) from a different chapter(s).

5	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Auto Select

The MicroTest III Auto Select feature randomly selects questions that satisfy the condition you set.

1	Click the Auto Select button.  The Select Chapter for Auto Selection dialog will display.

2	From the Select Chapters for Auto Selection dialog, choose a chapter(s) to select questions from.

3	To continue click the OK button.  The Auto Selection for Section dialog will display.

4	Click inside the Select: Questions text box and type the number of questions to be selected for the test.

5	Select questions based on the following criteria:

Difficulty Level - Choose a difficulty level by clicking on the appropriate radio button to specify Any Difficulty level, Greater Than or Equal, Equal To or Less Than or Equal.

Question Type - Choose the question type(s) to be included on the test by clicking in the appropriate checkbox(s).  The total number of questions available will appear in the "Totals" column to the right of each question type.

Key Word Selection - Key words included in the chapter(s) selected appear in the Key Word Selection list box.

From this list box, choose from the following options:

•	To select questions regardless of key word: Leave all words highlighted and questions with and without assigned key words will be selected.

•	To select questions without key words: Click on the Clear All button and then click on "Questions Without Key Words".

•	To select questions based on specific key word(s): Click the Clear All button, click on the specific key word(s). Click on "Questions Without Key Words" to unselect it.

NOTE: Including Matching or Identification questions as candidates for auto selection may result in more than the requested number of questions being selected.  If you do not want these question types included in your test, unmark the Include Matching and Identification Questions box in the Auto Select window.

6	Click Calculate.  The number of questions that meet your criteria will display.

7	To unselect or select additional chapters, click the Select Chapters button to return to the Select Chapters for Auto Selection dialog and repeat steps 4-7.

8	When finished, click the OK button.

9	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Manual Select

The MicroTest III Manual Select feature allows you to choose individual questions from any chapter(s).

1	Click the Manual Select button.  The Select Questions dialog displays.

2	Click the drop down menu arrow to scroll through the chapter list.

3	To select a chapter click on the specific chapter name.

4	Double-click on the number button(s) representing the question(s) you want to include in your test.  If you want to unselect a question, double-click on the numbered button again.  Once a question has been selected the question will be highlighted.

5	Repeat steps 1-4 to select questions from different chapters.

6	Click the Finished button

7	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

NOTE: The CREATE TEST STATUS box (bottom left) will record the number of questions that have been selected for your test.

Step 4.	Create a Test Header

1	Click the Create Test Header button.  The Create Test Header dialog will display.

2	Click the Print: drop down menu arrow to scroll and select the option to print the test header On All Pages or On First Page Only.

3	Type the test header in the space provided.  If you wish to enter blank lines between the header and the first question of your test, press the enter key one time for each blank line.

4	Click the Save button (upper left corner of dialog) to save your test header.

5	Click the Finished button.

6	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Step 5.	Print Your Test

1	To print your test, click the Print Test button.  The Print/Preview dialog will display.

2	Select test versions by double-clicking on Version numbers (top left corner of dialog) or by selecting version numbers and then clicking on the Select this Test Version for Printing checkbox.

3	Repeat step 2 until you are finished selecting test versions to be printed.

4	Select a test Version by clicking on it to begin selecting from the following print options:

•	Select Scramble Choices for Multiple Choice Quests. by clicking on the checkbox.

•	Select Group Question Types into Sections if you want your test items sorted by question type.

•	Select a Version Print Sequence by clicking on the appropriate radio button.

•	Select a Beginning Page Number and/or Beginning Question Number for your test by typing a number in the appropriate text box(s).

5	Select to print an Answer Key and/or a Student Answer Sheet by clicking in the appropriate checkbox(s).

6	Repeat step 4 for each version selected for printing.

7	After all options have been selected click on the Preview button to view the test before printing button.

8	Click Finished to end the test creation process.

Creating a New Question Bank Using Quick Start

Click the Create a Question Bank button and follow the steps below:

Step 1.	Title Your Question Bank

1	Enter a Question Bank title and Author in the fields provided.

2	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Step 2.	Save Your Question Bank

1	Click the Save Question Bank button.  The Name the New Question Bank dialog will display.

2	Type the name of the question bank you want to create in the File Name field.

3	Click the Save button

4	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Step 3.	Set Font Name and Size

1	Click the Set Font button.  The Font dialog will display.

2	Change the font, font style, and/or size options as desired.

3	When you have finished click the OK button.

4	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Step 4.	Create New Chapter(s)

1	Click the Create New Chapter button.  The New Chapter dialog will display.

2	Enter the Chapter Title, Chapter Number, and Chapter Suffix (optional) in the fields provided.

3	When you have finished click the OK button.

4	After you have completed this step click the Next button.

Step 5.	Create New Questions

1	Click the drop down menu arrow to scroll through the chapter list.

2	To select a chapter click on the specific chapter name.

3	Choose a question type from the Select Question Type list by clicking in the appropriate radio button.  The question type chosen will determine the question type you will use first to begin creating questions for your test .

4	Click the Finished button to begin creating questions for your test.

Creating/Opening Question Banks

1	a)	From the Welcome to MicroTest - Experienced User dialog, select the appropriate radio button to Create A Test, Open Existing Test or Open Existing Question Bank.  To create a new Question Bank, click the New Bank button.

-or-

b)	Choose Create a Question Bank from the Quick Start portion of the opening dialog box.

2	OPTIONAL: With a New Question Bank, you can click inside the Question Bank, Author and Publisher text boxes and enter information. Click OK to continue.

3	The appropriate files, if any, will appear in the list box once you have selected an option.  Click on the file you wish to access and then choose the Open Bank or Open Test button.

If you are creating a new Question Bank, select the drive and directory/ folder, type in a file name in the File Name: text box and click OK.

IMPORTANT: It is best to save your new question bank in the same folder/directory that also contains the MicroTest III program.

For more detailed instructions, see Creating a New Question Bank or Opening an Existing Question Bank.

MicroTest III's Tiled Windows

With MicroTest III, you can work with options from the menu bar or in a window-driven environment.

Display/Edit Figures

From the Window menu, choose this option to view figures contained in your question bank along with the question numbers that are linked to each figure.

Select Questions

This window is used to view questions or select them for a test. Questions for the highlighted chapter in the Table of Contents window appear as numbered buttons. Click once on a button to view a question in the Edit Questions window or when a test file is opened, double-click on a button to select that question for a test.

Table of Contents

This window is used to access the chapters contained in your question bank. Specific information about each chapter is displayed along with a breakdown of question types per chapter.

Edit Questions

Enter new questions, edit or review questions contained in your question bank. Use the arrow buttons or click on the numbered buttons located in the Select Questions window to move through each chapter. Three pop-up menus allow you to assign key words, difficulty levels, and/or link a figure to a question.

For additional information, see MicroTest III's Tiled Windows.

Global Editing and Layout Features

1	Before entering or importing questions into a question bank, review and modify "global" question layout features.

2	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

3	From the Question Layout hierarchical menu, choose: General Layout, True or False, Multiple Choice, Matching & Identification, or Matching Questions.  Modify information as needed by using the Tab key to move between fields.

4	After each field has been modified, click OK.

For more detailed instructions, see General Layout.

Creating Chapters

Create up to 250 chapters per question bank.

1	From the Chapter menu, choose New Chapter.

2	Click inside the Chapter Title text box and type a name of up to 79 characters.

3	Click inside the Chapter Number text box and type in a chapter number of up to 3 digits.

4	OPTIONAL: Click inside the Chapter Suffix text box and type a suffix of up to 5 characters.

5	Click OK to save chapter information.

For more detailed instructions, see Creating a New Chapter.

Defining Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Each question bank can contain up to 52 key words and difficulty levels of up to 47 characters.

1	From the Edit menu, choose Key Words or Difficulty Levels.

2	Click on the New radio button in the Edit State: box.

3	Type in a key word or difficulty level in text box and click Enter.

4	Repeat step three for each new key word or difficulty level.

5	To save information, click OK.

NOTE: Assign Key Words and Difficulty Levels to questions using the pop-up menus in the Edit Questions window.

For more detailed instructions, see Using Key Words and Difficulty Levels.

Entering Questions

Question banks can include up to 15,000 test items. Each chapter within the question bank can include up to 400 questions and 52 figures.

1	Click on the chapter in the Table of Contents window where you wish to add questions.

2	Click inside the Edit Questions window or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

3	From the Question menu, choose a question type:

Essay

Short Answer

Fill in the Blank

Matching (point value per choice)

Identification

True or False

Multiple Choice

Matching Questions (point value for complete question)

4	Click in the first entry field in this window to type in your question. To move between entry fields, click inside each field or use the control-alt-tab keys.

5	Click on the pop-up menus to link a figure or assign a key word/difficulty level.

6	From the Edit Questions window, click on the Save button.

For more detailed instructions, see Entering New Questions.

Creating/Opening Tests

1	Start the MicroTest III program.

2	a) From the Welcome to MicroTest - Experienced User dialog, select the appropriate radio button to Create A Test or Open Existing Test.

-or-

b) Choose Create a Test from Quick Start for a step-by-step guide through the process of creating a new test.

For more detailed instructions, see Creating a New Test or Opening an Existing Test.

Creating Test Sections

Group like questions together in up to eight sections per test.  Sections are printed in the order displayed in the Test menu.

1	From the Test menu, choose Create Section.

2	Click inside the Section Title: text box and type the name for the section.  As you add or modify sections they appear at the bottom of the Test menu.

3	From the Test menu, choose a section and then select questions for that section.

For more detailed instructions, see Creating Test Sections.

Creating Page and Section Headers

Headers or instructions can appear before sections, on the first page or on all pages of a test. There are no character limitations or restrictions for headers.

1	From the Test menu, choose Page Header 1, Page Header 2 or Section Header.

2	After entering text and/or graphics in the window, choose to print text on the first page or on all pages of a test from the pop-up menu. Section headers will print before questions associated with a section.  If you would like blank lines between your instructions and the first question of your test, press the enter key for each blank line desired.

3	Click Save when finished. Click inside the window to enter text and/or graphics.

For more detailed instructions, see Creating Page and Section Headers.

Selecting Questions For A Test - Manually

1	If you have created multiple sections, from the Test menu, choose a section.

2	Click inside the Select Questions window or choose this option from the Window menu.

3	In the Select Questions window, double-click on the button(s)/question(s) you want to include in your test.

4	To select questions from another chapter: Click inside the Table of Contents window and click on another chapter or make selections from the Chapter menu.

5	You may group questions by type by clicking on the Group Questions by Type box from the Test menu.

6	When you have finished selecting questions, from the File menu, choose Save Test.

The color of the buttons indicates selection status of each question: not highlighted = not selected, a solid color/black = selected for named test or section, gray = question selected but for another section.

For more detailed instructions, see Manual Select.

Selecting Questions For A Test - Auto Select

This option randomly selects questions based on criteria that you determine.

1	From the Select menu, choose Auto Select.

2	From this dialog, choose the chapter or chapters to be included in your test.

3	To continue, click OK or press the Enter key.

4	Click inside the Select: Questions text box and type the number of test questions.

NOTE: Including Matching and Identification questions as candidates for auto selection may result in more than the requested number of questions being selected.  If you do not wish to include these types of questions, unmark the Include Matching and Identification Questions box.

5	Next, select criteria based on the options available.

6	Click Calculate. The number of questions that meet your criteria displays.

7	To save, click OK or press Enter.

For more detailed instructions, see Auto Select.

Selecting Questions For A Test - Select menu

Quickly select a block of questions from a single chapter by choosing one of the following options from the Select menu:

Select odd, even, or all questions within the chapter or select questions displayed in the Edit Questions window.

NOTE: Strong linked questions will not be included if the "Odd" or "Even" choice is selected since selecting one selects all.

For more detailed instructions, see Select Menu.

Print/Previewing Tests

After you have selected questions for your test, included all headers and instructions, you're ready to print.  MicroTest III can print up to 15 versions of a test.

1	From the File menu, choose Print/Preview Test.

2	Select test versions by double-clicking on Version numbers (top left corner of dialog) or by selecting version numbers and then clicking on the Select this Test Version for Printing checkbox.

NOTE: When multiple versions of a test are created, each version can contain different print sequence options. MicroTest III will default to the last entry modified.

3	Create different test versions with these print sequence options.

4	Set a beginning page and question number for each test version.

5	Choose Group Question Types in Sections

6	Chose Print Options

7	Choose how page numbers will appear on each test.

8	Click the Preview button to view a test before printing or click Print.

For more detailed instructions, see Printing a Test.


Program Overview

MicroTest III Terminology

MicroTest III's Tiled Windows

MicroTest III's Tool Bars

Display Options

Keyboard Shortcuts

Cross Platform Considerations

Getting Additional Help


MicroTest III Terminology

The list below describes the terms that will be helpful to know and understand when using MicroTest III.

Question Bank

A question bank refers to the set of test questions entered and saved in MicroTest III.  A question bank can also be referred to as a database of questions created for a subject, textbook or class.  MicroTest III uses a book/chapter format which helps organize question banks in order to make questions easy to find and easy to store.

Test

When you select questions from your question bank for a test, you are actually creating an index of chapter and question numbers.  This index then collects the text from the question bank which matches each chapter/question number you have selected. The end result is a printed exam.

Chapters

Chapters are defined in MicroTest III as organizational divisions or sections. MicroTest III is designed just like a textbook - each chapter is different, containing information specific to that chapter. Chapters can be accessed through MicroTest III's Table of Contents window which displays each chapter numerically and by name.

Sections

When you create a test, you may want to use sections to organize and group question types together.  Sections can contain questions from any chapter within a question bank. Up to eight sections, each with its own set of instructions, can be included in a test.

Figures

MicroTest III defines a figure as any test item that can be linked to one or more questions. Figures can incorporate graphics and/or text within your question bank and can include illustrations, diagrams, charts, maps or tables.


MicroTest III's Tiled Windows

With MicroTest III, you can work with options from the menu bar or you can choose to work in a window-driven environment. MicroTest III's windows provide immediate access to the chapters and questions contained in a question bank. You can choose to work in MicroTest III's tiled window format or you can create your own window arrangement.  Choose to work with any of the following windows: Table of Contents, Select Questions, Edit Questions and Display/Edit Figures.

Click inside a window to make it active.  MicroTest III's windows are interrelated - when information is changed in one window, the program automatically updates related information in the other windows for you.

You can modify the window arrangement at any time by choosing formatting options from the Window menu.

Table of Contents

This window is used to access the chapters contained in your question bank.  The top section of the window displays the question bank's name and its contents.  If you have a test open, this window displays the test's name and the number of questions selected.

The main body of the window summarizes the contents of each chapter contained in your question bank (chapter numbers and titles, total number of questions and figures in each chapter, total number of questions selected for a test).  This window also provides a breakdown of question types per chapter: ES = Essay, SA = Short Answer, FB = Fill in the Blank, MA = Matching (point value per choice) ID = Identification, TF =True or false, MC = Multiple choice, and  MQ = Matching Questions (2 column, point value per complete question.) If figures are included with questions, they are listed under the heading "Figs".

The highlight bar in the Table of Contents window indicates which chapter is currently selected (use your mouse, the Chapter menu or the arrow keys on your keyboard to select a chapter to work with).  To access more information about a specific question in a chapter, use MicroTest III's Select Questions and Edit Questions windows.

Select Questions

After a chapter has been selected in the Table of Contents window, the Select Questions window displays the question numbers contained in that chapter. Use this window to select questions for a test or to view a specific question in the Edit Questions window.  If a test file is open, the top section of the window displays information about questions selected for the test.

The main body of the window is filled with numbered buttons.  Each button represents a question in the chapter and contains information about the question type and whether it is linked to a figure. Click once on a button to view a question in the Edit Questions window or, if a test is open, double-click on a button to select a question for a test.  To unselect a test question, double-click on the appropriate highlighted button.

Edit Questions

This window is used to review the content of each question in the question bank.  You can enter new questions, edit existing questions or simply review questions prior to selecting them for a test.

The active chapter's number and title are displayed at the top of the window.  Three pop-up menus allow you to assign key words and/or difficulty levels to questions and link figures to questions.  The In Test box allows you to save the displayed question to your test. In addition, you can move through the question bank by clicking on the arrow buttons within the window or by clicking on the numbered buttons located in the Select Questions window.  The arrow buttons allow you to move to the first, previous, next or last question in the chapter.  The Save button is used when you edit or add a question and want to save those changes to your question bank (it will also forward you to the next question).

Display/Edit Figures

This window displays the figures contained in the question bank along with the question numbers that are linked to each figure.  You can create or modify figures using this window.


MicroTest III's Tool Bars

MicroTest III includes two tool bars.  The main tool bar appears beneath the MicroTest III menu bar and allows users to perform basic operations such as opening or creating new question bank files and tests.  The editing tool bar appears in the Edit Questions window and allows users to go to specific questions, to cut and paste, to change the style of selected text, and to select individual questions for a test.

Main Tool Bar

You can use the main tool bar to gain quick access to many commonly used program functions.  The tool bar will automatically appear beneath the MicroTest III menu bar when you open a question bank file.  If you do not want the tool bar to appear you can change the default setting in the Display Options dialog box.  You can access Display Options under the Edit menu.

Use the main tool bar to access the following features and functions:

•	New Question Bank	•	Auto Select Questions

•	Open Question Bank	•	Print Test

•	Exit MicroTest III	•	Tile Windows

•	New Test	•	Help

•	Open Test

Editing Tool Bar

You can use the editing tool bar to navigate through a chapter or to make style changes to question text.  The tool bar will always appear in the Edit Questions window when you open a question bank file.

Use the editing tool bar to access the following features and functions:

•	First & Last Question Arrow buttons	•	Paste

•	Previous & Next Question Arrow buttons	•	Bold

•	Save Question	•	Italic

•	Go To Question	•	Underline

•	Cut	•	Superscript

•	Copy	•	Subscript

• 	"In Test" Checkbox

Hiding the Tool Bar and Status Bar

1	From the Edit menu, choose Display Options.

2	Click the Show Tool Bar and/or the Show Status Bar checkbox to disable.

3	Click OK.

4	Repeat steps 1-3 to reactivate the tool bar or the status bar.

NOTE:  Only the main tool bar can be disabled.  The editing tool bar will always appear in the Edit Questions window.  The status bar identifies both the main and editing tool bar items when your cursor passes over each button.


Display Options

In addition to showing or hiding the tool bar or status bar, the Display Options will also allow you to select a highlight color that will be used for the highlight bar in the Table of Contents window and for selected questions in the Select Questions window.

Selecting a Highlight Color

1	From the Edit menu, choose Display Options.

2	Click on the Chapter Highlight Color button.

3	From the Select Color dialog, click on a color from the palette.

4	Click OK and verify that the correct new color displays in the Display Options dialog.

5	Click OK in the Display Options dialog.

6	The new color should appear as the highlight bar for the selected chapter in the Table of Contents window.


Keyboard Shortcuts

The list below describes the modifier keys that simplify MicroTest III operations.

File Menu

Ctrl N	Create a New Test

Ctrl O	Open a Test

Ctrl W	Close a Test

Ctrl S	Save a Test

Ctrl P	Print/Preview a Test

Edit Menu

Ctrl Z	Undo previous editing command

Ctrl X	Cut the highlighted selection

Ctrl C	Copy the highlighted selection

Ctrl V	Paste selection

Ctrl A	Select All

Question Menu

Ctrl F	Create Free Format Question

Ctrl T	Create True or False Question

Ctrl M	Create Multiple Choice Question

Ctrl H	Create Matching Question

Ctrl R	Scale Graphic

Ctrl E	Add Choice to Multiple Choice or Matching Questions

Ctrl G	Go to the First, Last or a Specific Question in a Chapter

Ctrl D	Delete Question

Window Menu

Ctrl Y	Arrange Open Windows in a MicroTest Tile Pattern

Ctrl-Alt-Tab	Move the cursor between question template entry fields


Cross Platform Considerations

MicroTest III is available for both the Macintosh and Windows platforms.  The program has been developed in such a way that files created on one platform can be moved to another platform.  Question bank and test files can be transferred and utilized on both platforms.  Some care must be taken if you plan to move these files between platforms because of implicit differences between the Macintosh and Windows operating systems.  These differences fall into four major categories:  Fonts, Graphics, File Names and Attributes.

Fonts

If you plan to move your files between platforms, use a font that exists on both Macintosh and Windows.  We recommend that you test the fonts you want to use by creating a sample question bank that can be viewed on both platforms.  If MicroTest III encounters a font that it cannot recognize, it will attempt to find its closest match.

Graphics

When pasting graphics into MicroTest III, the program uses a format best suited to the platform on which it was created.  The Macintosh file format default is the PICT format, and Windows creates a Windows MetaFile.  These formats will provide the best quality reproduction for printed tests.

NOTE:  These file format defaults are platform specific and cannot be read by both platforms.  For example, if MicroTest III (Windows) attempts to open a PICT file, an 'X' corresponding to the size of the image is displayed instead.  The same will occur if the Macintosh version of MicroTest III attempts to open a Windows MetaFile.

If you plan to move questions with graphics between platforms, we recommend that you paste your graphics in 'Cross Platform Format.'  Before pasting your graphics into MicroTest III, from the Edit menu, choose Question Layout, and then choose General Layout.  From the General Layout Options dialog, select the "Store Graphics in Cross Platform Format" checkbox.  MicroTest III will then automatically store graphics as Device Independent Bitmap ('DIB') files.

NOTE: If you have a previously created question bank that contains graphs that were pasted without the Store Graphics in Cross Platform Format box marked, you can mark the box and copy and paste the graphs again.  You may find that these files do not reproduce with the same quality as the PICT files or MetaFiles.

File Names

If you want to move files from one platform to another, we recommend that you create file names that both platforms can read.  You will find that this applies when you move files from the Macintosh to a Windows system.  We recommend adhering to the following guidelines:

1	Punctuation marks, or special characters cannot be used.

2	File extensions should not be added.  In addition, do not delete extensions generated by MicroTest III.  For example, MicroTest III uses .1, .i and .tst to identify question bank files and test files.

Attributes

Files moved from Windows to the Macintosh contain icons that are Windows specific.  These icons are controlled by the 'Type' and 'Creator' codes assigned by the Macintosh operating system.  If you are not familiar with modifying these codes, we recommend that you research commercial or shareware products that can assist you.  Type and creator codes for MicroTest III are as follows:

File Type	Type Code	Creator Code

Question Bank Index (*.I):	Bndx	MSDB

Question Bank Data (*.1):	BOOK	MSDB

Test Files (*.tst):	TEST	MSDB

Virtual Resource Files (*.vrf):	VRF[space]	MSDB


Getting Additional Help

Chariot Software Group is pleased to provide quality technical support to our registered customers.

•	Email:	techsupport@chariot.com

•	Web Site:	www.chariot.com

•	Fax:	619-491-0021

•	Voice:	619-298-0202

Technical support representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.


Opening MicroTest III

When MicroTest III is installed on your hard disk, a folder/directory is created that contains the MicroTest III application.  To open MicroTest III:

1	Click the Start button.

2	From the Start menu, click Programs.

3	From the MicroTest III hierarchical pop-up menu, click on the MicroTest III application.  The Welcome to MicroTest dialog will display.


Opening a Question Bank from a Previous MicroTest III Version

If you open an earlier version of MicroTest III, a message will appear asking if you would like to convert your file.  Click the "yes" selection and follow the on screen directions.


Opening an Existing Question Bank

1	Start the MicroTest III program (see Opening MicroTest III ).

2	From the Welcome to MicroTest - Experienced User dialog, select Open Existing Question Bank.

3	The appropriate files will appear in the list box.  Click on the file you wish to access and then choose the Open Bank button.

MicroTest III allows only one question bank to be open at a time.  If you would like to switch from one question bank to another:

1	From the File menu, choose Close Question Bank.

2	Repeat steps 2 and 3 listed above.

IMPORTANT: When you exit the MicroTest III program, choose Close Question Bank from the File menu, then Exit.


Creating a New Question Bank

1	Start the MicroTest III program (see Opening MicroTest III ).

2	a) From the Welcome to MicroTest - Experienced User  dialog, click the New Bank button.  The New Question Bank dialog displays.

-or-

b) From the Welcome to MicroTest - Quick Start dialog, click on Create a Question Bank for a step-by-step guide through the process of Creating a Question Bank.

3	OPTIONAL: Click inside the Question Bank, Author and Publisher text boxes to enter information if the question bank corresponds to a textbook. (Use the mouse or the Tab key to move to each text box and the Enter key within the Publisher text box to enter multiple lines of text.)

4	Click OK to continue.

The Name the New Question Bank dialog displays.

5	To save your Question Bank to a particular drive in a specific folder or directory, select the appropriate drive and directory, type in a file name for the question bank in the File Name: text box and click OK.

When you create a new question bank, two files will be placed in your MicroTest III folder/directory.  These files will share the name you give to your question bank and each file will have a special extension (".1" and ".i").  Both of these files are necessary to work within your question bank and to create tests.  Your question bank and any tests you create could become corrupted if the files are separated.

As you create new question banks, you should review and/or modify format features before entering questions (entering questions is discussed in Adding and Editing Questions and Figures). After entering a question bank title, you should define the global editing and layout features.  These global attributes include designating default fonts, type sizes and type styles for all questions contained in your question bank. In addition, review defaults for specific question types (true or false, multiple choice, and matching questions) because they will determine how MicroTest III formats the templates prior to your test question input or import.  After you have defined the global settings, you can begin to enter chapter names and numbers.

IMPORTANT: It is best to save your new question bank in the same folder/directory that also contains the MicroTest III program.

The Table of Contents window displays. For additional information on windows, see MicroTest III's Tiled Windows.


Creating a New Question Bank

Question Layout Features

General Layout

Global Font Change

True or False (Question Layout)

Multiple Choice (Question Layout)

Matching (Question Layout)

Matching and Identification (point per choice) Question Layout

Using Chapters

Creating a New Chapter

Modifying a Chapter

Importing a Chapter

Deleting a Chapter

Arranging MicroTest III Windows

Using Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Entering Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Modifying and Deleting Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Levels to Specific Questions


Question Layout Features

Before entering or importing questions into a new question bank, review and/or modify the general layout and specific question type layout features.

You will also need to create chapters and you may want to assign key words and difficulty levels.

The options described in this section will allow you to enter global settings that apply to all test questions created in a question bank. Options can be changed at any time throughout the program, but keep in mind that they will affect the entire question bank as well as your tests.  If a specific question needs to be modified, select options from the Question menu. To make global changes, use options from the Question Layout hierarchical menu.

General Layout

Global Font Change

True or False (Question Layout)

Multiple Choice (Question Layout)

Matching and Identification (point value per choice) Question Layout


General Layout

1	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

2	From the Question Layout hierarchical menu, choose General Layout.

The General Layout Options dialog displays.  The options selected in this dialog pertain to all questions in the question bank regardless of question type.

3	Click inside text boxes and checkboxes or use the Tab key to move between fields.

4	After each field has been verified and/or modified, click OK.

Two Column Printing

To enable two column printing check the "Two Column Printing" checkbox.

You may adjust the gap between columns by entering a value between 0 and 1 in the "Gap Between Columns" entry box.

When you change this setting, all of the questions in the bank are affected, not just the questions for a specific test.

Page Margins

Click inside the text boxes to adjust the size of page margins. Minimum page margins will depend on your printer.

Question Font Default

This option displays the current font, size and style default for all question, answer, figure and header text that you will be entering or importing. To change this information, click on the Change button.

Make font type, size and style selections by clicking on an item in one of the list boxes.  All prefixes will match the sample format displayed in the dialog.  Click OK when finished.

Prefix Font Default

This option displays the current font, size and style default for question numbers, the alphabetic or numeric prefix for choices in multiple choice and matching questions, and the prefix for True or False questions. To change this information, click on the Change button.

Make font type, size and style selections by clicking on an item in one of the list boxes.  All prefixes will match the sample format displayed in the dialog.  Click OK when finished.

NOTE: Pop-up menus and list boxes will only display the fonts, sizes  and styles currently installed on your computer.

Question Defaults

Question Prefix and Suffix - Click inside the text boxes and enter up to 5 characters for prefixes and suffixes. This information will appear before and after all question numbers.

IMPORTANT: A typical suffix is a colon followed by 2 spaces. As an example, a prefix and suffix combination may be a left and a right parentheses. Prefixes and suffixes will affect a question's line length, and in some cases, a prefix will not print.

Default tab stops - Click inside the text box to enter the amount of space for tabs. This option will be used mainly for line returns.

Extra space between questions - Click inside the text box and designate the amount of white space that appears between each question on a printed test. If a "0" appears in the text box, one single-spaced line will print between each question. For example, insert 0.25 for 1/4 inch or 0.125 for 1/8 inch of white space between each question.

Answer required - This option will require at least a one character answer for all test questions. For example, T or F for True or False questions and the number or letter corresponding to the correct answer selection for Multiple Choice questions. If not checked, answers will not be required when typing or importing questions.

When Switching to New Chapter, Show - When you switch from one chapter to another, MicroTest III can display either the first or the last question in the selected chapter as the first question to be viewed or edited.  Click on the pop-up menu to select the desired option.

Store Graphics in Cross Platform Format - If checked, all graphics pasted into your question bank will paste as a bitmap image (Device Independent Bitmap files or 'DIB') to enable use of the graphic in question banks viewed on both Macintosh and PC/Compatible computers.  Unfortunately, graphics stored in this format will not retain the same print quality that exists in the graphic's original format.  If you will be working with your question bank on one type of computer, it is recommended that you leave this box unchecked.  For more information, see Cross Platform Considerations.

Show page margins on screen - If checked, MicroTest III will display page margins for each question in the Edit Questions window.

Show nonprinting characters - If checked, MicroTest III will display nonprinting characters such as hard carriage returns and tab stops on screen.


Global Font Change

MicroTest III allows you to perform a global font change for all question text in a question bank.

Follow the steps below:

1	Open your question bank.

2	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout and then select General Layout.

3	From the General Layout Options dialog, click the "Change" button in the Question Font section.

4	From the Font dialog, select a new font, style or size and click OK.

5	In the General Layout Options dialog, click the "Change" button in the Prefix Font section if you want all prefixes (question number, answer choice letters, etc.) to match the font you selected for question text in step 4.  From the Prefix Font dialog, make the appropriate selections and click OK.

6	From the General Layout Options dialog, click OK.

7	A progress bar will display as MicroTest completes the global font replacement.

8	When the progress bar disappears, your question text should appear in the font, style or size that you selected.

NOTE:  If your question text contains multiple fonts, the global font change will only affect text that appears in the current default question font prior to making a change.  Identify the current default question font by selecting Question Layout/General Layout from the Edit menu.  The current default font will be displayed in the Question Font section of the dialog.  Also note that graphics will not be affected by a global font change.


True or False (Question Layout)

1	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

2	From the Question Layout hierarchical menu, choose True or False.

The True or False Question Options dialog displays.  The options selected in this dialog will only affect True or False questions.

3	After each field has been verified and/or modified, click OK.

True or False prefix -

Click inside the text box and enter up to 7 characters (including spaces) to print before each question. For example, a True or False prefix would be "T   F".

Put Prefix: Before/After Question Number - Click on the appropriate radio button to print the prefix before or after the question number. If it is printed before the question number, verify printing space for the margin.


Matching and Identification (Question Layout)

This format is used when awarding a point value for each choice in a matching question, or identifying a point or points of a figure in an identification question. Choices should be STRONG linked to the figure.


Multiple Choice (Question Layout)

1	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

2	From the Question Layout hierarchical menu, choose Multiple Choice.

The Multiple Choice Question Options dialog displays.  The options selected in this dialog will only affect Multiple Choice questions.

3	Click inside the text boxes and radio buttons or use the Tab key to move between fields.

4	After each field has been modified, click OK.

Number of Choices (2-15) -

Click inside this text box to determine the number of answer choices that will appear in all multiple choice formatted templates. For example, if your questions usually have four choices, you may want to enter "4". If you're entering a question with just three choices, MicroTest III will automatically delete the 4th choice after the question is saved. Use the Add Choice option from the Question menu on a question by question basis to change a question's format to include additional choice selections.

Margins for Choices -

Click inside the text boxes to set left and right margins, in inches, for the answer choices. Normally, the left margin should be set wider (this will create an indent) than the left margin specified in the General Layout Options dialog  and the right margin is usually the same for the question stem, the answer choices, the correct answer and all other parts of the question.

Prefix for Choices -

Click on one of the radio buttons to select an alphabetic or numeric prefix for answer choices.

Extra Space Between Question and First Choice - Click inside this text box to enter the amount of space to print between each question stem and the first line of the answer choices.

Extra Space Between Choices - Click inside this text box to enter the amount of space to print between each line of answer choices.

Prefix/Suffix:

Question Number Prefix - Click inside this text box to enter up to 5 characters that will appear before all multiple choice question numbers. For example, enter a series of underscore lines and instruct students to mark answers in this area.

Choice Prefix - Click inside this text box to enter up to 5 characters that will appear before all multiple choice answer choices.

Choice Suffix - Click inside this text box to enter up to 5 characters that will appear after all multiple choice answer choices.

Example - Click this button to view how your prefix/suffix selections will change the appearance of your question layout.


Matching (Question Layout)
Matching Question (one point per question) Layout

1	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

2	From the Question Layout hierarchical menu, choose Matching Questions.

The Matching Question Options dialog displays.  The options selected in this dialog will only affect Matching questions.

3	Click inside the text boxes and radio buttons or use the Tab key to move between fields.

4	After each field has been modified, click OK.

Number of Choices in Each Column (2-20) - Click inside this text box to determine the number of answer choices per column that will appear in matching question formatted templates. MicroTest III will create two equal columns for the number of answer choices entered. If a particular question has fewer answer choices, MicroTest III will automatically delete the extra choice fields after the question is saved. Use the Add Choice option from the Question menu to change a specific question's format to include additional answer choices.

Column One Prefix -

Click inside this text box to enter up to 7 characters that will appear before the choice prefix. For example, insert a series of underscore lines and instruct students to mark answers in this area.

Choice Prefix - Click inside this text box to enter up to 5 characters that will appear before all matching answer choices in both columns.

Choice Suffix - Click inside this text box to enter up to 5 characters that will appear after all matching answer choices in both columns.

Example - Click this button to view how your prefix/suffix selections will change the appearance of your question layout.

Make Column One -

Click on one of the radio buttons to select an alphabetic or numeric prefix for all matching choices in the first column. If alphabetic is selected, MicroTest III will automatically select numeric for the second column.

Tab Between Matches - Click on one of the radio buttons to select how to tab and enter text for columns. You can choose to enter choices vertically or horizontally line by line.

NOTE: MicroTest III will not scramble matching answer choices. All questions will print as entered.

Space Between Question and First Match -

Click inside this text box and enter the amount of space to print between the question and the first line of answer choices.

Space Between Match Choices -

Click inside this text box to enter the amount of space to print between each line of answer choices.

NOTE: You can also customize up to 5 different layouts (adjust width and margins) for answer choices by choosing options from the  Matching Layout hierarchical menu from the Question menu.  Selecting Customize from the Matching Layout hierarchical menu to alter  matching question margins will affect all new matching questions, and can change any existing matching questions.  (For more information, see Matching Template.)


Matching and Identification (point value per choice)
Matching and Identification (point value per choice) Question Layout

1	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

2	From the Question Layout hierarchical menu, choose Matching and Identification.

3	The Matching and Identification Options dialog displays.

4	Enter a prefix for the Matching or Identification Questions.


Using Chapters

Chapters are designed to help organize a question bank.  Customize and structure chapter formats to coincide with textbooks, learning objectives and/or course topics.  Create up to 250 chapters per question bank.  Each chapters can contain up to 400 questions and up to 52 figures.  Chapter titles can include up to 79 characters.  Chapter names consist of a numeric prefix and an optional text suffix (nnn.aaaaa). Choose any number from 1-999 for the prefix and up to five characters for the suffix.  For example, 1.1, 1.TF, 1.MC, 1.1.3.5, 999.sup.

After chapters have been created, select them in the Table of Contents window or by choosing Next Chapter or Previous Chapter from the Chapter menu.

Creating a New Chapter

Modifying a Chapter

Importing a Chapter

Deleting a Chapter


Creating a New Chapter

1	From the Chapter menu, choose New Chapter.  The New Chapter dialog displays.

2	Click inside the Chapter Title text box and type a name of up to 79 characters.

3	Click inside the Chapter Number text box and type in a corresponding number of up to 3 digits for the chapter title.  Chapters do not have to be entered in consecutive order. Duplicate chapter numbers are not allowed.

4	OPTIONAL: Click inside the Chapter Suffix text box and type a suffix of up to 5 characters for the chapter number.

5	Click OK to save chapter information.  The new chapter will appear in the Table of Contents window.

6	Repeat steps 1 to 5 to create all subsequent chapter titles, numbers and suffixes for a question bank.

NOTE: If you are ready to begin entering questions now, go on to Entering New Questions.


Modifying a Chapter

The Modify Chapter option is used to edit existing chapter information. Using this option, you can change chapter titles or edit chapter numbers and suffixes (this may re-arrange the chapter order).

1	From the Window menu, choose Table of Contents (or click anywhere in the Table of Contents window).

2	From the Table of Contents window, select a chapter by clicking on its row.

3	From the Chapter menu, choose Modify Chapter.

4	Click inside the appropriate text box to change information.

5	Click OK to save changes.

6	Repeat steps 2 to 5 to change information for each chapter.


Importing a Chapter

If you have several MicroTest III question bank files, the Import Chapter function will move chapters from one question bank file to another.

1	Select a question bank to import chapters TO and open the file.  (See Opening an Existing Question Bank.)

2	From the Chapter menu, choose Import Chapter.

The Select a Question Bank to Import dialog displays.

3	To select a question bank file to import chapters, click on a question bank file and click OK, or double-click on a question bank file.

The Import Chapters dialog displays.

The left list box displays the selected question bank and its chapters that can be imported. The right list box displays the "active" question bank where the chapters selected for import will be inserted.

4	From the left list box, click on a chapter to import.

5	Click on the Import button or Import As button.

NOTE: Choose Import if you want to maintain the chapter's number.  If you want to import it as a different chapter number, choose Import As.  If you know the chapter numbers that currently exist in the question bank you are importing to, you will be able to determine if you need to click on the Import or Import As button when selecting chapters.  MicroTest III will alert you of any duplicate chapter numbers and will display the next available chapter number.

Several chapters can be imported at a time. As chapters are selected, the chapters to be imported appear in the right list box (To:) and their title will be marked with an arrow in the left list box (From:).

6	To include key words and difficulty levels in the import process, check the Import Difficulties and Key Words checkbox.

NOTE: If this option is not checked, key words and difficulty levels will be deleted from the chapters that are imported. After chapter(s) have been imported, review and check the file for any key word or difficulty level inconsistencies.

7	When you are finished selecting chapters to import, click Continue.


Deleting a Chapter

Chapters can easily be deleted from a question bank at any time. Follow the steps below to delete an existing chapter from a question bank.

1	From the Window menu, choose Table of Contents (or click anywhere in the Table of Contents window).

2	Click on the chapter in the Table of Contents window that stores the questions you wish to delete.

3	From the Chapter menu, choose Delete Chapter.

IMPORTANT: If you have previously created tests which include questions from chapters that have been deleted from the question bank, your test files will be altered.

4	An alert dialog will appear asking you to verify the delete command. Click Yes to delete the chapter and its questions from your question bank.


Arranging MicroTest III Windows

MicroTest III's Tiled Windows explains the window-driven environment of MicroTest III. The tiled three-window format displayed in that section is one way to arrange your working environment. It is commonly referred to as MicroTest Tile. The fourth window, Display/Edit Figures, is usually accessed via the Window menu.  If you wish to utilize this window arrangement, follow the steps below.

MicroTest Tile

1	From the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

2	From the Window menu, choose Select Questions.

Your windows should now appear in a tiled format with the Table of Contents window in the upper left corner, the Select Questions window in the upper right corner and the Edit questions window in the lower half.  If they are not arranged as such, from the Window menu, choose MicroTest Tile.

3	From the Window menu, choose Save Window Arrangement.

Now, each time you open your question bank, the windows will appear in a MicroTest Tile format. Although you will always need to have at least one window open to work with your question bank, you can choose to have any combination of the three windows open at any time, in any particular arrangement. MicroTest III provides two alternative tiled window arrangements in addition to the MicroTest Tile option.  Follow the steps below to view your windows in a Cascade or Tile pattern.

Cascade or Tile

1	Open the desired windows using the Window menu.

2	a) From the Window menu, choose Cascade.

-or-

b) From the Window menu, choose Tile.

3	From the Window menu, choose Save Window Arrangement.

Even if you have saved your window arrangement, you can still modify the window environment.  If the tiling options provided for you in the Window menu do not suit your needs, simply resize each window to the desired proportions.

NOTE: Don't forget to choose Save Window Arrangement from the Window menu when you have designed a tiled window format that best suits your needs.


Using Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Key words and difficulty levels can be used to categorize questions and as a criteria for selecting test questions. Any question in your question bank can be assigned a key word and/or difficulty level. Set up key words to reflect question sources (text, lecture, outside material) or to define key objectives (definition, theory, etc.). Difficulty levels should be entered in a progressive or regressive fashion.

Each question bank can contain up to 52 key words and difficulty levels. Key words and difficulty levels can contain up to 47 characters. If you import key words and difficulty levels from a text file, they are recognized in numerical or alphabetical sequences. For example, when key words and difficulty levels are imported (see Importing Your Text File) they will be assigned either letters 'a' to 'z' or numbers 1 to 52 in a sequential manner.

Entering Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Modifying and Deleting Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Levels to Specific Questions


Entering Key Words and Difficulty Levels

1	a) From the Edit menu, choose Key Words.  The Edit Key Words dialog displays.

-or-

b) From the Edit menu, choose Difficulty Levels.  The Edit Difficulty Levels dialog displays.

2	Click on the New radio button in the Edit State: box.  The cursor will appear in the blank text box.

3	Type in a key word or difficulty level and click Enter.

The new key word or difficulty level will appear in the left list box.

4	Repeat step 3 for each new key word or difficulty level.

5	To save information, click OK.

After Key Words and Difficulty Levels have been defined, they can be assigned to individual questions using the Edit Questions window. The Edit Questions window contains three pop-up menus: Key Word, Difficulty and Figure. To access the Key Words and/or Difficulty Levels defined for the question bank, click on each pop-up menu in the Edit Questions window (for more information, see Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Levels to Specific Questions).


Modifying and Deleting Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Key words and difficulty levels can be easily modified or deleted from a question bank. When a key word or difficulty level is modified or deleted, all questions previously assigned to that word or level will be automatically appended. Deleting a key word or difficulty level will not delete questions.

1	a) From the Edit menu, choose Key Words.  The Edit Key Words dialog displays.

-or-

b) From the Edit menu, choose Difficulty Levels.  The Edit Difficulty Levels dialog displays.

2	Click on the Existing radio button in the Edit State: box.

3	From the list box (left side of dialog), click on the item that needs to be modified or deleted.

4	a) Edit the existing key word or difficulty level in the text box on the right and click Enter. The information will appear in the left list box.

-or-

b) To delete a word or level from the Question Bank, click Delete.

5	Repeat steps 3 to 4 to modify or delete additional words or levels.

6	To save your changes, click OK.

7	Alert dialogs may appear, asking you to confirm your changes.

NOTE: These changes will affect all questions previously assigned to the modified/deleted key word or difficulty level.


Adding and Editing Questions and Figures

In order to enter new questions or figures into a question bank, you must have that question bank file open.

Entering New Questions

Using MicroTest III's Formatted Question Type Templates

Multiple Choice Template

Matching Template

Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Levels to Specific Questions

Modifying Existing Questions

Edit Menu

Question Menu

Moving/Copying Questions Without Changing Question Type

Moving/Copying Questions & Changing the Question Type

Changing the Question Type Format of an Existing Question

Deleting Questions

Renumbering Questions Within a Chapter

Inserting Graphics

Using Figures

Entering New Figures

Modifying Figures

Deleting Figures

Linking and Unlinking Questions to Figures


Entering New Questions

Question banks can include up to 15,000 test items. Each chapter within the question bank can include up to 400 questions and 52 figures. Questions are added using MicroTest III's formatted question type templates. Each template (free format, multiple choice, true or false, and matching) will be discussed in this section. You can add, edit or review questions using the Edit Questions window. You can also use this window to link figures or assign key words and difficulty levels to questions.

1	Click on the chapter in the Table of Contents window where you wish to add questions.

2	Click inside the Edit Questions window to make it active, or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

3	If you selected a new chapter that does not contain any questions, the Edit Questions window should display a blank template for question #1.  If so, skip to step number 4.

If you selected a chapter with existing questions, click on the "end of chapter" right arrow button in the Edit Questions window and then click on the right arrow button. A blank template should display.

4	With a blank template appearing in the Edit Questions window, from the Question menu, choose a question type:

Essay

Short Answer

Fill in the Blank

Matching (point value per choice)

Identification

True or False,

Multiple Choice

Matching Questions (point value per question)

For additional information, see Using MicroTest III's Formatted Question Type Templates.

NOTE: To change the format of a single question, use options from the Question menu. To set defaults for your entire question bank, from the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

5	Click in the first entry field (to the right of the question number) in the Edit Questions window to type in your question.

NOTE: To move between entry fields, click in each field with your mouse. You can also use the Ctrl-Alt-Tab key.

6	Click in the remaining entry fields to enter information for any answer choices, the answer and if desired, the explanation.

7	If you want to link a figure or assign a key word or difficulty level to the question, click on the pop-up menus at the top of the Edit Questions window and use your mouse to drag it to the desired selection. (For more information see Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Level to Specific Questions, Creating Figures or Linking Questions to Figures.)

NOTE: You can assign key words and difficulty levels or link a figure to a question at any time.

Multiple choice questions displayed in the Edit Questions window will contain a fourth pop-up menu: Scramble. This feature determines which answer choices will be scrambled when printed. For more information, see Multiple Choice Scrambling Feature under Multiple Choice Template.

8	From the Edit Questions window, click on the Save button.

NOTE: As long as you save each individual question, figure, and/or test as you work, MicroTest III automatically saves the information to your question bank file.  You do not need to perform a global save operation when you are ready to exit the program


Using MicroTest III's Formatted Question Type Templates

MicroTest III's formatted templates simplify the question entry process.  Use the question types displayed in the Question menu (Essay, Short Answer, Fill in the Blank, Matching, Identification, True or False, Multiple Choice, or Matching Question) to format new questions.

The entry fields available in each question type template are shown below:

Question Type	Entry Fields

Essay	question stem, answer, explanation

Short Answer	question stem, answer, explanation

Fill in the Blank	question stem, answer, explanation

Matching (point per choice)	figure, question stem, answer, explanation

Identification	figure, question stem, answer, explanation

Multiple Choice	question stem, answer choices, answer,

explanation

True or False	question stem, answer, explanation

Matching Question (point per question)	question stem, two choice columns,

answer, explanation

NOTE: When using Matching question that have a point value for each choice, enter the statements in a figure and strong link each related choice.  Identification questions are entered the same way.

The explanation entry field available in all question type templates is optional.  If desired, leave this field blank. Choose options from the Question Layout hierarchical menu (from the Edit menu) to review/modify default settings for question type templates.

Essay

This format can be used to create essay, short answer or fill-in-the-blank questions. It can also be used to customize your own question layout. The text and graphics you enter are restricted to the boundaries of the page margins defined in the General Layout Options dialog (From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout, and then choose General Layout.).

Matching & Identification

This format is used when awarding a point value for each choice in a matching question, or identifying points of a figure in an identification question. Statements for Matching questions should be entered as a figure, and choices strong linked.  For Identification questions, insert graphic as a figure and strong link each identifier.

True or False

True or False questions created in MicroTest III include entry fields for questions, answers and explanations. The question prefix ("T  F", "A  B" or another desired prefix) designated in the True or False Question Options dialog can appear before or after the question number.  (From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout, and then choose True or False.)


Multiple Choice Template

MicroTest III formats each multiple choice question with an entry field for a question, answer choices (up to 15 choices can be entered per question), an answer, and an explanation. The default for the number of choices is set in the Multiple Choice Question Options dialog.  (From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout, and then choose Multiple Choice.)  If you want to enter more choices for a specific question, select the Add Choice option from the Question menu.

MicroTest III automatically deletes answer choice fields that are left empty after saving your question. For example, if a question has only three choices (A to C) and the default is 4 per line (A to D), MicroTest III will delete the field for choice D when left empty. All answer choices must be entered sequentially. For example, if you enter an answer for A, leave B blank and then enter an answer for C, MicroTest III will alert you of the formatting error and will not save text.

Choices Per Line

Re-design specific multiple choice questions by altering the number of answer choices per line (up to six choices per line can be used).  Changes made using the Choices per Line option will affect the multiple choice question currently displayed in the Edit Questions window. Other existing multiple choice questions will not be affected. However, a change made using the Choices per Line option will affect any new questions, yet to be entered.  To change the number of choices per line:

1	Click anywhere inside the Edit Questions window to make it active, or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

2	a) Click on the arrow buttons to find the question to be formatted.

-or-

b) From the Question menu, choose Go To Question. Type in the question number to be formatted and click OK.

3	From the Question menu, choose Choices per Line.

The Choices per Line hierarchical menu displays.

4	Using your mouse, select one of the numbers displayed in the menu.

MicroTest III will create an answer choice format reflecting the number chosen from the hierarchical menu. For example, if the number 2 was selected, the new format will include two multiple choice answers per line.

5	Review your question format in the Edit Questions window. If you would prefer a different arrangement, repeat steps 3-4 above.

6	From the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.

Multiple Choice Scrambling Feature

One of the advantages of using MicroTest III, is the program's ability to generate up to 15 versions of the same test. The different versions of your printed test can be varied by scrambling the answers for multiple choice questions. In order to scramble answer choices on a printed test, you must first make selections in the Edit Questions window.

1	Click inside the Edit Questions window to make it active, or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

2	a) Click on the arrow buttons to find the multiple choice question to be formatted.

-or-

b) From the Question menu, choose Go To Question. Type in the multiple choice question number to be formatted and click OK.

3	Click on the Scramble: pop-up menu.  The pop-up menu will display answer choice scramble options.

4	Using your mouse, select the desired format. The default for each  question is no Choices.

Example:  If you have 5 possible answers to a question:

choose A thru E to scramble all choices

choose A thru D to scramble the first four choices

choose A thru C to scramble the first three choices

choose A thru B to scramble the first two choices

choose no Choices (the default setting) if you do not want the answer choices to be scrambled.

Still assuming that there are five possible answers, choose "A thru D" or  "A thru C" when the last choice, or last two choices in a question are items such as "All of the above" or "None of the above."

5	From the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.

When you are ready to create a printed test, you can select the "Scramble Choices for Multiple Choice Quests." option from the Print/Preview for Test dialog. Selecting this option will scramble multiple choice answer choices according to the settings you chose from the Scramble pop-up menu in the Edit Questions window.   For more information about the printing options available for each test version, see Printing a Test.)


Matching Template

MicroTest III's matching question templates include entry fields for a question or instruction line, two answer choice columns for text or graphics (up to 20 choices per column), an answer and an explanation. The default for the number of choices is set in the Matching Question Options dialog.  (From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout, and then choose Matching.)  If the default is set at 10 choices per column, and you want to enter more choices for a specific question, select the Add Choice option from the Question menu. MicroTest III will automatically delete any unused matching choice entry fields when you save your question.

Matching Layout

The column size/width for matching questions can be varied by selecting options from the Matching Layout hierarchical menu.

1	Click anywhere inside the Edit Questions window to make it active, or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

2	a) Click on the arrow buttons to find the matching question to be  formatted.

-or-

b) From the Question menu, choose Go To Question. Type in the matching question number to be formatted and click OK.

3	From the Question menu, choose Matching Layout.

4	Using your mouse, highlight the desired margin settings and column width. The selected column width is checkmarked.

5	From the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.

NOTE: To change one of the settings in the Matching Layout hierarchical menu, choose Customize. The Custom Matching Menu appears.

Click inside the text boxes to enter new values (ranging from .5 to 3.5 inches). Remember changes made in this dialog will affect any new and all previously entered test questions. For example, if you have entered five matching questions using the first line of settings from the Matching Layout hierarchical menu, and then later modify them in the Custom Matching Menu dialog, all five test questions will be altered automatically to reflect the new values.  When you choose the Customize option, make sure to modify the settings for a line not previously used as a layout when entering test questions.


Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Levels to Specific Questions

As you enter or review questions in MicroTest III, you can easily assign key words and difficulty levels. Each question bank can contain up to 52 key words and 52 difficulty levels (up to 47 characters each).  You must define key words and difficulty levels before they can be assigned to specific questions.  When you are ready to assign key words and difficulty levels:

1	Click inside the Edit Questions window to make it active, or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

2	a) Click on the arrow buttons to find the desired question.

-or-

b) From the Question menu, choose Go To Question. Type in the appropriate question number and click OK.

3	a) Click on the Key Word pop-up menu.

-or-

b) Click on the Difficulty pop-up menu.

The pop-up menus will display all Key Words or Difficulty Levels defined for the question bank.

4	Using your mouse, select the appropriate word or level for the question displayed.

If you do not want a Key Word or Difficulty Level assigned to the question, use your mouse to select the blank option displayed above the first word or level in the pop-up menu.

5	Repeat steps 3-4 if you want to change your selection.

6	When the appropriate Key Word or Difficulty Level displays in the pop-up menu, from the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.


Modifying Existing Questions

MicroTest III allows you to edit questions, figures and test headers by choosing options from the Edit and Question menus.  These menus include tools that allow you to customize each question, figure or header without affecting the entire question bank. You can move questions from one location to another, change the font, size, or style of an item, duplicate and edit an item, or replace an item.  These tools are available only when the Edit Questions window, Display/Edit Figures window, Page Header windows or Section Header windows are active.

Use editing tools to perform the following functions:

•	Undo, cut, copy, paste, or select all from the Edit menu,

•	Change the font, size, style, or alignment of a word or block of text  using the Question menu,

•	Add answer choice entry fields to multiple choice and matching  questions using the Add Choice option from the Question menu,

•	Set the number of answer choices per line in multiple choice questions using the Choices per Line option from the Question menu, or

•	Move easily through your question bank using the Go To Question option from the Question menu.

NOTE:  To make global changes, see Question Layout Features.

Edit Menu

Question Menu

Moving/Copying Questions Without Changing Question Type

Moving/Copying Questions & Changing the Question Type

Changing the Question Type Format of an Existing Question

Deleting Questions

Renumbering Questions Within a Chapter


Edit Menu

You can access standard word processing commands from MicroTest III's Edit menu. The commands may operate differently in MicroTest III because each part of the test question (question, answer choices, answers) is stored independently.

Undo - Select this option to undo the last editing command executed. The  Undo command is restricted to text entry fields in the Edit Questions window, the Display/Edit Figures window, the Page Header windows and the Section Header windows. If Undo is dimmed, you cannot undo the previous command.

Cut -  Select this option to cut highlighted text or graphics. If text or a graphic is not currently selected, the menu item is dimmed.

Copy -  Select this option to copy highlighted text or graphics. If text or a graphic is not currently selected, the menu item is dimmed.

Paste - Select this option to paste previously cut or copied text or graphics.  If you have not previously cut or copied text or graphics, the menu item is dimmed. Using your mouse, click and place the cursor on an area to insert the cut or copied text or graphic.  Graphics can only be inserted on a blank line above or below text.

IMPORTANT: You cannot mix text and graphics on the same line unless the text is a part of the graphic.

Clear -  Select this option to clear highlighted text or graphics. Information deleted using the Clear command is not copied to your computer's clipboard or scrapbook and cannot be reinserted using the Paste command.

Select All - Select this option to select all text and graphics included in one question in the Edit Questions window, one figure in the Display/Edit Figures window, or one header in the Page Header or Section Header windows.  You can copy the highlighted information and then paste it into a new location, or you can change the font, size, style, or alignment of an entire question, figure or header. If you use Select All and the Cut command to delete all of an existing question, figure or header, an alert dialog will prompt you with a warning that you are about to delete the item.


Question Menu

If you want to emphasize a portion of a question, figure or header, or if you want to use a type size, font or style that differs from the General Layout default settings, choose options from the Question menu. The Question menu allows you to add choices to multiple choice and matching questions, and gives you the ability to move quickly from one question to another. Changes made using this menu will only affect the item displayed in the active Edit Questions window, the active Display/Edit Figures window or the active Page Header or Section Header windows. From the Question menu, choose one of the following options:

Font - When this option is chosen, the Font hierarchical menu will display all fonts currently installed on your computer. More than one font can be used per question, figure or header. Simply highlight the text you wish to change and choose Font from the Question menu.

NOTE:  If you would like to see a preview of how your text will appear in a different font, highlight the text you wish to change and from the Font hierarchical menu, choose Font Style.  If you want to use a type size other than the sizes displayed in the Size hierarchical menu, highlight the text you wish to change and from the Font hierarchical menu, choose Font Style. In the Size text box, enter a font size that ranges from 4 to 127.

If you would like to make a global change to font or size, see Global Font Change.

Size - When this option is chosen, the Size hierarchical menu displays font sizes from 9 to 24 points. Two additional options, Larger Size and Smaller Size, are available to increase and decrease fonts in sequence. More than one size can be used per question, figure or header.  Simply highlight the text you wish to change and choose Size from the Question menu.

Style - When this option is chosen, the Style hierarchical menu lists standard text styles and some that are unique to MicroTest III. More than one style can be used per question, figure or header. Highlight the text you wish to change and choose Style from the Question menu.

Alignment - When this option is chosen, the Alignment hierarchical menu allows you to align all or part of the text and graphics in a question, figure or header (depending on what you have highlighted) in one of four ways: Left, Center, Right and Justified.

Add Choice - When this option is chosen, you can add additional choices to multiple choice or matching questions.  You can add up to 15 choices for multiple choice questions and up to 20 choices per column for matching questions.

Go To Question/Go To Figure - When this option is chosen, you can direct MicroTest III to forward you to the first question in a chapter, the last question in a chapter or a specific question number.  If the Display/Edit Figures window is active, this option becomes Go To Figure and you can choose to skip to the first figure in a chapter, the last figure in a chapter or a specific figure (referenced by letter).


Moving/Copying Questions Without Changing Question Type

If you want to move a question to a different location in a question bank or if you need to make a duplicate to edit:

1	Click anywhere inside the Edit Questions window to make it active, or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

2	From the Question menu, choose Go To Question. Type in the question number of the question you wish to move or copy and click OK.

3	From the Edit Questions window, make note of the question type.

The question type will display to the right of the arrow buttons.

4	From the Edit menu, choose Select All.

5	From the Edit menu, choose Cut or Copy.

NOTE: When Select All and Cut are used sequentially, an alert dialog will ask you if you want to delete the question. If you only want to copy the question, leaving the original question as is, choose the Copy option.

6	From the Edit Questions window, use the arrow buttons to forward to the first blank question template.

7	From the Question menu, select the same question type as the original question type (see step 3).

If you are not pasting the question into the same question type format, MicroTest III will not format the question as copied.  A multiple choice template will only accept information copied from another multiple choice question and a matching template will only accept information copied from another matching question.

8	From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

9	From the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.


Moving/Copying Questions and Changing the Question Type
Moving/Copying Questions & Changing the Question Type

If you want to move a question to a different location in a question bank and change its question type, follow this example:

1	Click anywhere inside the Edit Questions window to make it active, or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

2	From the Question menu, choose Go To Question. Type in the question number of the question you wish to move or copy, and click OK.

3	From the Edit Questions window, make note of the question type.

The question type will display to the right of the arrow buttons.

4	From the Edit menu, choose Select All.

5	From the Edit menu, choose Cut or Copy.

NOTE: When Select All and Cut are used sequentially, an alert dialog will ask you if you want to delete the question. If you only want to copy the question, leaving the original question as is, choose the Copy option.

6	From the Edit Questions window, use the arrow buttons to forward to the first blank template.

7	From the Question menu, choose a new question type (other than the question type which was noted in Step 3).  The new question type template appears in the Edit Questions window.

IMPORTANT: A multiple choice template will only accept information copied from another multiple choice question and a matching template will only accept information copied from another matching question.

8	From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

The entire question will be pasted into the new question type format.  Edit the question to adhere to the new format.

9	From the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.


Changing the Question Type Format of an Existing Question

Essay, Short Answer, Fill in the Blank, Matching (point value per choice), Identification, or True or False questions types may be changed by making the Edit Questions window active and selecting a format other than Multiple choice or Matching from the Question menu. Multiple choice and Matching questions (point value per question) cannot be changed.


Deleting Questions

1	From within an open question bank file, in the Table of Contents window, click on the chapter that stores the question you wish to delete.

2	Click inside the Edit Questions window to make it active or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

3	a) From the Question menu, choose Go To Question.  Type in the question number to be deleted and click OK.

-or-

b) Click on the arrow buttons in the Edit Questions window to locate the question to be deleted.  The question will display in the Edit Questions window.

4	From the Question menu, choose Delete Question.

An alert dialog appears, asking you if you want to delete the question. Choose Yes to delete the question from the question bank. The question will be deleted from the Edit Questions window and its button in the Select Questions window will also disappear from the numbered grid.

If you delete a question that is not the last question in a chapter, the consecutive numerical sequence of the remaining questions in the database will be interrupted.  If you wish to close the gaps created by deleted questions, you will need to renumber the affected questions.  (For more information see Renumbering Questions Within a Chapter.)

IMPORTANT:  If you have previously created tests which include questions that have been deleted from the question bank, your test files will be altered.


Renumbering Questions Within a Chapter

This option allows you to renumber a question bank when needed.  If you have added, deleted or moved questions within the question bank you may have modified or altered the sequence of your test items.  MicroTest III's Renumber Questions option will correct any numbering irregularities by closing the gaps that may exist between questions.

IMPORTANT:  Renumbering questions in your question bank could affect any test files you have created.

1	In the Table of Contents window, click on a chapter containing the questions that need to be renumbered.

2	From the Chapter menu, choose Renumber Questions.

The Renumber Questions dialog will display.

3	Click inside the First Question to Renumber text box and type in the first question number to be changed.

4	Click inside the Begin Renumbering With text box and type in the number it should be changed to.

NOTE:  When you delete a number of questions from a chapter, gaps can be created within the question bank.  To remove all gaps within a chapter, renumber the first question as 1 and begin renumbering with number 1.  This will renumber the entire chapter sequentially.

5	To start the renumbering process, click Renumber.


Inserting Graphics

MicroTest III will accept graphics that you can copy and paste in a PCX or BMP (Windows) format.  Any graphics you wish to insert into MicroTest III will need to fit within the page margins defined in the General Layout Options dialog. Mark the Store Graphics in Cross Platform Format box in the General Layout Options dialog ONLY if you are going to use your bank for both a Mac and Windows environment.  (For additional information, see Cross Platform Considerations.)

It is important to edit illustrations within a draw or paint program prior to pasting them into your question bank because you cannot edit graphics within MicroTest III. After a graphic has been pasted into MicroTest III, clicking to the right or left of the picture will create an outline. The outline designates a figure's border and allows you to locate your cursor.

1	From within a draw or paint program, select and copy the image you wish to paste into MicroTest III.

2	Open a question bank file in MicroTest III.

3	In the Table of Contents window, click on the chapter that stores the question or figure where you would like to add the graphic.

4	a) Click inside the Edit Questions window to make it active or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

-or-

b) From the Window menu, choose Display/Edit Figures.

5	Click on the arrow buttons in the Edit Questions window or the Display/Edit Figures window to locate the desired question or figure.

6	Using your mouse, click on the line that precedes the area where you would like to insert the graphic.

7	From the Edit menu, choose Paste.

8	From the Edit Questions window or the Display/Edit Figures window, click the Save button.


Using Figures

If your question bank contains a group of questions which are related to a passage of text or a graphic, you can create a figure with links to those questions.  With MicroTest III you can create up to 52 figures per chapter.  Figures can contain charts, graphs, diagrams (see Inserting Graphics) and/or text passages and can be linked to one question or a group of test questions.  The editing tools available in the Edit menu and Question menu can be used to edit the format of your figures. The number of figures per chapter will be displayed in the Table of Contents window.  In the Select Questions window, each figure will be represented by a button labeled "Fig".

Entering New Figures

Modifying Figures

Deleting Figures

Linking and Unlinking Questions to Figures


Entering New Figures

1	In the Table of Contents window, click on the desired chapter.

2	From the Window menu, choose Display/Edit Figures.

3	Click inside the Figure a) text box and type in a name. (As you add more figures to a chapter, the text box will be preceded by a different letter to label the figure, i.e. Figure b), Figure c), Figure d) and so on.)

4	Next, select how the figure will be linked to questions, by selecting options from the Link Relationship pop-up menu.

Figure links are referred to as weak or strong. If a series of five questions are weak linked, you may choose any one or all of the questions for your test. If the five questions are strong linked selecting one question will automatically select all five questions (with the figure) for the test.

5	Click inside the window to type in figure information and/or paste in graphics (see Inserting Graphics).

6	OPTIONAL: If you do not want the order of a linked set of questions scrambled for a test, click the Keep Question Order When Printing checkbox.

7	OPTIONAL: Clicking the Print Question x-y Before Figure box, will automatically insert the message "Use the following information to answer questions ? - ?" before the figure.  (The question numbers will correspond to the numbers of the questions on your test.)

8	When finished, from the Display/Edit Figures window, click on the Save button.


Modifying Figures

You can modify figures at any time by selecting Display/Edit Figures from the Window menu. Change figure names and link relationships as necessary.  You can also use MicroTest III's editing tools available in the Edit menu and Question menu to make changes to any text you have entered for each figure.  Always remember to click the Save button in the Display/Edit Figures window after making changes.


Deleting Figures

1	Open a question bank file.

2	Click on the chapter in the Table of Contents window that stores the figure you wish to delete.

3	From the Window menu, choose Display/Edit Figures.

4	a) Click on the arrow buttons in the Display/Edit Figures window to locate the figure to be deleted.

-or-

b) From the Question menu, choose Go To Figure.  Type in the figure letter to be deleted and click OK.

The figure will display in the Display/Edit Figures window.

5	From the Question menu, choose Delete Figure.

An alert dialog will appear asking you if you want to delete the figure.  Choose Yes to delete the figure from the question bank.

The figure's button in the Select Questions window will disappear from the numbered grid.


Linking and Unlinking Questions to Figures

With MicroTest III, you can easily link a question or a group of questions to a figure.  MicroTest III defines a figure as any test item (illustration, diagram, chart, map, table or text) that is a supplement to the content of a question.  When a linked question is selected for a test, MicroTest III prints the figure before the question.  In cases where more than one question is linked to one figure, MicroTest III will print the figure before the first linked question only. Information about linked questions and figures can be obtained using the Select Questions window, the Edit Questions window or the Display/Edit Figures window:

Select Questions window:  Figures included in a chapter are indexed in the numbered grid and are abbreviated as Fig.  The linked questions can be viewed in the Edit Questions window and figures can be viewed in the Display/Edit Figures window.

Edit Questions window: Click on the Figure: pop-up menu to view names of the figures available in each chapter.  If the pop-up menu appears blank, the displayed question is not linked to any figure.  If a figure name appears in the pop-up menu, the question that appears in the Edit Questions window is linked to the listed figure.  Use the Display/Edit Figures window to verify the link relationship (weak, strong) between the question and figure.

Display/Edit Figures window: From the Window menu, choose Display/Edit Figures.  Use the arrow buttons to view the figures in a chapter, or choose Go To Figure from the Question menu.  The Display/Edit Figures window displays the name of the figure along with the question numbers that are linked to each figure and whether they are strongly or weakly linked.

Linking Questions

1	From the Table of Contents window, highlight the appropriate chapter.

2	a) From the Window menu, choose Select Questions and click on the button that represents the question you want to link. From the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

-or-

b) From the Window menu, choose Edit Questions. From the Question menu, choose Go To Question. Type in the question number you want to link and click OK.

The question displays in the Edit Questions window.

3	Click on the Figure: pop-up menu and use your mouse to select a figure's name to link with the question displayed.

4	From the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.

NOTE: If figure names do not appear in the Figure: pop-up menu, then there are no figures in that chapter and you cannot link questions. If you want to create figures to link, see Entering New Figures.

Unlinking Questions

1	From the Table of Contents window highlight the appropriate chapter.

2	a) From the Window menu, choose Select Questions and click on the button that represents the question you want to unlink.  From the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.

-or-

b) From the Window menu, choose Edit Questions.  From the Question menu, choose Go To Question.  Type in the question number you want to unlink and click OK.

The question displays in the Edit Questions window.

3	Click on the Figure: pop-up menu and select the blank option which appears above the first listed figure name.

4	From the Edit Questions window, click the Save button.


Creating a Test

To select questions for a test, you must first open a question bank and then create a new test or open an existing test.  Each test can contain up to 500 questions.  Tests can also include page headers and section headers.  If you create sections within your test, the questions that you create within each section will always appear together (even if you create multiple versions of the test).  You can create up to eight sections within each test.  Test files do not save the actual text of a question; they only create an index (chapter, question locations).  MicroTest III matches the test file index to the questions stored in a question bank file to create printed tests.

Creating a New Test

Opening an Existing Test

Using Test Sections

Creating Test Sections

Modifying Test Sections

Moving Test Sections

Deleting Test Sections

Selecting Test Questions

Manual Select

Auto Select

Select Menu

Reordering Test Questions

Unselecting Test Questions

Creating Page and Section Headers

Saving Your Test

Creating Test Templates

Exporting Test Questions


Creating a New Test

In order to create a test using MicroTest III, you must have created a question bank and entered questions.

NOTE: If you are using a MicroTest version that you received with a text book from a publishing company, your question bank has been provided for you.

1	If a question bank is opened, choose New Test  from the File Menu Test and go to step 2.

If you have not opened a question bank:

a Start the MicroTest III program (see Opening MicroTest III).

b From the Welcome to MicroTest - Experienced User dialog, click the Create A Test radio button.

-or-

From the Welcome to MicroTest - Quick Start dialog, click the Create a Test for a step-by-step guide through the process of creating a New Test.

c The question bank files will appear in the list box.  Click on the question bank file from which you want to choose questions and then select the Open Bank button.

2	The Name the New Test dialog displays.  Click inside the File name: text box and type in a file name for the test.  You should save your test files in the directory that contains the question bank you are using to create your test.  To continue, click OK.

NOTE:  When a test is open, two additional items will appear on the MicroTest III menu bar: Test and Select.  Use the Test menu to create test headers and sections.  Use the Select menu to select questions for the test.

When you create a new test, MicroTest III automatically creates a section for you and labels it Section 1.  If you do not want to include sections or establish additional sections, the questions you select for a new test will automatically be placed in the Section 1 section.  To modify the title or print options for the Section 1 section, follow the steps outlined in Modifying Test Sections.

3	Click inside the Table of Contents window to make it active and choose a chapter to work in by clicking on its row.

The highlight bar indicates the selected chapter.

When you select a chapter in the Table of Contents window, the Select Questions window will display information about the questions contained in that chapter.

NOTE: If you would like to create sections for your test, proceed to Using Test Sections.  If you do not want to create sections for your test, proceed to Selecting Test Questions.


Opening an Existing Test

1	If a question bank is already open:

a From the File menu, choose Open Test.

b The Select a Test to Open dialog displays.

c Double-click on a test file name to open it or use your mouse to highlight the file name and click OK.

If you have not opened a question bank:

a Start the MicroTest III program (see Opening MicroTest III).

b From the Welcome to MicroTest dialog, click the Open Existing Test  radio button.

c The test files will appear in the list box.  Click on the test file to open and then select the Open Test button.

2	Click inside the Table of Contents window to make it active and choose a chapter to work in by clicking on its row.

The highlight bar indicates the selected chapter.

NOTE: You may unselect questions from your test by choosing Unselect Questions from the Select menu.

NOTE: If you would like to create sections for your test, proceed to Using Test Sections.  If you do not want to create sections for your test, proceed to Selecting Test Questions.


Using Test Sections

Creating Test Sections

Modifying Test Sections

Moving Test Sections

Deleting Test Sections


Creating Test Sections

Use MicroTest III's test sections to group like questions in a test or to simplify the process of creating multiple versions of your test (vary the order of questions and/or sections in the test).  A test can contain up to eight sections.  Each section can include separate instructions.

When you create a new test, MicroTest III automatically creates a section named Section 1.  If you do not want to include sections or if you do not want to establish additional sections, the questions you select for a new test will automatically be placed in the Section 1 section.  To create test sections, open the question bank, create a new test or open an existing test, and follow the steps below:

1	From the Test menu, choose Create Section.

2	Click inside the Section Title text box and type the name for the section.

3	Click on checkboxes to Begin Section on a New Page and/or to Always Print Section in Selected Order.

NOTE:  If you mark the checkbox to Always Print Section in Selected Order, the questions selected for that section cannot be printed in Random or Chapter Order on a test.  The questions for that section will always print in the order in which they were selected for a test.

4	When finished, click OK.

5	Repeat steps 1-4 to create additional sections.

When a test is printed, sections are printed in the order in which they appear in the Test pull-down menu.  A check mark to the left of a section title indicates that it is the active section.  Before you select questions, from the Test pull-down menu, choose a section.


Modifying Test Sections

This option in the Test menu allows you to modify a section's name or select different printing options for the currently "active" section.  A check mark to the left of the section's name in the Test pull-down menu indicates that it is the active section.

1	From the Test menu, choose a section.

2	From the Test menu, choose Modify Section.

The section's name will appear in the Section Title text box.

3	Type new information over the existing text and/or change print options.  To save changes, click OK.


Moving Test Sections

Once sections have been created for a test, you may choose to use this option to re-arrange their order (as displayed in the Test pull-down menu).  If you choose to print questions in random order on a test, MicroTest III will alter the order of test questions within each section.

1	From the Test menu, choose Move Section.

The sections you have created will appear in the Sections In Test: list box on the right side of the dialog.

2	Double-click on the section you want to move in the Sections In Test: list box.  The section's name will display in the entry box on the left side of the dialog.

3	Click on the section in the Sections In Test: list box to indicate where it should now be placed.

The highlight bar will indicate the section that must appear before or after the new section placement.

4	To designate where the section listed in the entry box should be moved, choose one of the following options from the Move Section box:

Before Selection: Click on this radio button to move the section listed in the entry box before the highlighted section in the Sections In Test list box.

After Selection: Click on this radio button to move the section listed in the entry box after the highlighted section in the Sections In Test: list box.

5	After these steps are completed, click Move. The section will display in its new position.

6	To save changes, click OK.

The order in which your sections appear has been modified.  The sections will now print in the new order displayed in the Test pull-down menu.


Deleting Test Sections

When a test section is deleted, MicroTest III will also unselect the questions chosen for that section.  The questions will still be contained in the question bank and can be selected for another section in the same test or an entirely new test.

1	From the Test menu, choose Delete Section.

2	From the Delete: pop-up menu, choose a section name then click OK.

The section will be deleted and will no longer be displayed in the Test pull-down menu.


Selecting Test Questions

There are several ways you can select test questions using MicroTest III: by selecting the questions manually, by using MicroTest III's Auto Select feature, or by choosing options from the Select menu.  An explanation of each option follows:

Manual Select

Auto Select

Select Menu


Manual Select

After selecting a chapter in the Table of Contents window, use the Select Questions window to access the questions contained in that chapter.  The window contains numbered buttons which represent questions in the chapter.  The color of the button indicates the selection status of each question:

•	not highlighted = not selected,

•	filled with a solid color = selected for test or section named in window,

•	gray = question has been selected but for another section of the test.

When you click on a question's button in the Select Questions window, the content of that question is displayed in the Edit Questions window.

Before selecting test questions manually:

•	a test must be open (if needed, see Creating a New Test or Opening an Existing Test),

•	if desired, test sections must be created (see Using Test Sections).

To select questions manually:

1	If you have created multiple sections, from the Test menu, choose a section.

2	Click inside the Select Questions window to make it active or from the Window menu, choose Select Questions.

3	In the Select Questions window, double-click on the button(s) representing the question(s) you want to include in your test.  If you want to unselect a question, double-click on the numbered button again.

You can also double-click on a figure's button to select questions linked to that figure. The button color indicates the selection status of each figure:

•	not highlighted = no questions linked with the figure have been selected,

•	filled with a solid color = some or all of the questions associated with the figure have been selected for the active section named in the window (it is possible to have questions linked to the same figure in more than one section),

•	gray = all questions associated with the figure have been selected for the test, but for another section.

       -or-

       Click the In Test box in the Edit Questions window.

       -or-

       Choose Displayed Question from the Select menu

4	a) If you want to select questions from another chapter:

Click anywhere in the Table of Contents window to make it active, then click on another chapter number. The information in the Select  Questions window will automatically change.

-or-

b) From the Chapter menu, choose from the Next Chapter or Previous Chapter options.

5	If you have created multiple sections, repeat steps 1-4 for all remaining sections.

6	When finished selecting questions for your test, from the File menu, choose Save Test

Your test will be saved under the name you have previously specified.

NOTE: You cannot select questions for a test from two different question banks.


Auto Select

MicroTest III's Auto Select feature randomly selects questions based on selections made within this dialog.  Before selecting questions for a test using MicroTest III's Auto Select feature,

•	a test must be open (if needed, see Creating a New Test or Opening an Existing Test),

•	if desired, test sections must be created (see Using Test Sections).

To use the Auto Select option:

1	If you have more than one section in your test, from the Test menu, choose a section. (MicroTest III's Auto Select feature selects questions for one section at a time.)

2	From the Select menu, choose Auto Select.

The Select Chapters for Auto Selection dialog, which shows information about the chapters, appears.  MicroTest III's Auto Select feature will randomly select questions from the chapters you specify.

3	From the Select Chapters for Auto Selection dialog, choose one of the following options:

Select One Chapter - Click on one specific chapter.

Select More Than One Chapter - Click once on each chapter to be included.

Select All - Click on this button to include all chapters.

Clear All - Click on this button to clear all previous selections.

4	To continue click OK or press the Enter key.

The Auto Selection for Section dialog displays for the section you chose in step 1.  If you did not create sections, test questions will be placed in the Section 1 section created for you.

Use this to specify the number of questions for the test (or section) and to select questions based on difficulty level and/or key words.  You can also select specific types of questions (e.g. multiple choice, true or false).

5	Click inside the Select: Questions text box and type the number of questions for the test.

6	Next, select questions based on the following criteria:

Difficulty level - Use this option to select questions based on the difficulty levels assigned to test items in the question bank.

Any Difficulty level: Click on this radio button to include questions regardless of difficulty level.

Greater Than or Equal, Equal To, Less Than or Equal: Click on one of these radio buttons to select questions based on a specific difficulty level or one that is greater than or less than a particular level.  After selection has been made, a pop-up menu with difficulty level criteria displays.  From the pop-up menu, choose a difficulty level.  Your selection will appear below the Difficulty Level box in the Auto Selection for Section dialog.

Question Type - Use this option to select questions based on different question types. Click on the corresponding checkbox for each question type to be included in the test.  The numbers that appear in the "Totals" column and to the right of each question type definition indicate the total number of questions per type included in the chapter(s) selected.

NOTE: Including Matching and Identification questions as candidates for auto selection may result in more than the requested number of questions being selected.  If you do not want these question types included, unmark the Include Matching and Identification Questions box.

Key Word Selection - Key words included in the chapter(s) selected appear in the Key Word Selection list box.  (Use scroll bars to view words if necessary).  From this list box, choose from the following options:

•	To select questions regardless of key word:  Leave all words highlighted and MicroTest III will select questions with and without assigned key words.

•	To select questions without key words:  First, click on the Clear All button and then click on "Questions Without Key Words".  MicroTest III will only select questions from the question bank that do not have an assigned key word.

•	To select questions based on specific key word(s):  First, click on the Clear All button.  Second, click on a specific key word(s).  Third, click on "Questions Without Key Words" MicroTest III will only select questions assigned to the selected key word(s).

7	After all selections have been made, click on the Calculate button.

The number of questions that meet your criteria displays.

8	When finished, click OK or press the Enter key.

9	Repeat steps 1 to 8 to auto select questions for the remaining sections in your test.


Select Menu

With MicroTest III, the Select Menu offers an alternative way to quickly select questions from one chapter.  If you have previously selected questions for your test, options chosen from the Select Menu will override all existing selections.  The Select Menu does not appear until a test is open.  If needed, see Creating a New Test or Opening an Existing Test.  If test sections are desired, they should be created before using this menu option (see Using Test Sections).

The Select Menu offers the following options:

Odd Questions - Selects all odd questions within a chapter.

Even Questions - Selects all even questions within a chapter.

All Questions - Selects all questions within a chapter.

Displayed Question -  Selects the question currently displayed in the Edit Questions window.

Auto Select - see Auto Select.

Reorder Questions - see Reordering Test Questions.

Unselect Questions - see Unselecting Test Questions.

If you have more than one section in your test, remember to choose a section from the Test menu before choosing options from the Select menu.

IMPORTANT:  If there are strongly linked questions you cannot use the "Odd" or "Even" option, as selecting one selects all. See Linking Questions to Figures for more information.


Reordering Test Questions

Once questions have been selected, you can use this option to rearrange the order in which they will appear on a test.

1	From the Select menu, choose Reorder Questions.

NOTE: If you have not created sections and are working within the Section 1 section created for you, move on to step 3.

2	If you have created multiple sections, use your mouse to select a section from the pop-up menu on the left side of the dialog.

3	Double-click on the chapter and question number you want to move in the Questions Selected: list box.

The chapter and question number will display in the entry box on the left side of the dialog.

4	Click on the chapter and question number in the Questions Selected: list box to indicate where the question should now be placed.

The highlight bar will indicate the question that must appear before or after the new question placement.

5	To designate where the question listed in the entry box should be moved, choose one of the following options from the Move Question: box:

Before Selection:  Click on this radio button to move the question listed in the entry box before the highlighted question in the Questions Selected: list box.

After Selection:  Click on this radio button to move the question listed in the entry box after the highlighted question in the Questions Selected: list box.

6	After these steps are completed, click Move.

The chapter and question number will display in its new position.

7	OPTIONAL:  Click on the Revert to Original Order button if you want to undo your changes.

8	Repeat steps 2 to 7 for any additional sections.

9	To save changes, click OK.

The order in which your questions will appear on a test has been modified.


Unselecting Test Questions

You can unselect an individual question by double-clicking on its highlighted button in the Select Questions window.

-or-

Unmark the In Test box in the Edit Questions window.

You can unselect groups of questions quickly using the Unselect Questions option from the Select menu.  You can choose to eliminate questions from a single chapter and section, a chapter and all sections, a section and all chapters, or all of the test questions selected.

To unselect a group of questions in an open test:

1	Click inside the Table of Contents window to make it active and choose a chapter to work in by clicking on its row.  The highlight bar indicates the selected chapter.

2	From the Test menu, choose a section.

A check mark will appear to the left of the active section.

3	From the Select menu, choose Unselect Questions.

The following hierarchical menu choices are then available:

this Chapter, this Section - allows you to unselect all the questions from the currently selected chapter and section.

this Chapter, all Sections - allows you to unselect all the questions from the currently selected chapter regardless of the section they are in.

this Section, all Chapters - allows you to unselect all the questions from the currently selected section regardless of which chapter they are in.

all Chapters, all Sections - allows you to unselect all of the test  questions.


Creating Page and Section Headers

If desired, page and section headers can be created within MicroTest III. Headers or instructions can appear before sections, on the first page of a test or on all pages of a test.  Headers can be as long and as detailed as needed, and can also incorporate both text and graphics.  Some of the editing tools available in the Edit menu and Question menu can be used to format headers.

NOTE: Page and section headers are saved within your test file, not to your question bank.

Page Headers

1	From the Test menu, choose Page Header 1 or Page Header 2.

2	Click inside the header window and enter text.

NOTE: If you would like space between the test header and the first question on your test, press the enter key for each blank line desired.

3	Select print options from the Print: pop-up menu.  Page Headers can be printed on the first page only or on all pages of a test.

4	To save information, click the Save button.

5	To close the window, click on its close box.

Two sets of instructions can be included if you use both Page Header options.  If headers are entered for the same pages, the information for Page Header 1 will always print before the information entered for Page Header 2.

Section Headers

Each section created for a test can include its own instructions.  Section headers will print above the questions associated with that section.

1	From the Test menu, choose a section.

A check mark will appear to the left of the active section.

2	Again, from the Test menu, choose Section Header.

3	Click inside the header window and enter text.

NOTE: If you would like space between the section header and the first question of the section, press the enter key for each blank line desired.

4	To save all information, click the Save button.

5	To close the window, click on its close button.

Repeat steps 1-5 to enter headers for each section in your test.


Saving Your Test

When you are finished designing your test, selecting questions, and creating test and/or section headers, you should save your test before printing to protect your work.  This is easily and quickly accomplished by performing the following operation:

•	From the File menu, choose Save Test.

If the Save Test option is dimmed in the File menu, your work has already been saved to your test file.


Creating Test Templates

If you use the same basic format for all of your tests, you may want to create a test template.  A test template can contain sections, page and section headers, version and print selections, but it will not include actual test questions.  Test templates are created from previously saved tests.

1	From the File menu, choose New Test from Template.

2	From the Select a Test to Use as a Template dialog, double-click on a test file name to use as your template, or click on a test file name and then click OK.

3	In the Name the New Test dialog, click inside the File Name text box, type in the name for your new test file and click OK.

MicroTest III has created your test template using an existing test's format.  Please note that your new test contains zero questions.

4	Select the questions (see Selecting Test Questions) for your new test.

NOTE:  Test formats can also be copied from existing tests by opening a test and from the Select menu, choosing Unselect Questions, and then selecting all Chapters, all Sections.  This will delete all questions from your test, leaving a blank template.


Exporting Test Questions

MicroTest III allows you to export questions if you wish to access your test questions using software other than the MicroTest III program.  When you select questions to export, they will be copied into a text file; your question bank will not be modified unless you choose to import the text file into MicroTest III after making changes.  Graphics, special fonts and style settings will not translate to an export file.

1	From the File menu, choose Open Test to select the test file that contains the questions you would like to export.

The Select a Test to Open dialog displays.

2	Double-click on a test file name to open it or use your mouse to highlight the file name and click OK.

3	From the File menu, choose Write Test to Disk.

NOTE:  You must have a TEST file with selected questions open (not only the question bank file) in order to select the Write Test to Disk option.

4	In the Name the Test to Disk File dialog, click inside the File Name text box, enter a file name, choose a location for your export file, and then click OK.

5	In the Write Test to Disk dialog, choose from the following options:

Write Sequence:

Random - Click on this radio button to export your test questions in random order.

Chapter, Question Order - Click on this radio button to export your test questions in the order in which they appear in your question bank.

As Selected - Click on this radio button to export your test questions in the order in which they were selected for the test.

Include Answer Key?

If you would like an answer key to export with your test questions, click the Yes radio button.  If you do not want an answer key included in your export file, click the No radio button.

Format:

As Is - Click on this radio button to export your question text exactly as it was entered in your question bank.  All multiple choice and matching questions will be listed vertically in the export file.

With Tabs And Returns - Click on this radio button to export your question text with hard carriage returns at the end of each line and with tabs placed before the following line for proper indentation.

MicroTest Import Format - Click on this radio button to export your question text with the headers required to import the file back into MicroTest III after making changes.  If this option is selected, the other options in the Write Test to Disk dialog will be disabled.

RTF Format - Click on this radio button to export your question text in a Rich Text Format.  Page headers, section headers, page numbers, and graphics are included in the RTF file.  The file can be opened in any program that supports RTF import.

IMPORTANT:  If you choose to import an export file, MicroTest III will write over the existing questions in your question bank during the import process, replacing them with any changes you have made to the text file.  This process will also delete any graphics, special fonts or style settings.  We recommend that you create a backup of your question bank file.

6	From the Write Test to Disk dialog, click Save.

7	Exit the MicroTest III program and open the application you will use to view the export file.

8	Search for the location and file name specified in step four in order to access the export file.

9	OPTIONAL:  If you are importing the exported file into MicroTest III after making changes, you must save the document as a text file.


Printing Questions

Printing a Test

Two Column Printing

Print/Preview Question Bank


Printing a Test

After you have selected questions for your test and have included all page headers and section instructions, you are ready to print.  When a test is printed, MicroTest III automatically numbers the selected test questions consecutively regardless of how they appear in the question bank.  MicroTest III also numbers pages and will not split questions between pages of a test unless a question exceeds one page.

In order to print a test, you must be working in an open question bank and an open test.  Before printing, you may want to review and/or modify the Page Setup settings and options from the File menu.

If you have created multiple sections within a test, the sections will always print in the order in which they appear in the Test pull-down menu.  If you want to modify the order of test sections before you print a test, choose the Move Section option from the Test menu.

1	From the File menu, choose Print/Preview Test.

From the Print/Preview Test dialog, determine how many versions of the test you will need. MicroTest III can print up to 15 versions of a test.  You can customize how each version looks and in what order the test questions appear.  You can create different versions of a test by scrambling answer choices for multiple choice questions, starting tests with different question numbers or randomizing the order of test questions.

2	a) Determine how many versions of a test will be printed by double-clicking on the version numbers listed in the Versions: list box (left corner of dialog).

-or-

b) Click on a version number and then, check the Select this Test Version for Printing checkbox.

When you select a version to be printed, "selected" will appear next to the version number in the Versions: list box.  The highlight bar in the Versions: list box represents the current or active version being created.  The total number of versions to be printed will be listed as Test Versions to be Printed at the lower left corner of the dialog.

3	Repeat step 2 until you are finished selecting test versions to be printed.

4	Click once on a Version number to begin selecting print options.

5	To scramble the answers to multiple choice questions, click on the Scramble Choices for Multiple Choice Quests. checkbox.

NOTE:  Remember to preset Scrambling options for Multiple Choice questions in the Edit Questions window.

6	Choose Group Question Types into Sections if you would like your test items files grouped by type.

7	Specify the print sequence order of test questions by clicking on the radio button for one of the following options:

Random: Test questions will be printed in random order.

Chapter, Order: Test questions will be printed in the order they appear in the question bank. They will not print in selected order.

Selected Order: Test questions will be printed in the order that you have selected them.

Starting Question Number: If Chapter Order or Selected Order has been chosen, click inside the text box to set a numerical starting point for the print sequence of your test questions.  For example, if a test has 10 questions and you designate the first version of your test's Starting Question Number as 1, the test will contain questions 1-10.  If you want the second version of the test to contain the same 10 questions but in another sequence, you can insert the number 8 in the Starting Question Number: text box.  This test will contain the same 10 questions, still numbered consecutively from 1-10, but its sequence order will change from 1-10 to 8, 9, 10, 1, 2, 3, etc.

Use Same Random Sequence: Click this checkbox to reprint a test in the same random sequence as it was previously printed.

8	Set a beginning page number for your test by clicking inside the Beginning Page Number: text box.

Insert any number between 1 and 500.  All subsequent pages of your test will be numbered consecutively.

9	Set a beginning question number for your test by clicking inside the Beginning Question Number: text box.

Insert any number between 1 and 500.  All subsequent questions on your test will be numbered consecutively.

10	Select printing options for each version of your test:

Answer Key: Click on this checkbox to create a printed answer key for the test.

Explanations on Answer Sheet: Click on this checkbox to include explanations on the answer sheet of your test.

Student Answer Sheet: Click on this checkbox to create a printed answer sheet for students to use while taking a test.  Answer choices will be listed, allowing students to circle the correct answer choice.

Page, Section Headers on Answer Sheet: Click on this checkbox to include page and section headers on your answer key.  If you do not select this option, your page and section headers will print on your test only.

Actual Chapter, Question Numbers on Test: Click on this checkbox to include the chapter and question numbers on your test.  If selected, the information will be printed in the margin to the right of each question.

Test Statistics: Click on this checkbox to print a global report containing information summarizing the distribution and frequency of key words, difficulty levels, and question types.  The Test Statistics report will be printed after the last answer key (if this option is selected) or after the last version of your test.

11	Select one of the following options in the Explanation and Answer Position: list box to indicate the placement of the text for explanations and answers on the answer sheet of your test:

With Question #: Explanations and answers begin to the right and on the same line as the question number.

After Question # Explanations and answers begin on the line immediately below the question number.

Automatic: Explanations and answers begin With Question # when there is enough room and After Question # when a wider margin is required.

12	Select one of the following options in the Page Numbers: list box to indicate the placement or inclusion of page numbers for your test:

Top of Page: Inserts page numbers at the top of each test page.

Bottom of Page: Insert page numbers at the bottom of each test page.

None: Excludes page numbers from every test page.

13	Repeat steps 4 to 11 for each version selected for printing.

14	After all options have been chosen, click on the Preview button to view the test before printing or to start printing your test, click Print.


Two Column Printing

1	From the General Layout dialog click on in Two Column Printing checkbox.

2	To adjust the gap between columns, click inside the Gap Between Columns text box and insert a numerical value between 0 and 1.

When you change this setting, all of the questions in the bank are affected, not just the questions for a specific test.

When printing a two-column test, please be aware of the following:

1	Large graphics may not fit in a column.  If it is too large, MicroTest III may cut the graphic at the right margin.  We recommend re-sizing and re-pasting graphics when printing a two-column test.

2	Multiple choice answer selections with two or more choices per line may be cut off at the right margin.  We recommend selecting one choice per line for multiple choice questions when printing two-column tests.


Print/Preview Question Bank

If you would like to have a hard copy printout of an entire question bank, you can use MicroTest III's Print/Preview Question Bank option.  Using a hard copy may simplify the process of selecting questions for a test.

1	From the File menu, choose Print/Preview Question Bank.

The Print/Preview Question Bank dialog displays.

2	Choose from the following options:

Chapter Range:  Click on the "All" radio button to include all chapters or click on the "From" radio button to select a range of chapters (choose the chapter range from pop-up menus).  Questions are printed in chapter/question order.

Begin Numbering Pages With:  Click inside the text box and type in a starting number for printed pages.

Header, Footer Options: This pop-up menu in the lower right corner of the dialog provides six pre-defined Header and Footer options that can be coded in the Page Header and Page Footer text boxes.  Click on the pop-up menu and use your mouse to select from the following options:

Chapter Number &N:  Chapter Number

Chapter Title &C:  Chapter Title

Question Bank Title &B:  Title of Question Bank

Page Number &P:  Page Number

Date &D:  Date (as recorded by operating system/hardware)

Ampersand &&:  Inserts an "&" for more than one entry

Page Header on First Page of Chapter Only:  Click on this checkbox and then click inside the text box to enter a header.  If you want a header on every page, do not select this checkbox. (Use the Header, Footer Options pop-up menu in the lower right corner of the dialog to simplify and automate entry.)  Headers can include up to 83 characters and will be centered.  The items you choose to include in the header should be entered as they are listed in the Header, Footer Options pop-up menu.

Page Footer on First Page of Chapter Only:  Click on this checkbox and then click inside the text box to enter a footer.  If you want a footer on every page, do not select this checkbox.  (Use the Header, Footer Options pop-up menu in the lower right corner of the dialog to simplify and automate entry.)  Footers can include up to 83 characters and will be centered.  The items you choose to include in the footer should be entered as they are listed in the Header, Footer Options pop-up menu.

Print box options

Print Answers: This pop-up menu provides two print options.  Click on the pop-up menu and select one of the following options:

Answers After Questions: Answer text will appear on the line  following each question.

No Answers: No answers will be printed.

Statistical Report:  Click on this checkbox to create a report containing the total number of questions per chapter, a breakdown of questions by question type, and the number of questions assigned to each key word and/or difficulty level.

Difficulty Levels and Key Words:  Click on this checkbox to print assigned difficulty levels and key words after each question where applicable.

Figure Linking Information:  Click on this checkbox to include the titles of figures linked to questions.  The title will print out after the answers.

Print Figures:  This pop-up menu provides two print options for figures.  Click on the pop-up menu and select one of the following options:

Figures With Questions:  Figures will be printed before each linked question.  If more than one question is linked to a figure, the figure will print before the first linked question only.

Figures at End of Each Chapter: All figures will print alphabetically (by figure name) following all questions in the chapter.  Linked  questions will be noted.

Preview: Click on this button to view selections before printing.  To enlarge the view, click the Zoom button.

Print: Click on this button to start printing.


Importing Questions

If you have test questions from a source outside of MicroTest III (such as a word processor or other test generation program), you can import questions and avoid retyping.  The minimum formatting requirements are:

•	A question header must be inserted above each question.

•	The import file that contains the test questions must be saved as a text file.  Graphics, special characters, and font styles are added after importing the text file into MicroTest III.

•	Global options should be specified in MicroTest III prior to import.

NOTE: You should make a backup copy of the file before importing.

Formatting Text Files for Import

Optional Question Header Information (Importing Questions)

Optional Header Lines (Importing Questions)

Setting MicroTest III Options Before Import

Importing Your Text File

Sample Import File


Formatting Text Files for Import

Each question must have a question header on a separate line above the question.  The first header line in the file should contain the question type, chapter number, question number and other optional information.  The answer choices for multiple choice questions should be entered sequentially, as shown in the example below.  Each answer choice for a matching question should be listed on a separate line and should be preceded by the appropriate letter or number (see the Sample Import File for an example).  If answer text is entered, it should follow the question text and be preceded by an answer header.  Explanations can be included with the answer or inserted following an explanation header.  All other information in the file (question numbers, tabs, unneeded spaces, unwanted lines between questions, etc.) should be deleted.  The following is a sample multiple choice question with headers.

\MC C 1 Q 1

Question text entered here.

a.  Text for answer choice entered here.

b.  Text for answer choice entered here.

c.  Text for answer choice entered here.

d.  Text for answer choice entered here.

\A

Optional answer text entered here.

\E

Optional explanation text entered here.

\	A backslash indicates the beginning of one of the five types of  headers: question, answer, explanation, stop and omit. All headers are optional except for the question header.  There can be no space preceding the backslash; it must be in the first column.

MC	Indicates question type. Choices are: MC = Multiple Choice, TF = True or False, FF = Free Format (essay, fill-in-the-blank, short  answer) and MA = Matching.

C 1	Indicates chapter number.  In this case the question will be  imported into chapter one. Include one space between "C" and the  chapter number.  Enter chapter numbers from 1 to 999.  Chapter designations can include an optional suffix of up to five characters.  A  period must be included between the number and the suffix.  There should be no spaces in the suffix.  As an example, you could name one chapter 1.MC and another 1.TF.

Q 1	Indicates question number.  In this case the question will be imported as question number one in chapter one. Include one space between "Q" and the question number.  Enter question numbers from 1 to 400.

IMPORTANT:  Include one space between each header option.

Example:  \MC (space) C (space) 1 (space) Q (space) 1

Values in headers need only be specified when they change in a way other than what is expected.  For example, question type and chapter number do not change until a different value is specified.  Question numbers automatically increment by one from question to question unless specified otherwise.  After the first question, a question header might only consist of one character – the backslash.

Optional Question Header Information (Importing Questions)

Optional Header Lines (Importing Questions)


Optional Question Header Information (Importing Questions)

The following commands allow you to specify additional information and can be entered in any order in the question header.  Upper and lower case letters are not distinguished within a header.

A     Single character answers can be entered in the question header instead of following an answer header.  For example, if the correct answer to a multiple choice question is 'b' it would be preceded by an 'A' for answer and indicated in the question header as follows:

\MC C 1 Q 1 A b

D     Difficulty Level

K     Key Word

Difficulty Level and Key Word values may be specified as a letter from 'a' to 'z' or as a number from 1 to 52 and can be defined in MicroTest III from the Edit menu.  Difficulty Levels and Key Words apply to only a single question.  A question header with a Difficulty Level of 'a' and Key Word coded as 'b' would appear as follows:

\MC C 1 Q 1 D a K b

P     Prefix

S     Suffix

MicroTest III uses Prefix and Suffix information in your question header to locate multiple choice and matching choice lines.  Both the Prefix and Suffix can contain up to 5 characters including spaces and should be enclosed by quotes.  For example, if your choices are in the following format,

A.  choice 1

B.  choice 2

this would be indicated in the question header as follows:

\MC C 1 Q 1  S "."

If your choices are in the following format,

(a)  choice 1

(b)  choice 2

the Prefix and Suffix would be indicated in the following manner:

\MC C 1 Q 1 P "(" S ")"

The Prefix and Suffix commands apply to all subsequent questions until specified otherwise.

SC   The Scramble command specifies which choices are to be scrambled in a multiple choice question.  The options are All (the initial default), None, a letter or a number.  All and None apply to the current and all subsequent questions except those in which a particular number or letter is specified.  The All or None state is used until another All or None option changes it.  All or None can be used in a header along with another scramble option to specify a particular choice for that question, for example:

\MC SC all SC d

If there were five choices in this question, only the first four would be scrambled.

Other examples are:

\MC SC a 	The abbreviation for All is 'a' so all choices could be scrambled.

\MC SC 0	The zero indicates that no choices would be scrambled.

\MC SC 3	The '3' indicates that the first three choices would be scrambled.

\MC SC c	The 'c' indicates that the first three choices would be scrambled.

For more information about scrambling multiple choice questions, see the Multiple Choice Scrambling Feature under Multiple Choice Template.

U     UseLineBreaks.  Line breaks will remain as they appear in the import file.

R     RemoveLineBreaks.  MicroTest III will remove non-consecutive line breaks that are not followed by one or more spaces.

The default option (initial setting) is UseLineBreaks. Line breaks can also be referred to as carriage returns, return characters, or paragraph marks.  The line breaks command should be specified separately for each of the three applicable header types (question, answer, and explanation).

The RemoveLineBreaks feature is particularly useful if you are importing text from a structured format which has return characters at the end of each line.  In such cases, it enables you to connect these lines into paragraphs which are automatically word wrapped as margins are adjusted.

When RemoveLineBreaks is selected, MicroTest III will remove line breaks from all lines except (1) an empty line, (2) a line that is immediately followed by an empty line or (3) a line that is immediately followed by a line that begins with one or more spaces.  These exceptions enable the preservation of indented charts or tables, indented paragraphs, and paragraphs that are separated by a blank line.

Spaces preceding a removed return character are also deleted but MicroTest III ensures that a space separates the last word on one line and the first word on the appended line.  If a hyphen is the last non-space character on a line, it is removed and the hyphenated word is joined as a single word.


Optional Header Lines (Importing Questions)

\A    The Answer Header is used to designate the beginning of answer text.  All lines between the "\A" and the next header are taken as the answer.  A UseLineBreaks or RemoveLineBreaks option can follow an answer header and applies only to answer text.  It remains in effect until changed in a subsequent answer header.

\E    The Explanation Header is used to designate the beginning of explanation text.  All lines between the "\E" and the next header are taken as the explanation.  A UseLineBreaks or RemoveLineBreaks option can follow an explanation header and applies only to explanation text.  It remains in effect until changed in a subsequent explanation header.

\O   The Omit Header is used to keep MicroTest III from processing a portion of the import text file.  All information in the file is omitted until the next header is encountered.

\ST  The Stop Header causes MicroTest III to stop processing the import text file.  All information following the Stop Header is ignored.

The Omit and Stop Headers must appear alone on the same line following the command.


Setting MicroTest III Options Before Import

1	From the word processing program you are using, save the import file as a text file and close the file.

2	Start MicroTest III and create a new question bank or open an existing question bank.

3	From the Edit menu, choose Question Layout.

4	From the Question Layout hierarchical menu, choose General Layout.

The General Layout Options dialog appears.

5	Click on the Change button in the Question Font Default box and/or the Prefix Font Default box to specify the question font type, size and style that will be applied to the incoming text.

6	From the Question Defaults box, click on the Answer Required checkbox if you have specified an answer for each question.

7	From the General Layout Options dialog, click OK.

8	If you are importing multiple choice questions into an existing question bank, we suggest that you import one choice per line for multiple choice questions (the default setting for new question banks).  If this is not already set:

a	Click inside the Edit Questions window to make it active (or from the Window menu, choose Edit Questions).

b	Use the arrow buttons to forward to the first blank template.

c	From the Question menu, choose Multiple Choice.

d	From the Question menu, choose Choices per Line.

e	From the Choices per Line hierarchical menu, select the desired number of choices per line.  Questions can be changed individually later.


Importing Your Text File

After you have formatted the import file and options have been chosen in MicroTest III, you are ready to import.

NOTE:  You should make a backup copy of the file before importing.

1	From the File menu, choose Import Text File.

The Select a Text File to Import dialog displays.

2	Double-click on the appropriate file name to be imported, or click on the file name and then click OK.

Alerts During Import

Alert dialogs and error messages will display if MicroTest III has difficulty reading an import file.   The most common alert dialogs are explained below.

Duplicate questions

If a question already exists with the same chapter and question number you can:

1	move it to the first unused question number (which is usually at the end of the chapter unless there are gaps in your question numbering—in which case MicroTest III will first fill in the gaps and then begin adding questions to the end),

2	replace existing duplicate questions (the existing questions will be replaced with the new questions), or

3	move the question to a specific number (MicroTest III will display the first available question number for you).

Import file could not be opened:

The import file may already be open (as a word processing document).  Save the file as a text file, close the file in your word processing program and begin the import again.

Choices not found for Multiple Choice Question. OK to import as free format?:

The question type you specified in the import file was multiple choice or matching, but MicroTest III was unable to locate the answer choice lines.  Import the question as free format and edit it later or cancel the import and adjust formatting in the word processing document.

NOTE:  Review and edit questions before creating tests!


Sample Import File

The following includes an example of a formatted text file.

Please review this example to better understand the location and format of question headers.  To assist you, headers appear in boldface type.

\FF C 1 Q 1

Name the four primary question types that can be imported into MicroTest III and give the abbreviation that would be used in the header for each one.

\A

The four primary question types are:

QUESTION TYPE                    ABBREV.

Multiple choice	MC

True or false	TF

Matching	MA

Free format	FF

\

Name the question header commands and their abbreviations.

\A

QUESTION HEADER COMMANDS   ABBREV.

Chapter	 C

Question	 Q

Answer	 A

Difficulty	 D

Keyword	 K

Prefix	 P

Suffix	 S

Scramble	 SC

RemoveLineBreaks	 R

UseLineBreaks	 U

\MC  A  c  S  "."  SC 2

The question header commands that never require additional information following the command are:

a.  RemoveLineBreaks

b.  UseLineBreaks

c.  All of the above

d.  None of the above

\MA

Match each item on the left with the correct item on the right.

1.  File which identifies which questions to be printed for an exam

A.  question bank

2.  Division within a question bank

B.  test

3.  MicroTest III's database for test generation

C.  chapter

4.  A window that usually appears in the upper left hand corner of the MicroTest III screen.

D.  Table of Contents

5.  Window used for entry of question text

E.  Edit Questions

6.  Filled with a numbered grid representing questions in a chapter

F.  Select Questions

\A

1-B, 2-C, 3-A, 4-D, 5-E, 6-F

\E

MicroTest III will import the numbered options into one column and the lettered options into the other column.  The width of the columns and which options appear in each column can automatically be changed at any time.  To import correctly, the numbered items and the lettered items should alternate.

\TF C 2 Q 1  R

Because this question has a line break (paragraph mark) at the end of

every line, it is better to use the RemoveLineBreaks command in the

header.

\A

True

\E

Narrowing the width of this Help window will illustrate a problem that could occur with the question portion of this question when page margins are adjusted.


List of All Topics

Quick Reference

Program Overview

MicroTest III Terminology

MicroTest III's Tiled Windows

MicroTest III's Tool Bars

Display Options

Keyboard Shortcuts

Cross Platform Considerations

Getting Additional Help

Opening MicroTest III

Opening an Existing Question Bank

Opening a Question Bank from a previous MicroTest III version

Creating a New Question Bank

Question Layout Features

General Layout

Global Font Change

True or False Question Layout

Multiple Choice Question Layout

Matching Question Layout

Matching and Identification (point value per choice) Question Layout

Using Chapters

Creating a New Chapter

Modifying a Chapter

Importing a Chapter

Deleting a Chapter

Arranging MicroTest III Windows

Using Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Entering Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Modifying and Deleting Key Words and Difficulty Levels

Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Levels to Specific Questions

Adding and Editing Questions and Figures

Opening an Existing Question Bank

Entering New Questions

Using MicroTest III's Formatted Question Templates

Multiple Choice Template

Matching Template

Assigning Key Words and Difficulty Levels to Specific Questions

Modifying Existing Questions

Edit Menu

Question Menu

Moving/Copying Questions Without Changing Question Type

Moving/Copying Questions & Changing the Question Type

Changing the Question Type Format of an Existing Question

Deleting Questions

Renumbering Questions Within a Chapter

Inserting Graphics

Using Figures

Entering New Figures

Modifying Figures

Deleting Figures

Linking and Unlinking Questions to Figures

Creating a Test

Creating a New Test

Opening an Existing Test

Using Test Sections

Creating Test Sections

Modifying Test Sections

Moving Test Sections

Deleting Test Sections

Selecting Test Questions

Manual Select

Auto Select

Select Menu

Reordering Test Questions

Unselecting Test Questions

Creating Page and Section Headers

Saving Your Test

Creating Test Templates

Exporting Test Questions

Printing Questions

Printing a Test

Two Column Printing

Print/Preview Question Bank

Importing Questions

Formatting Text Files for Import

Optional Question Header Information (Importing Questions)

Optional Header Lines (Importing Questions)

Setting MicroTest III Options Before Import

Importing Your Text File

Sample Import File