Creating a New Question

You need editor access to create a question in Quest. If you do not see the link to the editor in the top right corner of the main course page, simply send us an email at questhelp@austin.utexas.edu to request authorization.

If you already have been granted editor access and still don't see this icon in your upper right hand view, please clear your internet browser's cache, fully close out of all browsers, and try again.

Navigate to the editor home page by clicking 'editor' in the upper right hand corner, or going to https://quest.cns.utexas.edu/editor

Clicking on new question (along the left side bar) from the editor home page will take you to the Create a Question page

We do reserve the right to manage the question items and banks, but are committed to providing high-quality assessment items and maintaining their confidentiality. Please contact us if you have any concerns or questions, we would be happy to discuss unique solutions on a case-by-case basis.

Each question must have a unique name, so we ask you to be as brief but descriptive as possible. You can always add numbers to the title to help with popular titles.
Tags are optional on this page and can be added later once the question is completed.
Questions created as a contributing editor are placed in your personal bank and will be included in the list on your home page.

Question Types

The Quest editor supports a number of question types that break down into two categories:

Basic Question Types

Provides an HTML text box to easily enter content and embed images. This category includes the multiple choice-html based, essay, and short answer questions. For more information about creating one of these types click here: Basic Question Types.

Advanced Question Types

Expects some sort of code formatting (TeX or JavaScript) in a generic text box and includes a code area to write randomization within a question. This category includes TeX & (C or Javascript) (far more common), or html & Javascript (which is primarily used for matrix and grid problems). For more information about creating one of these question types click here: Advanced Question Types.

If you have a question that you like but would like to edit, you can use it's ID number to create your own copy of a question that will be added to your bank.

After you select the question type and click continue, the next page will have a few similarities across question types.

At the top of the page is the name you designated when creating the question (for this example it is "4pics") along with the question ID (#219419 in this one) and the version number of the question (v.1).

The status of the question can be:

Draft - a new version has been created, but a draft hasn't been saved yet.
Passed Audits & Tex - a draft has been saved and the preview generated for reviewing.
Parameters generated - random versions have been created (if applicable) and is awaiting final review. (Note: clicking the parameters generated is a prerequisite for the problem to be publishable, except for html/short answer/essay questions.)
Published - much like publishing an assignment, a published question is "locked" from editing to assure consistency for delivering to students.

The next row is a series of tabs that provide various functions.

Messages is the main dialogue box, notifying the user of any errors or updated status
Settings indicates this question is active–largely leave this tab alone
History shows the editing history of the item (ie earlier versions).
A question can be re-edited after publishing, which will create a new ID number and increment the version number. We have a version system for questions so that all edits can be followed as new versions are create
Banks shows the banks the question is contained in. Private banks do not appear. Please add your question to other banks so the larger community can use your well thought out question.
Tags shows the tags associated with the item and allows more to be added.
Issues shows any comments about the item and whether the item is flagged. More about flagged questions here: Reporting an error in a question
Images is used to embed questions.