How do I prepare an RTF question file to import into ExamSoft (Legacy Portal)?

ExamSoft’s Legacy Portal lets you import exam questions from an RTF file instead of building each one directly in the platform. These files are often exported from a Learning Management System or created from scratch in Word and saved as RTF. Following the formatting rules below is what keeps an import from failing or misreading a question.

Before You Start: Preparation Checklist

• Save your question file as RTF (.rtf), whether it started as an LMS export or was created directly in Word.
• Use only these supported fonts: Arial, Arial Black, Calibri, Comic Sans, Courier New, Georgia, Impact, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS, and Verdana.
• Use only these supported font sizes: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 36, 48, or 72 point.
• If you plan to assign a category during import, set that category up in ExamSoft first and type its name exactly as it appears there.
• Number your questions consecutively before you begin — ExamSoft uses these numbers only to identify questions during import.

Required Question Components

Every question needs these components, in this order:

1. Type — required for every question type except Multiple Choice Single Answer and True/False, which don’t need a type code.
2. Question Number — a number followed by a period or a closing parenthesis (for example, 1. or 1)).
3. Question Stem — required for every question.
4. Answer Choices — required for every question type except Essay.

For Fill in the Blank questions, mark each blank in the question stem using one of these formats: five underscores, a number enclosed by underscores on both sides, or a number, uppercase letter, or lowercase letter enclosed in square brackets.

Question Type Codes

Multiple Choice Single Answer and True/False need no code — they’re the default. Every other type needs a Type code placed before the question number:

• Essay: E
• Fill in the Blank: F
• Multiple Choice Multiple Answer: MA
• Drag and Drop: DD
• Ordering: ORDERING
• Matrix: MATRIX

Formatting Answer Choices by Question Type

Answer choices are required for every question type except Essay. How you format them depends on the question type:

True/False

• Use “T” and “F,” or the full words “True” and “False.”
• List True first.
• Mark the correct answer with an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the line.
• Label each choice with a lowercase or uppercase letter followed by a period or parenthesis.

Multiple Choice Single Answer

• List answer choices with letters followed by a period or parenthesis.
• Mark the correct answer with an asterisk, or use the answer key alternative described near the end of this article instead of asterisks.

Multiple Choice Multiple Answer

• Include “Type: MA” before the question number.
• Mark every correct answer with an asterisk. If your file contains only multiple choice questions, you can use the answer key alternative instead.

Fill in the Blank — Basic Text Box

• Letter each answer choice (a, b, c, and so on).
• Use a pipe character (|) to separate alternate acceptable answers.

Fill in the Blank — Numeric Range

• Format the range like this: a. Range: 18.4_18.9
• Use a colon after “Range,” and separate the minimum and maximum values with an underscore and no spaces.
• ExamSoft accepts any answer within the specified range.

Fill in the Blank — Dropdown List

• Format the choices like this: a. Choice of: option1 | option2 | option3 | 1
• The number at the end indicates which position holds the correct answer — this format helps prevent a typo or spelling slip from marking a correct answer wrong.

Drag and Drop

• Include “Type: DD” before the question number.
• Optionally add Title1 and Title2 fields to label the two boxes; if you don’t, ExamSoft defaults to “Possible Answers” and “Selected Answers.”
• Mark the correct answers with asterisks.

Ordering Questions

• Include “Type: ORDERING” before the question number.
• Format each item like this: a. Item — 4, where the number indicates the item’s correct position.
• Ordering questions support a partial credit option.

Matrix Questions

• Include the Matrix type code before the question number, along with Folder, Title, and Title-Prompt fields.
• List your prompts (rows) and answer choices (columns) — you can include up to 26 prompts and between 2 and 5 answer choices.
• A prompt can have more than one correct response; separate multiple correct responses with commas.

Optional Components

Using an Answer Key Instead of Asterisks

If your file contains only Multiple Choice questions, you can mark correct answers with a single answer key at the end of the file instead of an asterisk on every question. List the word “Answers:” on its own line, then list each question number followed by a period and the letter of its correct choice — for example, “Answers:” on the first line, then “1. a” and “2. b” on the lines that follow.

Additional Resources

• ExamSoft: Legacy Portal — Prepare an RTF Question File to Import (File Guidelines) — the full, canonical reference this article is based on, including links to LMS-specific export instructions for Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Elsevier (Evolve), ExamView, Moodle, and PARTest.
• ExamSoft: Enterprise Portal — Prepare a Question File to Import — if your course uses the newer Enterprise Portal instead of Legacy, question files use Word format rather than RTF, with some different formatting rules.

Need Extra Support?

If you have questions about preparing or importing a question file in ExamSoft, we’re happy to help.