Import questions from CSV format files

Last updated on Dec 27, 2022

Instead of adding question slides in Adobe Captivate manually, you can choose to directly import question banks from CSV files. Creating CSV format files and importing questions from them is useful if you have to add large number of questions in your courses.

CSV stands for Comma Separated Value, using which you can create questions using plain text. These files can be saved as csv files and can be imported into Adobe Captivate or Moodle.

If you do not have the questions in a CSV format, you can quickly format your questions in the CSV format. Then, save the files as simple .csv files, and then import them into Adobe Captivate. Here’s the generic syntax of the CSV format:

//Question type	Multiple Choice, True/False, or others.
//Points	Points assigned to the question.
//Question Stem	The quiz question.
// Answer Option 1,2,...	Different answer options based on the type of question.

Supported question types

True/False
Multiple choice
Matching
Fill in the Blank
Short answer

Instructions

Rule	Use
//Question type	Supported question types are MC, TF, MAT, FIB, and SA. Use the arrow next to the question type cell to choose the type of question you want to create.
//Points	Points for the question. The points assigned must be between 0-100.
//Question Stem	The quiz question. A Question Stem is required for all questions.
//Answer Option 1,2,3, ...	Answer Options are required. Enter the options sequentially.
* (Asterisk)	Mark a correct answer or answers with an asterisk () at the beginning of the answer. It is only applicable for True/False questions and Multiple Choice questions. For Multiple Choice questions, if there is more than one correct answer, append to all the correct answer options. For Fill in the Blank and short Answer Option questions, all the Answer Options given are considered correct. For these question types, you need not append an asterisk(*) to an answer option.
* (Asterisk)	True/False questions require TRUE and FALSE answer Options. Prefix the correct answer asterisk (*).
\| (Pipe)	For Fill in the Blank questions, add \| (pipe) at the beginning of the answer option. For example, The sun rises in the \|.
\| (Pipe)	For matching questions, separate each answer choice and its match with a pipe (\|). For example, Captivate \| Adobe.
\| (Pipe)	For feedback in multiple choice questions, separate each answer choice and it's feedback with a pipe (\|). For example, Captivate \| That’s Correct!.

Import questions

Click Quiz > Import CSV Format File or File > Import > Import CSV Format File.

Note:

If you are importing a CSV for the first time, the default location is opened. The SampleQuestions.csv is located in the location below.

Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 2019 x64\Gallery\Quiz
Select the file that contains the questions in the CSV format and click Open.

The questions in the file are parsed and imported into Adobe Captivate. If the file contains questions and answers that are not supported in Adobe Captivate, an error message appears with the details.

Note:

When you add alternative characters in your CSV, the characters do not appear as expected in Captivate. For example, if you add the word Québec in a CSV, the output appears as Qu颥c in Captivate.

To fix this, when we add alternative characters, save the CSV as a UTF-8 CSV.

In Excel, click File > Save As > CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited).

After the questions are imported, you can specify the properties just like you do for any other Adobe Captivate question slide. For more information on quiz properties, see Quiz properties.

Note:

You can also import questions in CSV format into question pools. See Create question pools.

Create CSV using a Macro

In addition to creating the CSV manually, you can also create the CSV using a macro. There is a .xlsm (CSVQuestionsCreationMacro.xlsm) file in the same location as the sample CSV file.

To use the macro:

Open the file. Enable the content and the macros.
- Click Enable Editing if you see it in the yellow Protected View message bar.
- Click Enable Content if you see it in the yellow Security Warning message bar.
- Click Enable Macros if you see the below Microsoft Excel Security Notice dialog box.
Open the worksheet CSVInputForm.
On the form, from the Question Type drop-down list, choose the type of question, for example, Multiple Choice or True/False.

Assign points to the questions and also enter the question and answer options.
After populating the form with the required information, you can click the following buttons for further actions:
- Add Question: Click to add a question to the worksheet QuestionsCSV.
- Clear Input Form: Click to reset the form.
- Export to CSV: Click to create the CSV file (from the QuestionsCSV Worksheet), which you can import to Captivate. Enter the filename when asked.
- Go to Instructions: Click to navigate to the instructions worksheet.

Error messages

The following are the error messages that you can encounter.

Error in column 1. Invalid question type.

Error in column 3. Question field cannot be empty.

Answer options cannot be empty.

Number of answers cannot be less than two.

Number of matching answer options cannot be less than two.

Number of correct answer must be exactly one.

Number of correct answers must be at least one.

Number of answer options must be at least one.

Number of answers must be at least one.

Matching delimeter (|) missing.

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