Cardinal Quiz Converter (New): General Documentation
The Cardinal Quiz Converter (New) transforms plain text (.txt), Markdown (.md), Microsoft Word (.docx), and CSV (.csv) files into QTI format for New Quizzes only — it does not produce Classic Quiz content. This is a different engine and a different file format from the original Cardinal Quiz Converter (Classic); files written for Classic will not work here without changes.
This guide serves as the starting point for the new format: question types, syntax, and templates.
Classic vs. New — which one do you want?Cardinal Quiz Converter comes in two engines. Which one you pick determines which question types you have access to and how you import the finished quiz into Canvas.
Classic
- Follows the original, more archaic and technical formatting rules.
- Produces a quiz that works in both Classic Quizzes and Canvas New Quizzes, but does not support the six question types that are exclusive to New Quizzes (Matching, Ordering, Categorization, Hot Spot, Fill in Multiple Blanks, Multiple Dropdowns).
- Can only be imported through Course Settings > Import Course Content > QTI.
New
- Uses simpler, more modern formatting rules (explicit type codes, no legacy markers).
- Builds for Canvas New Quizzes only, but supports all 13 available question types, including the six Classic can't produce.
- Can be imported directly into an Item Bank, or brought into a quiz from the New Quizzes Build screen.
- Cannot be imported through Course Settings > Import Course Content > QTI—that path only creates Classic Quizzes and will not bring in New-Quizzes-only question types.
Short version: if you need Matching, Ordering, Categorization, Hot Spot, Fill in Multiple Blanks, or Multiple Dropdowns, or you're building specifically for a New Quizzes Item Bank, use New. If you're maintaining an existing Classic-formatted file, or need feedback/Question Groups/custom quiz settings, stay on Classic.
Where to Find the Cardinal Quiz Converter (New)
Website
Go to the Cardinal Quiz Converter site and choose New Cardinal Quiz Converter from the landing page. (Currently, we are working on renewing the cert. We apologize for the inconvenience.)
Canvas Integration
At UIW, the Cardinal Quiz Converter is natively integrated with Canvas. Open the Quizzes page in your course, select the Quiz index menu next to Quiz/Survey, choose Cardinal Quiz Converter, then choose New Cardinal Quiz Converter when prompted.
Then, choose Use New when prompted.
Note: The Canvas option is only available in courses at UIW. If you do not work for UIW, you will need to use the website.
How It Works
- Review this documentation and/or start from one of the provided templates.
- Upload the quiz file (TXT, MD, CSV, ZIP, or DOCX).
- ZIP files are intended to assist with HS questions, not converting multiple quizzes in one run.
- The built-in validator scans the file and returns a report within a few seconds.
- If no errors are found, the Convert to QTI button appears.
- If errors are found, they are listed with line numbers so you can fix them before re-uploading.
- Convert, then either download and import manually, or use the built-in Import to Course option (Canvas integration only) to send it directly to your course's New Quizzes item bank.
File Format Overview
-
TXT/Markdown (.txt, .md): Full support for all 13 question types. Recommended for anything beyond basic Multiple Choice/True-False/Numerical/Short Answer/Essay.
-
Microsoft Word (.docx): Same syntax and same full support as TXT/MD — each line in the document is read the same way as a line in a text file.
-
CSV (.csv): Supports 7 of the 13 types: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer, True/False, Numerical, Short Answer, Essay, and File Upload. Cannot create Matching, Ordering, Categorization, Hot Spot, Fill in Multiple Blanks, or Multiple Dropdowns — use TXT/MD/DOCX for those. CSV also uses slightly different type codes in column A than TXT/MD/DOCX does — see the "CSV Format" section under each supported type below.
-
ZIP (.zip): Not a quiz format on its own — a way to bundle your quiz file (TXT, MD, DOCX, or CSV) together with the images a Hot Spot question needs, in one upload. See the ZIP packaging details under Hot Spot (HS) below. ZIP files are intended to assist with HS questions, not converting multiple quizzes in one run.
Not supported in this version, regardless of file format: feedback (general, correct/incorrect, or per-answer), Question Groups, and custom quiz settings (shuffle, time limits, attempts, etc.). These remain Classic-only features — see the Classic documentation if you need them.
Quiz title and description: unlike Classic, Quiz title: and Quiz description: lines are not read by this engine. They can still appear at the top of a file without causing an error, but they have no effect — the quiz's name in Canvas comes from the uploaded filename instead.
Quick Reference: Format Markers
Marker
Creates
Example
Two-letter code on its own line
Sets the question type for the question that follows
MC
1. + space
New question
1. What is 2+2?
(N pts) on its own line
Point value override (before the question number line)
(2 pts)
a) + space
Answer choice
a) Four
*a) + space
Correct answer choice
*a) Four
answer: value
True/False answer, or one acceptable Short Answer response per line
answer: true
ans: value
Numerical exact answer
ans: 42
ans: value (margin)
Numerical answer with a margin of error
ans: 42 (0.5)
ans: value (min, max)
Numerical answer within a range
ans: 42 (40, 45)
image: filename.jpg
Attaches an image to a Hot Spot question (before the question number line)
image: diagram.png
(x, y)
One Hot Spot region point, as a fraction of image width/height (0–1)
(0.5, 0.3)
Supported Question Types
Type Code
Question Type
TXT/MD/DOCX
CSV
MC
Multiple Choice
Supported
Supported
MA
Multiple Answer
Supported
Supported
TF
True/False
Supported
Supported
NU
Numerical
Supported
Supported
SA
Short Answer
Supported
Supported
ES
Essay
Supported
Supported
UP
File Upload
Supported
Supported
MT
Matching
Supported
Not supported
OR
Ordering
Supported
Not supported
CT
Categorization
Supported
Not supported
MB
Fill in Multiple Blanks
Supported
Not supported
MD
Multiple Dropdowns
Supported
Not supported
HS
Hot Spot
Supported
Not supported
Canvas import note: MT, OR, CT, MB, MD, and HS only exist in New Quizzes — there is no Classic Quiz equivalent. Make sure you import through New Quizzes → Build → (the ⋮ menu) → Import Content, not Course Settings → Import Course Content, or these question types will not come through correctly.
Multiple Choice (MC)
FormatMC
1. What is the capital of Japan?
*a) Tokyo
b) Beijing
c) Seoul
d) Bangkok
- Mark the correct answer with an asterisk immediately before the letter:
*a)
- Exactly one correct answer
CSV FormatColumn A is MC. Column E holds the 1-based index of the correct choice; choices go in columns F–J.
MC,,1,What is the capital of Japan?,1,Tokyo,Beijing,Seoul,Bangkok
Here, 1 in column E means the first choice (Tokyo) is correct.
Multiple Answer (MA)
FormatMA
1. Which of the following are fish?
*a) Shark
*b) Marlin
c) Seal
d) Orca
- Same
a) / *a) syntax as Multiple Choice — marking more than one answer correct is what makes it a Multiple Answer question
- Unlike Classic, this format does not use
[ ] / [*] checkboxes
CSV FormatColumn A is MR—not MA. Column E holds the correct choice numbers, either run together or comma-separated; choices go in columns F–J.
MR,,1,Which of the following are fish?,13,Shark,Seal,Marlin,Orca
13 (or 1,3) in column E means choices 1 and 3 (Shark and Marlin) are both correct.
True/False (TF)
FormatTF
1. Water is liquid.
answer: true
- The second line must be
answer: true or answer: false
- This is different from Classic, which uses
*a) True / b) False style answer choices
CSV FormatColumn A is TF. Column E is 1 for True or 0 for False. Columns F–J are not used for True/False questions—leave them blank.
TF,,1,Water is liquid.,1
Numerical (NU)
FormatNU
1. What is 2+3?
ans: 5
NU
2. What is the square root of 125?
ans: 11.18033989 (0.0001)
NU
3. What is a value between 40 and 45?
ans: 42 (40, 45)
-
Exact:
ans: 5
-
Margin of error:
ans: 5 (0.5) — accepts anything within ±0.5
-
Range:
ans: 5 (4.5, 5.5)
- Note the marker itself changed from Classic's
= to ans:
CSV FormatNumerical uses two different column-A codes in CSV depending on whether you need an exact answer or a margin of error:
-
NUM—exact answer. Column E is a plain number.
-
NUMR—answer with a margin of error. Column E must be in the format value +- margin.
NUM,,1,What is 2+3?,5
NUMR,,1,What is the square root of 125?,11.18033989 +- 0.0001
CSV does not support the range format (ans: 5 (4.5, 5.5)) available in TXT/MD/DOCX—only exact (NUM) or margin (NUMR). Use TXT/MD/DOCX if you need a range.
Short Answer (SA)
FormatSA
1. What is the capital of France?
answer: Paris
answer: paris
- List each acceptable answer on its own line, starting with
answer:
- This replaces Classic's
* answer (asterisk) syntax
- Imports into New Quizzes as an Open Entry Fill in the Blank
CSV FormatColumn A is SA. Column E holds all acceptable answers separated by |.
SA,,1,What is the capital of France?,Paris|paris
Essay (ES)
FormatES
1. Describe the significance of the Renaissance.
- No answer marker needed — the
ES type code is enough
- This replaces Classic's
____ (four underscores) marker
CSV FormatColumn A is ESSAY—not ES. Columns E–J are not used—leave them blank.
ESSAY,,1,Describe the significance of the Renaissance.,
File Upload (UP)
FormatUP
1. Submit your lab report as a PDF file.
allowed: .pdf
UP
2. Upload any file for this assignment.
- No answer marker needed, same as Essay — the
UP type code is enough
- An optional
allowed: line restricts accepted file types (comma-separated extensions). Omit it to accept any file type.
- Graded manually in Canvas — there's no auto-scoring for a file submission
- This replaces Classic's
^^^^ (four carets) marker
CSV FormatColumn A is UPLOAD—not UP. Columns E–J are not used—leave them blank.
UPLOAD,,1,Submit your lab report as a PDF file.,
The allowed: file-type restriction available in TXT/MD/DOCX has no CSV equivalent—any file type will be accepted. Use TXT/MD/DOCX if you need to restrict file types.
Matching (MT)
New Quizzes only — no Classic equivalent.
FormatMT
1. Match each planet to its position from the Sun.
[pos2]venus: Venus
[pos1]mercury: Mercury
[pos3]earth: Earth
pos1: First
pos2: Second
pos3: Third
pos4: Fourth (distractor)
- Left-side items use
[matchkey]name: text, where matchkey points to the correct right-side item
- Right-side items are plain
key: text lines
- A right-side item with no matching left-side item becomes a distractor (an unused option)
Ordering (OR)
New Quizzes only — no Classic equivalent.
FormatOR
1. Order the following from smallest to largest.
toplabel: Smallest
1: Atom
2: Molecule
3: Cell
bottomlabel: Largest
- Numbered lines must already be in the correct order
-
toplabel: / bottomlabel: are optional captions for each end of the list
Categorization (CT)
New Quizzes only — no Classic equivalent.
FormatCT
1. Categorize each item as a Solid, Liquid, or Gas at room temperature.
Solid: Rock
Solid: Wood
Liquid: Water
Gas: Oxygen
distractor: Fire
- Repeat the category name for each item that belongs in it
- A line starting with
distractor: is an item that doesn't belong in any category
Fill in Multiple Blanks (MB)
New Quizzes only — no Classic equivalent.
FormatMB
1. The [process] by which plants convert [input] into energy is called photosynthesis.
process: process
input: sunlight, light
- Mark each blank's position in the question text with
[blankname]
- Give each blank's acceptable answer(s) on its own line:
blankname: answer
- Separate multiple acceptable answers for one blank with commas
Multiple Dropdowns (MD)
New Quizzes only — no Classic equivalent.
FormatMD
1. The [planet] is the [position] planet from the Sun.
*planet: Earth
planet: Mars
*position: third
position: second
- Mark each dropdown's position in the question text with
[dropname]
- List every option for a dropdown as
dropname: text, marking the correct one with an asterisk: *dropname: text
Hot Spot (HS)
New Quizzes only — no Classic equivalent.
FormatHS
image: diagram.png
1. Click on the correct region of the diagram.
(0.3, 0.3)
(0.3, 0.5)
(0.5, 0.5)
(0.5, 0.3)
-
image: names the file the question uses, before the question number line
- Coordinates are fractions of the image's width/height (0 to 1), one point per line, listed in order around the region's perimeter
- At least 3 points are required to form a region
- Two ways to supply the actual image file: upload a
.zip containing your quiz file and images together (see below), or upload a plain quiz file first and add images afterward through the converter's built-in coordinate picker
Uploading Images via ZIPTo upload Hot Spot images alongside your quiz file in one step, zip them together instead of uploading the quiz file alone:
- Include exactly one quiz file (
.txt, .md, .csv, or .docx) somewhere in the zip. If more than one is found, the shallowest one is used—keep it to one to avoid ambiguity.
- Include each Hot Spot image (
.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, or .webp).
- Put images at the root of the zip so a plain filename in
image: matches—e.g. image: diagram.png finds diagram.png at the zip root. If an image is inside a subfolder, include that path in the image: line too (e.g. image: photos/diagram.png).
- Filenames must match exactly, including case.
- Hidden files and macOS
__MACOSX folders (added automatically when zipping on a Mac) are ignored, so you don't need to clean those out by hand.
If the validator or converter reports an image as not found, double check the filename in image: matches what's actually in the zip, including its folder path if it's not at the root.
Migrating from Classic
If you have an existing Classic-format file, these are the syntax changes needed before it will work here:
Question Type
Classic Marker
New Marker
Multiple Answer
[ ] / [*]
Same as Multiple Choice: a) / *a)
True/False
*a) True / b) False
answer: true / answer: false
Numerical
= 5 / = 5 +- 0.1
ans: 5 / ans: 5 (0.1)
Short Answer
* answer
answer: answer
Essay
____
No marker — ES type code is enough
File Upload
^^^^
No marker — UP type code is enough (optional allowed: line to restrict file types)
Feedback (..., +, -)
Supported
Not supported
Question Groups
Supported
Not supported
Custom Quiz Settings
Supported
Not supported
Every question also needs its two-letter type code (MC, TF, etc.) on its own line immediately before the question number — Classic infers the type from the answer markers alone, but this version requires it explicitly.
If you upload an old Classic-formatted file to this converter as-is, validation will now catch each old marker directly and tell you the New equivalent to use, rather than letting the file through only to fail during conversion.
Validation
There is a built-in validation process that checks your file for formatting problems before conversion. This is designed to prevent the headaches of the unknown when something is wrong with your file.
How Validation Works
- Upload your quiz file (TXT, MD, CSV, or DOCX).
- The validator scans the file and returns a report within a few seconds.
- If no errors are found, the Convert to QTI button appears and you can proceed.
- If errors are found, they are listed with line numbers so you can locate and fix them.
Errors vs. Notes
-
Errors are problems that will prevent conversion or produce a broken quiz in Canvas. The converter will not proceed until all errors are resolved. Each error includes a line number to help you find the issue in your file.
-
Notes are advisory only. They flag things that may produce unexpected behavior in Canvas—for example, feedback that's ignored on certain question types, or files large enough to risk timing out. They will not block conversion.
Additional Options
-
Upload anyway: If you believe the validator has flagged a false positive, use the Upload anyway link in the error footer to bypass validation and submit your file directly to the converter. Use this as a last resort, as the conversion will likely still fail.
-
Error report: When errors are found, the Error report link downloads a
.txt file containing all errors and notes with line numbers, useful for sharing with a colleague or working through a long list of issues. This option is not shown when there are only notes to review.
For the full error reference with every possible error message, cause, and fix, see the Validation Documentation.
Templates
Templates for TXT, MD, DOCX, and CSV are available at the end of this page. All four demonstrate the full set of supported types (CSV demonstrates the 7 it supports). Download the one matching your preferred format, edit it with your content, and upload it once you're ready.
Users utilizing an LLM (ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, etc.) for assistance should upload the LLM_documentation.md file for this version — it is different from the Classic version's LLM documentation.