The TestGen menu bar, located at the top of the TestGen application window, is the place to look for all the controls you need to work in TestGen. Many of the options listed on the menus display keyboard shortcuts you can use instead of making selections from the menus. Three toolbars, which you can display below the TestGen menu bar, contain icons for functions that are frequently used when working with tests and testbanks.
The brief descriptions of the TestGen menu options given below contain links to other Help pages that give more in-depth information.
The File menu includes options to open, close, save, and create testbanks and tests. It also includes standard page setup and print options, the option to add testbank titles to the Testbank Library, and options to export tests to a variety of different formats. The "Exit" option closes the TestGen application.
The Edit menu includes standard editing options for Undo/Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Insert, Replace, and Delete, and Select All. You will also find "Find and Replace" on the Edit menu.
The options on the View menu allow you to show or hide to provide additional tools and information or reduce screen clutter, as needed:
the Standard toolbar, Text Formatting toolbar, or Equation Editing toolbar,
the Testbank Library and Resource Library,
rulers used for test and testbank editing,
a toggle to view either question IDs or question text in testbanks and tests,
a toggle to view either variable names or variable values in questions that contain user-defined or programmed variables,
invisible characters, such as tabs and spaces in text edit fields,
question properties when editing testbanks,
the testbank setup dialog for new testbanks.
The options on the Insert menu let you insert questions and components of questions onto tests or into testbanks:
questions and additional answer choices,
tables, pictures (graphics), graphs, international characters, and randomized variables.
In addition, you can use the Insert menu to insert page breaks on tests and new section headings in testbanks open for editing.
The options on the Navigate menu let you display the First, Previous, Next, or Last page of a test. You can also "Jump to..." a particular page. When working with testbanks, you can use "Expand Selection" to show all the items under the selected heading(s) or "Collapse All" to close up all the visible sections in the testbank or Testbank Library.
The Question menu contains an assortment of functions related to working with questions on tests:
sort, scramble, pin/unpin, lock/unlock number values, assign point values;
calculate new values for randomized numbers
change the question type, mark the correct answer, or change the answer blank style.
The options on the Tools menu assist in the preparation of tests and testbanks:
spell check for tests and testbanks,
header-footer editor for test pages and testbanks,
macro editor to set up frequently used text or expressions to insert in test items,
graphics library and transparent graphics to manage pictures (graphics),
global style replacement to universally change fonts, size, and styles in tests and testbanks,
filter testbank content to view only questions that meet specified criteria,
evaluated answer editor to define acceptable forms of the correct answer for short answer and bimodal questions (in short answer form) on web tests,
preferences for the TestGen application, tests, and testbanks,
change password or reset TestGen to it's "out-of-box" settings.
Each time you open a test or testbank, it opens in its own TestGen editing window. The Window menu contains the Arrange option, which resizes all of the open windows and positions them so that they cascade down from the upper left corner of the screen.
The Window menu also lists all the open and active windows so you can click on any of the window titles in the list to bring the desired window to the front of other open windows.
When more than one test or testbank editing window is active, if you close one of the test or testbank editing windows, other windows remain open. When you close the last open test or testbank editing window, TestGen keeps running and the Startup pane shows at the right side of the screen.
The Help menu provides a link to TestGen's built-in Help, which is an online user's guide that includes full instructions for using all of TestGen's functions. There is also an option to check for the availability of program updates.