Create a Compiled Test File

Note: This session uses features exclusive to WinFlash Educator. If you aren't using Educator, you won't be able to do this segment of the Tutorial.

In this session we'll create a Compiled Test (.FLT) File from the COMPOUT.FLU file that we produced in Tutorial 7, Create a Composite .FLU File.

Important Note: Compiled files CANNOT be renamed - it will cause them to malfunction when WinFlash tries to open them. Be sure that the root name of the source file you use to compile the .FLZ or .FLT file is what you want the file to be named. Otherwise you will have to recompile to change the name. If you want to compile a .FLZ or .FLT with a different name than the .FLU file, simply open the .FLU file and use File|Save As to save a copy of the .FLU file whose root name is the name you want for your .FLZ or .FLT file.

Note: If you are planning general distribution of your files remember to use fonts that are commonly available on all Windows machines. Times New Roman, Arial, Tahoma and Courier New are generally safe bets.

Creating A Suitable Source File For The Test

1. Because Test Files cannot contain any "standard" type Q&A pairs, we would have to remove any of these from COMPOUT.FLU before using it to create a Compiled Test File. Fortunately, we took care of this with COMPOUT.FLU by selecting the Convert Standard To FIB option when creating the file.

For practice, though, let's do an exercise that removes or converts standard Q&A pairs existing in the source file. After completing this we'll return to our COMPOUT.FLU file for use in creating our actual test file.

2. For our example "fix up" file, open ONECAPS3.FLU in the Tutorial directory. Use File|Save As to save this file as JUNKFILE.FLU so that any changes we make won't affect our benchmark ONECAPS3.FLU file. WinFlash will automatically re-open the new JUNKFILE.FLU. Open the editor.

3. Next, we'll use a powerful editor feature we haven't yet visited - the Table View. Click on the Table View tab or type Alt-b. Table View gives you an overview of the entire file. The columns headed Type, A/F and H/C tell us the Q&A pair's type (standard, multiple choice, etc.), whether or not it has associated files and whether or not it has associated hints or comments.

4. Viewing the table for JUNKFILE.FLU we can see that Q&A pairs 1-6 and 13 are all standard Q&A pairs. These must be removed or changed to another Q&A pair type if the file is to be used to create a .FLT test file. Uncheck the Auto-reset Page and Open to QuickDeck check boxes to the right of the table if necessary.

5. We'll use one removal method directly from the table - select Video Demo - Q&A pair 13 - to highlight it. Selecting in Table view is a bit tricky. Move the mouse to the left edge of the table at pair 13 and watch for the cursor's regular arrow pointer to change appearance to a small black arrow as illustrated below:

then click the left mouse button. This will select the entire table row. Next, click the Delete button in the editor's upper right or type Alt-d. The delete operation may take a moment as it has to store the file and then rebuild the table. Now we have only six standard Q&A pairs left. Let's save our work and close the editor and handle the other six in a different way.

6. From the Educator menu, select Create Composite Source (.FLU) File.

7. From the Select Secondary Source File dialog that appears, double-click on HISTORY.FLU. We won't use this file at all, but the tool requires that two files be loaded.

8. The Create Composite .FLU File dialog should now be loaded with the Q&A pairs from JUNKFILE.FLU shown in the Primary File grid and the Q&A pairs from HISTORY.FLU shown in the Secondary File grid.

9. Open the Primary File Filter Settings dialog by clicking on the "blue gear" button on the Primary File grid.

10. Toggle the Status column entry for Standard Pairs off by clicking on the word "Included" in that column

11. Click the Close button. The Primary grid will now contain only Q&A pairs 7-12 - the Q&A pairs that are NOT of the "standard" type.

12. Click the blue "double down arrow" on the Primary grid. Q&A pairs 7 - 12 should now be shown in the Output grid. If we wished, we could click Save Output As... now and save an output file with these six Q&A pairs. But what if we really WANTED to include the first six Q&A pairs in our test? Here's how.

13. Open the Primary File Filter Settings dialog again by clicking on the "blue gear" button on the Primary File grid. Toggle the Status column entry for Standard Pairs back on by clicking on the blank cell in that column so that it now reads "Included". Click the Close button. The Primary grid will now contain all the Q&A pairs again.

14. Again click the blue "double down arrow" on the Primary grid. Q&A pairs 1 - 6 should now be shown at the end the Output grid. Q&A pairs 7-12 were not added twice since the Allow Duplicates checkbox is not selected.

15. Check the Convert Standard To FIB checkbox and click the Save Output As... button. Enter JUNKFILEFIB as the name for the output file. Click Save. Educator will now automatically open JUNKFILEFIB.FLU for your review. Click through it, noting that the previously-standard Q&A pairs have been converted to fill-in-the-blank types. This file would now be suitable for creating a .FLT test file.

16. That completes our exercise for modifying mixed source files for use in creating test files. We'll now return to our COMPOUT.FLU file and continue with the creation of a test.

Compiling The Test (.FLT) File

For Test (.FLT) files, an accompanying .FLD file is not necessary, as the relevant options are stored in the .FLT file. These options are taken from the settings for the .FLU file used to create the .FLT file. Thus, you'll want to be sure all the settings are the way you'll want them when the test is taken before selecting Compile Test (.FLT) File from the Educator menu. See Test File Options for more detail on the way the option settings are handled for this type of file.

1. Open COMPOUT.FLU and close the Intro dialog. Select Compile Test (.FLT) File from the Educator menu.

2. In the Compiled File Options dialog that appears, check the Use This Password for File checkbox.

3. Enter "winflash" in the edit box next to the Use This Password for File checkbox (without the quotes) and check the checkbox.

4. Enter "Educator Test File" in the edit box next to Test Name (without the quotes).

5. Check the Limit Test To checkbox.

6. Enter "10" in the edit box next to Minutes (without the quotes).

7. Check the Show Introduction (If One Exists)... checkbox.

8. Leave the Allow Only One Pass... checkbox unchecked. Try this option out later when experimenting with .FLT file creation options on your own. Also leave the Create Old-style .FLR File checkbox unchecked. This option is only for use if you're using WinFlash Administrator which requires old-style .FLR files to operate properly.

9. Leave the selection in Save Result (.FLR) File set to To Same Directory As .FLT File. In actual use, this is often set to write the files to a network server so that all of the answer files can be collected and processed from a single directory. This is even easier if you're using WinFlash Administrator to manage your scoring and reporting chores.

10. Type (or cut and paste if the Help window is open) the following into the Message To Be Shown... edit box (without the quotes):

"This is a sample test for WinFlash Educator. After you have completed the test, click on the "x" in the upper right hand corner of the Question dialog or enter Alt-F4. You have 10 minutes to complete the exam. Be sure to read the Introduction thoroughly before continuing."

11. Click the OK button. After a pause the Compiled File Options dialog will be replaced by a message stating "<Filepath>\COMPOUT.FLT was successfully created". Otherwise a message will appear stating that the file could not be created and giving the returned error #. If you need to contact Open Window with a problem in this area, be sure to include the returned error number to help us identify the problem.

You've completed the creation of a compiled .FLT file!!

In the next exercise you will actually take the COMPOUT.FLT test and save its results. If you'd like to continue with that exercise now, just click Taking A .FLT-file Test.

Page url: http://www.openwindow.com/helpfile/create_a_compiled_test_file.htm