Teaching Templates Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get started?

1. Download the Teaching Template's installation program (ttsetup.exe) and run it. 2. Go to your Windows desktop and open the "Start ... Programs" list and find the new entry for Teaching Templates. 3. Click the Teaching Templates icon and wait until the big blue double "T" appears. 4. Select the Template you want to use (Multiple Choice, Energy Saver, Playtime etc. etc.) and the authoring screen will appear. 5. You can now either make your own quiz by typing in your entries or open an already existing one (18 Demo quizzes are included in the evaluation version). To open a quiz simply click the "Files ... Open" button in the top left-hand corner of the authoring screen. 6. Click the "View Quiz" button at the bottom of the authoring screen to display your quiz in your Internet browser. That's it ... enjoy!

I would like to print out a quiz for distribution in class.

Nothing easier than that! Make a quiz or load one into the appropriate Template and click on the "Files ... Print" option in the top right-hand corner. You will be presented with a print preview box with various opportunities to edit the text before you print out a hard copy.

How do I get the results from the quizzes?

In each Template, you have the option to include a "Submit Results" button in the quizzes you create. To include, remove or configure this button, please open the "Quiz Options" menu at the top of the authoring screen and follow the instructions provided. The results are sent by email to any address you specify. You can even send an email to yourself to check and record your own progress with the Teaching Template's quizzes.

The Task Manager is a little bit confusing.

Maybe you're right ;-) We introduced this feature to make it possible to link a series of quizzes. As the "Quiz Supervisor", you can enter the names of the quizzes you would like your students/pupils/users/customers to access. It is possible to link up to 15 quizzes. If you don't like the option, click on the "Template Options" menu button at the top of the authoring screen and disable the Task Manager button. If you do like it and would like to know more, please look at the Teaching Templates Help File for detailed information

Do Teaching Template's users have to have access to the Internet?

No they don't. Teaching Templates and all the quizzes you create run independently of any Internet connection .. on any PC, intranet or whatever. Certain options, for example "Submit Results" or "Check for Update", can obviously only function successfully if an Internet connection is available.

Teaching Templates can't find my browser.

When Teaching Templates is installed, it automatically locates any registered browsers. The problem is that your system may not have registered a browser in the normal way. To find out, just select Template Options ...Show Extras ...Installed Browsers. If Teaching Templates has detected a browser, there will be a check mark next to the "Browser " title. If necessary activate the "search again for browsers" box to fix the problem.

What about my screen resolution?

Teaching Templates runs best with a Windows resolution of 1024x768, HiColor (16 bit) and in fullscreen mode. It also operates successfully with higher or lower screen resolutions but certain elements may then overlap or appear to be slightly out of proportion. It has been tested with both large and normal fonts installed.

I'd like my Teaching Template's authoring screen to be more colorful and attractive.

Open the Template Options...Show Extras ...Background Colour menu which can be accessed at the top left-hand side of each of the authoring screens. Here you can experiment to your heart's content with different colour schemes and apply them to one or to more of the Templates. One click on the "Restore Default" button and the familiar settings will be restored. You can't do anything wrong!

Teaching Templates seems to have problems with my proxy server.

This is a problem which may occur if you are using Netscape as your standard browser. If you open the Template Options...Show Extras ...Internet Settings menu which can be accessed at the top left-hand side of each of the authoring screens, you can enter manually your proxy server settings. This is not necessary if your browser is Internet Explorer.

Can I integrate my own images in the quizzes I create with the Energy Saver Template?

You sure can!
There are only two restrictions ... the images you include must be in .gif format and the size should be approx. 90x120 pixels.

How does the "Check for New Version" feature work?

It is important that your version of Teaching Templates includes all the latest bug fixes and improvements. If you click on this menu option and have an Internet connection you will be automatically connected to the update site. If a new version is available, you will be given the choice of downloading it or not. We strongly recommend that you use this option regularly. All updates are at present free of charge for registered users of Teaching Templates

Is it possible to edit the quizzes and templates in my normal HTML editor?

You can ... but only in the registered version. Actually, that's not true. The quizzes you create with Teaching Templates are your own property and can be modified wherever, whenever and however you want . The original templates are code-protected and cannot be modified until a license key is available.
Please be fair. We need your support for the future development of Teaching Templates. You can get a license key here.

I don't want to allow my quiz users access to the HTML code.

It is almost impossible to hide the HTML code of an Internet file ... whether a Teaching Template's quiz or any other source. You can, however, make it very difficult for a casual viewer to make any sense of what they see. The simplest way is to use the "Encrypt on Save" option in the Teaching Templates's Quiz Options menu. There are numerous other programs available on the Web which are able to encrypt the quizzes and make it extremely difficult to access the source code beneath. This prevents most attempts at "cheating". HTMLZip is a very good program and works with all the quizzes with the exception of Energy Saver. It also reduces the size of the quizzes by almost 50%! You can download an evaluation version here.
We have experimented with many others (HTML Guardian, Carbosoft, WebCrypt etc. etc.) but they are all unable to handle reliably the full spectrum of Teaching Template's features.

Why are my HTML quiz files so large?

Like many well-known producers of operating systems, we have deliberately put quite lot of redundant code in our Templates ... no seriously ... the size of the file of course depends to some extent on your input. Keep your question and answers brief and to the point and everyone will be happy. There is a very useful program called HTMLZip which can reduce the size of the finished quizzes by at least 50%. If you are planning to work online with the Teaching Template's quizzes, the compression program is almost certainly a worthwhile investment. It appears to work successfully with all the quizzes with the exception of Energy Saver.

My Unicode/Asian-language files crash Teaching Templates

I'm sorry, but we have done our best -- Teaching Templates is at the moment not Unicode-compliant. We may change this in the future, but when the suggestion is made everyone looks at the floor or the ceiling! It's apparently not an easy task. PS They shouldn't crash anymore. Since the beginning of 2005 Unicode support is available for both Teaching Templates and the Multiple Choice Quiz Maker.

My Teaching Template's registration key doesn't work!

Yes it does ... but there is perhaps a problem. With version 1.3.5 of Teaching Templates we introduced a new registration procedure. All our registered users received details of how to update to the new version. The details are only applicable to version 1.3.5 and higher. The new sooper-dooper license plate module will not work if try to run it with an old version of Teaching Templates. Please download AND install the latest version from our website (you can simply overwrite your old version), and then if necessary run the license module again. You will almost certainly find that the registration key does work.

What exactly is the "License Plate Module"?

When you register Teaching Templates you wil receive a location address from which you can download the license module. Please note that before you use it you must have installed the Teaching Template's evaluation version. The license plate module file simply modifies the Teaching Templates evaluation version and registers it in your name. If Teaching Templates is not already installed on your system or if it has been removed, please first download and run the latest version from this location: http://www.tac-soft.com/ttsetup.exe. When the Teaching Templates evaluation version has been installed, you can then run the license-plate registration file (TTreg.exe) which will automatically register it and remove all evaluation restrictions.

Is there an Internet library of Teaching Template's quizzes?

Not yet, but it's something we are seriously thinking about.

Netscape takes a long time to load the quizzes.

Yes it does ;-(

I've created my quizzes --- What's the best way to distribute them?

To be quite honest, it depends what you want to do with them. In the top right-hand corner of each authoring screen you will find a "Files ... Export" option. This allows you to move your quiz and automatically any dependent files to any destination you choose - disk, network directory, homepage or whatever. The beauty of the Teaching Template's quizzes is that they can be executed successfully on any platform which has access to a compatible Internet browser -- at home, in the classroom, at work or on the move.

I've lost my "Tip of the Day"!

Go to the Template Options...Show Extras ... Miscellaneous menu, which can be accessed at the top left-hand side of each of the authoring screens. Make sure that the "Show Tip of the Day" box is checked and at the next start of Teaching Templates the tips will be shown again.

Can I ask Teaching Templates to tell me what "fortnight" means in British English?

Yes! But it won't give you an answer. From the very beginning, our guiding principle in the development of Teaching Templates has been "Keep if Simple". If you really have a suggestion for a worthwhile option which we could include (or exclude) please let us know. By the way "fortnight" means 14 days.

I keep getting an error message with a request to "notify support at www.tac-soft.com".

Sorry! Please send us the message with as much information as possible about the system you are using (Window's version, browser type etc.) It's our aim to answer all support enquiries within 24 hours - even from unregistered users. Your feedback helps us a lot and contributes a great deal to the future development of Teaching Templates.

Can I have more than one correct answer in the Multiple Choice quizzes?

Not at the moment, but you can offer fewer than 4 alternative answers for the user to choose from. The minimum you must have is two.

Why are there two entries for Teaching Templates in my Windows Start menu?

If you install a new version of Teaching Templates over an already existing version, a new entry (e.g. Teaching Templates 2.0) will be created in your Start menu. If you want to remove the old entry (e.g. Teaching Templates 1.3) simply right-click on the entry in the Start menu and select "delete".

The "Submit Results" option only shows a blank window with no e-mail message.

There are two possible reasons. If you are running a pop-up killer to facilitate your Internet surfing, the Teaching Templates pop-up window containing the results cannot appear ... it's logical! Secondly, to use the "Submit Results" option you must have a standard mail program installed with full access to the Windows resources. There are no problems with the major mail programs (Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora etc.) You will probably not be able to submit the quiz results if you are using programs like "Calypso Mail" and others which are not fully integrated in the Windows environment.

I can't see the ticks and crosses in my quizzes.

Each of the quizzes you create requires additional files in order to function effectively. These are files which are contained in the "Clips", "Images" and "Sounds" folders of the Teaching Template's program. If you export a quiz (option in the top left-hand corner of each template's screen) and intend to transfer it to another destination, all the necessary files will be sent to the location of your choice. All these files AND the sub-directories (folders) must then be sent with your quiz file to the new location.

What are the Teaching Templates .mht files?

Mht is the suffix which is added to Microsoft web archive files. Saving your file as a Microsoft Web Archive allows you to save your quiz as a single file, including all of the graphics on the page, by using the MIME HTML Internet standard. Packing your quiz with the Web Archive option helps to avoid errors if you try to send the Web page to someone else. By using Web Archive, you can easily send the Web page as one file via e-mail, save the Web page for offline viewing or upload just one file to your web server. You can also unpack a Web Archive if you need to restore an archive to its original state.
Note - To use the Web Archive option - either to archive, view, or restore archived Web pages - you must have Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later installed.