GIFT format
The GIFT format (hereinafter, the Format) is a plain-text file format to transfer question banks from and to learning management systems. This Format is supported by Adobe Captivate, Docebo, and Moodle.
Trivia
Generic syntax
- As the Format uses plain text, its generic syntax is
::Question title with double colons:: Question goes here {Answers go here}.
History
- Paul Shew initially developed this Format in 2003 as missing-word questions' import filter for Moodle. According to the Moodle community,
This filter was written through the collaboration of numerous members of the Moodle community. It was originally based on the simple missingword format. In July 2003, Thomas Robb wrote the original code for the percentage answer weight parser and comment insertion. Paul Tsuchido Shew rewrote the filter in December 2003 incorporating community suggestions for a more robust question format, and adding the question name parser and additional question types.
Name
- GIFT is the acronym for general import format template. It also seems that Adobe wrongly de-abbreviated GIFT as general import format technology.
Usage
- Canvas uses QTI files. D2L appears like using their own format based on csv.
Instead of adding question slides in Adobe Captivate manually, you can choose to directly import question banks from GIFT files. Creating GIFT format files and importing questions from them is useful if you have to add large number of questions in your courses.
