QuizLab Pro / Documentation

QuizLab Pro — Documentation

A professional quiz component for Joomla 5 and 6.

QuizLab Pro lets you create interactive quizzes with eight question types including essay and ordering. It features percentage-based scoring with configurable pass marks, time limits, instant feedback, manual essay review, PDF certificate generation, a global question bank, performance reports, and CSV question import. The frontend quiz experience is a smooth, AJAX-driven single-page app that works on all devices.

QuizLab Pro scr 02

Requirements

  • Joomla 5.x or 6.x
  • PHP 8.1+
  • MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+

Installation

  1. Download the latest release from extensions.thedesigncompany.co.nz.
  2. In your Joomla administrator, go to System > Install > Extensions.
  3. Upload the com_quizlabpro-*.zip package and click Upload & Install.
  4. QuizLab Pro appears in the administrator sidebar under Components > QuizLab Pro.

Getting Started

Creating Your First Quiz

  1. Go to Components > QuizLab Pro > Quizzes and click New.
  2. Enter a Title for your quiz.
  3. Optionally add an Introduction Text and Instructions — these are shown to learners before they start.
  4. Set the Passing Score percentage (default is 80%).
  5. Configure result display, time limit, and certificate options under the relevant tabs.
  6. Set the status to Published and click Save.

QuizLab Pro scr 13

Adding Questions

  1. From the quiz edit screen, click Manage Questions (or navigate to the Questions view from the quiz list).
  2. Click New to add a question.
  3. Choose the Question Type — see Question Types below for the full list.
  4. Enter the Question Text using the editor. You can include images, formatting, and links.
  5. Set a Category and Difficulty to organise questions for the bank and reporting.
  6. Optionally set Points (default 1), a Hint, and an Explanation shown after answering.
  7. Click Save or Save & New to add more questions.

QuizLab Pro docs 01

Creating a Menu Item

  1. Go to Menus and edit the menu where you want the quiz to appear.
  2. Click New to add a menu item.
  3. Set the Menu Item Type to QuizLab Pro > Quiz.
  4. Select the quiz from the Select Quiz dropdown.
  5. Save the menu item.

Learners can now access the quiz from your site's frontend.

Question Types

Multiple Choice

The most common question type. Add 2 to 8 answer options and mark one as correct. Options can include text and optional images. Learners click an option to select it, then submit.

True / False

A simplified two-option question. When you select True/False as the type, the options “True” and “False” are auto-populated. Select which one is the correct answer.

Numeric

Learners type a number as their answer. You set:

  • Correct Answer — The expected numeric value (supports decimals)
  • Tolerance — The acceptable margin of error (default 0, meaning exact match required)

For example, if the correct answer is 3.14 and the tolerance is 0.01, any answer from 3.13 to 3.15 will be accepted.

Short Answer

Learners type a short text answer. You define one or more accepted answers. Matching is case-insensitive. Useful for single-word or brief factual responses.

Multiple Select

Similar to Multiple Choice, but learners must select all correct answers from a checkbox list. You mark two or more options as correct. Scoring is based on an exact match of the selected set.

Fill in the Blank

A sentence is presented with a blank ({blank}) that the learner must complete. You define one or more accepted answers. Matching is case-insensitive.

Essay / Long Answer

Learners write a free-text response. Essay answers cannot be automatically scored — they move the attempt to Pending Review until an admin manually awards points via the Review Queue. See Essay Review below for the full workflow.

Ordering

Learners receive a set of options in a shuffled order and must drag or move them into the correct sequence before submitting. You enter the options in the correct order when creating the question. Scoring is based on an exact sequence match.

Scoring & Results

Percentage-Based Scoring

QuizLab Pro uses percentage-based scoring. Each question has a Points value (default 1). The final score is calculated as:

Score % = (Points Earned / Total Points Possible) × 100

The learner passes if their score percentage meets or exceeds the quiz's Passing Score setting. Essay points are excluded from the denominator until they are manually reviewed.

Pass Mark

Set the passing score on the quiz edit form under the Scoring tab. The default is 80%. You can set any value from 0% to 100%.

Time Limits

Set an optional time limit (in minutes) on the Scoring tab. A countdown timer is shown during the quiz. If the timer expires before the learner finishes, the attempt is automatically submitted with any unanswered questions scored as zero. Timed-out attempts calculate the percentage against the full set of served questions.

Attempts Allowed

Set the maximum number of attempts a learner may make. Set to 0 for unlimited attempts.

Require Login

Enable Require Login to restrict the quiz to authenticated Joomla users only.

Navigation Mode

  • Free — Learners can move between questions in any order.
  • Linear — Learners must answer questions in sequence and cannot go back.

Randomisation

  • Randomise Questions — Shuffles the question order for each attempt.
  • Randomise Answers — Shuffles the answer options within each question.
  • Questions to Show — Draw a random subset of questions from the full bank per attempt.
  • Category Quotas — Specify how many questions to draw from each category for balanced randomised sets.

Result Display

After completing a quiz, learners see a results screen showing their score percentage, pass or fail status, points earned, and number of correct answers.

  • Summary Only — Shows the score and pass/fail status
  • Full Review — Also shows each question with whether the learner answered correctly, plus any explanations

Essay Review

Quizzes with Essay/Long Answer questions use a two-stage result flow:

  1. The learner submits the quiz. Auto-marked questions are scored immediately. Essay answers are saved as Pending Review.
  2. An admin (or authorised frontend reviewer) opens the attempt, reads each essay answer, awards points, and optionally leaves feedback.
  3. On saving the review, the attempt total is recalculated and the final result is released to the learner.

Admin Review Queue

Go to Components > QuizLab Pro > Review Queue to see all pending attempts. Filter by quiz, date, or search by learner name. Click any row to open the attempt, enter points for each essay answer, and save.

Frontend Review Queue

Authorised QuizLab Pro reviewers can access a Review Queue menu item from the frontend to see pending essay attempts and save manual grades without needing full admin access.

QuizLab Pro scr 24

Certificate Release

Certificates are only available after an essay attempt has been reviewed, the final score has passed, and results are visible. Logged-in learners will see the certificate link appear on the My Results page once review is complete.

Certificates

When a learner passes a quiz and certificates are enabled, they can generate a PDF certificate directly from the results screen.

How It Works

  1. Enable certificates on the quiz edit form under the Certificate tab.
  2. When a learner passes (and any essay answers have been reviewed), a certificate form appears on the results screen.
  3. Logged-in learners skip name/email entry — their Joomla account details are used automatically.
  4. Guest learners enter their name and optionally their email.
  5. They click Generate Certificate and receive a downloadable PDF.

Certificate Templates

Choose from four design presets on the Certificate tab: Modern, Classic, Minimal, and Bold.

Certificate Customisation

  • Branding Text — Custom organisation or course name shown at the top
  • Logo — Upload an image to replace the branding text
  • Primary Colour — Controls learner name, branding, divider, and border
  • Accent Colour — Controls bars and decorative details
  • Show Score / Time / Date / ID — Toggle which details appear on the certificate
  • Custom Text Fields — Override the certificate title, intro line, completion wording, and footer. Supports tokens: {learner}, {quiz}, {score}, {date}, {time}

Certificate IDs & Verification

Each certificate receives a unique ID. A public verification URL is included on the certificate so recipients can confirm its authenticity.

Admin Certificate Preview

Use the Preview button on the Certificate tab to see how the certificate will look before learners generate it.

Certificate Settings (Component Options)

  • PDF Orientation — Landscape (default) or Portrait
  • Save PDF to Server — Optionally save a copy of each certificate to the server

Leaderboard

Enable the leaderboard on the Scoring tab of a quiz. A Leaderboard menu item type is available to display top scores for that quiz on the frontend. Entries are based on completed, non-pending attempts.

My Results

Logged-in learners can access a My Results menu item to review all their past attempts for any quiz. Each entry shows the quiz name, score, pass/fail status, date, and a link to the full attempt detail. After a manually reviewed essay attempt passes, the certificate link appears automatically.

QuizLab Pro scr 08

CSV Import

Import questions in bulk from a spreadsheet by exporting to CSV format.

How to Import

  1. From the Questions view, click Import CSV in the toolbar.
  2. Upload your CSV file and configure the import settings:
    • Delimiter — Comma (default), semicolon, or tab
    • First row is a header — Enable if your CSV has column headers
    • Import Mode — Append, Update existing, or Replace all
  3. Preview the data in the table below the upload form.
  4. Click Import to process the file.

CSV Format

Each row in the CSV becomes one question. The minimum required columns are question and correct.

Required columns:

  • question — The question text
  • correct — For MC/TF/Multiple Select: the option number(s) that are correct. For numeric: the correct numeric answer.

Option columns (for MC/TF/Multiple Select/Ordering):

  • answer_1 through answer_8 (or option_1 through option_8)

Optional columns:

  • question_type — multiple_choice, true_false, numeric, short_answer, multiple_select, fill_blank, essay, or ordering
  • points, category, difficulty, explanation, hint
  • numeric_answer, numeric_tolerance
  • accepted_answers — Pipe-separated accepted answers for Short Answer and Fill in the Blank
  • question_image, question_image_alt

Import Modes

  • Append — Adds new questions after any existing ones
  • Update existing — Matches CSV rows to existing questions by position. Only non-empty fields are updated. Extra rows are added as new questions.
  • Replace all — Deletes all existing questions and options, then imports fresh from CSV

Sample CSV

Click Download Sample CSV on the import screen to get a template file with example questions of each type.

QuizLab Pro docs 02

Quiz Experience

Frontend Flow

The quiz runs as a single-page AJAX application with three screens:

  1. Intro Screen — Shows the quiz title, introduction text, instructions, question count, pass mark, and time limit (if set). Learners click Start Quiz to begin.
  2. Question Screen — Displays one question at a time with a progress bar, question counter, and running score. Learners answer and click Submit Answer. Instant feedback shows whether they were correct, along with any explanation. Click Next Question to continue.
  3. Results Screen — Shows the final score, pass/fail status, and optionally a question-by-question review. If the learner passed and certificates are enabled (and any essay answers have been reviewed), a certificate generation form appears.

Session Recovery

If a learner's browser tab is accidentally closed during a quiz, their progress is saved. Returning to the quiz page will resume from where they left off.

Customisable Labels

On the quiz edit form under the Feedback Messages tab, you can customise correct/incorrect feedback messages and button labels (Start Quiz, Submit Answer, Next Question, Try Again). Leave any field blank to use the default text.

Question Bank

The global Question Bank (Components > QuizLab Pro > Question Bank) lets you browse, search, and manage questions across all quizzes in one place.

  • Summary Cards — Total questions, published questions, source quizzes, categories, and questions needing attention
  • Search & Filter — Search by text or category; filter by publish state, type, category, difficulty, and signal
  • Usage Column — Shows whether a question is shared across multiple quizzes, with hover text listing quiz names
  • Copy to Quiz — Select questions and copy them into another quiz (duplicate detection skips already-present questions)
  • Bulk Metadata — Update category and difficulty for multiple selected questions at once
  • Duplicate — Create a copy of a question directly from the bank

QuizLab Pro scr 19

Question Performance Reports

Open Components > QuizLab Pro > Reports to see per-question analytics.

Each question row shows answer volume, correct/incorrect counts, average score, average time, answer distribution (for MC/Multiple Select/T­F questions), common wrong answers, and a signal (Weak, Pending Review, No Attempts, or Healthy).

Filter by quiz, question type, category, difficulty, or signal. A Category & Difficulty Performance panel below the table summarises performance by category and difficulty level.

Click Export CSV to download the current filtered report including answer distribution and common wrong answers.

QuizLab Pro scr 22

Admin Dashboard

The QuizLab Pro dashboard (Components > QuizLab Pro > Dashboard) shows:

  • Total Quizzes — All quizzes (including unpublished)
  • Published Quizzes — Currently active quizzes
  • Total Attempts — Completed quiz attempts
  • Certificates Issued — Total certificates generated
  • Pending Review — Attempts waiting for essay grading (links to the Review Queue)
  • Quiz Statistics — Per-quiz breakdown. Click a quiz title to open Question Reports filtered to that quiz.

Managing Attempts

The Attempts view (Components > QuizLab Pro > Attempts) lists all completed quiz attempts with learner name, score, pass/fail status, completion date, and time taken.

Filtering

Filter attempts by quiz, pass/fail status, date range, or search by learner name/email.

Attempt Detail

Click any attempt to see the full detail: each question, the learner's answer, points earned, and the final score. Essay answers can be graded directly from this screen.

Cleanup

  • Delete — Remove selected attempts and their associated answers and certificates
  • Clear All — Remove all completed attempts at once

CSV Export

Export a rich attempt report from the toolbar including result state, average answer time, incorrect question count, manual review totals, and certificate details.

Component Options

Access via the Options button on any QuizLab Pro admin toolbar.

Basic Settings

  • Default Pass Percentage — Default passing score for new quizzes (default 80%)
  • Enable Attempt Logging — Whether to record quiz attempts
  • Keep Attempt Records (Days) — How long to retain attempt data (default 365 days)

Certificate Settings

  • PDF Orientation — Landscape or Portrait
  • Save PDF to Server — Store a server-side copy of generated certificates

Image Settings

  • Max Image Width/Height — Maximum dimensions for question images
  • Allowed Image Types — Permitted image file extensions (default: jpg, jpeg, png, webp)

Support

For questions, bug reports, or feature requests, visit extensions.thedesigncompany.co.nz and submit a support request from the QuizLab Pro extension page.

Licence

QuizLab Pro is released under the GNU General Public License v2 or later. See GNU GPL v2.

← Back to QuizLab Pro

We use cookies

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and analyse site traffic. Please choose which cookie categories you consent to.