Layout Overrides

Layout overrides determine which layout PrimeExam uses when a question is published.

A layout may come from several different levels. Higher levels take priority over lower levels.

Layout Priority

PrimeExam uses the following layout priority order:

Exam Question Level (L-Exm)
        |
        v
Question Level (L-Qst)
        |
        v
User Template Level (UT)
        |
        v
Default Template Level (DT)

The highest priority layout is the exam question layout. The lowest priority layout is the default template.

How PrimeExam Chooses a Layout

When an exam is published, PrimeExam checks for layouts in the following order:

1. If a layout has been defined at the exam question level, that layout is used.
2. If no exam question layout exists, PrimeExam uses the question-level layout if one has been defined.
3. If no question-level layout exists, PrimeExam searches for the best matching user-defined template.
4. If no matching user-defined template is available, PrimeExam searches for the best matching default template.

This means that a more specific layout overrides a more general layout.

Layout Source Codes

PrimeExam may show layout source codes in published or previewed output.

Common layout source codes include:

• L-Exm - Layout defined for a specific question within a specific exam.
• L-Qst - Layout defined for the question in the question bank.
• UT - User-defined template.
• DT - Default template.

These codes help identify why a particular layout was used.

Template Matching

When searching for the best matching user-defined or default template, PrimeExam considers:

• Question type
• Whether the template contains enough image elements for the question
• How well the image element shapes match the images assigned to the question

For example, if a question contains a landscape image, PrimeExam attempts to use a template with an image element suitable for a landscape image.

See Layout Templates.

Creating or Editing User Templates

To create or edit user templates:

1. Open the Question Bank window.
2. Click Edit Templates in the upper-right area of the window.

This opens the Layout Editor in template edit mode, where user-defined templates can be created or modified.

Creating or Editing a Question-Level Layout Override

A question-level layout override applies to a specific question in the question bank.

To create or edit a question-level layout override:

1. Open the Question Bank window.
2. Select the desired question bank.
3. Select the desired question.
4. Click Layout.

This opens the Layout Editor in question layout edit mode.

Creating or Editing an Exam Question-Level Layout Override

An exam question-level layout override applies only to a specific question within a specific exam.

To create or edit an exam question-level layout override:

1. Open the Exam Editor window.
2. Select the desired exam.
3. Select the desired exam question.
4. Click Layout.

This opens the Layout Editor in exam question layout edit mode.

Clearing a Question-Level Layout Override

To clear a question-level layout override:

1. Open the Question Bank window.
2. Select the desired question bank.
3. Select the desired question.
4. Locate the Clear Override button beside the Layout button.

If the Clear Override button is enabled, a question-level layout override exists for the selected question.

Click Clear Override to remove the question-level override.

After the override is removed, PrimeExam will use the next available layout source according to the layout priority order.

Clearing an Exam Question-Level Layout Override

To clear an exam question-level layout override:

1. Open the Exam Editor window.
2. Select the desired exam.
3. Select the desired exam question.
4. Locate the Clear Override button beside the Layout button.

If the Clear Override button is enabled, an exam-level layout override exists for the selected exam question.

Click Clear Override to remove the exam-level override.

After the override is removed, PrimeExam will use the next available layout source according to the layout priority order.