Respondus 4.0

Status - Approved

Approved for use.

Tool Description 

Respondus 4.0 is a Windows-only tool for creating and managing exams that can be printed on paper or published directly to Canvas. Exams can be created offline using a familiar Windows environment or moved between different learning systems.

Overview of Respondus 4.0

Respondus 4.0 is a downloadable, desktop application (for Windows only) that allows instructors to create Tests for Canvas without using the web interface.

Preview, print or publish exams directly to your Canvas course.

Exams can be created offline and imported to Canvas.

Access to Respondus Test Bank Network.

Respondus 4.0 Instructor Quick Start Guide. Download and print this reference to guide you through the Respondus interface.

Note: The information on this page refers only to the Respondus 4.0 tool.
For resources on maintaining exam integrity in remote course delivery, please visit the pages for Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor.

Installing Respondus 4.0

Visit the Texas A&M University Software Center.

Click on the logo of your institution to login.

Select Respondus 4.0, then click on Details.

On the right-hand side of the Respondus logo, click the software name.

Go to your Cart in the top right corner of the page to check out your free item.

Follow the prompts to complete your request.

Once you receive the confirmation email, follow the instructions provided to install the software on your computer.

Using Respondus 4.0 to import Word exams into Canvas

Step 1: Create and Prepare your Quiz for Import

Choose a document format.

You may use any of the following file types to create your test:

Text document (.txt or .rtf) – Windows Notepad is a simple and effective tool.
Word document (.doc or .docx) – You can write a new test or reuse an existing one.
Spreadsheet (.csv) – Useful for structured data entry.
Or create questions directly within Respondus 4.0 (includes the option to use publisher materials, if available).

Format your quiz properly.

Follow the standard format for importing questions guidelines required by Respondus 4.0. Refer to pages 41–49 of the Respondus User Guide for detailed formatting instructions.

For a full walkthrough, watch the video tutorial: Creating and Formatting Questions with Respondus 4.0.

Step 2: Import your Quiz to Respondus and Review Formatting

Open Respondus 4.0.

Under the Start tab, click Import Questions.

A new window will appear.

In the Type of File drop-down menu, select the file type (e.g., Microsoft Word).

Click Browse to locate and select your file.

Decide where to add the exam question. You have two options.

Append the questions to the current document. This is if you are adding questions to a currently open file Respondus 4.0.
Create a new document (this will be most typical).

Name your new Respondus 4.0 file.
Tip: Begin the file name with your course number to help organize exams and quizzes by course.

Click Preview to check your document’s formatting.

At the bottom of the dialog box, confirm that there are no warnings. If warnings appear, this indicates formatting issues. You can either:

Return to your Word document, correct the formatting, and re-upload it, or
Edit the imported questions directly in Respondus 4.0 using the Edit tab.

If no errors are found, click Finish to save your test in Respondus 4.0.

Your document is now successfully imported into Respondus 4.0, but it still needs to be published to Canvas. Follow the next steps to complete the publishing process.

Refer to pages 14–16 of the Respondus User Guide for detailed instructions on importing your test questions.

For a full walkthrough, watch the video tutorial: Importing Questions with Respondus 4.0.

Step 3: Preview and Publish Quiz in Canvas

After creating or importing your questions into Respondus 4.0, follow these steps to preview your quiz and publish it to your Canvas course.

It is recommended that you first Preview the File to make sure that questions and answer choices appear as desired.

A. Preview your quiz

Navigate to the Preview & Publish tab in Respondus 4.0.

Click Preview to open the preview dialog box.

Use the Prev. and Next buttons to review each exam question and ensure the formatting and answer choices appear as expected.

B. Select type of publishing

Still in the Preview + Publish tab, select Publish from the left-hand menu.

Click Publish Wizard to open the publishing interface.

Under Type of Publish, select Publish to a single course or to Multiple Canvas courses."

Note: Important Update in Respondus 4.0 - Publishing Quizzes to Canvas
In the newest version of Respondus 4.0, the process for publishing quizzes to Canvas has changed.

Newest Instructions:
After clicking on "Publish Wizard," a new window will appear where you must now select the Canvas Quiz type:

New Quizzes
Classic Quizzes

C. Setup Canvas Connection – This is done only once

From the Publish Wizard window, click on the Canvas Server drop-down, select Add New Server, then click Next.

Open a web browser, go to your Canvas login page, and sign in.

Copy the full website address (URL) from the browser and paste it into the appropriate field in Respondus 4.0.

Click “Extract” – this fill in the connection details for you.

Enter your regular Canvas username and password.

You can check the box to save your login info for next time. Then, click OK to save it.

Note: We recommend selecting “Save my Username”, If you do not select “Save...” you will have to repeat the entire MFA process every time you publish a quiz.

If necessary, choose “Run connection test”. Then, click Next, Respondus will connect to Canvas.

D. Publish to a Canvas Course

After connecting to the server, a new Publish Wizard window will open.

Choose what you want to publish:

Graded Quiz or Question Bank.
Create a new exam (give it a name) or replace an existing one.

Click Next.

From the new Publish Wizard window pop-up, you are prompted to select a content area (usually a Canvas course) from the folder list on the Canvas system. Click Next and Respondus will start publishing the quiz and settings.

A new window will display the publishing progress. Once you see "Publish Completed Successfully," click Finish.

E. Finalize in Canvas

Log into Canvas and navigate to the course where you published the quiz.

Click on Quizzes in the course navigation. Your quiz should appear in the list.

Note: You may need to adjust quiz settings (e.g., availability dates, time limits, number of attempts). Although some settings can be configured in Respondus 4.0, it is recommended to make final adjustments directly within Canvas.

For a full walkthrough, watch the video tutorial: Publishing to Canvas.

Refer to pages 33–34 of the Respondus User Guide for detailed instructions on preview and publish your test questions.

Creating a New Test as a Respondus 4.0 File

Step 1: Creating a New Respondus Quiz File

Launch Respondus 4.0.

On the Start menu, set the Current Personality dropdown menu to Canvas.

Select Create to create a new Respondus file.

Type a Name of File.

Type a Description.

Click on the OK button.

The Edit menu displays the form used to create and add questions to the file.

From the list of Question Types located on the left-hand side of the screen, select the desired Item type.

For each Question Type there is a template for entering the question wording. Follow the instructions according to the Type of Question you selected for the quiz (add title of the question, question wording, answers, and distractors).

Refer to pages 18–29 of the Respondus User Guide for detailed instructions on creating your test questions on Respondus 4.0.

Step 2: Publishing the New Respondus Quiz File

Once you have created a quiz in Respondus, the Preview + Publish menu lets you manage the file. Use Preview to review the content, Publish to upload it to your Canvas course, and Print to format and print it directly or export it to a word processor for further editing.

Refer to Step 3: Preview and Publish Quiz in Canvas for more details on publishing to Canvas.

The Respondus 4.0 Test Bank Network

The Respondus 4.0 Test Bank Network provides official test banks for thousands of publisher textbooks. Through the Test Bank Network Wizard, instructors can:

Search for a test bank
Submit a request form
Register the test bank using a file code and password from the publisher
Select questions to include in a Respondus 4.0 file

Getting Started

Access the Test Bank Network
Instructors who have adopted a participating textbook can access its test bank by clicking the Test Bank Network button under the Start menu in Respondus 4.0.

Search for a Test Bank
Select "Search for a publisher test bank" to open a browser window.
Search for the adopted textbook and complete the request form.
This form is submitted directly to the publisher for verification.

Receive Access Credentials
Within 3–4 days, the textbook publisher will email the instructor a file code and password to register the test bank in Respondus 4.0.

Register the Test Bank
Back in Respondus 4.0, choose the second option: "Register a test bank using a file code and password." Enter the file code, password (if required), and the requested information. Once registered, the test bank will remain accessible on that computer—no need to register again.

Select Questions from the Test Bank
After registration, the third option becomes available: "Select questions from one of the following publisher test banks."

Questions can be manually selected or automatically selected depending on the Question Selection toggle.

Manual Selection:
Preview individual questions, check the boxes next to the ones you want, then click "Add to End of List" or "Insert into List" to add them to your Respondus 4.0 project.
Automatic Selection:
View the number of available questions by type. Specify the quantity of each type to include and assign a point value.

Import Selected Questions
Whether selected manually or automatically, the questions will be added to your currently open Respondus 4.0 file.

For a full walkthrough, watch the video tutorial: Using Publisher Test Banks with Respondus.