How to import quizzes in GIFT, QTI or CSV when you leave Moodle or Canvas

GIFT is a plain-text quiz format created for Moodle. Each question is a line of text followed by answers in curly braces: an equals sign marks a correct answer and a tilde marks a wrong one. It is easy to read, easy to edit in any text editor, and widely supported for import.

QTI (Question and Test Interoperability) is an XML standard from the education technology body 1EdTech, formerly IMS Global. It is verbose and not meant to be read by people, but it describes many question types precisely. QTI comes in versions, mainly 1.2 and 2.x, and tools do not always read every version.

CSV is a spreadsheet saved as plain text. There is no single standard quiz CSV, so each tool defines its own columns. Its strength is that anyone can write or fix it in a spreadsheet, which makes it the best format for authoring new questions in bulk.

From Moodle, export the question bank as GIFT. It keeps multiple choice, true/false, matching and short-answer questions in a form you can open and check before importing anywhere. If you have many categories, export one category at a time so each file stays small enough to review.

From Canvas, look for a QTI export of the quiz or question bank. Check which QTI version the file uses before you rely on it; some exports arrive as a zipped package in the older 1.2 format, which not every tool can read directly. If your destination cannot read the file, export a smaller test first, or move the questions through a spreadsheet.

From Google Forms, spreadsheets or a home-built quiz, use CSV. It is the slowest to prepare but the most predictable.

Question text, answer options and which answers are correct move cleanly in all three formats for the common types: multiple choice, multi-select, true/false and fill in the blank. Matching questions move in GIFT and QTI. Ordering questions have no GIFT form at all, so use QTI, CSV or JSON for them.

Things that commonly get lost or simplified: per-answer feedback, partial-credit percentages, question titles and categories, images embedded in question text, and question types the destination does not have, such as essays, numeric ranges or calculated questions. Essay questions are better rebuilt as assignments, which a person reviews.

A rule worth screenshotting: export, import ten questions, take the quiz as a learner, then import the rest. Ten questions find nearly every format problem at a tenth of the cleanup cost.

If you are authoring new questions, a CSV keeps it fast. Use one row per question with columns for the type, the question, the points, an explanation, the choices and the answer. When a question has several choices or several correct answers, separate them inside the cell with a clear divider rather than extra columns, so every row has the same shape.

Two habits prevent most errors. Never give two options identical text, because the importer has to match the answer to a choice by its text. And keep a copy of the file under version control or in a dated folder, so the CSV becomes the master copy you can re-import if you ever need to rebuild a bank.

HiveLearn question banks import and export in four formats: JSON, CSV, GIFT and QTI. JSON is the full-fidelity format and round-trips every field, including matching and ordering questions, so it is the right choice for backups or for moving banks between HiveLearn communities.

The CSV uses six columns: type, question, points, explanation, choices and answer, with " || " separating multiple choices or answers inside a cell. GIFT import recognizes true/false, matching, multiple choice, multi-select and fill in the blank; GIFT export skips ordering questions because GIFT has no way to express them. QTI support reads and writes QTI 2.1 item XML. If you have an older QTI 1.2 package, convert it or bring the questions across as GIFT or CSV.

Imported questions carry a default of one point and no explanation where the source format did not supply one, which is why steps 6 and 7 of the checklist matter. Once imported, questions are graded on the server, so the answer key never reaches the learner's browser before they submit, and they can be drawn randomly per attempt from a bank.

If you are leaving a whole platform rather than just a quiz tool, the Switch to HiveLearn wizard imports exports from Skool, Circle, Kajabi, Mighty Networks and Patreon, or a CSV, and concierge migration is included on Pro and above.

If your institution requires an LMS that reports grades back to a student information system, or uses standards-based integrations your school depends on, a creator platform is not the right destination. Moodle and Canvas are built for that world. Moving quizzes makes sense when you are teaching independently, running paid courses, or building a community around your teaching.