WebRespond: Appearance File

The appearance of WebRespond is directed by the files WRLOOK.SER and WRLOOK.TXT.  The first file is generated by the registration software and is necessary for any customization of the appearance of WebRespond.  If this file is not present or not registered for the present server, a default appearance will be used.  (Select this link to see the default specification for the appearance.)  Once WRLOOK.SER is loaded by WebRespond, it looks for WRLOOK.TXT.  This second file contains any additional modification that need to be made on the appearance for this specific quiz.  If no additional changes are needed, then WRLOOK.TXT does not need to be present.  These files should be placed in the same directory as the web page calling WebRespond.

Note for Version 2.1 users:

The class serialized into WRLOOK.SER has been changed in version 2.1.  You must re-register your appearance files when you upgrade to Version 2.1, otherwise you will get a serialization error.  The format of the appearance file WRLOOK.TXT has not changed, so nothing else needs to be done other than updating the serialized file.


All of the text labels, introduction page, and closing page can be modified by the appearance file.  This should make it possible to customize WebRespond to an international setting.  The appearance file has not been tested with Unicode characters and it is assumed that the user will be using an ASCII compatible editor to change the appearance file.

The tags used in the appearance file are listed below along with a description as to their purpose.  They are grouped according to the portion of WebRespond that they affect.

Several variables are defined in WebRespond and can be accessed with the following special symbols.

These variable can only be accessed by the STATUSTEXT, RESULTTEXT, FINISHPANELTEXT, and ENDPAGE tags.

General Appearance

These tags control the color and fonts used by WebRespond.
  1.  <WRIMAGE> - This tag specifies the background image to be displayed on the introduction, option, and closing panels.  The address for this image must be absolute or relative to the web page calling WebRespond.
  2.  <WRFONTNAME> - This tag specifies the font name used when displaying text.  This is treated as the basefont for any HTML tags used in the introduction, option, and closing panels in WebRespond.
  3.  <WRFONTSIZE> - This tag specifies the font size used when displaying text.  This is treated as the basefont for any HTML tags used in the introduction, option, and closing panels in WebRespond.
  4.  <WRBUTTONFONTNAME> - This tag specifies the font name used when displaying text on buttons and labels in WebRespond.
  5.  <WRBUTTONFONTSIZE> - This tag specifies the font size used when displaying text on buttons and labels in WebRespond..
  6.  <WRBACKGROUND> - This tag specifies the background color for all the applet component of WebRespond.  It consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.
  7.  <WRFOREGROUND> - This tag specifies the foreground color for all the applet component of WebRespond.  This includes all text labels.  It consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.
  8.  <WRHIGHLIGHT> - This tag specifies the highlight color for all the applet component of WebRespond.  Currently this color is only used when displaying the timer under 1 minute and the results of the quiz in review mode.  It consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green.
  9.  <WRBUTTONBACKGROUND> - This tag specifies the background color for all the buttons and labels of WebRespond.  It consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.
  10.  <WRBUTTONFOREGROUND> - This tag specifies the foreground color for all the buttons and labels of WebRespond.  This includes all text labels.  It consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.
  11.  <WRLINK> - This tag specifies the color for all HTML text associated with a hyperlink in WebRespond.  Currently this parameter is not currently used, but is included for use in future versions of WebRespond.  It consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green.

Dialog Box Messages and Labels

  1.  <MESSAGEOKAYBUTTON> - This tag determines the text on the dismissal button of the dialog box.
  2.  <ERRORMESSAGETITLE> - This tag determines the text displayed at the top of the dialog box when an error has occured.
  3.  <LOGINMESSAGETITLE> - This tag determines the text displayed at the top of the dialog box when the user incorrectly logs into the quiz.
  4.  <NOTIFYMESSAGETITLE> - This tag determines the text displayed at the top of the dialog box when the user needs to be notified of a special result such as successful email delivery or quiz terminated by the timer.
  5.  <EMAILERROR> - This tag determines the message displayed when WebRespond is unable to submit the quiz results via email.
  6.  <EMAILSUCCESS> - This tag determines the message displayed when WebRespond successfully submits a quiz via email.
  7.  <EARLYACCESS> - This tag determines the message displayed when a quiz is accessed before its active date.
  8.  <LATEACCESS> - This tag determines the message displayed when a quiz is accessed after it has expired.
  9.  <OUTOFTIME> - This tag determines the message displayed when the timer expires and terminates the quiz.
  10.  <LOGINMESSAGETEXT> - This tag determines the message displayed when a user fails to specify a login name and password.
  11.  <INCORRECTLOGIN> - This tag determines the message displayed when a user gives either an incorrect login name or password.
  12.  <EXCEEDEDLOGIN> - This tag determines the message displayed when the user exceeds their maximum number of login attempts.

Introduction Page

  1.  <NAMELABEL> - This tag sets the text for the login name textfield label.
  2.  <PASSWORDLABEL> - This tag sets the text for the password textfield label.
  3.  <BEGINBUTTON> - This tag sets the label on the button used to start the quiz after entering the login information.
  4.  <QUITBUTTON> - This tag sets the label on the button used to leave the introduction page and go directly to the closing page without taking the quiz.
  5.  <INTROPAGE> - This tag provides the block of text displayed at the top of the introduction page.
  6.  <LOGININSTRUCTION> - This tag provides the block of text describing the login procedure.  If no login fields are specified, then this text is not displayed.

 Question Page Messages and Labels

  1.  <TOOLBAR> - This tag allows location of the navigation bar (at the top of the page) to be swapped with the status bar (at the bottom of the page).  If the tag <TOOLBAR>original</TOOLBAR> is used, the navigation bar is placed at the top as in the original version of WebRespond.  If the tag <TOOLBAR>flip</TOOLBAR> is used, the status bar is placed at the top.  This option was provided as a response to feedback indicating that the option to move to the next question should be at the bottom right corner.
  2.  <PREVIOUSBUTTON> - This tag sets the text of the button used to return to the previous question.
  3.  <NEXTBUTTON> - This tag sets the text of the button used to move to the next question.
  4.  <QUESTIONNUMBER> - This tag sets the text placed before the choice box, which list the number of the current question.
  5.  <CLEARBUTTON> - This tag sets the text of the button used to clear a previous response to a question.
  6.  <DONEBUTTON> - This tag sets the text of the button used to end the quiz and go to the option page.  The default value is "Done"; however, it may be more appropriate to use the word "Exit".  This would convey more effectively that this button will exit the quiz.
  7.  <YOURSELECTION> - This tag sets the text of the label placed before the student's response for the current question.
  8.  <STATUSTEXT> - This tag sets the text of the label displaying the student's current status within the quiz.  The special symbol combination &totala; and &totalq; are used to display the number of questions answered and the total number of questions respectively.
  9.  <RESULTTEXT> - This tag sets the text of the label displaying the outcome of the student's quiz.  It is displayed on the review version of the question page and can contain the special symbol combinations &totalc;, &totala;, and &totalq;.  These have the same meaning as described with the previous tag with the addition that &totalc; is the total number of questions correctly answered.
  10.  <TIMERTEXT> - This tag sets the text of the label displayed above the timer, which indicates the amount of time remaining for the quiz as specified with the Timer tag under the Master File description.
  11.  <QTIMERTEXT> - This tag sets the text of the label displayed above the time, which indicates the amount of time remaining for the current question as specified with the Timer tag under the Master File description.
  12.  <NORESPONSEGIVEN> - This tag sets the text of the label displayed in the status area to indicate that no answer has been given for the current question.
  13.  <MISSINGQUESTIONS> - This tag sets the text displayed in the question area when a question is missing key information.  A lot of liberality is given for the different question types; however, it there is not enough information present to make any sense, this message is displayed.
  14. <UNLOADEDQUESTION> - This tag sets the text displayed in the question area when a question can not be loaded.  This may indicate a network problem or may involve a miss named question file in the master file.

Question Page Appearance

  1.  <QUFONTNAME> - This tag specifies the font name used when displaying text in the question area.  The master file can contain a tag which overrides this option.  Acceptable values for this tag are Serif, SanSerif, and MonoSpaced.
  2.  <QUFONTSIZE> - This tag specifies the font size used when displaying text in the question area.  The master file can contain a tag which overrides this option.
  3.  <QUBACKGROUND> - This tag specifies the background color displayed in the question area.  The master file can contain a tag which overrides this option.  The entry for this tag consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.
  4.  <QUFOREGROUND> - This tag specifies the text color displayed in the question area.  The master file can contain a tag which overrides this option.  The entry for this tag consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.
  5. <QUBUTTONFONTNAME> - This tag specifies the font name used when displaying text on the question area buttons and labels.  Acceptable values for this tag are Serif, SanSerif, and MonoSpaced.
  6. <QUBUTTONFONTSIZE> - This tag specifies the font size used when displaying text on the question area buttons and labels.
  7. <QUBUTTONBACKGROUND> - This tag specifies the background color for buttons displayed in the question area.  The entry for this tag consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.
  8. <QUBUTTONFOREGROUND> - This tag specifies the text color for buttons and labels displayed in the question area.  The entry for this tag consists of an ordered triplet of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 and separated by commas.  The first number is the intensity of red, the second the intensity of green, and the third the intensity of green. If this parameter is not specified, an appropriate color will be obtained from the system color palette.

Option Page Labels and Messages

  1.  <RETURNBUTTON> - This tag sets the text of the button used to leave the option page and answer more questions.
  2.  <REVIEWBUTTON> - This tag sets the text of the button used to leave the option page and review the results of the quiz.
  3.  <FINISHBUTTON> - This tag sets the text of the button used to leave the option page and go to the closing page.
  4.  <FINISHPANELTEXT> - This tag sets the block of text used at the top of the option page.  It can be used to give some concluding remarks while the student still has a chance to return to the quiz.  This tag can contain the special symbol combinations &totala; and &totalq; as described above.
  5.   <RETURNLABEL> - This tag sets the text used to describe the return button.  This text is placed to the right of the button.
  6.   <REVIEWLABEL> - This tag sets the text used to describe the review button.  This text is placed to the right of the button.
  7.   <FINISHLABEL> - This tag sets the text used to describe the finish button.  This text is placed to the right of the button.

Question Page Review Mode Labels

  1.  <YOURANSWER> - This tag sets the text used to preface the students answer in the question area during review mode.
  2.  <CORRECTANSWER> - This tag sets the text used to preface the correct answer in the question area during review mode.
  3.  <YOURCORRECTANSWER> - This tag sets the text used to indicate that the student's answer is correct.
  4.  <NONEGIVEN> - This tag sets the text used to indicate that the student did not provide an answer for this question.
  5.  <MOREINFORMATION> - This tag sets the text used to describe the hyperlink provided by the question file.
  6.  <NONEAVAILABLE> - This tag sets the text used to indicate that the question file did not provide a correct answer.
  7.  <NOTHINGASKED> - This tag sets the text used to indicate that the question file did not ask the student for the question.  This appears for True/False or Multiple Choice questions where the correct and incorrect answers are not present.  This technique is used to provide information pages that ask no questions.
  8. <QUESTIONFAILEDLOAD> - This tag sets the text used to indicate that a question failed to load from the network.

Question Page Labels Related to Specific Question Types

  1.  <ANSWERGIVEN> - This tag specifies the text used in the status area to indicate that an answer was provided in an essay question.
  2.  <QUBUTTONTRUE> - This tag sets the text used on the TRUE button for a true/false question.
  3.  <QUBUTTONFALSE> - This tag sets the text used on the FALSE button for a true/false question.
  4.  <QUBUTTONA> - This tag sets the label on the first option in a multiple choice question.
  5.  <QUBUTTONB> - This tag sets the label on the second option in a multiple choice question.
  6.  <QUBUTTONC> - This tag sets the label on the third option in a multiple choice question.
  7.  <QUBUTTOND> - This tag sets the label on the fourth option in a multiple choice question.
  8.  <QUBUTTONE> - This tag sets the label on the fifth option in a multiple choice question.
  9.  <QUBUTTONF> - This tag sets the label on the sixth option in a multiple choice question.
  10.  <ALLANSWERED> - This tag specifies the text used in the status area to indicate that all the text fields have been answered in a short answer question.
  11.  <PARTANSWERED> - This tag specifies the text used in the status area to indicate that some, but not all the text fields have been answered in a short answer question.

Closing Page Label and Message

  1.  <ENDPAGE> - This tag sets the block of text displayed on the closing page of the quiz.  This should contain any final comments and possible contact information about the quiz.