QTI Converter Online: Free Tool to Convert Word, PDF, and CSV to QTI Files
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Formswrite Team
May 19, 2026
QTI Converter Online: Free Tool to Convert Any Document to QTI
If you teach with Canvas, Brightspace, Moodle, or Blackboard, you have probably hit the same wall: you wrote your quiz in Word, Google Docs, or a spreadsheet, and now you have to retype every question into your LMS. There is a faster path. Formswrite's QTI converter turns your existing document into a valid QTI 2.1 / QTI 2.2 package that imports cleanly into every major LMS.
This page covers what QTI is, what the Formswrite QTI converter does, which file formats it accepts, and how to import the output into Canvas, Brightspace, Moodle, and Blackboard.
What is a QTI file?
QTI stands for Question and Test Interoperability. It is an open standard maintained by 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global) that lets question banks move between learning management systems without re-keying. A QTI export is a
.zip containing XML files that describe each question, its answer choices, scoring rules, and any media.Most modern LMSes accept QTI on import:
- Canvas - accepts QTI 1.2 and QTI 2.1 via Import Quiz Content.
- Brightspace (D2L) - accepts QTI 2.1 via Import / Export / Copy Components.
- Moodle - accepts QTI 2.1 via the Question bank → Import screen.
- Blackboard Ultra - accepts QTI 2.1 packages via Question Bank → Import Questions.
The catch: writing a valid QTI file by hand is painful. The XML schema is verbose, and a single mistyped tag breaks the entire import. That is what a QTI converter solves.
What the Formswrite QTI converter does
Upload a document - Formswrite extracts the questions, classifies the question types, and outputs a QTI 2.1 package ready for your LMS. It works with:
| Input format | Notes |
|---|---|
| Word (.docx) | The most common starting point. Headings become question stems; bullet/numbered lists become answer choices. |
| Scanned and digital PDFs. OCR runs automatically on image-based pages. | |
| Google Docs | Connect your Google Drive and pick the doc directly. |
| CSV / Excel | Useful when you already have a structured question bank. See the CSV-to-QTI guide for column conventions. |
| Plain text / Markdown | Paste in copy from email or a wiki - the parser handles loose formatting. |
The converter handles the question types that QTI itself supports:
- Multiple choice (single answer)
- Multiple response (checkboxes)
- True / false
- Short answer
- Fill in the blank (cloze)
- Essay / extended response
- Matching pairs
How to use it
- Open the converter. Go to formswrite.com and sign in with Google.
- Upload your document. Drag a Word doc, PDF, or CSV into the editor - or pick a Google Doc directly.
- Review the parsed questions. Formswrite shows every question it extracted with the correct answer marked. Fix any mistakes inline.
- Export as QTI. Click Export → QTI 2.1 (.zip). The file downloads in seconds.
- Import into your LMS. See the per-LMS steps below.
Importing the QTI file into your LMS
Canvas
- Go to your course → Settings → Import Course Content.
- Choose Content Type: QTI .zip file.
- Upload the file Formswrite gave you.
- Click Import. Questions appear under Quizzes → Question Banks.
Brightspace (D2L)
- Go to your course → Course Admin → Import / Export / Copy Components.
- Choose Import Components from a course package.
- Select your Formswrite-generated QTI zip and proceed through the wizard.
- Questions land in Question Library.
For Brightspace-specific tips (Question Library sections, bonus points, MathML rendering), see the Brightspace quiz import guide.
Moodle
- Open your course → Question bank → Import.
- Select IMS QTI 2.1 format.
- Upload your zip and click Import.
Blackboard Ultra
- Go to your course → Course Content → Tests, Pools, and Surveys → Pools.
- Choose Import Pool and select your QTI zip.
- Questions appear in the pool, ready to attach to a test.
Why not just write QTI XML by hand?
You can - but it is rarely worth the time. A typical 25-question multiple-choice quiz needs about 600 lines of QTI XML, and the schema is strict about ordering, response identifiers, and the
imsmanifest.xml that holds the package together. One missing <responseDeclaration> block and the whole import fails with a cryptic error.Formswrite generates valid QTI on every export because the schema is built into the exporter, not stitched together with templates.
How Formswrite's QTI converter compares to free university tools
Several universities publish free QTI converters online - Kansas State, NYIT, Univ. of Incarnate Word, Dartmouth's GIFT2QTI. They work for the specific input format their authors had in mind (usually a particular CSV layout or the GIFT plain-text format) but they require you to format your source document to match the tool's parser. Formswrite reverses that: the parser adapts to your document's shape, not the other way around.
If you only have one or two quizzes to convert, a free .edu tool may be enough. If you have dozens - or you want to skip the formatting step entirely - the Formswrite converter pays for itself on the first batch.
Bulk conversion and API
If you are an instructional designer or LMS admin facing hundreds of quizzes (e.g., a course-migration project), the Formswrite API does the same conversion programmatically. See the bulk-convert guide for a working Python script.
FAQ
Is the QTI converter free?
Yes - the online converter is free for individual quizzes. There is a paid tier for bulk and API use.
Which QTI version does Formswrite output?
QTI 2.1 by default (the version Canvas, Brightspace, Moodle, and Blackboard all accept). QTI 2.2 is supported for platforms that specifically require it.
Will the file import without errors?
Formswrite generates valid QTI 2.1 against the 1EdTech schema. If your LMS rejects the import, the problem is almost always inside the LMS's import settings - see the per-LMS notes above.
Can I convert from QTI back to Word / Google Docs?
Yes - Formswrite supports round-tripping. Upload the QTI zip and export it as Word, Google Doc, or CSV.
Does it preserve images and equations?
Images yes (they are embedded in the QTI package). LaTeX equations are converted to MathML so they render correctly inside the LMS quiz player.
Related guides
- No quiz written yet, only source material? Start with the AI Quiz Generator - it drafts questions from PDFs, Word docs, slides, or text and then exports to QTI in one flow.
- Source is a PDF (textbook chapter, manual, paper)? Use the dedicated PDF to Quiz Generator - OCR for scanned PDFs, equation handling, large-document batching.
- Target is Google Forms instead of LMS? PDF to Google Forms is the direct PDF → Google Forms path - output is a real Google Form in your Drive.
- Canvas Quiz Converter: From Word, PDF, or Text - Canvas-specific import steps.
- Brightspace Quiz Import from Word - D2L-specific workflow.
- CSV to QTI Converter Guide - column conventions + Python recipe.
- QTI Format Explained - what is in a QTI .zip and which LMSes accept which version.
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