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TAG Formatting Tips & Tricks (eLearning)

** Click on the HELP TOPICS to jump to a new section. Click here to return to Resources page.

Formatting Assessment Items

Refer to the TAG eLearning page for additional videos and instructions.

Icon Toolbar

Use the icons provided on the toolbar when formatting text or adding graphics. Mouse over each square to see their function.

Paste Plain Text
Left Align
Center
Bold
Italicize
Underline
Superscript
Subscript
Unordered List (apply bullets)
Insert a special character: Hyphen; Minus sign; En Dash or Em Dash
Upload image from computer (PNG recommended). Max size 675 pixels wide by 875 pixels high.
*Right click on an image and click Properties; Add Alt-text for image to be described with Text-to-Speech
Edit in Full Screen Mode.
Listen to text (Text-to-Speech)
Content and Language Supports

Adding Text

The first icon on the toolbar is to Paste Plain Text (this is recommended for all content). Use this icon when pasting in text from any other source outside of TAG. This action removes any hidden HTML code/formatting.

Formatting Text

Highlight text and click the icons in the middle of the bar to format text.
Important: Do not highlight the spaces before or after text. If checking the HTML view, the code would look like this (without any spaces before or after the <>tags):

  • Bold: <strong>DMAC</strong> 
  • Italics: <em>DMAC</em>
  • Underline: <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>DMAC</span>

For math items use the Superscript icon so that the Text-to-Speech feature will read numbers 2 or 3 as squared and/or cubed. Make sure to highlight only the text and not the spaces before or after what you are formatting in order for text-to-speech to work properly.

HTML examples:

  • Superscript: <sup>DMAC</sup>
  • Subscript: <sub>DMAC</sub>

Insert Special Characters

Important: Insert a Hyphen, Minus sign, En Dash or Em Dash with the icon on the editing tool (don’t use keyboard for these symbols – it will not read properly for Text-to-Speech).

For math questions, insert a Minus character when needing a negative symbol.

  • Text-to-Speech reads the minus sign as “minus” when entered into an equation using a space. It reads the minus sign as “negative” if entered before a whole number without a space.
  • For negative fractions, use the minus sign before the fraction (uploaded as an image) and right click > Properties to update the Alt Text for the fraction entered to read as negative.

Inserting Spanish Characters

Use the drop-down to insert special characters for Spanish assessment items.

Upload Images

  • Important: Do not copy and paste any image into TAG. Use the Upload icon on the toolbar to insert images.
  • PNG format recommended. 
  • Images must not exceed max height and width of 675 X 875 pixels.
  • Right click on image and click Properties to view the image source, adjust width/height, alignment or add Alt Text (used for Text-to-Speech).
  • After saving an item, click the Print icon to view individual items as Web View or PDF View

Text-to-Speech

  • To ensure assessment items are optimized for online tests, don’t forget to test how each question sounds when read aloud for Text-to-Speech (TTS).
  • Use the Speak icon to test how text sounds when read aloud. 
  • To add Text-to-Speech to images, right click on them and click Properties. Text added under the  Alt Text section will be read.

Content and Language Supports

When editing a test item, add CLS to the question or response choices by using the icon on the formatting bar.

  • Highlight the word(s) or image where you want to apply the support and click the icon
  • Enter Alternative Content (select Text or Image)
  • Click Apply
  • Save item

Custom HTML for Math

For Math items, DMAC maintains a list of the most used fractions, symbols, line segments/arcs.

Click Here: HTML code for TAG/MATH items

  • New codes are added to the resource above, as requested.  
  • Email sparedez@esc7.net if you’d like any additions to the list.

Inserting HTML

HTML code can be inserted into any question stem within TAG. Custom codes can also be added to the answers for only single or multiple response item types.

  • To add custom code, put the cursor inside the text box and move from Design to HTML view by selecting the button at the bottom of the question or answer stem.
  • From the Design view, you can use the Edit in Full Screen Mode icon on the toolbar to provide more space to view the code.

Equations

When creating Math items in TAG, there are two ways to create equations that contain symbols or characters not currently available with keyboard shortcuts or the toolbar.

Custom equations must be uploaded as a graphic in the text area of a question or answer stem. An outside source such as CodeCogs is useful or you can take a screenshot using the Equation Editor item type generator in TAG.

Option 1: CodeCogs

  • The following website is a free resource to generate equations for Math items:
    https://latex.codecogs.com/eqneditor/editor.php 
  • Choose the following options under equation creator and select Click here to Download Image (PNG): * PNG (format) * Verdana (font) * 10 or 12 pt Font * 100 (size) * Transparent * Compressed
  • IMPORTANT: Do not copy and paste code for an equation into TAG. Save all equations as separate PNG images and use the – Add Image icon on the question or response to upload graphics.

Option 2: Equation Editor

  • From the top navigation bar in TAG, select Items > New.
  • Select the Math category from the left menu and select Equation Editor.
  • Under Correct Response, select 8th/Alg 1 from the Keypad drop-down.
  • Use the box to create an equation in the Correct Response field and take a screenshot of the equation and crop just around the equation. Programs like Snag-it are helpful.
  • Upload the PNG file of your image into your new item.