Moodle Quiz Format Converter – Free Moodle XML to GIFT, No Sign-Up

Quiz questions locked in Moodle XML cannot move to another system without tedious retyping. This free Moodle quiz format converter turns standard multichoice XML into plain GIFT text, the portable format most quiz tools can import. Paste the XML, get GIFT, reuse anywhere. No sign-up.

What this tool does

Teacher-made questions are valuable, and locking them into one platform wastes that value. GIFT is a plain-text quiz format supported by Moodle itself and many other tools, which makes it the right bridge format for moving questions between systems.

The conversion here handles the common case: multichoice questions with a name, a question text, and answers marked by fraction. Correct answers get an equals sign, wrong answers get a tilde, and the title becomes a GIFT identifier.

Plain text has a second advantage: version control. A GIFT file can be diffed, searched, and edited in any text editor, while XML buried in an export cannot be skimmed by a human at all.

How to use it

Export your quiz from Moodle as XML.
Paste the blocks into the tool.
Click convert to GIFT.
Copy the GIFT text into your target system import.

Check the fraction values in your XML: 100 marks the correct answer, 0 marks wrong ones. Partial-credit fractions convert to equals too, so review partial-credit questions after conversion.

Worked example

A question named Capital asks the capital of France, with Paris at fraction 100 and London at fraction 0. The converter outputs “::Capital:: What is the capital of France? {=Paris ~London}”, which imports directly as a multichoice question.

A teacher moving fifty questions from an old Moodle course to a new platform converts the whole export in one paste, instead of retyping fifty questions and introducing fifty new typos.

After import, the teacher spot-checks three questions in the new system. If the answers and correct marks match, the rest of the batch is trusted, because the conversion is mechanical and uniform.

Honest limits

Only standard multichoice XML converts cleanly. Matching, essay, calculated, and cloze questions use different XML structures and will convert partially or not at all. Check every converted question before using it with students.

Tips

Keep the original XML export as a backup. Conversions are one-way conveniences, and the original remains the authoritative copy if anything looks wrong after import.

Common mistakes

The classic mistake is importing converted questions without a spot check. One malformed question can break an entire import batch, and the failure message rarely names the culprit. Check three questions first, then import the rest.

How it fits your week

Convert quizzes when migrating courses or sharing questions with colleagues, typically at term boundaries. A converted question bank shared as GIFT text is the easiest collaboration artifact a department can pass around.

Good questions deserve a long life, and platform lock-in shortens it. Converting to GIFT gives your questions a portable, readable, editable future, independent of whichever system your institution adopts next. Paste the XML, copy the GIFT, spot-check the import, and keep the original as backup. The work you put into writing fair, clear questions should outlive the platform you wrote them in, and with a plain-text bridge, it finally can. Portable questions also survive staff changes, because the next teacher inherits a text file, not a platform export only one person knows how to open.

FAQ

Does GIFT work outside Moodle?
Yes. GIFT is supported by Moodle and many other quiz tools as an import format, which is exactly why it makes a good bridge between systems.

What about images in questions?
Images do not convert through this text tool. Move image files separately and reattach them in the target system after importing the text.

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