Problem: Results slow or aborted

Multiple choice questions might seem easy, but underneath the mathematics are potentially complicated. The problem is that each button has two states: selected and not selected, and for each of these states there is a different mark. In order to work out the maximum possible score Question Tools has to work out all of the different combinations of button presses, and with either large maximum selections or large numbers of buttons this quickly stretches into billions of calculations, and goes well beyond what everyday computers can manage.

For example, if you have ten buttons and a maximum selections limit of four then when the results are calculated the Question Tools Exam software, or the script in the browser, has to work out every permutation of four selections across all ten buttons.

This problem disappears if you have no selection limit, as Question Tools needs only to look at the maximum score for every button and add them together.

Solving the problem. The answer is to have no maximum selection limit if you have large numbers of buttons — or at least have a selections limit of just one.

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