Cirrus lets you import items into an existing collection from several sources: another collection, Excel, IMS QTI, Moodle, or SOWISO mathematical question files. Use this article to pick the right source and run the import.
Open the import dialog
- Open the destination collection.
- Select Action > Import.
- The import dialog opens with the supported sources.
You need an authoring role on the collection.
Import from another collection
An item can live in more than one collection. Importing from another collection creates a new version of the item in the destination.
- Choose Another collection.
- Pick the source collection. It must be shared with you, and you must have the right collection role.
- Tick the items to import (or select all on the page).
- Select Import selected.
Import from Excel
Cirrus has a built-in Excel format. Download the example file to see the structure.
- Choose Excel file and select Continue.
- Select See an example to download the template.
- Build your file from the template.
- Upload it.
Notes on Excel import
Cirrus uses UTF-8 everywhere. Make sure your Excel file is saved in UTF-8 to avoid character corruption, especially for non-ASCII characters and diacritics. See UTF-8 on Wikipedia.
Item IDs
Item IDs must be unique on the tenant. If the import file contains IDs already in use, Cirrus shows a warning:
The following Item IDs are already used in the system:
EXAMPLEID-018
The existing Item IDs will be replaced by a generated ID.
Are you sure you want to continue? Item ID is the unique identifier of a question.
If you continue, the existing items keep their content but get new auto-generated IDs. The imported items take the IDs from your file. Cancel if that is not what you want, and rename the IDs in your file first.
Learning objectives in Excel
For LOs to attach automatically during import:
- Learning objective titles in the Excel must match titles already in Cirrus exactly. Watch for trailing spaces.
- Every LO in the Excel must already exist under Admin > Learning objectives before import.
LOs are managed by the system administrator and should be set up first. See Importing learning objectives.
Import from IMS QTI v2.1
IMS QTI is a portable format for question sets. Choose IMS QTI v2.1 file in the dialog and upload a .zip containing the QTI manifest and assets. Supported item types: see Export items to Excel for the QTI item-type list.
Import from Moodle
Cirrus accepts Moodle XML question files. Choose Moodle file and upload. Moodle question types map to the closest Cirrus equivalent.
Import SOWISO mathematical questions
For the Mathematical question add-on, choose Mathematical questions in the dialog and upload the file exported from SOWISO. Only the SOWISO open exercise type imports cleanly; other exercise types may not translate. See Mathematical question for the limits.
After the import
- Imported items land in the destination collection at Draft status.
- Move them through the item review workflow to set them Live.
- Check that learning objectives, taxonomies, and labels attached as expected.