liamrobinson Posted March 12 Posted March 12 I did toy with the idea of creating a web (or browser based) app so we could leverage windows “take an exam” mode however logistically I want confident we could safely save the students work and recover it should the proverbial hit the fan. i have another project which is web based (NetMappr.co.uk) and that does leverage browser cache to store the config locally (before you export) which would be an option for storing the text files on a web based exam app, I just wouldn’t trust it for something mission critical. The other option is store everything on a server so it’s recoverable, but then that’s where the cost comes in not to mention the potential security concerns if doing a live GCSE exam. 1 1
DrCheese Posted March 12 Posted March 12 Only thing I would say is the name may end up causing issues, Texthelp could claim trademark on it.
liamrobinson Posted March 12 Posted March 12 32 minutes ago, DrCheese said: Only thing I would say is the name may end up causing issues, Texthelp could claim trademark on it. When thinking of a suitable name I did check the IPO register of trademarks. The only one that came close is Exam Pal, which if they had a problem with the name, it could be changed without too much hassle.
Rizzo Posted March 12 Posted March 12 @liamrobinson Great work! would FE colleges be allowed to use ExamPad+ as well? The branding mentions Primary and Secondary Schools, but we’d really like to trial it in a college if that’s ok. Thank you in advance.
k9mjl Posted March 16 Posted March 16 On 12/03/2026 at 16:19, liamrobinson said: There isn’t currently a default save path but it has been mentioned a few times and will be in the next release along with a few tweaks. It would also be really helpful if the default backup location could also be added to the ini file, having it on the C drive is not idea as the exams officer cannot access that location.
liamrobinson Posted March 23 Posted March 23 V1.0.5 is now live on the website with a few features mentioned on here added.
AlphamaleZed Posted March 23 Posted March 23 On 11/03/2026 at 08:58, Fazza said: I just saw a post on LinkedIn for some exam word processing software that is Free for Primary and Secondary school.. https://exampadplus.co.uk/ JCQ Compliant and has a classroom mode so it can be used for students to familiarise themselves with the software so it's not a complete surprise on exam days. It says it's created by a UK Network Manager so (unless my search skills need improving) I'm surprised to not have heard anything about it on EduGeek yet! what a legend lets hope they dont get brought out by texthelp lol!
J-14P Posted March 24 Posted March 24 I haven't tested yet, but is there a way that invigilators can configure access arrangements without going into the admin panel?
liamrobinson Posted March 24 Posted March 24 4 minutes ago, J-14P said: I haven't tested yet, but is there a way that invigilators can configure access arrangements without going into the admin panel? There's a settings.ini file containing all the settings. Configure it how you want via the admin panel, export settings and copy this file to C:/Program Data/ExamPadPlus - I've added an admin guide on the website to show how you can distribute the install and the settings.ini via Intune or PDQ deploy.
J-14P Posted March 24 Posted March 24 Just now, liamrobinson said: There's a settings.ini file containing all the settings. Configure it how you want via the admin panel, export settings and copy this file to C:/Program Data/ExamPadPlus - I've added an admin guide on the website to show how you can distribute the install and the settings.ini via Intune or PDQ deploy. Thanks I understand how to set the defaults at an IT level, but I was wondering if there was a way for invigilators to change this without giving them access to every setting? If invigilators can edit access arrangements per computer without full settings access, then it can potentially eliminate IT's involvement.
liamrobinson Posted March 24 Posted March 24 At the moment they cant only access specific settings, its either all or none but they are grouped into 'Exam Overrides' so the only real settings they should be changing are within that section. I'll add it to the feature requests and see if i can create a "invigilator panel" which only has access to specific settings!
J-14P Posted March 24 Posted March 24 10 minutes ago, liamrobinson said: At the moment they cant only access specific settings, its either all or none but they are grouped into 'Exam Overrides' so the only real settings they should be changing are within that section. I'll add it to the feature requests and see if i can create a "invigilator panel" which only has access to specific settings! Ah that's brilliant, we like to keep things as simple as possible for our invigilators. If an invigilator panel is created that would be really helpful.
liamrobinson Posted March 24 Posted March 24 (edited) Most of our invigilators don't know how to turn the laptops on, getting them to change settings would cause havoc 😂 Edited March 24 by liamrobinson 4
ajnichol2001 Posted April 14 Posted April 14 (edited) We seem to struggle to get it to go full screen the task bar is still there, also in V1.05 it would not load for a teacher but would for students. also we have the session timer turned off but it sill shows? Edited April 14 by ajnichol2001
liamrobinson Posted April 14 Posted April 14 1 hour ago, ajnichol2001 said: We seem to struggle to get it to go full screen the task bar is still there, also in V1.05 it would not load for a teacher but would for students. also we have the session timer turned off but it sill shows? I struggled with the taskbar, I need to revisit this and hopefully get a full 'Fullscreen' experience when i get chance to make some changes. Currently with exam mode enabled its 'always on top' but the task bar still shows, they cant do anything as anything that they manage to click opens displays in the background but i agree its not ideal. Regarding it not opening for teachers i'm not sure what that could be, it doesn't require any admin privileges, just needs access to read/write the settings.ini file, i've not come across this in my testing. I've found the issue with the timer displaying when it should be off, that will be fixed in the next release. Thank you for the feedback!
dhicks Posted April 14 Posted April 14 On 11/03/2026 at 15:13, liamrobinson said: It may do, i may also be able to port to Linux directly but I believe WPF doesnt play nicely so might have to change quite a bit on the UI side! Okay: I have the application running (using Wine) inside a containerised Linux instance, accessible via a web-based remote desktop interface behind a reverse proxy (Pangolin) handling authentication. Each user that logs in gets their own isolated desktop instance running just ExamPad+, no other applications or general desktop functionality are available (or even installed!). As you suggested, using the options to turn off full-screen seems to make the application more stable - I just need to tweak the setup a bit to check the application window resizes properly when someone resizes the browser window. What are your plans for the software - is this something you plan to sell for exam purposes to schools and so on?
liamrobinson Posted April 14 Posted April 14 7 hours ago, dhicks said: Okay: I have the application running (using Wine) inside a containerised Linux instance, accessible via a web-based remote desktop interface behind a reverse proxy (Pangolin) handling authentication. Each user that logs in gets their own isolated desktop instance running just ExamPad+, no other applications or general desktop functionality are available (or even installed!). As you suggested, using the options to turn off full-screen seems to make the application more stable - I just need to tweak the setup a bit to check the application window resizes properly when someone resizes the browser window. What are your plans for the software - is this something you plan to sell for exam purposes to schools and so on? That sounds good! I’m glad it’s working (to an extent). My plans are hopefully iron out all the bugs and once it’s done, it should only need occasional updates every now and then for security and stability. Down the line I may look at monetising it for Further Education, not sure what that would consist of though, and If I did, it would me minimal cost still. My only real plans are get it finished and used in my own school when GCSEs arrive! (Students have their own laptops with V1.05 running in classroom mode with spell checker etc turned off)
Reverend_Dan Posted April 15 Posted April 15 Hi Liam, Thanks, first of all this is great and we will be migrating over. Can I add a feature request, We have three different centre numbers depending on the exam board so a drop down would be nice to stop the extra work of having to go back in and change it. Ill ask the exam officer when they are back in tomorrow as I cant remember which one if for each board, but that could be a nice option in the settings file Also the printing margin on the top of the page cut off half the text on our photocopiers 1
TraceurElmo Posted April 15 Posted April 15 I'll hop on that band-wagon too, being able to have multiple centre numbers or custom exam boards would be excellent. 1
liamrobinson Posted April 20 Posted April 20 Afternoon all. V1.0.6 is now live with a few changes including those mentioned above. Custom Exam Boards and Multiple Centre Numbers available in this version. I've also fixed the issue with the taskbar showing in exam mode, its now a full kiosk mode app. (just don't forget to note down the invigilator password if you set one, as you wont be able to close it down without it, as I found out on my own machine today 😂) Dashboard | ExamPad+ 1 1
k9mjl Posted April 22 Posted April 22 Has anyone else encountered a small issue with the screen flickering while the pupil is typing, it's fine when they are not? Only occurs when using ExamPad+
liamrobinson Posted April 22 Posted April 22 11 minutes ago, k9mjl said: Has anyone else encountered a small issue with the screen flickering while the pupil is typing, it's fine when they are not? Only occurs when using ExamPad+ Are you on the latest version V1.0.6? There was an issue before which was due to the way the canvas/page is drawn and it was 'refreshing' on every keypress. This has since been fixed and i haven't seen it since, please let me know what version and what settings you have enabled and I'll take a look (can paste your config file minus any personal details)
k9mjl Posted April 22 Posted April 22 No, I have just updated to 1.0.6 so will try again myself this afternoon. Thanks for swift response.
liamrobinson Posted April 22 Posted April 22 No probs, just let me know, i cant promise i can fix it but i'll help where i can!
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