QSM Extra Template Variables - WordPress Plugin

How to Configure QSM Extra Template Variables for Results Pages and Emails

QSM Extra Template Variables is not used to build the quiz itself. Its job is to give you more precise control over the data shown after someone completes a quiz or survey. In this guide, you'll learn how to prepare Quiz and Survey Master, where to enable the add-on, which variables to use for different scenarios, how to verify the output on the results page and in email, and why some variables may not work correctly on the first try.

This guide is written for a WordPress site owner, instructional designer, marketer, or developer who already uses QSM and wants the results page to be more than a generic "thanks for participating" message. Instead, it should work as a clear report: which questions were answered correctly, where mistakes happened, how many questions were skipped, how the participant performed by category, and what next step to show.

This guide does not cover license purchasing or activation workarounds. It starts from a working setup: you already have WordPress, the main Quiz and Survey Master plugin is installed, at least one quiz or survey has been created, and QSM Extra Template Variables is being added as an extension to an existing results and email workflow.

What the Add-On Actually Solves and Where It Is Most Useful

QSM already includes a basic template variable system. It can insert values such as the user name, quiz title, score, number of correct answers, and question list into text. QSM Extra Template Variables expands that system. Its purpose is to give the quiz author more detail where the default output is too limited: show correct questions separately, show incorrect ones separately, list skipped questions, calculate category contribution, display remaining attempts, or insert a retake button.

The most common use case is a training quiz. A participant completes a knowledge check, and you want to do more than say "you scored 70%." You want to show a breakdown: which topics are strong, which category needs work, which questions should be reviewed, and how many items were left unanswered. For that kind of report, the standard all-in-one question block can be too noisy because it outputs everything at once. This add-on lets you build cleaner, more useful feedback.

A second use case is a marketing quiz or diagnostic survey. In that context, it is not just correct and incorrect answers that matter, but message conditions as well. For example, you can display one of several messages based on a score range, or highlight questions where the user selected a specific answer. That makes it possible to shape the result as a personalized recommendation without building a separate reporting system.

A third use case is the admin email. Your team receives a notification after a quiz submission and wants a compact summary instead of a long raw transcript: how many questions were skipped, which category contributed the most, and which answers were incorrect. QSM Extra Template Variables works in both results and emails, so you can apply the same logic to the public site and internal messages.

Key idea: this add-on does not replace result conditions, scoring logic, or email settings. It adds new merge tags that make your existing results and emails more precise.

This matters for expectations. If you need complex branching by personality type, answer labels, or dynamic rules, a set of extra variables alone may not be enough. But if your main problem is that the participant needs a more detailed report on their attempt, this add-on addresses that need directly and with less complexity.

What to Check Before Installing It on a WordPress Site

Before installation, check not only the add-on ZIP itself but also the foundation it depends on. QSM Extra Template Variables is an extension for Quiz and Survey Master, so the quality of its output depends on how your questions, categories, scores, emails, results pages, and published quiz are configured.

First, make sure the main QSM plugin is installed, activated, and your quiz is published. QSM documentation specifically notes that results are not recorded or displayed for a draft quiz. That can look like a variable problem when in reality the system never reached a normal completion flow.

Next, review the scoring system. Some variables depend on points, some on answer correctness, and some on categories. If your quiz has no categories, any variable with a category suffix will not produce meaningful output. If a question has no correct answer defined, then a "correct/incorrect" block may be useless in a survey scenario. If participants are allowed to retry, variables about remaining attempts should be tested only on a quiz with attempt limits enabled.

One more required item is a backup or a safe copy of the site for testing. Variables themselves do not delete data, but you will be editing result text and emails, and that affects user communication. Test templates on a staging copy or a dedicated test quiz first, then move them into your live workflow.

If the site is multilingual, decide in advance where the translated text around the variables will live. Technical tokens such as %QUIZ_PERCENTAGE% must never be translated. Only the surrounding sentence, label, explanation, and email content should be localized. This is especially important when a content editor might accidentally change the case or remove a percent sign at the beginning or end of a variable.

Installation and Initial Activation Without Unnecessary Risk

Installing QSM Extra Template Variables is much like installing any standard WordPress plugin from a ZIP archive. In the admin panel, open Plugins, choose Add New, then Upload Plugin, upload the add-on archive, and click Activate. After activation, the corresponding QSM add-on should appear in your plugin list.

Once it is enabled, do not rush to rewrite all of your emails and results pages at once. First, make sure the main QSM plugin recognizes the add-on. The official Extra Template Variables documentation states that you must enter the license key in the add-on tab under the extensions settings before using it. In QSM, this is tied to the settings for installed extensions, not the standard WordPress plugin page.

First Check After Activation

Open a quiz that is not used on an important public page and create a separate results page for testing. Insert one simple variable from the add-on, such as %COUNT_UNATTEMPTED%, along with regular text. Save the page, take the quiz as a user, and intentionally skip one question. If the results page shows the skipped-question counter, the basic chain is working.

If the variable appears as plain text, the issue is usually in one of three places: the add-on is not activated, the variable was inserted into an unsupported area, or the token was typed incorrectly. In QSM, the percent signs at both ends matter, case matters, there must be no extra spaces inside the token, and the suffix must be correct if the variable uses a category or value.

Where to Find the Settings After Installation

The QSM interface can vary slightly by version, so it is better to follow the functional path rather than the exact color of a button: QSM settings, installed extensions, add-on tab, license field, save changes. The Extra Template Variables documentation references the Extra Variables tab and the Addon License Key field. Once the key is saved, the new variables can be used while editing quizzes and surveys.

Result check: after activation, create a test results page with a single variable, complete the quiz as a user, then check both the results page and the email. Do not move variables into a live quiz until you have seen a real substitution happen.

Variable Map: Choosing the Right One for the Result You Need

The most common mistake with this add-on is inserting too many variables at once and then trying to figure out which one is responsible for the part of the report you actually need. A better approach is to start from the purpose of the result. First decide what question the block should answer for the participant: "what did I get right," "where did I make mistakes," "which topic should I review," "how many attempts do I have left," "how many questions did I skip," or "what percentage came from this category." Then choose the variable.

The official documentation lists several variable groups. Some work with correct and incorrect answers, some with selected answers, some with score or percentage ranges, and some with time, percentages, and categories. Below is a practical map for choosing them without overloading the results page.

Variables with the X suffix have an important detail. The X is replaced with a specific category, category slug, or answer value, depending on the variable. It is not decorative - it is a filter parameter. If the category name in your questions is different, includes an unexpected space, or uses different capitalization, the output may be empty.

For a long report, you do not need to output every available piece of data. A strong result usually consists of 3 to 5 meaningful blocks: an overall summary, strengths, mistakes, recommendations, and a retake or next step. Everything else is often better left for the admin email or a dedicated analytics add-on.

Configuring the Results Page: From Variables to a Clear Report

The results page is where QSM Extra Template Variables becomes most useful for the participant. This is where people expect an explanation, not a technical data dump. So configuration should start not with dropping in tokens, but with designing the result structure: what the user sees first, where mistakes are reviewed, where the recommendation appears, and how the next step is made clear.

In QSM, the result is configured in the corresponding quiz tab. The documentation describes the ability to create one default page or multiple conditional pages. This works especially well with extra variables: the condition chooses the overall result page, and the variables inside the selected template provide the detailed attempt data.

Basic Result Structure

For a training quiz, it is convenient to build the page from several blocks:

1. Short summary. Here you can use the standard QSM variables for name, score, and quiz title.
2. Mistakes to review. This is a good place for %QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT% or a category-specific version with %QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT_X%.
3. Strong topics. You can use %QUESTION_ANSWER_CORRECT% or a category-based block.
4. Skipped questions. %COUNT_UNATTEMPTED% helps distinguish a knowledge gap from an incomplete attempt.
5. Next step. A score-range message via %CUSTOM_MESSAGE_POINTS% or %CUSTOM_MESSAGE_CORRECT% works well here.

Do not make the result too long for every participant. If the quiz is large, the block with all correct answers may take up more space than the actual mistake review. In that case, keep correct answers brief and make incorrect ones more detailed. If the site is educational, you can manually add links to course materials near the mistakes, but do not promise automatic lesson mapping unless it has been built separately.

Example of a Clean Result Template

Below is an example of logic you can adapt in the QSM results page editor. It does not rely on hidden features and does not require editing plugin files. The technical variables stay intact, while all surrounding text can be tailored to the quiz topic.

<h3>Your Result</h3>
<p>You completed the "%QUIZ_NAME%" quiz and scored %QUIZ_PERCENTAGE%.</p>

<h3>What Went Well</h3>
%QUESTION_ANSWER_CORRECT%

<h3>What to Review</h3>
%QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT%

<h3>Unfinished Questions</h3>
<p>Skipped questions: %COUNT_UNATTEMPTED%.</p>

<h3>Recommendation</h3>
%CUSTOM_MESSAGE_CORRECT%More practice is needed:0-59;Good foundational level:60-84;You can move on to more advanced tasks:85-100;%

After inserting a template like this, take the quiz three ways: with a low score, with a high score, and with a skipped question. Check not only whether the substitution works, but also whether the finished page is easy to read. Sometimes the variable works correctly but produces a list so long that it should be moved lower on the page or split by category.

When to Use Category-Based Results

Categories make sense only if your questions are genuinely grouped by topic. In a training quiz, they might be "theory," "practice," "terminology," or "security." In a marketing diagnostic, they might be "product," "process," "team," or "technology." In those cases, category variables help explain not just the overall score, but the structure behind it.

If categories were added only for internal organization and do not carry meaning for the participant, it is better not to display them in the result. The user should not see a technical grouping that exists only for the author's convenience. A good category answers the question, "what exactly should I improve or review?" A poor category answers only, "how was it convenient for the author to organize the questions?"

Quick takeaway: the results page should read like a message to the participant, not a list of technical tokens. Insert variables only where they improve understanding of the result.

Post-Quiz Emails: How Not to Overload the Participant or the Admin

QSM Extra Template Variables is just as useful in emails as it is on the results page, but the purpose is different. A results page can be detailed because the user has just finished the quiz and is ready to review it. An email is usually read later, in a mail app, on a phone, or forwarded within a team. That means the email should contain less data and communicate the action more clearly.

QSM email documentation shows that templates can be configured by condition and variables can be used in the email body. It also distinguishes between user emails and admin emails. That gives you two different strategies.

Email to the Participant

The participant email should stay short. In most cases, an overall summary, a link to the result, one or two recommendations, and, if needed, a block of incorrect questions are enough. Sending the full list of correct answers is usually not a good idea if it makes the email too long and hard to scan.

For the participant, the following blocks work well:

• Completion summary: quiz title, percentage or score, and a short evaluation of the result.
• What to review: a block with %QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT% or mistake categories.
• Skipped items: %COUNT_UNATTEMPTED%, if the quiz allows unanswered questions.
• Next step: a conditional message based on score or percentage.

Email to the Admin

Admins usually need a fast signal, not a polished explanation. For lead generation, the key data may be contact fields and selected answers. For training, it may be mistakes, skips, category performance, and attempts. For an internal exam, it may be percentage, score, missed questions, and a link to the result.

You can allow slightly more technical detail here, but it is still not a good idea to send a huge wall of text. If the data needs to be analyzed regularly, it is better to use a dedicated export or reporting tool, because email is not a substitute for a results table.

Troubleshooting Email Delivery

If the variables work on the results page but the email never arrives, the issue may have nothing to do with QSM Extra Template Variables. In WordPress discussions around QSM, the standard recommendation is usually the same: test WordPress mail delivery, configure SMTP, and review the mail log. That is general WordPress email troubleshooting, but it is especially important with QSM because users often see a missing email as a broken quiz.

Check the chain in this order: was the email template saved, is there a recipient, are notifications enabled, does the message go out through wp_mail(), is it landing in spam, and is outgoing mail blocked by the host? Only after that should you look for a problem in a specific variable.

Categories, Percentages, and Skipped Questions: Fine-Tuning the Report

The most valuable variables in this add-on are not about cosmetic personalization. They are about breaking down the result and explaining what it is made of. That matters most in quizzes where questions carry different weights and categories represent real topics.

%QUIZ_PERCENTAGE% shows a percentage based on points. That is different from a simple percentage of correct answers when questions have different values. If one difficult question is worth more than three easy ones, a plain correct-answer percentage can be misleading. A point-based percentage is better suited to quizzes where weighting is intentional.

The Difference Between Category Percentage and Category Contribution

It is easy to mix up two different meanings in a report. A percentage within a category answers the question, "how well did the participant do on this topic?" Category contribution answers a different question: "how much of the earned score came from this topic?" %CATEGORY_WISE_PERCENTAGE_X% helps you look at performance inside a specific category, while %CATEGORY_CONTRIBUTION_X% shows how much that category contributed to the total score earned.

In practice, those lead to different conclusions. A participant may score very high in a small category that barely affects the overall result. Or the opposite: a large category may contribute most of the score even though it still contains many mistakes. That is why it is useful not to collapse both metrics into a single sentence in a training report.

How to Fill in X for Category Variables

For variables with X, use the value that matches the logic of the specific variable and your category setup. In the Extra Template Variables documentation, some variables are described as expecting either a category name or a category slug. QSM email documentation also includes a warning for category variables: do not add underscores to category names unless the category itself actually includes them. The safest approach is to test one category first on a separate results page.

If the category is called "Product Knowledge," do not create three guessed versions of the variable and leave all of them in a live template. Build a small test, complete it, verify the output, and then record the working format in your project notes. This is especially helpful on teams where multiple people edit the quiz.

Skipped Questions as a Separate Signal

%COUNT_UNATTEMPTED% is useful for more than just calling out the participant. It helps you distinguish weak knowledge from a weak completion. If someone gets a low score and skips many questions, the recommendation should be different: not "review the topic," but "take the quiz again without skipping questions." In long survey forms, this counter also tells you something about data quality.

For admins, skipped questions can be a sign of poor UX: the question is confusing, the required setting behaves oddly, the next-step button is unclear, the quiz is too long, or the page is slow. That is why skipped-question variables are valuable not only for the participant, but for the site owner as well.

Conditional Messages by Score and Percentage Without Complex Logic

%CUSTOM_MESSAGE_POINTS% and %CUSTOM_MESSAGE_CORRECT% let you insert text based on a range. They are not a full-blown condition builder, but for many result flows they are enough. The key is to use ranges carefully and not turn one line into an unreadable pseudo-program.

Use %CUSTOM_MESSAGE_POINTS% when questions have different weights or when points represent levels. Use %CUSTOM_MESSAGE_CORRECT% when the result should be evaluated by answer correctness. In both cases, the message itself should stay short and easy to understand.

Example Ranges for a Training Quiz

%CUSTOM_MESSAGE_CORRECT%Review the core topics and take the quiz again:0-49;You understand the basics, but the mistakes are worth reviewing:50-79;Strong result - move on to the next module:80-100;%

This approach is convenient because the quiz author can update the text without programming. But there are a few rules. Ranges should not overlap. There should be no gaps between ranges if every outcome needs a message. The text inside each message should stay short, because long paragraphs are harder to maintain and easier to break with an accidental edit.

When It Is Better to Use Multiple Results Pages

If different outcomes need different blocks, images, links, and long explanations, it is better to create multiple conditional results pages in QSM. A conditional variable is great for a short phrase, but not for a full result branch. For example, if the participant fails the quiz, you may want to show a review plan. If they score highly, you may want to show a button to the next module. That is much easier to manage in separate result templates.

A good rule of thumb is this: one sentence or short recommendation - use a variable; a different result layout - use a separate conditional results page. That keeps the template maintainable and reduces the risk that an editor will accidentally delete the technical part of a variable.

Practical Example: A Training Quiz Report with Error Review

Let us look at a concrete scenario. Suppose you have a training quiz on an internal company policy. It has three categories: "Rules," "Scenarios," and "Security." You need to show the participant the overall result, mistakes, each category's contribution, and a recommendation for review. The admin needs an email with a short summary.

Goal

After finishing the quiz, the participant should understand whether they passed, which questions they got wrong, which topic they should review, and whether it makes sense to retake the quiz right away. The admin should be able to tell whether the quiz was completed carefully or whether many questions were skipped.

Preparation

Before configuring anything, make sure categories are assigned to the questions. Check that each question uses the correct scoring logic: either a correct answer or point values. If the quiz uses only open-ended answers with no automatic grading, the correct/incorrect question blocks may not produce the result you expect.

Configuration Steps

1. Open the target quiz in QSM and go to the results page.
2. Create or edit the default result template.
3. At the top, write a short summary using %QUIZ_PERCENTAGE% or the standard QSM score variables.
4. Add an error block with %QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT%.
5. Add a skipped-question block with %COUNT_UNATTEMPTED%.
6. For the key category, add a separate fragment with %CATEGORY_WISE_PERCENTAGE_X% or %CATEGORY_CONTRIBUTION_X%, after verifying the correct X format.
7. At the end, insert a short recommendation via %CUSTOM_MESSAGE_CORRECT%.
8. Save the result with Save Results Pages and complete the quiz in a private window.

Expected Result

The participant sees more than a single score. They get a readable report: overall percentage, a list of mistakes, the number of skipped questions, and a recommendation. If the score is high, the message suggests the next step. If it is average, it suggests reviewing weak topics. If it is low, it suggests retaking the quiz after preparation.

Verification

Create at least three test attempts. In the first, answer most questions correctly. In the second, make mistakes in one category. In the third, skip some questions. After each attempt, save a screenshot of the result or copy the text into your working notes. That will show you whether an unnecessary block appears, whether a category goes blank, or whether the email breaks.

Nuance

If a category outputs nothing, do not rewrite the whole template immediately. Check one question in that category, the exact category name, the variable format, and whether the published quiz actually contains result data for that category. Very often the issue is in the variable suffix or in the fact that the test attempt simply contains no answers in that category.

How to Verify the Result After Configuration

Verification is not a formality. QSM variables are processed when a participant actually completes the quiz, so a static preview in the editor does not prove that everything is configured correctly. You need to walk through the flow as a user, receive the result and the email, and then compare them to the expected conditions.

Checking the Results Page

Open the page with the published quiz in a private browser window. Complete the quiz with a predictable answer set: one correct, one incorrect, and one skipped if skipping is allowed. After submission, check whether every variable was replaced. If a token remains as text, it was either not processed in that area or typed incorrectly.

Then review the order of the blocks. The user should not have to scroll through a long question list before seeing the recommendation. For most quizzes, this order works best: summary, recommendation, mistakes, details. But if it is a training quiz and error review matters more than motivational copy, you can move mistakes higher.

Checking the Email

Create a test email address and inspect the message in a normal inbox. If the email does not arrive, check the mail log, SMTP setup, and spam folder. If the email arrives but the variable is not replaced, compare the email template to the results page template. Some variables may be appropriate only in specific templates, while others depend on data that exists only after the quiz is completed.

Checking the Retake Flow

If you use %RETAKE_QUIZ_BUTTON% or %REMAINING_QUIZ_ATTEMPTS%, make sure you test a quiz with limited attempts enabled. Without that limit, the remaining-attempts variable may not carry the meaning you expect. The result should make it clear whether the participant can take the quiz again and why they might want to.

Checking Different Roles

Do not test the result only as an administrator. A WordPress admin sees the site differently: cache may be bypassed, permissions differ, admin bars affect behavior, and email may go to a different address. If your quiz is public, complete it at least once as a normal visitor without logging into WordPress.

Practical check: if you can predict in advance which blocks should appear after a specific test attempt, and the actual result matches that prediction, the setup was done deliberately and correctly.

Safe Result Styling Without Editing Plugin Files

Sometimes the variables work, but the result looks too plain. In that case, you do not need to edit QSM or add-on files. A safer approach is to wrap your content in a custom container inside the result template and add a small amount of CSS through your theme, child theme, or the Additional CSS field. This is not an official add-on API - it is just standard WordPress styling for HTML that you insert into the result template yourself.

Start by adding a wrapper around the main content blocks in the result editor:

<div class="qsm-result-review">
  <h3>Quick Review</h3>
  <p>Your point-based percentage: %QUIZ_PERCENTAGE%.</p>

  <h3>Mistakes</h3>
  %QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT%

  <h3>What to Do Next</h3>
  %CUSTOM_MESSAGE_CORRECT%Review the basics:0-59;Go over your mistakes:60-84;Move on to the next module:85-100;%
</div>

Then add CSS through Appearance -> Customize -> Additional CSS or whatever safe styling mechanism your theme provides. If the site uses a block theme, the location for additional CSS may differ, but the principle is the same: do not edit WordPress core, QSM, or the add-on file.

.qsm-result-review {
  border: 1px solid #d9e2ef;
  border-radius: 8px;
  padding: 18px;
  background: #f8fbff;
}

.qsm-result-review h3 {
  margin-top: 18px;
  margin-bottom: 8px;
}

.qsm-result-review h3:first-child {
  margin-top: 0;
}

.qsm-result-review p {
  margin-bottom: 12px;
}

The check is simple: complete the quiz, view the result on desktop and at mobile width, and make sure the block does not break the theme or hide variable text. If the styling does not work for you, remove the CSS and the HTML wrapper. Rollback should be just as simple as the change itself.

Do not use CSS to hide problems instead of fixing them. If a variable outputs an empty result, first check the data, the category, and the place where the variable is used. Styling is there to improve readability, not to mask a broken configuration.

Useful Combinations with Other QSM Features

QSM Extra Template Variables often works best not by itself, but alongside existing QSM settings or nearby add-ons. That does not mean you should install everything at once. A combination is justified only when each tool has a distinct role.

Conditional Results Pages

Result conditions decide which template to show, and the variables inside that template fill in the details. For example, QSM can show one page for a high score and another for a low score, while Extra Template Variables inside each page outputs mistakes, skipped questions, and category data. That way, you are not trying to solve the entire logic with one long variable.

Conditional Emails

The same principle works in email. Conditions determine who receives the message and when, while variables shape the content. You can send a short recommendation to the participant and a more technical summary with skips and mistakes to the admin. The main failure point here is not the add-on, but delivery: if hosting handles mail poorly, set up SMTP and a mail log.

QSM Calculations and Numeric Output

The QSM Calculations documentation shows examples of using values from Extra Template Variables in calculations, such as estimating the share of skipped questions or time-based performance. That is a more advanced level of reporting: the variable provides the raw value, and the calculation turns it into a metric. This is useful when the participant needs a meaningful indicator rather than just raw numbers.

Use combinations like this carefully. The more calculations you add to the result, the more important it becomes to test with known data. If the formula is wrong, the participant will see a confident-looking but incorrect conclusion.

Export and Analytics

If you need not only to show a result to one user but also to analyze answers on a regular basis, look toward Export Results or Reporting & Analysis. Extra Template Variables is for output inside templates, not for a full analytics dashboard. Export is useful when the results need to be processed in a spreadsheet. Reporting is useful when you need charts, filters, and an aggregated view across many attempts.

Working Scenarios for Different Types of Quizzes and Surveys

The same set of variables can produce very different results depending on the type of content. So before implementing anything, it helps not only to know the token list, but also to understand what kind of result blocks a specific site actually needs. Below are several scenarios where QSM Extra Template Variables does more than "decorate" a page - it makes feedback more useful.

Training Quiz with Weak-Topic Review

For an educational quiz, the most important output is not the overall percentage, but the review plan. In this case, %QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT%, category-based variables, and a short percentage-range recommendation work especially well. The page logic can be: overall summary first, then a "what to review" block, then correct answers as confirmation of strong areas, and finally skipped questions.

If the quiz is divided into topics, do not output every category at once. Choose 2 or 3 key categories that actually affect the next step. For example, in a security quiz you might highlight "Access," "Data," and "Incidents" separately. For each category, it is important to explain what the metric means. A dry percentage line does not help if the user does not understand what it represents.

How to Test the Training Scenario

Create a test attempt where the participant makes mistakes in only one topic. If the result highlights the correct topic and does not overload the page with unrelated blocks, the scenario works. If the user sees one long generic list and the weak topic gets lost, the result layout needs to be reworked.

Certification Quiz with a Passing Threshold

In a certification scenario, it may not be appropriate to reveal all answers in detail if the testing rules do not allow it. QSM Extra Template Variables can technically show correct and incorrect answers, but the quiz author still needs to decide whether that is appropriate under the rules of the training program. In some cases, showing the percentage, pass/fail outcome, number of skipped questions, and a retake button if retries are allowed is enough.

If the certificate is issued by a separate add-on, do not mix its role with Extra Template Variables. The certificate handles the document or the document link, while Extra Template Variables handles the textual result breakdown. The user should clearly understand what they received: the quiz outcome, a recommendation, retake access, or a certificate.

Marketing Quiz with a Recommendation

In a marketing quiz, there often are no correct answers in the traditional sense. In that case, correct/incorrect answer variables may be unnecessary. What is useful instead is output based on selected answers, a conditional message by score range, and careful handling of contact fields. For example, you can show the participant a short recommendation and send the admin an email with the selected choices so the sales team understands the context of the lead.

For this scenario, it is especially important not to promise automatic segmentation unless it has actually been built into the quiz. QSM Extra Template Variables outputs data and messages, but the meaning of the segments still comes from the quiz author through questions, answers, points, categories, and result conditions.

Post-Event Feedback Survey

In a survey scenario, the main value is completion quality. %COUNT_UNATTEMPTED% helps you understand how fully the user completed the form. In the admin email, you can include contact details, key answers, and the number of skipped items. On the results page, the participant usually only needs a short thank-you and perhaps confirmation that the responses were received.

There is no reason to show the participant a bulky question-by-question report if they simply filled out a feedback form. In this case, Extra Template Variables is more useful for the internal email and data-quality control than for the public results page.

Internal Employee Test

For internal testing, repeatability and clarity matter most. The employee should be able to see where they made mistakes, while a manager or HR should understand who completed the test, how many questions were skipped, and which topics are causing problems. In that scenario, a strong setup is this: the results page gives the participant a breakdown, the admin email records the outcome, and export or analytics tools provide the broader picture.

If the test runs regularly, do not keep all changes in your head. Create a small internal document that records which variables are used, what each category means, and which test scenarios must be rerun after an edit. That reduces the risk that the next editor will accidentally delete part of a token or rename a category without checking the result.

Editorial Control of Templates: Keeping Results Maintainable Without Chaos

After the first successful implementation, a new problem often appears: result templates and email templates start to evolve on their own. One editor changes the phrase around a variable, another adds a new category, a third changes the question scores, and a month later nobody remembers why the result looks the way it does. With QSM Extra Template Variables, this is especially noticeable because the tokens depend on the quiz structure.

To keep the result maintainable, treat the template like a small piece of internal documentation inside the site. It should have a goal, a list of variables used, a set of test attempts, and a clear verification order after changes. This is not process for the sake of process - it is a way to avoid a public report that suddenly shows a blank block or an incorrect recommendation.

Mini Result Passport

For each important quiz, create a short passport. You can store it in a team working document or in the task description. Include the following:

• Purpose of the result. For example: "give the participant an error review and a recommendation for the next module."
• Variables used. Record the exact tokens, including categories and suffixes.
• Question categories. Note which categories are actually shown in the result and why.
• Test attempts. Describe 3 or 4 attempts that must be repeated after any edit.
• Restrictions. Record any data that must not be shown to the participant, such as the full list of correct answers.

This kind of passport is especially helpful when the quiz affects training, certification, or lead generation. It does not require technical expertise, but it helps preserve the logic behind the result.

The One-Change Rule

Do not change the result text, categories, scores, and email all at once. Make one change, save it, take the quiz, and verify the result. Then move to the next change. It is slower for the first few minutes, but much faster than later trying to figure out why a variable broke. With QSM variables, this is especially important: empty output can be caused by a token typo, by the data in the test attempt, or by a category change.

How to Verify Changes After QSM Updates

QSM core and add-on updates can improve the interface, fix variables, change template behavior, or tighten security checks. So after an update, do not stop at checking the plugin list. Run one control quiz attempt and verify the results pages where extra variables are used. If the site sends important emails, verify the email too.

Pay special attention to the more complex blocks: categories, conditional messages, the retake button, remaining attempts, and calculations powered by neighboring QSM features. The more dependencies the result has, the more important a short control scenario becomes.

Where Variables Should Not Be Used

Not every area of the site is appropriate for QSM variables. If you insert a token into a regular WordPress page, a theme widget, or a third-party builder without a QSM completion context, it may remain plain text. Variables should live only where QSM actually processes them: results pages, emails, text sections, and other supported areas. If you need similar logic outside of QSM, that is a separate development or integration task, not a job for Extra Template Variables.

It is also a bad idea to place variables inside user-editable text that will be handled by people who do not understand tokens. If a manager should only edit the human-readable copy, separate that copy from the technical lines. For example, keep variables in dedicated blocks and explain that the percent signs and English token names inside them must not be changed.

Practical benchmark: a good results template can be safely explained to another editor in five minutes. If understanding it requires guesswork, the structure is too fragile.

Why Variables Fail and How to Fix Them

Problems with QSM Extra Template Variables often look the same: the original token remains on the results page, a block is empty, an email never arrives, a category is not calculated, or the result does not match expectations. But the causes differ, so troubleshooting should start from the symptom.

The Variable Appears as Plain Text

Symptom: the participant sees %QUESTION_ANSWER_INCORRECT% or another token directly on the results page.

Possible cause: the add-on is not activated, the license is not saved, the variable was inserted into the wrong template, or the token contains a typo. Another common cause is an extra space inside the token, for example right after the first percent sign.

What to check: plugin status, the add-on tab in QSM settings, the exact token spelling, the usage area, and whether the quiz is published.

How to fix it: start with one simple variable on a test results page. If it works, add the rest one at a time. If it does not, go back to the add-on installation and activation steps.

A Category Variable Is Empty

Symptom: the overall result appears, but %CATEGORY_WISE_PERCENTAGE_X%, %CATEGORY_CONTRIBUTION_X%, or a category-based correct/incorrect answer variable outputs nothing.

Possible cause: the wrong value was used in place of X, the category name does not match, the test attempt contains no answers in that category, or the questions were not grouped correctly.

What to check: the exact category name, the slug, category assignment on each question, whether the attempt includes answers in that category, and whether you have accidental duplicates such as "Math" and "math."

How to fix it: create a small test with 2 or 3 questions using only the target category and test the variable there. Once it works, transfer the confirmed format into the main quiz.

Email Does Not Arrive After the Quiz

Symptom: variables work on the results page, but the user or admin does not receive the email.

Possible cause: a WordPress mail delivery issue, a wrong recipient, disabled send action, spam filtering, missing SMTP, or a conflict with a mail plugin.

What to check: QSM Emails settings, recipient field, notification toggle, mail log, SMTP, and the spam folder.

How to fix it: first get a simple email working without any complex variables. Then put the variables back into the template and test the email again.

The Result Shows Too Much Data

Symptom: the variables work, but the results page becomes long and hard to read.

Possible cause: the author displayed all correct, incorrect, and general answers at the same time without separating them by purpose.

What to check: which blocks the participant actually needs, and which ones are better sent to the admin or left for export.

How to fix it: keep the results page focused on the overall summary, mistakes, and recommendation. Move detailed correct answers lower on the page or remove them if they do not help the next action.

The Percentages Do Not Match Expectations

Symptom: the percentage shown in the result looks different from a simple count of correct answers.

Possible cause: the quiz uses point values and question weights. %QUIZ_PERCENTAGE% is tied to points, not necessarily to a basic count of correct answers.

What to check: the points for each question, the scoring system, the maximum score, and the expected formula.

How to fix it: if you need a simple correct-answer percentage, use the appropriate base QSM variable. If you need a weighted percentage, keep %QUIZ_PERCENTAGE%, but explain to the participant that question weights are part of the calculation.

When QSM Extra Template Variables Is the Right Choice

This add-on is worth using if you already work with Quiz and Survey Master and need more detail in your result templates or emails. It is especially strong for training quizzes, exams, diagnostic assessments, internal knowledge checks, and any quiz where the result should explain not just the final score, but the structure behind the attempt.

It may be unnecessary if your quiz contains only a few simple questions and the participant only needs to see a total score. It also does not replace analytics, export, complex label-based logic, or a full certificate system. In those cases, it is better to choose a neighboring QSM add-on or a different tool built for that specific job.

Before going live, run one test scenario with correct answers, one with mistakes, one with skipped questions, and one using the target category. Check the results page, the participant email, and the admin email. If everything matches the expected logic, you can download QSM Extra Template Variables and roll it out to your live quiz carefully, one template at a time.