Sign up, upload a course document, and produce an exam you can export or share.
- A ZeroExam account, or an invitation link to an existing workspace.
- A course document: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, plain text, or a page image (PNG/JPEG).
- Create an account at
/signup, or accept an invitation at /join/<token> to join an existing workspace.
- Complete onboarding. ZeroExam asks a short set of questions about what you teach, then finishes setup. You can skip it and return later.
- Upload a document from the Documents page. The browser uploads the file directly to storage, then tells the platform to start processing.
- Wait for processing. Text extraction runs first, then structure extraction. The document list shows live status; you do not need to refresh.
- Review the extracted structure. Open the document to see its chapters, sections, and topics. Edit titles, summaries, and page ranges where the extraction got it wrong. Edited entries are marked as manually changed.
- Create an exam and choose which parts of the document structure it should cover.
- Generate questions. Question generation runs in the background against the structure you selected.
- Review and edit questions on the exam page: change wording, regenerate a single question, ask for AI verification, or set each question’s status.
- Export or share. Export the paper as PDF or DOCX, or create a share link that opens without an account.
- The document reaches a completed extraction state and shows a structure tree.
- The exam contains questions attributed to the source document and pages.
- Export produces a PDF or DOCX file; a share link opens the exam for someone with no account.
| Problem | Likely cause | Resolution |
|---|
| Processing stays queued | The document is waiting behind other work in your workspace | Wait; large documents are processed on a separate, slower lane |
| Processing failed | The file could not be read, or it exceeded a limit that applies to your plan | Re-upload a smaller or text-based version of the file |
| Structure extraction produced nothing useful | The document has no headings the extractor could recognise | Edit the structure entries manually before generating questions |
| Question generation produced fewer questions than requested | Duplicate questions were removed, or available AI credits ran out | Check your workspace’s remaining credits, then generate again |
| Share link shows an error | The link expired or reached its maximum number of uses | Create a new share link |
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|
| Workspace | The shared container for your documents, exams, and questions. Everything you create belongs to one workspace. |
| Document structure | The chapter and section tree extracted from an uploaded document. Question generation works from it. |
| Question bank | Every question your workspace has generated or written, reusable across exams. |
| Share link | A token URL that opens one exam without requiring an account. |
| Credits | The unit of AI work your plan grants each period. Generation consumes credits. |