Creating Question Library questions

Types of questions

You can create the following question types in Question Library:

  • True or False (T/F)
  • Multiple Choice (M/C)
  • Multi-Select (M-S)
  • Written Response (WR)
  • Short Answer (SA)
  • Multi-Short Answer (MSA)
  • Fill in the Blanks (FIB)
  • Matching (MAT)
  • Ordering (ORD)
  • Arithmetic (2+2)
  • Significant Figures (x10)

You can create the following information items in Question Library:

  • Text Information (TXT)
  • Image Information (IMG)

Note: The new question creation experience is available to create Multiple Choice, True or False, Written Response, and Short Answer questions. When instructors use the new question creation experience, they can preview equations inline when creating quiz questions.

Administrators can no longer opt out of the new Quizzing experience.

The Initial Text field is available for new Written Response questions in the new Quizzing experience.

Create true or false questions

True or false (T/F) questions present a statement which respondents must determine is correct or incorrect.

If you are using the new question creation experience:

  1. In the Question Text field, enter your true or false question. A preview of the question appears in the preview pane as you begin creating the question.
  2. In the Answers area, select True or False as the correct answer.
  3. Set the number of points for the true or false question.
  4. From the Options drop-down list, optionally, specify the following:
    • To add feedback for each answer, select Add Feedback.
    • To add a hint to the question, select Add Hint.
    • To add a short description to the question, select Add Short Description.
    • To select how you want your options to be enumerated, select an option from the Add Enumeration > Enumeration drop-down list.
  5. Click Save.

If you are using the original question creation experience:

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click True or False Question (T/F).
  2. In the General area, enter your true or false question details.
  3. In the Options area, do the following:
    • From the Enumeration drop-down list, select how you want your options to be enumerated.
    • Select how you want your question to display.
    • In the Weight (%) fields, enter the weight for each response.

Create multiple choice questions

Multiple choice (M/C) questions present a statement or question with a list of possible answers, in which learners must choose the best possible answer. Multiple choice questions differ from multi-select questions in that learners select one answer for each multiple choice question.

If you create a multiple choice question that has more than one possible solution, you can weight the answer according to the correctness of each possible answer.

For example, if two answer choices out of five options are accepted as correct, both can be weighted 100% and the other three options can be weighted at 0%. If all five answer choices are accepted as correct but some are more correct than others, each can be weighted in ascending order with the most correct answers weighted more than the least correct answers.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Multiple Choice Question (MC).
  2. If you are directed to the welcome page, to use the new question creation experience, click Leave it on.
    Or,
    To return to the original question creation experience, click Turn it off.

If you are using the new question creation experience:

  1. In the Question Text* field, enter your multiple choice question. A preview of the question appears in the preview pane as you begin creating the question.
  2. In the Answers * area, enter the answers for the multiple choice question.
  3. To add additional answers, click Add Answer.
  4. If you want to allow each learner to submit random answers, select the Randomize answers for each learner check box.
  5. Set the number of points for the multiple choice question.
  6. From the Options drop-down list, optionally, specify the following:
    • To add feedback for each answer, select Add Feedback.
    • To add a hint to the question, select Add Hint.
    • To add a percentage weight for each answer, select Add Custom Weights. You can set different weights for each answer if some solutions are more correct than others.
    • To add a short description to the question, select Add Short Description.
    • To select how you want your options to be enumerated, select an option from the Add Enumeration > Enumeration drop-down list.
  7. Click Save.

If you are using the original question creation experience:

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Multiple Choice Question (MC).
  2. In the General area, enter your multiple choice question details.
  3. In the Options area, do the following:
    • To set how your options must be enumerated, select an option from the Enumeration drop-down list.
    • Select how you want your question to display.
  4. Enter a choice in each Value field and the weight you want to assign the answer (you can set different weights if some solutions are more correct than others).
  5. To include additional answers, click Add Option.
  6. To verify your question, click Preview.
Create multi-select questions

Multi-select (M-S) questions require respondents to identify one or more correct answers in a list of possible answers. Unlike multiple choice (MC) questions, multi-select questions enable you to choose a grading format and allow users to select more than one answer.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Multi-Select Question (M-S).
  2. In the General area, enter your multi-select question details.
  3. In the Options area, do the following:
    • From the Enumeration drop-down list, select how you want your options to be enumerated.
    • Select how you want your question to display.
    • Select your grading method.
    • Enter a choice in each Value field. Select the Correct check box for every right answer.
  4. To verify your question, click Preview.

Understanding grading options for multi-select questions

There are three possible grading options for multi-select questions:

There are three possible grading options for multi-select questions:

  • All or nothing - Users receive full points for the question only if they select all the correct answers and none of the incorrect answers. Users receive zero points for the entire question if they miss any correct answers or select any incorrect answers.
  • Right minus wrong - Users receive points equal to the number of right answers they choose minus the number of incorrect answers they choose. Users can receive a minimum of zero on a question; they cannot receive a negative mark.
    To calculate how much each answer is worth, the system takes the total number of points assigned to the question and divides it by the total number of answer choices.
    For example, if a question is worth 10 points total and has 5 answer choices, each choice is worth 2 points (10/5=2). Correct answers are worth +2 points each and incorrect answers are worth -2 points each. If the user selects 3 correct answers and 2 incorrect answers, they would receive 2 points for each correct answer and lose 2 points for each incorrect answer, resulting in a total score of 2 points for the question [3(2)+2(-2)=2].
  • Correct answers - Users receive points for each correct answer they select and for each incorrect answer they leave blank. Incorrect answers selected, and correct answers left blank, are not counted.
Create written response questions

Written response (WR) questions require respondents to write detailed answers in response to open-ended questions. You can enable users to respond in multiple sentences, paragraph answers, or mathematical explanations and calculations. Users can also respond in HTML code.

Note: HTML code is sometimes stripped from saved written responses if a learner refreshes the page while taking the quiz. As a best practice, encourage users to save a version of their HTML response locally in case they need to refresh the page.

Written response questions are not auto-graded.

  1. In the Question Library, click New, then click Written Response (WR).
  2. In the Question Text field, enter your written response question details.
  3. If you want learners to be able to format their answer, select the Enable HTML Editor for learner responses check box.
  4. In the Default Points field, enter the points learners will receive for answering the whole question correctly.
  5. From the Options drop-down list, do one of the following:
    • To add feedback for the answer, select Add Feedback.
    • To add a hint to the question, select Add Hint.
    • To add a short description to the question, select Add Short Description.
    • To add an answer key to assist evaluators in their marking, select Add Answer Key.
    • To add a custom size to the response box, select Add Custom Response Box Size.
  6. To verify your question, click Preview.
  7. Click Save.

The Initial Text field is available for Written Response questions. To add Initial Text to Written Response questions:

  1. In the Question Library, click New, and from the dropdown menu select Written Response (WR).
  2. Click Options, and from the dropdown menu select Add Initial Text.
  3. Enter the desired initial text in the Initial Text (for student responses) field, then click Save.

Create short answer questions

Short answer (SA) questions require respondents to create one word or brief sentence answers in response to open-ended questions.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Short Answer Question (SA).
  2. Do one of the following:
    • If you are directed to the Welcome to the new Question Creation Experience page, to use the new question creation experience, click Leave it on.
    • If you are directed to the Welcome to the new Question Creation Experience page, to return to the original question creation experience, click Turn it off.
    • If you are not directed to the welcome page for the new question creation experience, proceed to create your SA question with the original experience.

If you are using the new question creation experience:

  1. In the Question Text field, enter your short answer question details.
  2. In the Answers for Blank 1 field, enter your answer(s).
  3. From the abc drop-down list for blank 1, select the comparison method, that is Text, Case-Sensitive Text, or Regular Expression. All answers for a blank are assessed using the same comparison method.
  4. If you want to add more blanks, click Add Blank and enter your answer(s).
  5. For all additional blanks, select the comparison method.
  6. In the Default Points field, enter the points learners will receive for answering the question correctly.
  7. From the How are points assigned to blanks? drop down list, select one of the following options:
    • Students will receive part marks - The default points for each blank are calculated automatically and evenly distributed.
    • Students must answer all blanks correctly - The default points will only be awarded if the learner answers all blanks accurately.
  8. From the Options drop-down list, do one of the following:
    • To add overall feedback for the answer, select Add Feedback.
    • To add a hint to the question, select Add Hint.
    • To add a short description to the question, select Add Short Description.
  9. To verify your question, click Preview.
  10. Click Save.

If you are using the original question creation experience:

  1. In the General area, enter your short answer question details.
  2. Enter your answer in the Answer field and select your Evaluation method.
  3. In the Weight (%) field, set a weight for each possible solution.
  4. To add additional answers, click Add Answer.
  5. To verify your question, click Preview.

Note: As a best practice, D2L recommends that the weight of each possible solution equals 100% if you require only one answer. If your question requires multiple answers, and each answer has several possible solutions, we recommend that the combined weight of each answer's most correct solution be equal to 100%.

Create multi-short answer questions

Multi-short answer (MSA) questions require respondents to answer a multi-solution question and input their answers into individual input boxes. Respondent's answers are checked against each possible answer stored in the answer fields. D2L recommends that the required number of answers corresponds with the number of input boxes provided.

An MSA question's maximum point value is reflected by a 100% weight. As a best practice, D2L recommends that each possible answer's weight calculation equals 100% divided by the number of answers required by the question.

Multi-short answer questions differ from short answer (SA) questions in that the multi-short answer question enables you to create multiple answer boxes which all relate to one answer set; short answer questions also support multiple answer boxes, but each requires a distinct set of possible answers. The short answer question type is ideal if you need to create a multi-part question that cannot share the same answer pool.

For example, the question "Name 3 state capitals" displays three input boxes to users. Each answer users submit is checked against 51 possible correct answers stored in the answer fields and each answer field has a weight of 33.3%.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Multi-Short Answer Question (MSA).
  2. In the General area, enter your multi-short answer question details.
  3. In the Options area, do the following:
    • In the Input boxes field, enter the number of required answer fields you want your question to have. You can assign the number of rows and columns for each answer field.
    • In the Answer fields, enter the correct answers for your question, the weight for each answer (you can set different weights if some solutions are more correct than others), and how you want the answers to be evaluated.
    • To assign more possible answers for the question, click Add Answer.
  4. To verify your answer, click Preview.
Create fill in the blanks questions

Fill in the blanks (FIB) questions require respondents to fill in one or more missing words for an incomplete sentence, statement, phrase, list, or key terminology.

As a best practice, D2L recommends that answers in blank fields be no more than one or two words to ensure auto-grading accuracy. Your listed order of blank and text fields corresponds with the sequence displayed to users.

An FIB question's maximum point value is reflected by a 100% weight. As a best practice, the combined weight of your answers should equal 100%. If your FIB question has multiple blank fields and each blank field has several possible answers, D2L recommends the combined weight of each blank field's most correct answer equals 100%.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Fill in the Blanks Question (FIB).
  2. In the General area, enter your fill in the blanks question details.
  3. In the Question Text area, do the following:
    • Enter your text.
    • In the Blank #1 area, enter your information, including the answer to the text, the weight you want to assign the answer (you can set different weights if some solutions are more correct than others), and how you want to evaluate the answer.
    • To assign more possible answers for the blank, click Add Answer.
    • To add more blanks to the question, click Add Blank.
    • To add more text to the question, click Add Text.
  4. To verify your question, click Preview.

Understanding grading options for short answer, multi-short answer, and fill in the blanks questions

There are three possible grading options for short answer, multi-short answer, and fill in the blanks questions:

  • Case Insensitive - Auto-grading searches for a matching character pattern in the answer text with or without letter case correctness.
  • Case Sensitive - Auto-grading searches for a matching character pattern in the answer text that must have letter case correctness.
  • Regular Expression - Auto-grading uses meta-characters to search for one or more matching strings in the answer text's character pattern. What you set as meta-character parameters helps determine letter case sensitivity.
Create matching questions

Matching (MAT) questions require respondents to choose from a set of possible match choices from drop-down lists and correctly pair them with related items. This question type enables you to assess users' recognition of information and demonstrate comprehension of specific relationships.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Matching Question (MAT).
  2. In the General area, enter your matching question details.
  3. In the Choices area, do the following:
    • Select the grading method for the question.
    • In each Value field, enter a choice.
    • To add additional values for the question, click Add Choice.
  4. In the Matches area, do the following:
    • In each Value field, enter a choice.
    • To add additional matches for the question, click Add Match.
    • From the drop-down list for each matching value, select the corresponding Correct Choice.
  5. To verify your question, click Preview.

Create ordering questions

Ordering (ORD) questions require respondents to arrange a series of items into a correct sequence or order.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Ordering Question (ORD).
  2. In the General area, enter your ordering question details.
  3. In the Options area, do the following:
    • Select your grading method.
    • In each Value field, enter a choice. To add more values, click Add Item.
    • From the Correct Order drop-down list for each value, set the order of the values. The first value in the correct order should be "1".
  4. To verify your question, click Preview.
Understanding grading options for matching and ordering questions

There are three possible grading options for matching and ordering questions:

  • Equally weighted -The total point value is divided equally among all possible correct matches. Users receive equally weighted points for each correct answer.
  • All or nothing - Users receive full points for the question if they select all of the correct answers and none of the incorrect answers. Users receive zero points if they miss any correct answers or select any incorrect answers.
  • Right minus wrong - Users receive points equal to the number of right answers they choose minus the number of incorrect answers they choose. To determine how much each answer is worth, the system takes the total number of points assigned to the question and divides it by the total number of answer choices. For example, if a question is worth 10 points and has 5 answer choices, each correct answer is worth 2 points, and each incorrect answer is worth - 2 points (10/5 = 2). If a user gives 3 correct answers and 2 incorrect answers, 2 is the total number of points received for the question [(3*2)+(2*-2)]. Users can receive a minimum of zero on a question; they cannot receive a negative mark.
Create arithmetic questions

Arithmetic questions enable you to assess users' knowledge and comprehension of mathematics and number theory. You can ensure each respondent receives a unique question by including variables enclosed with curly braces that randomly generate numbers within the problem. For example, if you set variables x, y, and z with a Min 1 to Max 5 number range in 1-step increments, the question “You have {x} green marbles, {y} red marbles, and {z} blue marbles. How many marbles do you have in total?” will randomly generate a rational number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) for {x}, {y}, and {z}.

As a best practice, D2L recommends that you create written response (WR) question types for arithmetic problems that require users to demonstrate their calculations and show their work.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Arithmetic Question (2+2).
  2. In the General area, enter your arithmetic question details using the following supported operations, functions and constants:
    EnumerationsDescription 
     +,-,*,/,\,^Basic mathematical operators
    %Modulo (remainder) operator
    {x}^{y}x to the power of y
    abs({n})Absolute value of n
    cos({n})The cosine of n (in radians)
    sin({n})The sine of n (in radians)
    sqr({n})The square root of n
    tan({n})The tangent of n (in radians)
    log({n})The log base 10 of n
    ln({n})The log base e of n
    atan({n})The inverse tangent of n
    sec({n})The secant of n
    cosec({n})The cosecant of n
    cotan({n})The cotangent of n
    FactorialFactorial of n, or (n!)
    expThe power of natural log (e)
     pi pi 3.14159 (accurate up to 50 decimal places)
     e e 2.71828 (accurate up to 50 decimal places)
    To verify your formula before sharing it with learners, click Test.
  3. In the Variables area, do the following:
    • Create any variables you want to use with your question by giving the variable a Name, a minimum value in Min, and a maximum value in Max.
    • Set the number of decimals to provide in the Decimal Places drop-down list.
    • To set the system's incrementing steps as it generates numbers from the range set by the Min and Max fields, enter a number in the Step field.
  4. To verify your question, click Preview.

Create significant figures questions

Significant figures questions require respondents to answer in scientific notation and provide solutions that contain a specified number of significant figures. Math and science courses commonly use this question type. You can ensure each respondent receives a unique question by including variables enclosed with curly braces that randomly generate scientific notations within the problem.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Significant Figures (x10).
  2. In the General area, enter your significant figures question details. To verify your formula before sharing it with learners, click Test.
  3. In the Variables area, do the following:
    • Create any variables you want to use with your question by giving the variable a Name, a minimum value in the Min field, and a maximum value in the Max field.
    • To set the system's incrementing steps as it generates numbers from the range set by the Min and Max fields, enter a number in the Step field.
  4. To verify your question, click Preview.

Understanding arithmetic and significant figures question components

In arithmetic questions, use answer precision to limit the number of acceptable decimal places allowed in a response. You can require that correct answers contain a specific number of decimal places.

In significant figure questions, you can select a percentage of the answer's score to deduct for including incorrect significant figures in a response.

Use tolerance levels to accept near-accurate, estimated, or rounded answers.

Types of supported enumerations in the Formula field

The Formula field supports the following operations, functions, and constants:

Enumerations

Description

+, -, *, /, \, ^

Basic arithmetic operators

%

Modulo (remainder) operator

{x}^{y}

x to the power of y

abs({n})

Absolute value of n

cos({n})

Cosine of n (in radians)

sin({n})

Sine of n (in radians)

sqr({n})

Square root of n

tan({n})

Tangent of n (in radians)

log({n})

Log base 10 of n

ln({n})

Log base e of n

atan({n})

Inverse tangent of n

sec({n})Brightspace Learning Environment

Secant of n

cosec({n})

Cosecant of n

cotan({n})

Cotangent of n

Factorial({n})

Factorial of n, or (n!)

exp

The power of natural log (e)

pi

pi 3.14159 (accurate up to 50 decimal places)

e

e 2.71828 (accurate up to 50 decimal places)
Understanding Brightspace Learning Environment rounding rules

When rounding, Brightspace Learning Environment automatically applies the Round to Half Even rounding rule when assessing answers that contain decimal places that end with "5". Currently, there are no options to change rounding rules. Applying the Round to Half Even rule, answers with decimal places that end with "5" will round down instead of round up.

Example One: 3.41 * 25 = 85.25

If you create an arithmetic question and set the Answer Precision to 1, the correct answer using Round to Half Even is 85.2.

Example Two: -3.41* 25 = -85.25

If you create an arithmetic question and set the Answer Precision to 1, the correct answer using Round to Half Even is -85.2.

You can enter a unit type (mm, cm, grams, inches, etc.) to assess if answers include correct units of measurement. For significant figures questions, you can select a percentage to assign a weighted points value to the measurement unit. If you use units in your question, you can set the following Evaluation options:

  • Case Insensitive - Auto-grading searches for a matching character pattern in the answer text with or without letter case correctness.
  • Case Sensitive - Auto-grading searches for a matching character pattern in the answer text that must have letter case correctness.
  • Regular Expression - Auto-grading uses meta-characters to search for one or more matching strings in the answer text's character pattern. What you set as meta-character parameters helps determine letter case sensitivity.
Create Likert questions

Create Likert (LIK) questions to measure subjective information such as personal opinions, knowledge, abilities, and attitudes. Likert questions enable you to create surveys that evaluate the intensity of respondents' feelings towards statements presented to them.

There are seven measurement scales available to Likert questions: One to Five (1 to 5), One to Eight (1 to 8), Agreement Scale (Disagree–Agree), Satisfaction Scale (Dissatisfied–Satisfied), Frequency Scale (Never–Always), Importance Scale (Unimportant–Important), and Opposition Scale (Oppose–Support).

You can only access Likert questions through the Surveys tool and Question Library. Similar to self assessments, all question types you import into surveys automatically omit point value and difficulty level indicators.

  1. In the Question Library, from the New button, click Likert Question (LIK).
  2. In the General area, enter your Likert question details.
  3. In the Questions area, do the following:
    • Select the Scale you want the question to use.
    • In each Value field, enter a statement. To include additional statements, click Add Option.
  4. To verify your question, click Preview.
Understanding regular expressions

Regular expressions give users grading certain question types the ability to evaluate responses against a set of acceptable values. A regular expression uses alpha-numeric and meta-characters to create a pattern that describes one or more strings that must be identically matched within a body of text.

You can use regular expressions in short answer, multi-short answer, arithmetic, significant figures, and fill in the blanks questions.

For example, the fill in the blank question "What word describes red, blue, green, yellow, pink, etc." can use regular expressions for the answer "colou?r*"

Character

Description

Example

\

Marks the next character as a special character, a literal, a back-reference, or an octal escape.

The sequence \\ matches \ and \( matches (

n matches the character n

\n matches a new-line character

^

Matches the position at the beginning of the input string. If the RegExp object’s Multi-line property is set, ^ also matches the position following '\n' or '\r'.

^cat matches strings that begin with cat

$

Matches the position at the end of the input string. If the RegExp object’s Multi-line property is set, $ also matches the position preceding '\n' or '\r'.

cat$ matches any string that ends with cat

*

Matches the preceding character or sub-expression zero or more times.

* equals {0,}

be* matches b or be or beeeeeeeeee

zo* matches z and zoo

+

Matches the preceding character or sub-expression one or more times.

+ equals {1,}.

be+ matches be or bee but not b

?

Matches the preceding character or sub-expression zero or one time.

? equals {0,1}

abc? matches ab or abc

colou?r matches color or colour but not colouur

do(es)? matches the do in do or does

 

When this character immediately follows any of the other quantifiers (*, +, ?, {n}, {n,}, {n,m}), the matching pattern is non-greedy. A non-greedy pattern matches as little of the searched string as possible, whereas the default greedy pattern matches as much of the searched string as possible.

In the string oooo, o+? matches a single o, while o+ matches all os

()

Parentheses create a sub-string or item that you can apply meta-characters to.

a(bee)?t matches at or abeet but not abet

{n,}

n is a non-negative integer. Matches exactly n times.

[0-9]{3,} matches any three digits

o{2,} does not match the o in Bob, but matches the two os in food

b{4,} matches bbbb

{n}

n is a non-negative integer. Matches at least n times.

[0-9]{3} matches any three or more digits

o{2} does not match the o in Bob and matches all the os in foooood

o{1} is equivalent to o+

o{0} is equivalent to o*

{n,m}

m and n are non-negative integers, where n <= m. Matches at least n and at most m times.

Note: You cannot put a space between the comma and the numbers.

[0-9]{3,5} matches any three, four, or five digits

o{1,3} matches the first three os in fooooood

o{0,1} is equivalent to o?

c{2, 4} matches cc, ccc, cccc

.

Matches any single character except "\n".

To match any character including the '\n', use a pattern such as '[\s\S]'.

cat. matches catT and cat2 but not catty

(?!)

Makes the remainder of the regular expression case insensitive.

ca(?i)se matches caSE but not CASE

(pattern)

Matches pattern and captures the match. The captured match can be retrieved from the resulting Matches collection, using the SubMatches collection in VBScript or the $0$9 properties in JScript.

To match parentheses characters ( ), use '\(' or '\)'.

(jam){2} matches jamjam

First group matches jam

(?:pattern)

Matches pattern but does not capture the match, that is, it is a non-capturing match that is not stored for possible later use.

This is useful for combining parts of a pattern with the "or" character (|).

industr(?: y|ies) is a more economical expression than industry|industries

(?=pattern)

Positive lookahead matches the search string at any point where a string matching pattern begins. This is a non-capturing match, that is, the match is not captured for possible later use.

Lookaheads do not consume characters: after a match occurs, the search for the next match begins immediately following the last match, not after the characters that comprised the lookahead.

Windows (?=95|98|NT|2000) matches Windows in Windows 2000 but not Windows in Windows 3.1

(?!pattern)

Negative lookahead matches the search string at any point where a string not matching pattern begins. This is a non-capturing match, that is, the match is not captured for possible later use.

Lookaheads do not consume characters, that is, after a match occurs, the search for the next match begins immediately following the last match, not after the characters that comprised the lookahead.

Windows (?!95|98|NT|2000) matches Windows in Windows 3.1 but does not match Windows in Windows 2000

x|y

Matches x or y.

July (first|1st|1) matches July 1st but does not match July 2

z|food matches z or food

( z|f)ood matches zood or food

[xyz]

A character set. Matches any one of the enclosed characters.

gr[ae]y matches gray or grey

[abc] matches the a in plain

[^xyz]

A negative character set. Matches any character not enclosed.

1[^02] matches 13 or 11 but not 10 or 12

[^abc] matches the p in plain

[a-z]

A range of characters. Matches any character in the specified range.

[1-9] matches any single digit except 0

[a-z] matches any lowercase alphabetic character in the range a through z

[^a-z]

A negative range of characters.

Matches any character not in the specified range.

[^a-z] matches any character not in the range a through z

\b

Matches a word boundary: the position between a word and a space.

er\b matches the er in never but not the er in verb

\B

Matches a non-word boundary.

er\B matches the er in verb but not the er in never

\cx

Matches the control character indicated by x.

The value of x must be in the range of A-Z or a-z.

If not, c is assumed to be a literal 'c' character.

\cM matches a Control-M or carriage return character

\d

Matches a digit character.

Equivalent to [0-9]

 

\D

Matches a non-digit character

Equivalent to [^0-9]

 

\f

Matches a form-feed character.

Equivalent to \x0c and \cL

 

\n

Matches a new-line character.

Equivalent to \x0a and \cJ

 

\r

Matches a carriage return character.

Equivalent to \x0d and \cM

 

\s

Matches any white space character including space, tab, form-feed, etc.

Equivalent to [\f\n\r\t\v]

Can be combined in the same way as [\d\s], which matches a character that is a digit or whitespace

\S

Matches any non-white space character.

Equivalent to [^\f\n\r\t\v]

 

\t

Matches a tab character.

Equivalent to \x09 and \cI

 

\v

Matches a vertical tab character.

Equivalent to \x0b and \cK

 

\w

Matches any word character including underscore.

Equivalent to '[A-Za-z0-9_]'

 

\W

Matches any non-word character.

Equivalent to '[^A-Za-z0-9_]'

You should only use \D, \W and \S outside character classes.

 

\Z

Matches the end of the string the regular expression is applied to. Matches a position, but never matches before line breaks.

.\Z matches k in jol\hok

\xn

Matches n, where n is a hexadecimal escape value.

Hexadecimal escape values must be exactly two digits long.

Allows ASCII codes to be used in regular expressions.

\x41 matches A

\x041 is equivalent to \x04 and 1

\num

Matches num, where num is a positive integer.

A reference back to captured matches.

(.)\1 matches two consecutive identical characters

\n

Identifies either an octal escape value or a back-reference.

If \n is preceded by at least n captured sub-expressions, n is a back-reference.

Otherwise, n is an octal escape value if n is an octal digit (0-7).

\11 and \011 both match a tab character

\0011 is the equivalent of 1

\nm

Identifies either an octal escape value or a back-reference.

If \nm is preceded by at least nm captured sub-expressions, nm is a back-reference.

If \nm is preceded by at least n captures, n is a back-reference followed by literal m.

If neither of the preceding conditions exists, \nm matches octal escape value nm when n and m are octal digits (0-7).

 

\nml

Matches octal escape value nml when n is an octal digit (0-3) and m and l are octal digits (0-7).

 

\un

Matches n, where n is a Unicode character expressed as four hexadecimal digits.

For example, \u00A9 matches the copyright symbol (©)