The Hot Spot tool is commonly used for setting clickable, or “hot,” locations on an image, e.g. “Click on a map to select a state”, “Which of these are predators…”, “Identify the tibia …” Some Teachers also use it to have their students cite supporting evidence in reading passages!

To use the Hot spot icon, click and drag over the area you want to be selectable by students. That will bring up the Insert menu. Select "Hot Spot."

The box you drew will turn into a Hot Spot question. You can drag the blue corners of the question to resize it and place it as you wish.

Next, set the answer key for the new Hot Spot. The Question Toolbar will show the following options for your Hot Spot:

Set the "Correct if:" option to Clicked if the item should be clicked by the student to be considered correct or "Not Clicked" if the student should not select this item. You can also set the points and choose whether to display the item with rounded corners.

PRO TIP: You’ll want to use Preview on the VIEW menu to see what your hot spots look like to your students. Be sure to make your boxes big enough so students have large areas on which to click.

Grouping Hot Spots

You can group Hot Spot questions so that they act as a single question. When Hot Spots are grouped, the student must correctly click/not click all the Hot Spots in the group to receive the assigned points.

To join Hot Spots together into a group, click any Hot Spot to select it. Then click each subsequent Hot Spot. As you do so, the boxes will turn blue to signify they’re now part of a scorable answer group.

To remove a Hot Spot from a group, click the Hot Spot, then click the "Remove From Group" button on the Question Toolbar.

Settting Group Options

Once you've grouped Hot Spots, you can choose how that group will behave as a question. Click any of the Hot Spots, then click "Edit" on the Question Toolbar. 

Select one of these options:

The first option makes the grouped Hot Spots behave like a traditional Multiple Choice question where only one Hot Spot is ever clicked. The student can click one of the other Hot Spots to change their answer.

The second option works like a "Checkbox/Multiselect" question where the student can choose at most N hot spots, where N is the number of Hot Spots marked as "Correct if Clicked."

The final option also behaves like a "Checkbox/Multiselect" question but allows students to choose any number of Hot Spots.

Hot Spot Tool Explainer Video

Here’s a quick video explaining how to use this feature: