Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is R's PlacePrep (or PlacePrep)?

R's PlacePrep is an online exam preparation and assessment platform designed to help students prepare for campus placement drives and university examinations. It provides company practice questions, previous year papers, courses, online exams, and placement listings.

Who can use R's PlacePrep?

The platform has three roles:

• Students: practice questions, take exams, and apply to placements
• Administrators: create exams, evaluate submissions, and manage placements for their college
• Super Administrators: everything above, plus role management and platform-wide access

Is R's PlacePrep free to use?

Currently, YES.

Which browsers are supported?

R's PlacePrep works best on:

• Google Chrome (recommended)
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Safari (for macOS and iOS)

Ensure your browser is updated to the latest version for the best experience.

Do I need to install any software?

No. R's PlacePrep is a web-based platform that works entirely in your browser. No downloads or installations are required.

Account and Access

How do I create an account?

1. Click "Sign Up" on the homepage
2. Provide your name, email, and password
3. Choose your university (BEU or Others) and enter your registration number — for BEU your college is filled in automatically
4. Pick your branch
5. Submit the form
6. You'll be automatically logged in

You can also sign up with Google, then complete these details on the Complete Profile page.

Is there a CAPTCHA?

Yes, on the login page. Signup does not have one.

I forgot my password. What should I do?

Click Forgot Password on the login page, enter your email, and follow the link sent to your inbox.

Can I change my email address?

Email addresses are unique identifiers and typically cannot be changed. Contact your administrator if you need to update your email.

Why can't I login?

Common reasons:

• Incorrect email or password
• CAPS LOCK is enabled
• Account hasn't been created yet
• Browser cookies are disabled

See the Troubleshooting guide for detailed solutions.

Can I have multiple accounts?

Each user should maintain only one account. Multiple accounts for the same person are not permitted.

Exams

How do I join an exam?

Sign in, click Join Exam on your dashboard, and enter the exam code your admin gave you (it looks like xxx-xxx-xxx) along with your email. Exams are not listed publicly — the code is the only way in.

When can I attempt an exam?

Exams are available only within their scheduled time window (between start time and end time). You cannot attempt an exam before it starts or after it ends.

Can I attempt an exam multiple times?

No. Each student can attempt an exam once.

What happens if I lose internet connection during an exam?

Reconnect as quickly as possible and return to the exam page. Your attempt resumes with the remaining time. Contact your admin if something looks wrong.

Can I pause an exam and resume later?

No. The timer keeps running whether or not you're on the page.

What if I accidentally close the exam tab?

The timer continues running. Reopen the exam page quickly — your attempt resumes with whatever time is left. Note that if the exam enforces fullscreen, leaving the tab counts as a violation.

Can I review questions before submitting?

Yes. You can navigate to any question during the exam using the question navigator. Review your answers before submitting if time permits.

What happens when time runs out?

The exam automatically submits when the timer reaches zero. All answers you've selected up to that point are recorded.

Fullscreen Mode

What is fullscreen mode?

Fullscreen mode expands the exam to fill your entire screen, minimizing distractions and preventing access to other applications.

Is fullscreen mode mandatory?

Only if the administrator has enabled "Enforce Fullscreen" for that specific exam. Not all exams require fullscreen.

What happens if I exit fullscreen?

If fullscreen is enforced:

• First exit: a warning overlay is displayed
• Second exit: the exam auto-submits

Does switching tabs count too?

Yes. If fullscreen is enforced, switching to another tab or window is detected separately. The first switch shows a warning; the second auto-submits your exam.

How do I re-enter fullscreen if I accidentally exit?

Click the button on the warning overlay. F11 and Esc are blocked while you're inside the exam.

Can I use multiple monitors in fullscreen mode?

Fullscreen works best on a single monitor. Disable additional monitors or ensure the exam is on your primary display.

Questions and Answers

Can I skip questions?

Yes. Use the navigation buttons to move to any question. Skipped questions remain unanswered and can be returned to later.

Can I change my answer?

Yes, as long as the exam is still active. Navigate back to the question and select a different option.

How are questions scored?

• Correct Answer: Full points for the question
• Wrong Answer: Negative points if negative marking is enabled
• Unanswered: Zero points

What is negative marking?

Negative marking deducts a percentage of the question's points for incorrect answers. The percentage is specified in the exam settings.

When should I guess?

Consider these factors:

• If there's no negative marking, guessing doesn't hurt
• If negative marking is 25%, you need >25% confidence to guess
• Skip if you have no idea and there's negative marking

How are coding questions evaluated?

Your code is not executed and there are no test cases. After the exam, an administrator evaluates it manually or with AI assistance, and you'll see the marks and feedback on your Review Answers page.

If you leave a coding question effectively blank, it's treated as unattempted and scored zero without needing review.

Can I see explanations for questions?

After your attempt is evaluated, the Review Answers page shows your answer, the correct answer, the marks awarded, and any evaluator or AI feedback.

Results and Ranking

When will I see my results?

• Objective-only exams: results appear immediately after submission
• Exams with coding questions you attempted: the attempt is marked "partially evaluated" and your final score appears once an admin finishes grading

What does my rank mean?

Rank indicates your position among all students who attempted the exam. It's calculated based on:

1. Total score (primary factor)
2. Time taken (tiebreaker for same scores)

Why isn't my rank showing?

Possible reasons:

• Administrator disabled ranking for this exam
• Not enough participants yet
• Results are still being processed

Can I see others' answers?

No. For privacy and academic integrity, you can only view your own answers and the correct answers.

How is percentage calculated?

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Percentage = (Your Score / Total Possible Score) × 100

What's the difference between score and percentage?

• Score: Actual points earned (e.g., 45 out of 60)
• Percentage: Score as a percentage (e.g., 75%)

Can I download my results?

Not at the moment. You can view your results and attempt history on the dashboard, but there is no personal export. Administrators can export an exam's full results as CSV.

PDF and Word export is available for company question sets and PYQ papers, not for exam results.

Practice Mode

What is practice mode?

Practice mode lets you study questions without time limits or pressure. You can toggle answer visibility and work at your own pace.

Are practice questions the same as exam questions?

Practice questions come from the same pool used for exams, but the specific questions in an exam may vary.

Can I see answers immediately in practice mode?

Yes. Each question has a Show Answer button, and you can switch the whole page between "Full View" and "Questions Only".

Does practice mode affect my score or ranking?

No. Practice is for learning only. It isn't scored or timed and doesn't contribute to your statistics.

How often are practice questions updated?

Administrators regularly add new questions and update existing ones. Check back frequently for new content.

Dashboard and Analytics

What statistics can I see?

• Total exams attempted
• Average, best, and lowest score
• Your score trend across attempts
• Your score distribution across bands
• A breakdown of your attempts by status

These are based on your own attempts — there is no peer comparison or percentile.

How can I improve my performance?

1. Review incorrect answers from past exams
2. Identify weak topics from analytics
3. Practice those topics extensively
4. Attempt timed practice to improve speed
5. Learn from explanations provided

Why are some metrics not available?

Some charts need more than one scored attempt before they appear. More data becomes available as you attempt more exams.

Technical Issues

The platform is running slowly. What should I do?

1. Close unnecessary browser tabs
2. Clear browser cache
3. Check internet connection
4. Disable browser extensions
5. Try a different browser

I found a bug. How do I report it?

Contact your administrator with:

• Description of the bug
• Steps to reproduce
• Screenshots if possible
• Browser and device information

Can I use mobile devices?

Yes. The platform is mobile-responsive. However, for exams (especially with fullscreen mode), a desktop or laptop is recommended.

Are there keyboard shortcuts?

Standard browser navigation works: Tab to move between elements, Enter to activate, and arrow keys within option groups. During a fullscreen-enforced exam, F11 and Esc are deliberately blocked.

Privacy and Security

Is my data secure?

Authentication, password hashing, and storage are handled by Appwrite. Sessions use httpOnly cookies, API routes verify your role on every request, and uploaded photos and resumes live in a private storage bucket.

See the Privacy Policy for the full details.

Who can see my exam results?

• You can always see your own results
• Administrators can view results for evaluation
• Other students cannot see your individual results

Can administrators see my answers during the exam?

Administrators can see your progress while you're attempting, but your answers are evaluated after submission.

What data is collected?

The platform collects:

• Account information (name, email, registration number, college, branch)
• Exam attempts and answers
• TNP profile data, if you fill one in
• Usage analytics

Company-Specific Questions

Which companies are covered?

Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, Deloitte, EY GDS, Genpact, Goldman Sachs, HCLTech, IBM, Infosys, LTIMindtree, TCS, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro. More are added over time.

Are these official company questions?

Questions are curated based on commonly reported patterns and formats but are not official company material.

How current is the content?

Administrators update content regularly to reflect latest exam patterns. Check content dates for specific recency.

Can I request content for a specific company?

Contact your administrator with requests. They may add content based on demand and availability.

Administrative Questions

How do I become an admin?

A super admin adds your email to the reserved admin list from the admin panel. Contact your institution's platform manager. After being added, sign out and back in for the role to apply.

Can students see draft exams?

No. Draft exams cannot be joined, even with a code.

Can I reuse questions across exams?

Yes. Pool questions can be added to as many exams as you like.

Support

How do I get help with an issue?

1. Check this FAQ
2. Review the Troubleshooting guide
3. Consult the relevant documentation section
4. Contact your administrator
5. Report technical issues with details

Is there a user manual?

Yes. The documentation section includes comprehensive guides:

• Introduction
• Student Guide
• Admin Guide
• Exam Management
• Dashboard Overview

Can I suggest new features?

Yes. Provide feedback to your administrator. Feature requests are considered for future updates.

Where can I learn more?

Explore the complete documentation:

• Browse all documentation sections
• Use the search feature to find specific topics
• Check the table of contents for comprehensive coverage

Placements

What is the TNP section?

TNP stands for Training and Placement. The TNP section on R's PlacePrep lets you browse placement opportunities posted by your college's TNP cell. You can see the company name, role, package, deadline, and apply directly.

How do I access TNP posts?

Log in and click "Placements" in the dashboard navigation. You need a completed and locked TNP profile before posts will load.

Why can't I see any TNP posts?

You can only see posts that are:

• Targeted to your college (or to all colleges)
• Open to your branch
• Open to your current year
• Still within the deadline

If no posts match, you won't see any listings. Also check that your TNP profile is submitted and locked.

Can I apply to a placement through this platform?

It depends on the post. Some posts use Direct Apply, which submits your TNP profile straight to the admin with no external form. Others send you to an external link or Google Form, and the platform tracks that you applied.

Can I see past placement posts?

Yes. Posts that have crossed their deadline are shown under the "Past" tab in the TNP section.

I'm from a college not listed on the platform. Can I still use it?

If your BEU college is not in the supported list, your college shows as "Other" and you may not see college-specific placements. You can request your college to be added — see below.

BEU Supported Colleges

The platform currently supports the following 38 colleges under Bihar Engineering University (BEU). Your college is automatically detected from your registration number during signup.

My college is not listed. How do I get it added?

If your BEU college is not in the list above, you can request it to be added. Please send an email to rs4101976@gmail.com with the following details:

• Your college name (full name)
• College code (3-digit code from your registration number)
• City

We will add your college to the platform as soon as possible.

Tip: Your college code is the 3 digits at positions 5–7 of your BEU registration number. For example, if your registration number is 22105109024, the college code is 109.

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Self-Hosting / Exam Mode

What is "Exam Mode"?

Exam Mode is an offline-capable version of PlacePrep designed for in-person exams on a LAN (Wi-Fi network). When enabled, the app runs against a local Appwrite instance (Docker on your machine) instead of the cloud. This means the exam works even with no internet — students connect over Wi-Fi to the exam machine.

What do I need to run an offline exam?

• One laptop/PC running Windows, Mac, or Linux with Docker Desktop installed
• The same machine running bun run exam:start
• A Wi-Fi router (or hotspot) connecting all student devices to the exam machine
• Students access the exam via a browser at http://<exam-machine-ip>:3000

No internet is required on the exam day — only for the pre-exam sync (pulling data) and post-exam sync (pushing results).

What is the student's password during an offline exam?

All students share the same password, which is the value you set for EXAM_PASSWORD_PREFIX in your .env file. For example, if you set EXAM_PASSWORD_PREFIX=exam2026, every student types exam2026 as their password.

Set it to something short and easy to type before running the pre-exam sync.

How do I start the exam server?

powershellCopy Code
bun run exam:start

This starts both Docker (local Appwrite) and the Next.js dev server in one command.

How do I stop the exam server?

powershellCopy Code
bun run exam:stop

If Ctrl+C doesn't stop the server, use this command instead. It kills the Next.js process and stops Docker containers.

Do I need to rebuild after changing .env?

Yes. After changing any environment variable (especially EXAM_MODE, EXAM_PASSWORD_PREFIX, or any APPWRITE_LOCAL_* value), run:

powershellCopy Code
bun run build

Then restart with bun run exam:start.

What happens during "Pre-Exam Sync (Cloud → Local)"?

The sync pulls from the cloud:

• All registered student accounts
• Exam data (questions, sections, settings)
• Admin email lists (so admins can log in locally)

It never deletes existing local student answers or attempts. It's safe to run multiple times.

What happens during "Post-Exam Sync (Local → Cloud)"?

The sync pushes to the cloud:

• All submitted exam attempts
• All student answers
• Manual evaluation queue entries
• Any new users who signed up or were registered locally during the exam

It never deletes any existing cloud user or data. It's safe to re-run if it fails partway through.

A student signed up during the exam. Will their account appear in the cloud after sync?

Yes. The Post-Exam Sync now automatically detects locally-created accounts that don't exist in the cloud and creates them. They'll be created with the exam password (EXAM_PASSWORD_PREFIX) so they can log in to the cloud app.

What password does a newly synced student use on the cloud app?

Students who were created locally (walk-ins or sign-ups) are synced to cloud with the exam password (EXAM_PASSWORD_PREFIX value). They should use that to log in to the cloud app after the exam. If they want their own password, they can reset it via the "Forgot Password" flow.

Can a student take the exam if they weren't pre-registered?

Yes. Either let them sign up on the local app as normal, or create the account directly via the POST /api/exam-mode/register-local endpoint. Either way the account is created locally and pushed to the cloud during the post-exam sync. See the Technical Reference for the request format.

The exam dashboard shows students from previous exams. Why?

The dashboard only shows students from currently active (live) exams. If you're seeing old data, it may mean old exam records are still in the local database. Run a fresh Pre-Exam Sync, or wipe the local data with docker compose -f docker/exam-mode/docker-compose.yml down -v and re-sync.

Is it safe to run the Pre-Exam Sync again once the exam has started?

Yes. The pre-exam sync does not delete student answers or exam attempts — it only pulls users, exams, and questions down from the cloud. Still, always sync to cloud before wiping local data.

The exam's end time passed but students are still in the exam. Why didn't it auto-submit?

Auto-submit works in two layers:

1. Student timer: the student's timer counts down and submits when it reaches zero
2. Server sweep: the exam dashboard fires a sweep every 15 seconds that force-submits any timed-out attempt

The sweep is driven by the browser, not a cron job. If it didn't run, check:

• Is the exam dashboard open, with the Auto-refresh (15s) checkbox ticked?
• Is EXAM_MODE=true in .env?

You can also force-submit any student manually from the dashboard.

How do I wipe all local exam data after the exam?

Only do this after you've confirmed the post-exam sync succeeded:

powershellCopy Code
docker compose -f docker/exam-mode/docker-compose.yml down -v

The -v flag removes the Docker volumes — this permanently deletes all local Appwrite data (users, exams, attempts, answers). The database schema is gone too, so you'd need to run bun run setup:appwrite:local before the next exam.

Students can't reach the exam server from their devices

1. Make sure all devices are on the same Wi-Fi network as the exam machine
2. Find the exam machine's local IP: run ipconfig (Windows) and look for IPv4 Address
3. Students open http://<that-ip>:3000 in their browser
4. If it still doesn't work, check Windows Firewall — run this to allow port 3000:

   powershellCopy Code
   netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="PlacePrep Exam" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=3000

For a full list of commands and troubleshooting steps, see the Technical Reference.