> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.uflo.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Before Grading

> Upload scanned exams, mark answer zones, and identify student submissions

## <Badge color="green" size="lg" icon="cloud-arrow-up" iconType="regular">Phase 3.1</Badge> Uploading Exams and Marking Zones

After students complete the exam, collect, disassemble, and scan the pages for upload to Uflo.

### Scanning Best Practices

Scan quality directly affects how accurately Uflo can identify student submissions and grade handwritten responses. Follow these guidelines for the best results:

* Use a <Tooltip tip="a scanner with a glass surface where you place pages face-down to scan" headline="Flatbed Scanner">flatbed</Tooltip> or <Tooltip tip="a scanner tray that feeds pages through automatically" headline="Automatic Document Feeder">ADF</Tooltip> scanner for bulk scanning. Smartphone camera apps can work but are less reliable at scale.
* Scan in black and white at 150 <Tooltip tip="higher values capture more detail but produce larger files" headline="Dots Per Inch">DPI</Tooltip> minimum. 300 DPI is preferred for small handwriting.
* Save as a single multi-page PDF, not individual image files.
* Disable automatic image enhancements ("auto-rotate," "skip blank pages," "crop to content") as these can alter orientation or remove pages.
* Scan all pages in the same orientation (portrait or landscape).

<Warning>
  **Avoid Physical Damage**

  Do not fold, crumple, or rubber-band pages. Physical damage to pages, especially near the [QR code](/instructors/grading/before-printing#phase-1-2-qr-codes-and-printing), prevents Uflo from reading the code during upload.
</Warning>

<Check>
  **Best Practice**

  After scanning, scroll through the PDF to verify pages are scanned in the same orientation, QR codes are visible, and no pages are missing or duplicated.
</Check>

### Marking Zones

Once you have a clean PDF of the scanned exams, follow these steps to upload them to Uflo:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Navigate to the Grading App">
    Navigate to the [assessment you created](/instructors/grading/before-administering), click SYNC, and select Import Submissions.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload Submissions">
    Upload collected PDF scans. There are no restrictions on the number of files or pages.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review Zones">
    Uflo automatically detects important landmarks on each template page: student identifiers, page numbers, QR codes, questions, and response boxes.

    Review each template page to ensure all detected boundaries are correct. If a boundary is misaligned, drag the handles to adjust it. Boundaries are allowed to overlap.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify Zones">
    Verify zones against a sample of scanned pages to confirm alignment is consistent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start Processing">
    Review the summary, then process the exam to identify students and their submissions.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  **No QR Codes? Use Page Numbers**

  If the exam was printed without QR codes, use page numbers to identify and order pages.
</Note>

***

## <Badge color="green" size="lg" icon="id-card" iconType="regular">Phase 3.2</Badge> Identifying Student Submissions

After processing, Uflo groups scanned pages into submissions and matches them to students.

### Identifying Issues

From the top navbar, use the filter tabs (Errors, Warnings) and issue navigation arrows to work through flagged submissions. Common issues include:

* Missing, duplicate, or extra pages inside a submission
* Student not identified or not found in roster
* Orphaned pages that couldn't be grouped into a submission

### Fixing Issues

Depending on the nature of the issue, Uflo provides a variety of tools to easily solve them:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Assign a student to submission">
    Use the search dropdown inside the submission card to assign a student.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Re-order submission pages">
    Drag page thumbnails between submissions to move shuffled pages.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Split or merge submissions">
    Split a submission at any page boundary, or merge it into the previous one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Delete pages or submissions">
    Delete individual pages or entire submissions that are not needed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="View source PDF">
    Clicking on a page thumbnail will open the PDF the submission is from.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Warning>
  **Manually Review Student Assignments**

  Use the student info thumbnail in each submission to verify the name is correct. Delete any submission whose name/id is illegible and re-upload once you've confirmed their identity.
</Warning>

### Uploading Additional Scans

Use the Scans tab in the navbar to view uploaded PDFs, remove a scan, or upload additional scans for reprocessing. You can upload new scans even after grading takes place.

<Card title="Next: Grading Submissions" icon="clipboard-check" href="/instructors/grading/grading-the-exam">
  Run AI grading, import results, and review scores.
</Card>