Texva vs MyTeX — two ways to build a Vietnamese exam paper
MyTeX is built on LaTeX and ex_test and is strong for people who already type source. Texva does the same job through a visual interface. A straight comparison.
Who each tool is for
MyTeX is a Vietnamese teacher-community toolkit for multiple-choice papers, built around LaTeX and the `ex_test` package: you type questions in its syntax and it shuffles the paper and generates the key. It solves the Vietnamese exam problem, and solves it well — provided you accept working inside a source file. Texva solves the same problem at the interface layer: the same shuffling and answer keys, but you see the paper as it will print while you write it.
Side by side
| Area | Texva | MyTeX |
|---|---|---|
| Entering questions | Visual question blocks, printed layout visible as you type | `ex_test` syntax inside a `.tex` file |
| Shuffling and answer keys | Yes, inside the document | Yes — this is what it was built for |
| An existing `ex_test` bank | Not read directly today | Its native format |
| Drawing figures | Geometry, graphing and variation-table canvases exporting TikZ | TikZ written by hand, or an external tool |
| Setup | Opens in a browser; a desktop build for offline work | Install TeX Live and the packages — heavy, but fully local |
| Beyond multiple choice | Lesson plans, slides, theses and class records in the same tool | Focused on exam papers |
| Price | A free tier; paid plans add cloud, collaboration and AI | Free |
When to pick the other one
If you already have a question bank written in `ex_test` syntax — many Vietnamese maths departments have thousands of items like that — MyTeX is where that asset lives, and Texva cannot read that format directly. MyTeX is also entirely free and runs locally against TeX Live, so nothing depends on a service staying up. And for someone fluent in LaTeX, typing syntax still beats clicking.
What moving to Texva involves
The realistic route is not moving the archive but moving the work: author new papers in Texva and leave the old bank where it is. If you have PDFs of past papers, import the PDF or a photo of it — Texva rebuilds them as editable questions, separating the answers out. The test for whether it is worth switching is simple: build one 40-question paper on each side and time yourself.
Common questions
- Does Texva handle the THPT 2025 format?
- Yes — all three parts: four-option multiple choice, four-statement true/false, and short numeric answers. There is a ready-made template matching the structure, plus a specification blueprint.
- Can I mark answer sheets?
- Yes. Texva prints answer sheets and marks them by OMR from a photo, matched against the key for that paper code.
- Can I use both?
- Yes, and for many departments that is the sensible order: keep the old bank in MyTeX, author new papers and slides in Texva. Texva exports `.tex`, so neither locks the other out.
Related templates
- THPT 2025 Exam — Full Three-Part Format (Vietnam)Full THPT 2025 format: multiple-choice + 4-statement true/false + short numeric-answer questions, matching the official 2025 structure.
- Exam Blueprint and Specification Table (Vietnam)Standard assessment matrix + specification tables (per the official circular format) for planning an exam.
- 40-Question Multiple-Choice WorksheetA dense two-column, multiple-choice-only review sheet with an answer table at the end.