Question properties

The presentation of questions can be tailored via the Properties.

You have two ways to edit the Question Properties:

Quick Update Box - mandatory properties (e.g. question name, format)
Properties Pane - properties are grouped into expandable sections:
- General - mandatory properties (e.g. question name, format), along with frequently used properties (e.g. filters, helper text, randomization)
- Controls - (Survey Editor (Beta) only) settings that tailor the selected question format. See Controls.
- Advanced - less frequently used properties
- Loop - these properties will be visible when a loop is created
- System - important system properties (only advanced users should edit)

Survey Editor (Legacy)
Survey Editor (Beta)

Double-click a question in the flowchart to open the Quick Update Box. Click the question to show its properties in the Properties Pane.

Quick update box question properties

Property	Description
Question Format	Controls how the question appears to the respondent on screen
Variable Name	Specifies the name of the variable (e.g. Q1, S3a)
Variable Label	Enter a description of the purpose of the variable (if left blank, the Variable Name will be inserted automatically)
Question Text	Enter the question or instruction for the survey respondent here
Helper Text	Appears as an instruction below the Question Text
Define Filter	For questions that are only to be asked of a subset of survey respondents, the definition of those who are to be asked the question is specified here
Skip To	Skip objects only. The question to skip to
No Verbatim	Verbatim and Verbatims questions only. Adds a “nothing to say” checkbox under the text box
Answers / Rows	The answer codes and text, and for grids the sub questions, one per line as `code.text`

In Survey Editor (Beta), Quick Update shows only the fields that apply to the question type. For example, a Transfer object shows URL instead of Question Text, and Module and Sample objects show a Module version or Sample field picker.

Properties Pane General section

Property	Description
Question Format	Controls how the question appears to the respondent on screen
Variable Name	Specifies the name of the variable (e.g. Q1, S3a)
Variable Label	Enter a description of the purpose of the variable (if left blank, the Variable Name will be inserted automatically)
Question Text	Enter the question or instruction for the survey respondent here
Define Filter	For questions that are only to be asked of a subset of survey respondents, the definition of those who are to be asked the question is specified here
Helper Text	Appears as an instruction below the Question Text
Hide	Check this box if you don’t want to display the question to respondents
Skip To Question	Select the question to which you want to skip using the drop down list
Module	Select the module that you want to insert into the script using the drop down list
Width	Sets the width of any text input box (as a proportion of the width of the screen, e.g. 90%)
Height	Sets the height on any text input box (in pixels, e.g. 150px)
Max Length	To restrict the number of characters that the survey respondent can enter into a verbatim or numeric field, specify the maximum number of characters here
Multi-line	Check this box to change a verbatim field to a larger memo text field that will automatically expand as the respondent types in their answer
Verbatim Prefix	Enter any text or image that you wish to appear on the left of the text input field here
Verbatim Suffix	Enter any text or image that you wish to appear to the right of the text input field here
No Verbatim	To include a checkbox option under a verbatim text box, enter the text here (e.g. “No comment”, “Don’t Know”, etc.)
Validation Rule	Double click on the desired validation rule (from the drop down list) to ensure that survey respondents have entered a valid answer
Randomize	Check this box to randomize the presentation of answers to survey respondents
Randomize Column	Check this box if you wish to randomize the presentation of answers within the columns of a grid question
Randomize Rows	Check this box if you wish to randomize the presentation of answers within the rows of a grid question
Rotate	Check this box to rotate the presentation of answers
Rotate Column	Check this box to rotate the presentation of answers within the columns of a Grid question
Rotate Row	Check this box to rotate the presentation of answers within the rows of a Grid question
Start Rotation	Select the first answer to be rotated
Start Rotation Column	Select the first column answer to be rotated
Start Rotation Row	Select the first row answer code to be rotated
End Rotation	Select the last answer to be rotated
End Rotation Column	Select the last column answer to be rotated
End Rotation Row	Select the last row answer to be rotated
Show Back Button	Use to hide or show the Back button for a specific object/page
Show Next Button	Use to hide or show the Next button for a specific object/page
Finish Action	For Instruction and Transfer questions, you must specify the action required when the survey respondent clicks on the Next button
Days Before	Used to limit the date range a survey respondent can enter in a Single Response Date Drop Down question
Days After	Used to limit the date range a survey respondent can enter in a Single Response Date Dropdown question
Scripting Notes	Enter any comments or notes relating to the question here

Properties Pane Advanced section

Property	Description
Compulsory Question?	Controls whether the question is mandatory (default) or optional
Question Footer	Appears as text below the answer code frame or input box
Disable	When this box is checked, the question will be deactivated
Allow Export	Controls whether the question will be available to download via the Control Panel
Controls	Survey Editor (Legacy) only. Allows you to tailor the presentation of the question format using optional JSON commands. Survey Editor (Beta) shows these in their own Controls section
Regenerate Sequence	Rebuilds the answer order when the question is shown again
Min Count	For Multi questions that require a specific number of responses (e.g. “Select 3 of the following”), specify the minimum number of responses required here
Max Count	For Multi questions that require a specific number of responses (e.g. “Select up to 3 of the following”), specify the maximum number of responses required here
Question CSS	Custom CSS for this question. Not offered in every region

Properties Pane Loop section

Property	Description
Use Loop Prefix	Check this box to insert a loop prefix (e.g. ‘Loop_1’) in each loop iteration. This ensures that answers to the questions within each loop iteration are stored separately
List Storage Order	Controls the order in which loop driver answer codes are stored in computational memory
Loop Limit	Specify the maximum number of loop iterations here

Property details

Question Format

Question Format controls how the question looks on screen. This is different to the Question Type which determines how the question can be answered (e.g. single response, multiple response, rank, etc). Question formats will vary by question type.

To change the Question Format, either:

Click on the question object in the flowchart, and select the desired format from the Question Format drop down in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, select the desired format from the Question Format drop down in the Quick Update Box, and click OK.

For more detail of the question formats available for each question type, see the dedicated Question Types section.

Variable Name

The Variable Name (also referred to as the question name or number) is the unique identifier for all objects in the survey flowchart (e.g. Q1, S3a). All flowchart objects MUST have a Variable Name, and each Variable Name must be unique.

The Variable Name is written to the survey data store. Within the survey, it is the variable name (prefaced with ’@’) that is used to define skips, filters, piping, conditional text, etc.

The Variable Name is shown above the object in the survey flowchart.

A Variable Name must start with a letter. In Survey Editor (Beta), a new or changed Variable Name can only contain letters and numbers: rules and piping read an underscore as the start of a sub-variable (for example, Q1_2). Existing names with an underscore are kept.

Variable Name should not be confused with the Variable Label which is text that describes what the variable represents.

Typically the variable name will be in the form Q#, e.g. Q1, Q2, Q3. You may choose to use different conventions e.g. M1Q1 (first question of a Module), D1 (demographic), or S1 (Screener).

Survey Shaper will automatically create a new variable name each time you add a new variable to the flowchart. This can be overwritten or changed.

To change the Variable Name, either:

Click on the question object in the flowchart, and enter the new variable name into the Variable Name field in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, enter the new variable name into the Variable Name field in the Quick Update Box, and click OK.

If you are importing questions from another survey (via the Import object), you can choose to automatically rename the questions you’re importing to avoid duplication errors.

Variable Label

The Variable Label is a descriptor that is associated with each object in the survey flowchart. The Variable Label should not be confused with the Variable Name which is the unique question identifier. All flowchart objects MUST have a Variable Label, however each Variable Label does not need to be unique.

The Variable Label is shown to the left of the object in the survey flowchart.

To edit the Variable Label, either:

Click on the question object in the flowchart, and enter a description of the purpose of the variable (eg. Overall Satisfaction, Age, Prompted Brand Awareness) into the Variable Label field in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, enter a description of the purpose of the variable (eg. Overall Satisfaction, Age, Prompted Brand Awareness) into the Variable Label field in the Quick Update Box, and click OK.

There are no restrictions to labelling a variable. The label should be logical and succinctly describe the purpose of the question. If you leave the Variable Label field blank in the Quick Update Box, Survey Shaper will automatically copy the Variable Name into the Variable Label field.

Question Text

As the name suggests, the Question Text is the question wording or instruction that you want to present to the survey respondent. This text appears above the answers or text input box for each question in a survey.

To edit the Question Text, either:

Click on the question object in the flowchart, and enter the desired text into the Question Text field in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, enter the desired text into the Question Text field in the Quick Update Box, and click OK.

Use the Rich Text Editor to format the appearance of the text (e.g. bolding, italics, font, font colour, alignment) and/or to insert a conditional text variable, hyperlink, or image into the question. If required, click on the source code button in the rich text editor (HTML source in Survey Editor (Beta)) to modify html tags directly.

In Survey Editor (Beta), click Variables in the rich text toolbar to insert an answer from an earlier question.

Define Filter

For questions that are only to be asked of a subset of survey respondents, the definition of those who are to be asked the question is specified via the Define Filter property. When the Define Filter property field is left blank, all survey respondents (i.e. those not affected by any skips) will be presented with the question.

The filter is shown to the right of the object in the flowchart.

The filter criteria must have been determined prior to the current question, either via previous question/s within the survey, or via a sample field which has been imported into the survey.

Survey Editor (Legacy)
Survey Editor (Beta)

Filters can be defined either by typing directly into the Define Filter field in the Quick Update Box or Properties Pane, or via the Filter Builder.

To Define Filter, either:

Click on the question object in the flowchart, and enter the filter criteria into the Define Filter field in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, enter the filter criteria into the Define Filter field in the Quick Update Box, and click OK

To access the Filter Builder, click on the ellipsis icon next to the Define Filter property, or right-click on the object in the flowchart and select Define Filter from the Quick Menu.

All questions referenced in a filter need to be prefaced by the @ symbol.

Compulsory Question?

A compulsory, required, or mandatory question is one which must be answered. If the survey respondent clicks the Next button without providing a valid answer to the question, an error message will be displayed to instruct them that they must answer the question in order to progress further in the survey.

By default, all new questions in Survey Shaper are marked compulsory.

To make a question optional (so that the respondent will be able to progress through the survey regardless of whether they have provided an answer to the question or not):

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, expand the Advanced section
Uncheck the Compulsory Question? box
Save the survey

A non-compulsory (optional) question is indicated in the flowchart by a red exclamation point in Survey Editor (Legacy), or an asterisk icon on its card in Survey Editor (Beta).

With compulsory questions, it is important to ensure that the answer options allow the respondent to easily answer the question. In questions involving predefined answer code lists, it is often a good idea to include options for ‘Other’ (with or without an associated verbatim field), ‘Don’t Know’, and/or ‘Not Applicable’. Consideration should also be given to respondents who have nothing to say in response to a verbatim question. There are a number of alternatives to accommodate this, including making the question non-compulsory, instructing them to enter a response such as ‘None’ or ‘Don’t Know’ in the Helper Text or by combining the verbatim with a checkbox. See Mixed Input Questions for further information on these options.

Helper Text

An optional question property, Helper Text appears as an instruction below the Question Text and above the answers or text input box in a survey. The aim of the Helper Text is to guide survey respondents on the requirements for answering the question (e.g. “Select all that apply”).

To edit the Helper Text, either:

Click on the question object in the flowchart, and enter the desired text into the Helper Text field in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, enter the desired text into the Helper Text field in the Quick Update Box, and click OK.

Feel free to enter your own text into the Helper Text field, or select one of the pre-formatted options via the drop down list (Choose standard text… in Survey Editor (Beta)).

The Rich Text Editor can be used to format the appearance of the Helper Text e.g. bolding, italics, font, font colour, etc. Alternatively, html tags may be entered directly into the source code editor (HTML source in Survey Editor (Beta)).

Question Footer

The optional Question Footer appears as text below the answers or text input box in a survey.

You may enter your own text directly into the Question Footer field in the advanced section of the Properties Pane.

The Rich Text Editor can be used to format the appearance of the Question Footer e.g. bolding, italics, font, font colour, etc. Alternatively, html tags may be entered directly into the source code editor.

Disable

If you would like to effectively ignore a question without having to delete it, you may choose to Disable the question. A disabled question will not be displayed on the screen, any skips, filters, or action commands (e.g. recodes) will not be evaluated, and no data will be written to the data store.

By default, all new questions in Survey Shaper are enabled (i.e. the Disable box is unchecked). To disable a question:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, expand the Advanced section
Check the Disable box
Save the survey

A Disabled question is indicated in the flowchart by a red ‘no’ symbol in Survey Editor (Legacy), or a red block icon on its card in Survey Editor (Beta).

Hide

The Hide property will stop the question from being displayed on the screen to survey respondents. Unlike the Disable property, any action commands (e.g. recodes) specified in a hidden question will still be evaluated, and data will also still be written to the data file.

By default, all new questions in Survey Shaper are not hidden (i.e. the Hide box is unchecked). To hide a question, either:

Click on the question object in the flowchart, and check the Hide box; or
Open the question’s menu and select Hide Object

A Hidden question is indicated by a crossed out eye symbol in the flowchart.

The Hide property should be used for Action Commands. However, it is a good idea to keep the Hide checkbox unchecked until the action command has been tested and when you are satisfied that the command is working correctly, the Hide box should be checked.

Skip objects can be used to jump either forwards or backwards within a survey. The Skip To Question property allows you to specify the point in the survey to skip to.

To select the Skip To question, either:

Click on the Skip object in the flowchart, and select the question you want to skip to from the Skip To Question drop down in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, select the question you want to skip to from the Skip To drop down in the Quick Update Box, and click OK

The skip will now be indicated in the flowchart by a skip line. In Survey Editor (Beta), select Jump to Skip Target from the Skip object’s menu to go to the question it skips to.

Module

The Module property is used to select the specific module to connect to a Module object in a survey.

A module is a convenient way to insert a pre-defined set of questions into a survey. Modules are useful for ongoing tracking surveys, where you wish to ask a specific set of questions for only a specific period of time. A module can easily be dropped in and out of the parent survey as required.

Survey Editor (Legacy)
Survey Editor (Beta)

To select the module, either:

Click on the module object in the flowchart, and select the required module (and its version) from the Module Lookup dialog box in the Module field in the Properties Pane; or
Double click on the question object in the flowchart, select the required module (and its version) from the drop down in the Select Module field in the Quick Update Box, and click OK

Allow Export

When the Allow Export property box is checked, the question data will be made available to export via Data Wrangler.

By default, all questions have the Allow Export box checked. To remove the question from the available variables for data export:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, expand the Advanced section
Uncheck the Allow Export box
Save the survey

Width

For questions involving a verbatim or numeric field, the width of the input box can be set via this property.

To set the input box width:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter the preferred width (either as a proportion of the width of the screen, e.g. 90%, or in terms of pixels, e.g. 150px) into the Width field
Save the survey

Height

For questions involving a verbatim field, the height of the text input box can be set via the Height property.

To set the input box height:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter the preferred height in terms of pixels, e.g. 150px, into the Height field
Save the survey

Survey Editor (Beta) doesn’t offer Height on Single Response - Verbatim questions, because the survey doesn’t use it there. To make a multi-line text box taller, use the initialHeightRows control.

Max Length

The Max Length property can be used to restrict the number of characters that the survey respondent can enter into a verbatim or text input field.

The Max Length property may be applied at the overall question level (via the Properties Pane for verbatim questions), or at an individual answer code level (via the Answers Tab for single and multiple response questions where verbatim fields are included).

To set the Max Length:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter the maximum number of characters required into the Max Length field
Save the survey

In a live survey, respondents will not be able to enter more than the specified number of characters. For example, if survey respondents are required to enter an Australian postal code (which are always 4 digits in length), you can set the Max Length property to 4. This will ensure that respondents cannot enter a postal code of more than four digits.

Validation Rules may also be used to ensure that a survey respondent enters a valid answer into a verbatim field.

Multi-line

For verbatim input fields, you can choose whether to present a single line textbox, or a larger memo text field that will automatically expand as the respondent types in their answer.

To enable a memo text field:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, check the Multi-line field
Save the survey

To revert to a single line textbox:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, uncheck the Multi-line field
Save the survey

Verbatim Prefix

The Verbatim Prefix field enables you to display text or images to the left of a verbatim field.

For example, if the question requires the input of a dollar figure, you may wish to specify a dollar sign ($) in the Verbatim Prefix property field.

To display a verbatim prefix:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter any text or image that you wish to appear on the left of the text input field into the Verbatim Prefix field
Save the survey

Verbatim Suffix

The Verbatim Suffix field enables you to display text or images to the right of a verbatim field.

For example, if the question requires the input of a cent figure, you may wish to specify a cent sign (c) in the Verbatim Suffix property field.

To display a verbatim suffix:

Click on the question object in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter any text or image that you wish to appear to the right of the text input field into the Verbatim Suffix field
Save the survey

No Verbatim

The No Verbatim property may be used in a Verbatim question where you wish to include a button underneath the text input field for respondents to check if they are unable to answer the question.

To set up a No Verbatim option:

Select the question object in the survey flowchart
In either the Quick Update Box or Question Properties Tab, enter the desired text (e.g. “No Comment” or “Don’t Know”) into the No Verbatim box
Save the survey

Validation Rule

For verbatim or numeric fields, Validation Rules can be set to ensure that survey respondents have entered a valid answer. The validation rules are Regular Expressions which provide a powerful set of comparison features. You may choose to enter your own Regular Expressions into the Validation Rule property field (a useful site for building regular expressions is regexr.com), or you may choose one of the options currently available within Survey Shaper.

To set up a Validation Rule:

Select the question object in the survey flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter a RegEx directly into the Validation Rule field, or select a predefined RegEx from the dropdown (Choose a standard rule… in Survey Editor (Beta)). You can edit the RegEx directly if required.
Save the survey

Validations available

Validation	Regular Expression
Any valid phone numbers	`(^\d{2}\s?\d{4}\s?\d{4}$)\|(^\d{4}\s?\d{3}\s?\d{3}$)\|(^13\s?\d{4}$)\|(^\d{4}\s?\d{3}\s?\d{3}$)\|(^\d{4}\s?\d{4}$)`
Standard Australian phone numbers	`(^\d{4}\s\d{3}\s\d{3}$)\|(^13\s?\d{4}$)\|(^\d{4}\s?\d{3}\s\d{3}$)`
1300 phone numbers	`(^13\d{2}\s\d{3}\s\d{3}$)`
1800 phone numbers	`(^18\d{2}\s\d{3}\s\d{3}$)`
13 phone numbers	`(^13\s?\d{4}$)`
Mobile phone number	`(^\d{4}\s\d{3}\s\d{3}$)`
’Fixed Line’ phone number	`(^$\d{2}$\s\d{4}\s\d{4}$)`
Both ‘Fixed Line’ & ‘Mobile’ phone numbers	`(^$\d{2}$\s\d{4}\s\d{4}$)`
Email address	(complex regex - select from dropdown)
Decimal numbers including decimal places	`(^[-+]?\d\d[.]\d\d([e][-+]?\d\d)?$)\|(^[-+]?\d{1,3}([,]\d{3})([e][-+]?\d\d)?$)\|(^[-+]?\d\d([e][-+]?\d\d*)?$)`
Dollars including cents	`(^[-+]?\d\d*[.]\d{2}$)`
Numbers only	`(^[-+]?\d\d*$)`
Dollars with no cents	`(^[-+]?\d\d*$)`
Alphabetic characters only (Title case)	`^(([A-Z]{1})([a-z\-\']*)([ ]{0,1}))+$`
Alphabetic characters only (Upper case)	`(^([A-Z \-\']*)$)`
Alphabetic characters only (Lower case)	`(^([a-z \-\']*)$)`
Alphabetic characters only	`(^([a-zA-Z \-\']*)$)`
Decimal numbers no decimal places	`(^[-+]?[.]\d\d([e][-+]?\d\d)?$)\|(^[-+]?\d{1,3}([,]\d{3})([e][-+]?\d\d)?$)\|(^[-+]?\d\d([e][-+]?\d\d)?$)`
Account Number (20000XXXXXXXX)	`^20000\d\d\d\d\d\d\d\d$`
Numeric Format ######-######	`^\d\d\d\d\d\d\-\d\d\d\d\d\d$`
Postcode	`^\d\d\d\d$`

Randomize

The Randomize property allows for the answer codes to be presented in random, or “shuffled” order to survey respondents.

To randomize answers:

Click on the question in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, check the Randomize property
In Survey Editor (Legacy), confirm randomization by clicking Yes. Survey Editor (Beta) doesn’t ask you to confirm.

When checked, all answers will be grouped together and their Sort Order set to 1. If, after you have checked the Randomize property, you wish to exclude any individual answer from the randomized group, you may do so by manually editing the Sort Order properties for each answer via the Answers Tab.

To remove randomization of answers:

Click on the question in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, uncheck the Randomize property
In Survey Editor (Legacy), confirm the removal of randomization by clicking Yes

When unchecked, all answers will revert to their original Sort Orders. In Survey Editor (Beta), the answers are numbered 1, 2, 3 and so on, in the order they’re listed.

Grid questions have separate Randomize Column and Randomize Rows properties.

In Survey Editor (Beta), checking a Randomize property also turns off the matching Rotate property. While randomization is on, the Answers tab shows “Randomised: answers with the same Sort Order shuffle.”

Rotate

The Rotate property allows for the answers to be presented in rotated order to survey respondents. When rotated, answers will always appear in sequential order, however the start point will differ between survey respondents. If you want the order of answers to be presented in non-sequential order, use Randomize instead.

To enable answer rotation:

Click on the question in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, check the Rotate property
Select first row to rotate via the Start Rotation drop down
Set the last row to rotate via the End Rotation drop down

Show Back Button

The Show Back Button property will be available when Show Back Button is enabled in the project properties. Check to show a Back button to allow the respondent to go backwards in the survey. Uncheck to remove the Back button from the question.

Show Next Button

Unchecking the Show Next Button property will remove the next button from the question, preventing the respondent from continuing further in the survey.

The Show Next Button box should only be unchecked for the last question that respondents will see.

Finish Action

For Instruction and Transfer questions, you must specify the action required when the survey respondent reaches that question. The Finish Action is selected via the drop down list of options.

Available Finish Actions:

Finish Action	Description
Next Question	Continue to the next question within the survey. This is the default setting.
Finished Successfully	Use at the end of a survey to record as a successfully completed record in the data store.
Finished Exclusion	Records as a non-qualifier in the data store.
Finished Quota Full	Records as a quota full in the data store.
Finished Expired	Records as expired. Use in instances where a project has to be completed within a certain timeframe. “Finish expired” is set on the instruction object that informs the respondent that the survey has closed.

Days Before

The Days Before question property is used to limit the date range a survey respondent can enter in a Single Response Date Drop Down question. Entering a value in this property field will influence the year range available for the respondent to select, and will trigger an internal validation to ensure that respondents are not able to select a year that falls outside the range specified. The valid date range can be specified further via the Days After property.

To set the date range:

Click on the question in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter the number of days required directly into the Days Before property — the number entered should be a negative number (or zero)
Where applicable, enter the number of days required directly into the Days After property — the number entered should be a positive number (or zero)

In a live survey, the validation will automatically be calculated based on the current survey date (that is, the date when the respondent commenced the survey), not the date that the survey was published.

Days Before validation examples

Value	Description
0	Ensures that only the current date or future dates can be selected
-7	Allows for the selection of a date from the past week
-30	Allows for the selection of a date in the past 30 days
-365	Allows for the selection of a date in the past year

Days After

The Days After question property is used to limit the date range a survey respondent can enter in a Single Response Date Drop Down question. Entering a value in this property field will influence the year range available for the respondent to select, and will trigger an internal validation to ensure that respondents are not able to select a year that falls outside the range specified. The valid date range can be specified further via the Days Before property.

To set the date range:

Click on the question in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, enter the number of days required directly into the Days Before property — the number entered should be a negative number (or zero)
Where applicable, enter the number of days required directly into the Days After property — the number entered should be a positive number (or zero)

Days After validation examples

Value	Description
0	Ensures that only the current date or past dates can be selected
7	Allows for the selection of a future date within the next week
30	Allows for the selection of a future date within the next 30 days
365	Allows for the selection of a future date within the next year

Controls

Controls let you tailor the presentation of a question format, for example slider labels, placeholder text or button text.

Survey Editor (Legacy)
Survey Editor (Beta)

Controls are optional JSON commands. To edit them, click on the Edit button next to the Controls property in the Properties Pane.

The Controls dialog box will display the relevant Controls for the selected Question Format. You can click on the tooltip icon to see a description of the Control.

Controls have their own Controls section in the Properties pane, just below General, with a field for each control. Checkboxes are toggles, lists are typed with commas between items, and an empty field shows the default value. Question types with no controls (such as Skip, Transfer, Module, Sample and Bucket) don’t have a Controls section.

Every question format also has these fields:

Field	What it does
Override Button Text	Custom text for the Next and Back buttons, as JSON. For example: `{"NEXT":"Continue","BACK":"Back"}` (the `buttonsOverride` control)
Disable Buttons	Disables the Next or Back button for a number of seconds, as JSON. For example: `{"NEXT":10,"BACK":0}` (the `buttonsDisableForSeconds` control)
Validation Messages	Replaces the survey’s standard messages for this question, such as the message shown when an answer is required. There’s a box for each message the question can show, with the standard English text as its placeholder. A message set here applies from this question until the respondent finishes the survey, in every language.
Block Pasting	On some formats only (such as Verbatim, Verbatims, Numerical and EVE questions). Stops respondents pasting text into the answer box. On by default.

The lists below show the controls as JSON, as they’re entered in Survey Editor (Legacy). In Survey Editor (Beta), each one is a separate field.

Available controls by question type and format

General (can be added to any question)

{
  "buttonsOverride": { "NEXT": "Next", "BACK": "Back"},
  "buttonsDisableForSeconds": { "NEXT": 0, "BACK": 0 }
}

Grid > Card Sort

{
  "hasReset": true,
  "resetButtonText": "Reset"
}

Grid > Drop Down Grid

{
  "placeholder": "",
  "noneOptionText": "None"
}

Grid > Horizontal Radio Grid

{
  "showAnchors": false,
  "startAnchor": "",
  "middleAnchor": "",
  "endAnchor": "",
  "separator": "-",
  "placeholder": "",
  "noneOptionText": "None",
  "hideMiddleLabel": false,
  "displayLabels": true,
  "step": 1.0,
  "noTicks": false,
  "mobileWidth": 0,
  "mobileMode": ""
}

Grid > Multiple Response - Checkbox Grid

{
  "columnValidation": false
}

Grid > Slider Grid

{
  "startAnchor": "",
  "middleAnchor": "",
  "endAnchor": "",
  "hideMiddleLabel": false,
  "displayLabels": true,
  "step": 1.0,
  "noTicks": false,
  "notSureOnRight": false,
  "startPosition": -1,
  "thumbLabelMode": "code"
}

Grid > Stacked Slider

{
  "hideMiddleLabel": false,
  "displayLabels": true,
  "step": 1.0,
  "noTicks": false,
  "allowReset": false,
  "resetButtonText": "Reset"
}

Grid > Vertical Radio Grid

{
  "showAnchors": false,
  "startAnchor": "",
  "middleAnchor": "",
  "endAnchor": ""
}

Multi > Numeric

{
  "prefix": "",
  "suffix": "",
  "totalText": "Total",
  "answerLabel": "text",
  "decimalPlaces": 2
}

Multi > Numeric Grid

{
  "decimalPlaces": 2
}

Rank

{
  "mobileMode": "dropdown",
  "mobileWidth": 600,
  "minCount": -1,
  "maxCount": -1
}

Single > Date Drop Down

{
  "dayPlaceholder": "Day",
  "monthPlaceholder": "Month",
  "yearPlaceholder": "Year",
  "placeholder": "Select a date"
}

Single > Date Picker

{
  "placeholder": "Select a date",
  "defaultLocale": "en-AU"
}

Single > Date Time Drop Down

{
  "dayPlaceholder": "Day",
  "monthPlaceholder": "Month",
  "yearPlaceholder": "Year",
  "hourPlaceholder": "Hour",
  "minutePlaceholder": "Minute"
}

Single > Drop Down

{
  "showFilter": false,
  "noOptionsFoundText": "No options found",
  "placeholder": "",
  "noneOptionText": "None"
}

Single > FileBank Upload

{
  "allowedExtensions": ".jpg,.png,.jpeg",
  "maxFileSize": 1000000
}

Single > Horizontal Radio

{
  "startAnchor": "",
  "middleAnchor": "",
  "endAnchor": "",
  "anchorPosition": "bottom",
  "separator": "-",
  "showAnchors": true,
  "placeholder": "",
  "noneOptionText": "None",
  "sliderAtWidth": 0,
  "mobileWidth": 0,
  "mobileMode": "",
  "hideMiddleLabel": false,
  "displayLabels": true,
  "step": 1.0,
  "noTicks": false,
  "notSureOnRight": false
}

Single > Image

{
  "hasTimer": true,
  "hasReset": true,
  "hasZoom": true,
  "zoomButtonEnableText": "Enable Zoom",
  "zoomButtonDisableText": "Disable Zoom",
  "resetButtonText": "Clear",
  "timerMinuteText": "min",
  "timerSecondText": "sec"
}

Single > Numeric

{
  "placeholder": ""
}

Single > Slider

{
  "hideMiddleLabel": false,
  "displayLabels": true,
  "step": 1.0,
  "noTicks": false,
  "notSureOnRight": false,
  "startLabel": "",
  "endLabel": "",
  "startPosition": -1,
  "thumbLabelMode": "code"
}

Single > Smile Badge

{
  "hideMiddleLabel": false,
  "displayLabels": true,
  "step": 1.0,
  "noTicks": false,
  "notSureOnRight": false,
  "startLabel": "",
  "endLabel": "",
  "startPosition": -1,
  "thumbLabelMode": "code",
  "thumbLabel": false,
  "badge": "face",
  "badgeWidth": 292,
  "badgeHeight": 292,
  "badgeColors": ["#ef5354", "#f58837", "#999", "#4eba7d", "#10b5d5"],
  "badgeLineColor": "#231f20"
}

Single > Time Drop Down

{
  "minutePlaceholder": "Minute",
  "hourPlaceholder": "Hour"
}

Verbatim

{
  "placeholder": "",
  "inputType": "text",
  "initialHeightRows": 2
}

Verbatims

{
  "initialHeightRows": 2,
  "answerLabel": "text",
  "minCount": -1,
  "maxCount": -1
}

Glossary of controls

Control	Description	Example
`allowedExtensions`	A comma delimited list of file extensions (including the ’.’) allowed in a File Upload question. Add a hidden verbatim code suffixed by FileData to get info on the uploaded file exported (eg. Q3 is upload file question type, Q3FileData is hidden Verbatim)	`"allowedExtensions": ".jpg,.png,.jpeg"`
`allowReset`	Show (true) or hide (false) a reset button under a Stacked Slider Grid question.	`"allowReset": true`
`anchorPosition`	For Single Select Horizontal Radio questions, controls the position of the anchor labels (where showAnchors is set to “true”). Can be “top” or “bottom”. Anchor text can include html, just ensure any quotes are apostrophes.	`"anchorPosition": "bottom"`
`answerLabel`	For Multi Verbatims and Multi Numeric questions, controls the display of the answer labels. Can be “text” (default), “html”, or “image”. Text is single line, html allows for using html in the label but is still fixed to a single line. Image allows for multi-line or images and the textbox will move down rather than be overlapped.	`"answerLabel": "text"`
`badge`	For Smile Badge questions, controls the badge image displayed. Options are “face” (default), “tearface”, “fuel”, “brainbulb”, “heart” or “weight”.	`"badge": "face"`
`badgeColors`	For Smile Badge questions, controls the colours of the “face” or “weight” badge. Not applicable to other badge types. In the Survey Editor (Beta) Controls section, Badge Colors shows the colours separated by commas, for example `#ef5354,#f58837,#999`.	`"badgeColors": ["#ef5354", "#f58837", "#999", "#4eba7d", "#10b5d5"]`
`badgeHeight`	For Smile Badge questions, controls the height of the badge image.	`"badgeHeight": 292`
`badgeLineColor`	For Smile Badge questions, controls the main colour of lines (ie. eyes, mouth) in the “face” badge.	`"badgeLineColor": "#231f20"`
`badgeWidth`	For Smile Badge questions, controls the width of the badge image.	`"badgeWidth": 292`
`buttonsDisableForSeconds`	Allows disabling of Next or Back buttons for X seconds (decimals allowed).	`"buttonsDisableForSeconds": { "NEXT": 10, "BACK": 0 }`
`buttonsOverride`	Custom text for Next and Back buttons.	`"buttonsOverride": { "NEXT": "Next", "BACK": "Back"}`
`columnValidation`	For Multi Select Checkbox Grids. When set to true, respondents must check one option per column. When set to false, they must choose one per row.	`"columnValidation": false`
`dayPlaceholder`	For Date and Date Time Drop Down questions, enter the label for the day drop down.	`"dayPlaceholder": "Day"`
`decimalPlaces`	For numeric questions, set allowable number of decimal places. Use 0 to allow no decimals.	`"decimalPlaces": 2`
`defaultLocale`	For Date Picker questions, controls the format of date shown in textbox. Default is dd/mm/yyyy (AU), an alternative is mm/dd/yyyy (US).	`"defaultLocale": "en-US"`
`displayLabels`	For questions involving Sliders, controls whether to display answer labels (true) or not (false).	`"displayLabels": true`
`endAnchor`	For questions involving Sliders, enter a label for the end anchor.	`"endAnchor": "Extremely Satisfied"`
`endLabel`	For Slider and Smile Badge questions. Anchor labels are automatically detected from answer labels. To override the default end label, enter an alternative label into this control.	`"endLabel": "Extremely Satisfied"`
`hasReset`	For image and Card Sort questions, controls whether to show (true) or hide (false) a reset button.	`"hasReset": true`
`hasTimer`	For image questions, controls whether to show (true) or hide (false) a timer.	`"hasTimer": true`
`hasZoom`	For image questions, controls whether to show (true) or hide (false) a zoom icon.	`"hasZoom": true`
`hideMiddleLabel`	For questions involving Sliders, controls whether to hide (true) or display the middle answer label (false).	`"hideMiddleLabel": false`
`hourPlaceholder`	For Date Time Drop Down questions, enter the label for the hour drop down.	`"hourPlaceholder": "Hour"`
`initialHeightRows`	For single and multi Verbatim questions with multi-line property checked, sets the initial height (in rows) of text input box.	`"initialHeightRows": 2`
`inputType`	For Verbatim questions, html “type” on INPUT element. Ignored if multi-line checked. Can set to “number” or “date” or other html options.	`"inputType": "text"`
`maxCount`	For Rank and multi Verbatims questions, sets maximum number of items to rank, or verbatim fields requiring an answer. Note that the Compulsory Question? property overrides answer level settings. Uncheck the Compulsory Question? checkbox to require specific answers only to be compulsory.	`"maxCount": -1`
`maxFileSize`	For File Upload questions, set the maximum allowed file size in bytes. Validated on the client (before upload).	`"maxFileSize": 1000000`
`messagesOverride`	Override system messages.	`"messagesOverride": { "MESSAGE_CODE": "New message" }`
`middleAnchor`	For questions involving Sliders, enter a label for the middle anchor.	`"middleAnchor": "Neutral"`
`minCount`	For Rank and multi Verbatims questions, sets minimum number of items to rank, or verbatim fields requiring an answer. -1 implies no minimum, defaulting back to Mandatory setting. Note that the Compulsory Question? property overrides answer level settings. Uncheck the Compulsory Question? checkbox to require specific answers only to be compulsory.	`"minCount": -1`
`minutePlaceholder`	For Date Time Drop Down questions, enter the label for the minute drop down.	`"minutePlaceholder": "Minute"`
`mobileMode`	For Horizontal Radio questions, you can switch to an alternative format when viewed on a mobile device. Options are Vertical Radio (“vertical”), Drop Down (“dropdown”), or Slider (“slider”). Mobile Mode will activate according to the screen size set via the mobileWidth control.	`"mobileMode": "slider"`
`mobileWidth`	The width (in pixels) at which to switch to the alternative question format specified via the mobileMode control.	`"mobileWidth": 600`
`monthPlaceholder`	For Date and Date Time Drop Down questions, enter the label for the month drop down.	`"monthPlaceholder": "Month"`
`noneOptionText`	The text to display in Drop Downs when the none option is visible (i.e. when not compulsory).	`"noneOptionText": "None"`
`noOptionsFoundText`	The text to show if the filter text matches no available options (when showFilter control set to true).	`"noOptionsFoundText": "No options found"`
`noTicks`	To hide (true) or show (false) anchors on Slider questions.	`"noTicks": false`
`notSureOnRight`	Sets the position of “Don’t Know” or “Not Sure” answers (with an answer code of 99) on Slider questions, either to the right of the slider (true) or underneath the slider (false).	`"notSureOnRight": false`
`placeholder`	Text to display in Drop Downs.	`"placeholder": "Select a date"`
`prefix`	For multi numeric questions, enter a label to display to the left of each input box.	`"prefix": "$"`
`resetButtonText`	For image, Stacked Slider and Card Sort questions, edit the reset button label (where the hasReset or allowReset control is set to true).	`"resetButtonText": "Clear"`
`separator`	For Horizontal Radio and Horizontal Grid questions, set the separator characters between start/end/middle codes.	`"separator": "-"`
`showAnchors`	Show (true) or hide (false) all anchors in Horizontal Radio, or Horizontal and Vertical Grids.	`"showAnchors": true`
`showFilter`	Show (true) or hide (false) a textbox in the drop-down to allow filtering of options.	`"showFilter": false`
`sliderAtWidth`	For Horizontal Radio questions, set the screen width (in pixels) at which to switch to a slider.	`"sliderAtWidth": 600`
`startAnchor`	For questions involving Sliders, enter a label for the start anchor.	`"startAnchor": "Extremely Dissatisfied"`
`startLabel`	For Slider and Smile Badge questions. Anchor labels are automatically detected from answer labels. To override the default start label, enter an alternative label into this control.	`"startLabel": "Not At All Satisfied"`
`startPosition`	For Slider and Smile Badge questions. Sets default value of slider.	`"startPosition": -1`
`step`	For Slider and Smile Badge questions. Sets the sensitivity of the slider scale.	`"step": 1.0`
`suffix`	For multi numeric questions, enter a label to display to the right of each input box.	`"suffix": "%"`
`thumbLabel`	For Smile Badge questions, show (true) or hide (false) a bubble that displays the slider value as it is dragged along the scale.	`"thumbLabel": false`
`thumbLabelMode`	For Smile Badge questions, where thumbLabel control is set to true.	`"thumbLabelMode": "code"`
`timerMinuteText`	For image questions, enter the text required for the timer (if hasTimer control set to true).	`"timerMinuteText": "min"`
`timerSecondText`	For image questions, enter the text required for the timer (if hasTimer control set to true).	`"timerSecondText": "sec"`
`totalText`	For multi Numeric questions, enter the text label of the Total section.	`"totalText": "Total"`
`yearPlaceholder`	For Date and Date Time Drop Down questions, enter the label for the year drop down.	`"yearPlaceholder": "Year"`
`zoomButtonDisableText`	For image questions, where hasZoom control is set to true.	`"zoomButtonDisableText": "Disable Zoom"`
`zoomButtonEnableText`	For image questions, where hasZoom control is set to true.	`"zoomButtonEnableText": "Enable Zoom"`

Scripting Notes

Survey Shaper allows you to make notes on individual questions at any time, displaying them as Scripting Notes in the survey flowchart.

Scripting Notes are optional, and have a variety of uses (e.g. flagging issues that need to be resolved, messages or instructions for other users with access to the survey). These notes are not visible to survey respondents.

Use Loop Prefix

Check this box to insert a loop prefix (e.g. ‘Loop_1’) in each loop iteration. This ensures that answers to the questions within each loop iteration are stored separately.

When unchecked, answers to the questions within the loop will be overwritten in subsequent loop iterations.

Min Count

The Min Count property can be used for Multi Response questions that require a minimum number of responses to be entered (e.g. “Please select 3 of the following”). The maximum number of answers can also be set via the Max Count property.

If survey respondents do not enter the minimum number of responses, they will receive an error message instructing them to select the appropriate number of answers. This validation will only occur if the question is set as Compulsory.

Max Count

The Max Count property can be used for Multi Response questions that require a maximum number of responses to be entered (e.g. “Please select up to 3 of the following”). The minimum number of answers can also be set via the Min Count property.

If survey respondents enter more than the maximum number of responses, they will receive an error message instructing them to select the appropriate number of answers. This validation will only occur if the question is set as Compulsory.

List Storage Order

For loop drivers, the order in which answers are stored in computational memory is determined by Sort Order. By default, the order of presentation of answers on the screen will follow the order specified via the Sort Order answer property.

The alternative to the default list storage order is Least Filled Quota. Using this approach, answer codes are stored in computational memory based on the count of responses (from lowest to highest) at the current point in time. This enables answers with the lowest count of responses to be preferentially selected.

In Survey Editor (Beta), the options are Default (sort order), Random and Least filled quota.

To specify List Storage Order:

Select the desired Multi Response loop driver question in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, expand the Loop section
Select the required List Storage Order from the drop down
Save and preview

List Storage Order does not determine the order in which answers are written to the data file. Answers are stored in the data file according to the answer code number. Therefore, if the answers in a loop driver question have been randomized, it would not be possible to determine from the data which of the loop items was asked first, second, third, etc. However, it is possible to flag the order of presentation of loop items by including a loop iteration stamp in the survey.

Loop Limit

By default, the number of times questions within a loop will be repeated is determined by the number of answers selected in the loop driver question. Sometimes you may wish to limit the maximum number of loop iterations presented to each respondent. This can be controlled via the Loop Limit property.

To create a loop limit:

Select the desired Multi Response loop driver question in the flowchart
In the Properties Pane, expand the Loop section
Enter the maximum number of loop iterations required into the Loop Limit property
Save and preview