Import

An Import object enables you to insert questions from another survey or module.

Security restriction

For data security purposes, you can only import questions from another survey or module within the same sub account.

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Importing questions

Here’s how to import questions from another survey:

Survey Editor (Legacy)

1. Drag the Import object from the Toolbox into the survey flowchart, or double-click it
2. In the Import Questions Dialog box, click on the survey containing the questions you want to import
3. Check the Import checkbox next to the questions you want to import
4. In the Import before dropdown, check that the position within the survey that you want to insert the imported question(s) is correct — use the dropdown box to change position if required
5. If you want Survey Shaper to automatically rename the imported question(s) in the new survey, check the Generate question codes box. Otherwise, leave the box unchecked to retain the variable name(s)
6. Click Import

Importing from modules

If the questions are in a module, select Modules from the top left dropdown.

Import position

The imported question(s) will be inserted into the survey at the point immediately preceding the question selected in the Import before field.

Survey Editor (Beta)

1. Click the Import card in the Add to survey toolbar. The Import questions dialog opens.
2. In Import from, choose what to import from: Surveys, Modules, Survey Templates or Question Sets
3. In Project, choose the survey. Type in Filter by title to shorten the list.
4. In Version, check the version. The latest version is selected, and the published version is marked “(published)”.
5. Check the box next to each question you want to import. Questions that can’t be imported are greyed out.
6. Fix any issues listed under the questions (see Import issues)
7. If a question code is already used in your survey, check Rename Question codes already used in this Project. The new codes are listed, for example “Q1 will be imported as Q12.”
8. If the questions have action commands, leave Import action commands checked to include them
9. In Position, choose where to put the questions: Before a question, or At the end
10. Click Import

The imported question(s) will now appear in the survey flowchart. You can edit the questions as required.

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Import issues

Survey Editor (Beta) checks the questions you’ve selected before importing them. Each issue is listed with buttons to fix it, and Import stays unavailable until they’re all fixed. For example:

• A question refers to a question you haven’t selected, for example in a filter or piping. Click Include to import that question too, or Clear on import to remove the reference from the imported copy. Cleared items are listed under “Cleared on import”, with a Restore button.
• You’ve selected part of a loop or branch. Include the rest, or click Import smaller range.
• A question is in a page group with questions you haven’t selected. Include them, or import the selected questions without the page group.
• A question has quota settings. Quotas belong to the survey they were set up in and are never imported. Clear them to import the question without quotas.

Module, Sample and Bucket objects can’t be imported, because they refer to things outside the survey. Add them to your survey and set them up there.

If an imported action command needs checking, you’ll see a note telling you to check it after importing.

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Editing imported questions

Any changes you make to a question after importing it into your survey won’t impact the original survey.

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Import from previous survey version

By default, the questions available to be imported will be those in the most recent version of the survey.

Survey Editor (Legacy)

Here’s how to import questions from a previous version of a survey:

1. Drag the Import object from the Toolbox into the survey flowchart, or double-click it
2. In the Import Questions Dialog box, click on the survey containing the questions you want to import
3. Click on the Versions tab
4. Select the version of the survey containing the questions you want to import
5. Check the Import checkbox next to the questions you want to import
6. In the Import before dropdown, check that the position within the survey that you want to insert the imported question(s) is correct — use the dropdown box to change position if required
7. If you want Survey Shaper to automatically rename the imported question(s) in the new survey, check the Generate question codes box. Otherwise, leave the box unchecked to retain the variable name(s)
8. Click Import

Survey Editor (Beta)

Choose the version in the Version dropdown in the Import questions dialog (step 4 of Importing questions).

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Generate question codes

When you import a question from another survey, there’s a risk of having duplicate variable names. You won’t be able to save a survey with duplicate variable names.

To ensure that the imported questions don’t have the same variable name as another question that is already in the survey, consider checking the Generate question codes checkbox (Rename Question codes already used in this Project in Survey Editor (Beta)). When checked, Survey Shaper will assign a unique variable name to the imported question. If there are any skips, filters, conditional text, piping, or action commands connected to the imported question, you’ll need to edit them manually so they reference the new variable name.

Variable name generation timing

The variable names can only be generated according to the questions that are in the survey at the time of importing questions from another survey. The variable name of an imported question won’t automatically update if a question with the same variable name is added to the survey after the import.

When the box is left unchecked, the variable name from the source survey will be retained.