This guide walks you through the complete process of creating a paper survey, printing it, collecting responses, and viewing your results.

Step 1: Design your survey

1. Click Create Survey on your dashboard
2. Enter a name for your survey
3. Add questions using the question panel on the right side of the editor

Start simple. A good first survey might include:

• A single choice question (e.g., "How satisfied are you?")
• A multiple choice question (e.g., "Which features do you use?")
• A short text question (e.g., "Any additional comments?")

You can preview your survey at any time by clicking Preview in the top toolbar.

Step 2: Print your survey

1. Go to the Print tab in the survey editor
2. Click Create a version for printing
3. Once the version is generated, click Print to download the PDF
4. Print the PDF on standard A4 or Letter paper

For best results:

• Print in black and white (color is optional)
• Use standard white paper
• Do not scale or resize the PDF when printing
• Make sure the four corner markers are clearly visible

See Do I Need to Print Surveys in Color? for more details.

Step 3: Distribute and collect

Hand out printed surveys to your respondents. They can fill in the survey using a pen. Once completed, collect all the forms.

Step 4: Scan your surveys

Scan the completed surveys using a flatbed scanner, document scanner, or even a smartphone camera. Save the scans as PDF, JPEG, or PNG files.

For scanning recommendations, see Recommended Scanner Settings.

Step 5: Upload to PaperSurvey

1. Open your survey and go to the Upload tab
2. Drag and drop your scanned files, or click to browse
3. PaperSurvey will begin processing your uploads automatically

Processing typically takes a few seconds per page. You will see a progress indicator as pages are read.

Step 6: Verify responses

After processing, PaperSurvey may flag some responses for verification. This happens when handwriting is unclear or a mark is ambiguous.

1. Go to the Responses tab
2. Click on entries marked for review
3. Compare the detected response with the scanned image
4. Confirm or correct each flagged field

Step 7: View and export your data

Once verification is complete, your data is ready. You can:

• Browse responses in the Responses tab
• Create charts in the Analysis tab
• Export data as Excel, CSV, or SPSS files from the Export menu

Congratulations, you have completed your first paper survey from start to finish.