Help Center

Topic: Prefill data

Prefill Forms : Generating Dynamic Survey Forms from Spreadsheet Data

Help Center Prefill dataLast updated: 11 October, 2023

Take your surveys to the next level by creating dynamic forms that adapt to your spreadsheet data.

Step 1. Dynamic Text Replacement

dynamic text

You can easily generate survey forms with dynamic content by automatically replacing text in the survey.

Example

For instance, create a survey question like: "[height=2cm]Thanks for visiting {{location}} on {{date}}. Would you mind answering...[/height]"

Upload a spreadsheet with 'location' and 'date' columns using Prefill Forms:

ID location DATE
123 XYZ restaurant 2019-01-01
124 ABC Exhibition 2019-02-01

The printed survey forms will dynamically replace text (as in image shown above), such as:

  • Thanks for visiting the XYZ restaurant on 2019-01-01. Would you mind answering...
  • Thanks for visiting the ABC Exhibition on 2019-02-01. Would you mind answering...

Step 2. Associating Data with Copies

dynamic text

To reference data for analysis purposes, create an additional question for each column:

  1. Create "Prefill Data" question.
  2. Ensure the name matches the column in the spreadsheet.
  3. After generating copies, prefilled data will be saved for each copy.
  4. Once the data is uploaded and processed, the data will be associated automatically.

Very Important Information

  • Layout may shift when text is too long or too short, which may affect checkmark recognition. To avoid this problem, height and width should always be constrained:

    • Encapsulate {{variables}} within a designated "[height]" box and specify the maximum allowed height in centimeters: [height=3cm]Replace the following text {{dynamically}}[/height].
    • Encapsulate {{variables}} within a designated "[width]" box and specify the maximum allowed width in centimeters: [width=3cm]Replace the following text {{dynamically}}[/width].
    • Use both: [width=3cm][height=3cm]Replace the following text {{dynamically}}[/height][/width].
  • "Prefill Forms" requires Unique Page Marking to be enabled.

    • When the unique page marking is enabled there will be two QR codes at the bottom of the page.
    • For single-page surveys, activate the 'Uniquely mark single-page surveys' toggle in survey settings for form printing.
  • When updating the survey or questions, create a new version before printing copies.

    • In the "Print" tab of the survey editor, click "Create a new version" to do so.
  • Only use "Identifier" field if you know what your are doing. Otherwise, leave it empty.

Common Settings

survey identifiers

Below you will find description of common settings you can find when generating copies.

Identifier (optional)

To match responses with your database or spreadsheet, include a unique identifier (must be unique for each copy/response!). Leave the field blank, and it will be automatically generated.

Copies

You may have noticed the option to specify the number of copies (as shown above) and wondered about its use.

This feature is handy when you want to generate multiple identical copies, such as:

  • 50 copies with the location of the "XYZ restaurant"
  • 50 copies with the location of the "ABC Exhibition".

Note: When generating more than one copy, you won't be able to set a Identifier.

"Copies" column

Under advanced settings, you will find the ability to choose a "Copies" column, which allows you to generate a specific number of copies for each row. This can be useful if you:

  • need 32 copies with the location of the "XYZ restaurant"
  • need 100 copies with the location of the "ABC Exhibition".
  • need 80 copies with the location of the "QWE Exhibition".
  • need 40 copies with the location of the "AB Exhibition".
  • ...

Combine this with "Group in Folders" (e.g., you may want to group by location) functionality, and multiple copies will be generated and conveniently saved in separate files/folders.


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