When a survey fails to process, the cause is almost always missing corner marks or a mismatch between your print settings and your survey configuration. Understanding these common issues will help you diagnose and resolve problems quickly so you can get back to collecting data.
Most common cause: Missing corner marks
PaperSurvey needs at least three of the four corner marks to be visible for reliable recognition. These marks help the system detect page orientation, locate question areas precisely, correct for scanning skew, and identify the survey template.
Check your scans
Look at your uploaded files and confirm that all four corner marks are clearly visible:
- Top-left and top-right corners
- Bottom-left and bottom-right corners
If only two adjacent corner marks are visible and the page is not skewed, you can still try selecting the failed page and pressing Re-attempt recognition on the uploads page. Pages with fewer corner marks, or skewed pages, can be aligned by hand or entered manually, as described below.
Fix unrecognized pages step by step
When pages could not be read, the uploads page (Upload in the top menu) shows how many, with Fix them step by step. It opens a workspace that goes through the pages one at a time. Each page is grouped by what it needs, such as Can be re-attempted, Need the corners placed by hand, Need the Entry № selected or Need the data entered by hand, and the workspace offers the recommended action for it:
- Re-attempt recognition, after checking the survey version and the rotation;
- Align page manually, where you place the corner markers on the page yourself;
- Open manual entry, to type the answers;
- Ignore this page, for a page that is not a survey page.
A document's own list of pages, opened from the uploads page, also filters them by Unrecognized, Duplicates, Recognized and Resolved.
Common reasons for missing corners
Printer cutting off margins
Some printers, especially budget models, crop page edges. Test print a single page first, check that all four corners printed completely, adjust printer margins if needed, and try a different printer if margins cannot be fixed.
Scanner cropping
Document feeders sometimes crop edges. Place pages carefully in the feeder, use flatbed scanning for problem pages, check scanner margin settings, and clean the scanner glass and rollers.
Photocopying issues
Copies often lose edge content. Always scan original prints rather than photocopies. If copying is necessary, verify that all corners are intact on the copy.
Second common cause: Mismatched settings
Unique page marking mismatch
This happens when you print surveys without unique identifiers, then enable unique page marking afterward. The system expects QR codes that are not present on the printed pages.
Solution:
- Open the survey, click Settings next to its name, and go to Printing & Scanning
- Turn off Unique page marking and click Save Changes
- Retry processing your uploads
If stamped and unstamped printouts are both in circulation, you can instead keep unique page marking on and turn on Accept pages without unique marker in the same section. Pages with a missing or unreadable bottom-left QR code are then accepted and grouped like an unstamped upload.
Troubleshooting steps
1. Examine a failed page
- Download the problematic scan
- Check that all four corners are visible
- Look for QR codes if unique marking is enabled
- Verify that the scan matches the survey design
2. Test with a single page
- Scan one page carefully
- Ensure all corners are visible
- Upload and check if it processes
- If successful, review your batch scanning process
3. Check your settings
In the survey's Settings, verify that the unique page marking setting matches your prints and the language settings are appropriate. The paper size (A4 or Letter) is a team setting, in Settings › Personal or, on a team with more than one member, My Team.
4. Review printer settings
- Set margins to "None" or "Minimal"
- Use "Actual Size" not "Fit to Page"
- Disable any auto-cropping features
- Print in high quality mode
Prevention
Before printing
- Always test print one page first
- Verify all elements are visible
- Check printer compatibility
- Save your print settings for consistency
During scanning
- Align pages carefully
- Use consistent scanner settings
- Batch similar documents together
- Clean the scanner regularly
After uploading
- Check the first few processed pages
- Monitor error rates
- Address issues immediately
- Do not delete originals until results are verified
Still having issues?
If surveys still are not recognized, contact our support team with a sample problem scan, your Survey ID, any error messages, and the steps you have already tried. We can help with custom margin adjustments, alternative processing options, and bulk reprocessing.
Most recognition issues are easily fixed once the root cause is identified. Following these guidelines ensures smooth processing for all your surveys.