Tags let you organize survey responses into meaningful groups so you can filter, export, and analyze subsets of your data with ease. Whether you want to categorize by collection location, date, event, instructor, or any other criteria, tagging gives you the flexibility to work with exactly the data you need.

You can apply tags before or after data collection, depending on your workflow and whether your surveys use unique page marking.

Tagging Overview

Tags serve as labels that help you:

• Group responses by collection method or source
• Filter data for specific analysis
• Track responses across different locations or time periods
• Identify test data or special cases
• Export filtered datasets based on categories

Tagging Methods Comparison

Your tagging options depend on whether you use unique page marking:

Without unique page marking

• Create multiple survey versions
• Tag after data collection

With unique page marking

• Set batch numbers when printing
• Add identifier prefixes
• Create multiple survey versions
• Use prefill forms (advanced)
• Tag after data collection

Method 1: Tag Before Data Collection

Pre-collection tagging works best for paper surveys with unique page marking. This approach embeds tags directly into printed forms.

Set batch number when generating copies

Batch numbers identify groups of surveys printed together:

1. Navigate to the Print tab
2. Enable unique page marking
3. Click Generate to start creating PDFs
4. Enter a batch label after generation starts
5. Each form in that batch carries this identifier

Use cases: Track forms by print date, distribution location, or event.

Set identifier prefix when generating copies

Prefixes customize the unique identifiers on each page:

1. Enable unique page marking in Print settings
2. Enter a prefix (letters, underscores, dashes only)
3. Generate your copies

Example: Prefix "NYC_" creates identifiers NYC_1, NYC_2, NYC_3...

Use cases: Identify surveys by location, department, or study phase.

Create multiple survey versions

Survey versions let you create variations with built-in tags:

1. Go to the Print tab
2. Click "Create Version"
3. Name each version descriptively
4. Enable "Advanced Versioning" for easy renaming

One thing to keep in mind: if you decide to update the survey later on, you will need to recreate all of the versions.

Use prefill forms (Advanced)

Prefill forms embed respondent information directly into forms. This advanced feature requires technical setup but provides the most detailed tagging.

Method 2: Tag After Data Collection

Post-collection tagging works for all survey types and collection methods.

Web upload tagging

Add tags during the upload process:

1. Scan your completed surveys
2. Click "Upload" in your survey dashboard
3. Enter a tag in the tag field
4. Complete the upload

Email upload tagging

Use the +plus notation in email addresses:

• Base email: demo@upload.papersurvey.io
• Tagged email: demo+classroom1@upload.papersurvey.io

The system extracts "classroom1" as the tag automatically.

Alternatively, all uploads can be tagged with sender address. For example, if john.doe@example.com uploads scanned documents, all of their responses will be tagged with the john.doe@example.com email.

Web survey tagging

Add tags via URL parameters:

https://www.papersurvey.io/s/52k6rk?tag=spring2024

Share different URLs with different groups to automatically tag responses.

API and integration tagging

• Zapier: Default tag "zapier"
• API: Default tag "api"
• Mobile app: Default tag "mobile_app"

Custom tags are not available for these methods. Use bulk updates afterward to apply your own tags.

Updating Existing Tags

Bulk tag updates

To change tags for existing responses:

1. Go to your Responses page
2. Click "Edit" mode
3. Select responses using checkboxes
4. Click "Bulk Actions" then "Update Tags"
5. Enter the new tag and confirm

Tag Management

Filtering by tags

Use the filter option in the Responses view to select one or multiple tags, export filtered data for analysis, and create saved views for common filters.

Combining tags

Each response can have multiple tags. You can assign additional tags through bulk actions, use prefill forms for multiple data points, or combine tags with other fields for more detailed filtering.