How to Import Your Survey from Word

Available to Professional Levels and Above.

SurveyGizmo has released the ability to create a survey based upon specially formatted text copied and pasted from a Word document or other text program. The following survey elements can be included when creating a new survey through this method:

• Descriptive Text
• Textbox question
• Essay question
• Radio Button question (single-selection)
• Checkbox question (multi-selection)
• Table of Radio Buttons question
• Table of Checkboxes question
• Table of Textboxes question
• File Upload

At the bottom of this documentation there are two sample .doc files provided that include additional assistance in creating your own files for the Word import. Both files can be downloaded and the surveys they create can also be viewed as a point of comparison.

There are some basic formatting/syntax rules that are important to be aware of when building your own survey.

1. Each element (question, descriptive text, NewPage) is separated by at least one blank line between the elements (think of it like double-spacing the elements)
2. To start a new page, add the special code ::NewPage:: which is case-sensitive! You can also include the title of the page by adding a space and the title immediately after the code (e.g. ::NewPage:: Title of the Page )
3. HTML is allowed in the question titles, descriptive text, and the answers
4. Question titles MUST be on a single line! If you require a line break within your question titles, use the HTML break tag:
   
5. Be careful of the instructions for using spaces versus using a tab. It is very important to use the proper formatting as described below

Let's cover each element that can be included in your Word import file.

Word Import Survey Elements

Comments

Comments are allowed in your document to assist you in organizing your document, but will not be part of your survey when it is imported. They are used heavily in the Documentation Sample .doc file provided at the end of this tutorial. A comment can be placed anywhere within the file (it is not required to be on its own line), and is wrapped with the following symbols: /* and */.

/* This is a comment. */

::NewPage::

To add a new page to your survey, you must add in the specially formatted code below. This code is case-sensitive and must be entered exactly as follows:

::NewPage::

If you prefer, you can also specify a title for the page to help keep your survey organized, by following the above code with a space and then the title of the page. No HTML should be used in the page title!

::NewPage:: Title of the Page

TIP: It is not necessary to start your survey with the ::NewPage:: element unless you wish to change the title of the page from the default, "Page One."

Descriptive Text

A descriptive text field provides a text description that informs the respondent, but does not require a response. This is typically an introduction or instructions for the survey taker. A descriptive text can be added by simply typing any text on its own line. If you wish to have multiple lines of text, ensure that there is only a single line break between the text if it is the same descriptive text field. The importer will replace your line breaks with the HTML
automatically during the import to maintain your formatting.

This is an introductory paragraph.
By doing a single line break, these are the same descriptive text field.

By adding a blank line above, this becomes a new descriptive text field, and may include HTML code.

Textbox

A textbox is a short textual answer field and is created by the question title on a single line, followed by one or more consecutive underscores on the line immediately below the question title.

Please enter your name in the textbox below.
____

Essay

An essay is a lengthy open-ended question type that is created by a question title on a single line, followed by two or more lines of at least one consecutive underscore.

In the essay box below, please enter a description of a typical day in your life.
_____
_____

Radio Button

The radio button is the most common survey question format and presents the respondent with multiple choices, allowing them to select only a single answer. It is created by a question title on a single line, followed by each possible answer on the following lines, preceded by opening and closing parentheses.

Please select your gender from the radio button below.
()Male
()Female

Note that additional spaces are allowed between each parenthesis or between the parentheses and the answer. Do not use tabs within the answer!

TIP: The above format is the recommended format, however a shorthand version is allowed for this question type which includes the parenthesis only on the first answer.

Please select your gender.
() Male
Female
Prefer not to respond

Checkbox

The checkbox question asks the respondent to select one or more items from a list of choices. It is created by a question title on a single line, followed by each possible answer on the following lines, preceded by an opening and closing brackets.

Choose from the checkbox below all of the airlines you have flown in the past 3 months.
[]Southwest
[]United
[]Delta
[]American

Note that additional spaces are allowed between each bracket or between the brackets and the answer. Do not use tabs within the answers!

TIP: The above format is the recommended format, however a shorthand version is allowed for this question type which includes brackets included only on the first answer in the list.

Choose from the checkbox below all of the airlines you have flown in the past 3 months.
[ ] Southwest
United
Delta
American

Table of Radio Buttons

The table of radio buttons allows respondents to select one of the possible criteria (columns) about each item listed in the left most column (the row headers). It is created by a question title on a single line, followed on the next line by each column's answer separated by a tab, then each following line containing the row header, a tab, and a set of parentheses for each column header, all separated by tabs.

In the radio button table below, rate the following tree decorations.
	1	2	3	4	5
hanging balls	()	()	()	()	()
garland	()	()	()	()	()
spray-on snow	()	()	()	()	()
ornaments	()	()	()	()	()

You will notice that on the second line, where the column headers (answers) are specified, a tab was intentionally added at the beginning. There is no label for the row header's column, so nothing is present for the first item. The first tab is not required, but recommended for clarity.

TIP: The above format is the recommended format, however a shorthand version is allowed for this question type which includes only a first set of parenthesis after the tab that follows the first row header.

In the radio button table below, rate the following tree decorations.
1	2	3	4	5
hanging balls	()
garland
spray-on snow
ornaments

Table of Checkboxes

The table of checkboxes allows respondents to select one or more matching criteria (columns) about each item listed in the left most column (row headers). It is created by a question title on a single line, followed on the next line by each column's answer separated by a tab, then each following line containing the row header, a tab, and a set of brackets for each column header, all separated by tabs.

In the checkbox table below, select all of the beverages you consume during each meal time.
	water	juice	soda	coffee	tea
breakfast	[]	[]	[]	[]	[]
lunch	[]	[]	[]	[]	[]
dinner	[]	[]	[]	[]	[]

You will notice that on the second line, where the column headers (answers) are specified, a tab was intentionally added at the beginning. There is no label for the row header's column, so nothing is present for the first item. The first tab is not required, but recommended for clarity.

TIP: The above format is the recommended format, however a shorthand version is allowed for this question type which includes only a first set of brackets after the tab that follows the first row header.

In the checkbox table below, select all of the beverages you consume during each meal time.
water	juice	soda	coffee	tea
breakfast	[]
lunch
dinner

Table of Textboxes

The table of textboxes allows respondents to provide an open answer for each specified row and column alignment. It is created by a question title on a single line, followed on the next line by each column's answer separated by a tab, then each following line containing the row header, a tab, and one or more underscore characters together for each column header, each separated by tabs.

Enter costs per quarter per department in the table of textboxes below.
	Q1	Q2	Q3
Marketing	__	__	__
Sales	__	__	__
Training	__	__	__

You will notice that on the second line, where the column headers (answers) are specified, a tab was intentionally added at the beginning. There is no label for the row header's column, so nothing is present for the first item. The first tab is not required, but recommended for clarity.

TIP: The above format is the recommended format, however a shorthand version is allowed for this question type which includes only a single underscore after the tab that follows the first row header.

Enter costs per quarter per department in the table of textboxes below.
Q1	Q2	Q3
Marketing	_
Sales
Training

File Upload

Added in 3.2.1 The file upload question type allows user to upload a file to your survey. You can now add this question type through the Import from Word feature using the question title as the first line, and then the exact phrase ::file upload:: as the second line. Note: File Upload is not present in the sample files.

Please upload your resume.
::file upload::

Features not yet Supported

With the exception of the question types above, no other question types are available at this time. Secondly, the Word import does not support the ability to specify your answer's title and reporting value as we offer when adding a new question through the survey editor. Within the SurveyGizmo editor, this is specified by a pipe symbol '|' separating the two values. Finally, survey logic cannot be created through the importer and must be created through the survey builder interface after the word import has been completed.

If you would like these or other features added, please use the UserVoice powered Feedback link on the right-side when you are inside the application to cast your vote.

Sample Word Files

Word Import - Documentation Sample

Download .doc file: Documentation Sample

Survey Link: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/425706/Word-Import-Documentation-Sample

Word Import - Sample Survey

Download .doc file: Sample Survey

Survey Link: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/425708/Word-Import-Sample-Survey