Edit Element Tab

Adding Edit Elements

  1. Select Edit|Insert and choose Edit Element or Edit Element toolbar button from the toolbar.
  2. In the If text box, enter the logical or mathematical expressions to be tested by the Edit Element. For example, enter “NEXTVIS < (TODAY+180)”, where TODAY is an Automatic Variable of the type Today's date, and NEXTVIS is a Date type response. The Edit Element must be inserted after the Elements to be included in the check.

Tip: If you plan to refer to special codes (Don't Know, Refused, Not Applicable, or Skipped) in an Edit Element condition, you need to follow the guidelines for using Special Codes in QDS Expressions.

Edit Element Tab

  1. In the Display message box:
    • If you wish to have an edit message displayed: Enter the text to be displayed when the If condition is TRUE. The message generally explains the nature of the inconsistency and requests a resolution.
    • If you do not wish to have a message displayed: Check the Perform without message option box
  1. In the Reconciliation process box, select the option to perform if condition evaluates to true:

Reconciliation process box

  • No further special processing: Displays message only (Perform without message checkbox is disabled).
  • Reconciliation elements follow this: Additional elements to clarify or restate one or more questions related to the identified inconsistency. They must immediately follow the Edit Element and will be bypassed if the condition was FALSE. The Number of Elements box indicates how many reconciliation elements follow.
  • Loop back to prior element: Loops back to prior element. The Number of Elements box indicates how far back to go. You may also loop back to the last question answered, using the special Marker LASTQUES. This option has the potential disadvantage of introducing an infinite loop into the questionnaire if the inconsistency is not resolved in an earlier element.
  • Launch another control file: Launches a second questionnaire file. This process automatically completes the current interview and starts a new interview using the specified file. When this option is selected, the Edit Element Launch tab is enabled where up to 10 variables can be selected to share to the second file. (Not supported by the Web Module).
  • Link to file/URL: Link to the specified external file or URL. You may link to an external file in the Web Module if it is located on a public web server and accessed via URL.
  1. Select any additional options specific to the type of reconciliation option.
  2. Enter a custom Item IDClosedItem IDs are available for Skip, Edit, Information, and Section Header Elements. They must be unique and may contain up to 35 characters; certain special characters (i.e., ampersands, backslashes, curly braces, and commas) are disallowed. If an Item ID is not assigned a custom name, the Validate function will automatically assign the ID using the format, <element-type>-<sequence number>. (optional)
  3. Select OK.

The element listing displays the Edit Element in red and lists the condition, type of resolution, and destination.

Element Listing example with colors

Additional Edit Element Options

  • … evaluates to “maybe”: With QDS, calculation of a logical condition may evaluate to TRUE, FALSE, or MAYBE. An evaluation of MAYBE for this skip condition can be treated as TRUE or FALSE. Check this box to treat a MAYBE evaluation as TRUE. Leave the box unchecked to treat MAYBE as FALSE.
  • Audio File Name: The filename, without the directory or file extension, for the audio (.WAV) file with the text for this message. To suppress audio for this element, enter "No Audio" in the Audio File Name box. File names are limited to 8 characters and may not contain the characters \ / : * ? " < > | or blanks.
  • Audio Interruptible?: Check this box if you would like to allow the Subject/Respondent to interrupt the Audio File in automated interviews by responding before it has finished playing.
  • Item ID: Edit Element identifer that can be either 1) automatically updated whenever specifications are validated using format Edit-# with sequential numbers for all Edit Elements in the current specifications file, or 2) given a custom name up to 35 characters (names must be unique and not include ampersands, backslashes, curly braces, or commas). Item IDs can be searched via Edit|Find in the Design Studio and are listed in both RTF Codebooks and CSV Codebooks.