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Procedure documentationExporting and Importing Questions and Sections

 

You can export the content of the question library to an external file, for example to send the texts to translators or to allow colleagues who have no access to the question library to change texts or to add new questions or sections. The texts can be modified offline, and you can later import the changes into the question library.

Note Note

  • You cannot start the export or import as long as questions or sections are being edited and the data has not been saved.

  • You have to export all questions or all sections that exist in the question library together. You cannot export or import only specific questions or sections.

  • The XML file that is exported complies with the UTF-8 encoding. When you import a file, ensure that the file also complies with this encoding.

End of the note.

Procedure

Exporting Questions or Sections

To export sections or questions (including answer options) from the question library, proceed as follows:

  1. Click the Questions or the Sections tab.

  2. Click Transfer and choose Export.

    The questions or sections are downloaded.

  3. Save the XML file. You can enter any file name.

  4. Open the file in a program that can process spreadsheets in XML format. For an explanation of the data available in the XML file, see Offline Content of the Question Library.

Modifying Questions or Sections Offline

Caution Caution

  • Do not modify the columns or the column headings offline. If the columns and their heading texts do not exactly match the ones exported from the question library, the file cannot be imported.

End of the caution.

You can change the content of the question library in the following ways:

  • Modify texts of existing questions or sections

    You can modify question texts, including explanations and answer options, and you can modify section titles and explanations. You can also modify the names of questions and sections in the following places:

    • Question names can be modified in lines starting with “Q”, but not in lines starting with “QT” and “AT”.

    • Section names can be modified in lines starting with “S”, but not in lines starting with “ST”.

  • Add new questions with answer options or sections

    To add a new question or section, do the following:

    1. Insert a new line in the offline XML file. Ensure that you follow the pattern described in Offline Content of the Question Library under Sequence of Lines in the XML File.

    2. Manually specify the values required for sections and questions, as is appropriate.

      Note Note

      Do not specify IDs for new questions, answer options, or sections (and the corresponding translations). The system does this automatically after the import.

      End of the note.

  • Translate existing questions with answer options or sections

    To translate a question or section, do the following:

    1. In a line where the language code corresponds to the target language into which you are translating, enter the target language text in the empty fields as follows:

      • In lines starting with “ST”, you can translate the title of the section and the explanation (if available).

      • In lines starting with “QT”, you can translate the text of the question and the explanation (if available).

      • In lines starting with “AT”, you can translate the text of the answer options.

    2. Adapt the value under translation_status in the translation lines as follows:

      • For translations that are finished, enter “3” (Translated).

      • For translations that are in process, enter “2” (In Translation).

      Note Note

      For lines starting with “Q” or “S”, the value under translation_status indicates the status of all translations of a text. This status is calculated by the system from the statuses of the individual languages and cannot be modified offline.

      End of the note.

You cannot do the following offline:

  • Modify the status (“active” or “inactive”) of a question or section

  • Modify the question type

  • Modify the assignment of questions or sections to a group

  • Delete content of the question library by deleting lines from the XML file or by importing empty lines

Importing Questions or Sections

To import sections or questions into the question library, proceed as follows:

  1. Click the Questions or Sections tab.

  2. Click Transfer and choose Import.

  3. Browse for the XML file you want to import, select it, and choose Open.

  4. Choose OK.

Note Note

  • The structure of the XML file that you want to import must correspond to the structure of the file that you have previously exported.

  • Newly created section and question texts are immediately active after you import them into the question library.

  • For all questions, sections, or answers that you import, the system lists you as the person who last changed the object. If you want to limit this to the lines that you actually changed, delete all lines from the XML file that you did not change. Existing elements in the question library are not overwritten by empty lines, so you will not loose any data.

  • To display translated texts after importing translations, you have to navigate to the Translation application.

  • If you want to import lists of questions or sections that were not part of your question library before, ensure that all ID columns (including answer_id) are empty.

End of the note.

More Information

Offline Content of the Question Library

Required Roles

To display the Translation application, you must have been assigned the Translator (/SRMSMC/TRANSLATOR) role in addition to the Questionnaire Manager (/SRMSMC/QUESTIONNAIRE_MANAGER) role.