Survey parameters are custom variables consisting of a name and a value. Generally, they are used to display data that may appear in several places throughout the survey and/or data that may have to change frequently.
For example, in an employee satisfaction survey that is administered every quarter a parameter named “quater” could be piped into the survey. Then, the value of this parameter could be changed from “Spring” to “Summer” to “Fall” to “Winter”, as necessary.
In question prompts, text and HTML throughout the survey, place the marker {ParamValue:quarter} wherever the quarter appears. Illume will automatically replace {ParamValue:quarter} with the value of the “quarter” parameter when it displays pages to survey participants.
Similarly, if the questions ask participants about a specific product, a parameter could be created for the product name. Then, if the same questions are asked about another product in the future, the questions can be retrieved from the repository, dropped into a new survey, and the product name parameter in the survey could be changed to the name of the new product. Illume will then automatically insert the new product name into all the question prompts.
Adding and Editing Survey Parameters
To set survey parameters, follow these steps:
- Choose Survey \ Preferences… from the Survey Designer menu
- Click on the Parameters tab.
- To add a new parameter, click in the Parameter Name column in the last available row. (This is the row marked by a star.)
- To edit an existing parameter, click on the name of the parameter in the Parameter Name column.
- Type the name of the parameter in the left column, and the value in the right column.
- Click OK
Deleting Survey Parameters
To delete a parameter, click in the gray column to the left of the parameter name. This highlights the parameter name and value. Press the delete key on your keyboard.
Displaying Survey Parameters
To display a survey parameter in a question prompt or in the survey’s HTML, simply type {ParamValue:NAME_OF_PARAMETER}, substituting the actual parameter name for NAME_OF_PARAMETER. Illume will display the proper parameter value when the survey appears in the previewer, or in a participant’s browser. For more information about adding custom HTML to your survey, see “Using the HTML Editor.”