When you create the content of a questionnaire, an invitation to complete a questionnaire or an e-mail which is send to the respondent after completion, it is often necessary to insert personalized or dependent information on the provided answers.

To enable creation of this type of information, use the Dynamic content (macro) function. The principle of operation is very similar to those which are well known from, for example, Word programs or mail merge options. In those cases apart from the same text for everyone, we can insert for each recipient different content taken from an external source.

In the article below you will find a list of available macros with information on which area they are available and how to use them. Some macros are available only during creation an invitation to the survey, some only in the questionnaire, some on the page with thanks for completion and in the e-mail which is sent after filling in. Some of them are also available in all of these areas.

Here is the full list of macros and places in the system in which they are available:

How to insert dynamic content (tags)?

Inserting macros and dynamic content is very simple. There are two options for Startquestion users. The first is to use the advanced content editor and select the right element in the „Tags” drop-down menu.

The second option is to enter the name of the macro in the form as in the table above and the examples below, directly into the content, eg [ANS_ID_12345] or [ANS_ID_12345.2]. This is especially useful in places that do not have the possibility of advanced content editing, such as the content of the question. To check how the macro data works in practice, we recommend testing with a test completion or after sending test emails.

Below we present  a list of all macros with examples of use.

Answer given in the question

[ANS_ID_12545], [ANS_ID_32645], [ANS_ID_32232], [ANS_ID_12345.1], [ANS_ID_56984.2] etc.

Thanks to this macro, you can insert in the body of the question, the content of the answer given on the previous page of the questionnaire or to the body of the response message, which the respondent gave in the questionnaire just filled. This is very useful when you want to dynamize the questionnaire without duplicating questions unnecessarily. The content will only show the selected answer or the text entered by the respondent – the question will not be inserted automatically, so remember to insert it by yourself into the template. At the moment, the macro works only for the following types of questions: single-choice, multiple-choice, form, drop-down list, open, question about an e-mail, date and number.

In the question type: “form” and in the open question allowing to enter more than 1 answer, we can use the macro to select a specific answer using the [ANS_ID_42345.2] entry where 42345 is the unique question ID and 2 is the second answer or the second entry in the form.

Example 1:

Thank you for submitting your desire to participate in the conference „Platforms for online surveys and saving trees”.

Your data:

[ANS_ID_00001] – Question 1 is a question of the Form type

Special requirements:

[ANS_ID_12354] – Question 3 is an open question

Interest in the thematic block:

[ANS_ID_45658] – Question 4 is a selection question from the drop down list

Effect:

Thank you for submitting your desire to participate in the conference „Platforms for online surveys and saving trees”.

Your data:

First name – Marcin

Surname – Summer

e-mail – marcin.summer@email.pl

Special requirements:

I am asking for a vegan meal.

Interest in the thematic block:

Examples of applications in the medical industry

Example 2:

In question No. 3, you answered that you are spending the most time [ANS_ID_525848]. What activities do you do there?

Effect:

In question No. 3, you answered that you spend the most time at the seaside. What activities do you do there?

The percentage and numerical result obtained in the test

[TOTAL_PTS], [TOTAL_%]

If your questionnaire is a test of knowledge or assessment, you can view or send the respondent the result obtained in numerical as well as in percentage terms. You can also present a partial result while completing the questionnaire.

Example:

The result you get: [TOTAL_PTS] points. In percentage terms, this is [TOTAL_%]. Congratulations.

Effect:

The result you get: 50 points. In percentage terms, it gives 41.67%. Congratulations.

Feedback and interpretation of the obtained result

[Feedback]

If your survey is a test of knowledge or assessment and you have configured the display of feedback based on the obtained score, you can view or send the result to the respondent in the summary. If the test has several features and some feedback, they will be displayed one below the other.

Example:

The result you get: [TOTAL_PTS] points.

[Feedback]

Effect:

The result you get: 50 points.

You need to work on your relationships with employees.

You are doing very well to complete the assigned tasks.

We recommend the development of knowledge in your field through participation in training.

Contact and respondent’s labels

[NAME_NAME] e.g. [NAME], [LASTNAME], [COMPANY]

Thanks to this macro, you can use the contact labels in the questionnaire, invitation or email after filling in, and thanks to this option personalize the message for each of the respondents.

For the correct use of this macro, the following conditions must be fulfilled:

• contact labels must be entered in the appropriate tab,
• contacts must be imported along with the above information,
• imported contacts must be added as respondents to the survey in the „send via e-mail” tab.

Example:

Hello [NAME],

You [SENIORITY] work at [COMPANY]. Please rate the time spent in this organization.

Effect:

Hello, Mike,

At IBM, you’ve been working for over 2 years. Please rate the time spent in this organization.

The title of the survey

[TITLE]

The macro allows you to insert the title of the questionnaire that has just been completed.

Example:

Thank you for completing the „[TITLE]” survey. The results will be sent to your account within 14 days after the end of the study.

Effect:

Thank you for completing the survey „Risk factors among people working in offices„. The results will be sent to your account within 14 days of the end of the study.

Verification code after completing the survey

[VERIFICATION_CODE]

Thanks to this macro a code will be inserted to the email content after the completion or to the thank-you page. It let us verify the completed survey, generated for a given respondent.

Example:

Thank you for completing the survey. Your verification code to submit to the reseller is: [VERIFICATION_CODE]

Effect:

Thank you for completing the survey. Your verification code to present to the reseller is: DX4J21

Parameter tracking external key

[EXTERNAL_KEY]

This macro allows you to insert an external key that you used to refer to the survey. This is useful, for example, when the respondent is redirected to another survey, keeping the key provided (eg redirection to a survey in a different language version).

Example:

In order to complete this survey, please go to: https://www.startquestion.com/survey/169456/holiday-survey.html?external_key=[EXTERNAL_KEY].

Effect:

In order to complete this survey, please go to: https://www.startquestion.com/survey/169456/holiday-survey.html?external_key=fckgwrhqq.

The respondent’s e-mail address

[E-MAIL]

This macro displays the respondent’s email address completing the survey. It can be used only for surveys with the highest level of security and when sending invitations from the Startquestion.com system.

Example:

You complete the questionnaire as [EMAIL].

If it is not you, please stop completing.

Effect:

You fill out the questionnaire as monika@example.com.

If it is not you, please stop completing.

Responder’s ID

[ID_RESPONDENT]

This macro displays the system address of the respondent’s ID completing the survey. You can use the responder ID in Webhook alerts to update the respondent’s data.

Survey URL

[HREF]

This macro presents the URL of the survey to which you are creating the invitation. If you create a survey with the highest level of security, this address will also contain a token.

Example:

Hello, I invite you to complete the questionnaire. You can find it under <a href=[HREF]> this </a> address.

Effect:

Hello, I invite you to complete the questionnaire. You can find it at this address.

Link to the survey

[LINK]

This macro has a similar application to the above macro, but it presents the address of the survey in the form of HTML. This is useful when the invitation you create is also created in HTML (e.g., mailing). The form of this link is <a href=”[HREF]”> [HREF] </a>.

Example:

<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>Invitation to complete the survey</title>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/>
</head>
<body style="margin: 0; padding: 0;">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td>
Hello, I would like to invite You to take a part with my research. You will find the survey here: [LINK].
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>Efekt:
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>Invitation to complete the survey</title>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"/>
</head>
<body style="margin: 0; padding: 0;">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td>
Hello, I would like to invite You to take a part with my research. You will find the survey here: <a href=" https://www.startquestion.com/survey/159877/t/d2c2e3/rate-of-benefits.html "> l </a>.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>

Survey access token

[TOKEN]

Thanks to this macro, you can insert a token intended for the respondent to log into the survey with the highest security level in the invitation text.

Example:

Hello, I invite you to complete the questionnaire. You can find it at https://www.startquestion.com/survey/159877/ocena-systemu-motywacyjnego.html.

To complete it you have to use the token: [TOKEN].

Effect:

Hello, I invite you to complete the questionnaire. You can find it at https://www.startquestion.com/survey/159877/ocena-systemu-motywacyjnego.html.

To complete it you need to use the token: d2c2e3.

Please note that with the highest security level survey, the [LINK] and [HREF] + [TOKEN] macros can be used interchangeably. In the first case, the address immediately contains the token and the system recognizes it automatically. In the second case, a form will appear in which you must enter the token manually.

The sum and average points from a specific feature

[FEATURE_NAME_SUM], [FEATURE_NAME_AVG]

This macro allows you to display the sum of points obtained in the test in a specific feature that we identified by providing feedback to the respondent. In the macro, instead of FEATURE_NAME, the name of our feature should be inserted, for example [LEADER_SKILLS_SUM] or [CREATIVITY_AVG], if the characteristics of „Leader skills” and „Creativity” have been defined.

Example:

Thank you for completing the self-assessment questionnaire.

In the manager’s predisposition test you received [LEADER_SKILLS_SUM] for 100 possible points.

In the assessment of coping skills you received [STRES_SUM] for 100 possible points.

In the test for knowledge of our processes in our organization, you obtained an average of [KNOWLEDGE_AVG] points.

Effect:

Thank you for completing the self-assessment questionnaire.

In the manager’s predisposition test, you received 74 out of 100 possible points.

In the assessment of coping skills you received 22 out of 100 possible points.

In the test for knowledge of our processes in our organization, you obtained an average of 3 points.

Link to results

[SHOW_RESULTS_URL]

This macro allows you to add to thank you page or e-mail after completion, a link to view the previously collected responses. The link can be changed to a button or hidden under a better name using the HTML editing in the editor.

Example:

Thank you for completing the survey.

You can follow-up results by following the link below:

[SHOW_RESULTS_URL]

Effect:

Thank you for completing the survey.

You can follow-up results by following the link below:

http://survey.mycompany.pl/results-survey/ID/1234567/survey.html

Link to download the completed sheet

[GET_RESPONSES_URL]

This macro allows you to add to the thank you page or an email after completion, a link to the PDF sheet with a survey completed by the respondent. This is useful when you want the respondent to archive his or her completion. The link will be active until the respondent’s sheet is in the system. The link can be easily changed to a button or hidden under a better name using the HTML editing in the editor.

Example:

Thank you for applying to the competition.

You can download your answers with the help of the following link:

[GET_RESPONSES_URL]

Effect:

Thank you for applying to the competition.

You can download your answers with the help of the following link:

http://survey.mycompany.com/get-responses/12z3yg9a81w24d981a4328

Token along with the survey ID

[TOKEN @ ID_SURVEY]

Thanks to this macro, you can display the token, by means of which the respondent will have access to the questionnaire with the given ID. It is mandatory that a respondent with the same e-mail address should be present in the source survey as well as in the target questionnaire. This is useful especially when it is necessary to identify respondents, but we want to give them the opportunity, for example, to change the language version of the questionnaire.

Example:

In order to complete this survey, please go to: https://www.startquestion.com/ankieta/169456/t/[TOKEN@169456]/holiday-survey.html

Effect:

In order to complete this survey, please go to: https://www.startquestion.com/ankieta/169456/t/4g6s8k/holiday-survey.html

Worth to remember:

•  To find out how to create surveys secured with a token, go to the article: Generate individual links (tokens) to the survey.
•  ANS_ID_ * macro types do not work in widgets. In the case of a widget, therefore, it is necessary to apply working macros, which are the older macros implementation, that is [ANS_ * nr *], where number is the number of the selected question.
•  For more information on how to use the answers to questions in the questions content, see the article: Answer the question in the next questions.
•  You can find out how to present the respondents’ data in the invitations and questionnaires addressed to them from the article: The respondent’s data in the questionnaire and the invitation to complete in the survey.