Responses menu

You can find the Responses menu by following these instructions:

1. In Snap XMP Online, click on the survey in Your Work to select it.
2. In the Summary tab, click the Collect link.
3. Select the Responses menu. This displays the default Responses page where you have the option to export all response data, and to delete all data.

Entering the format and filter

1. In Format, select the format of the exported data. You can download the survey response data in the formats:
   • Excel – csv is a version of the comma separated format that is easily recognised by Excel files.
   • CSV is a comma separated format where the text fields are surrounded by quote characters. 
   • TSV is a tab separated format.
   • Excel – xlsx is an Excel spreadsheet format.
2. In Filter, enter a filter expression to return a subset of the response data that matches the filter. For example, Q1=(1,2) or Q2=”name”.

Choosing the export file options

There are a number of export options available.

Exporting the selected response data

• Click the Export data button.

When the data export is successful, you will see a confirmation message. The export saves the exported data file to the default downloads folder set for the device. The file name consists of the survey name followed by “ – responses” and the file extension chosen for the export. For example, “my survey – responses.csv”.

The post Downloading online response data appeared first on SnapSurveys.

This webinar provides a simplified overview of the Snap XMP API, explaining the jargon and outlining your options. Perfect for non-developers to find out about the possibilities an API can bring.

Related help

API Reference

Exporting response data to Power BI

The post Snap XMP API appeared first on SnapSurveys.

There are two ways to connect Snap XMP response data to Power BI:

• Export the response data file in CSV format to use in Power BI
• Use the Snap XMP API directly in Power BI

Exporting the response data file in CSV format

1. Log into Snap XMP Online and open the survey.
2. In the Summary tab, click Collect to go to the Collect section.
3. In the Collect menu, click Responses. This opens the Responses section where you can manage the survey’s response data that has already been collected.
4. In Export Options, select the CSV export option. Managing response data contains further information on the available export options.

5. Click Export All Data to export all the responses to a CSV file. This saves the file to the Downloads folder set on your device.
6. Once downloaded, open Power BI and select Get Data.
7. In the Get Data dialog, which opens up, select Text/CSV, then select the exported data file and click Open.
8. Once loading is complete, you can view the response data. You can check the data looks the way you want then click Load to load the data into Power BI. There is an option to transform the data before loading, if required.

This option uses a snapshot of the response data at the time you exported the file. To update the data, repeat the process by exporting the file, giving it the same name, then re-loading it into Power BI.

Using the Snap XMP API directly in Power BI

Before using the API, the Snap XMP Online account being used will require an API permit.

• If you are using the Snap Surveys Subscription service Snap Surveys will set up the API permit.
• If you are using an On-Premises service, your organisation will set up the API permit.

Please note that when using the API:

• software development experience may be required.
• there is a unit cost associated with using the API.

Finding the survey GUID

Each survey has a unique identifier, called a GUID. This is used by the API to link to the survey. The survey GUID can be found in Snap XMP Desktop and Snap XMP Online.

Snap XMP Online

Log into Snap XMP Online and open the survey. The survey GUID forms the last section of the URL.

Snap XMP Desktop

• Open Snap XMP Desktop and from the Survey Overview, select and open the survey.
• Click the Tailor | Online Details menu. The Survey field contains the survey GUID.

Getting data using the API

1. Open Power BI and click on the Get data text.

2. Select Web from the list of Common data sources.
3. In the From Web dialog, click Advanced to expand the options.
4. In URL parts, enter the URL that calls the API. For example the URL to return response data is: https://<servername>/snaponline/api/surveys/<surveyGUID>/responses
   • <servername> is the name of the server, such as online1.snapsurveys.com or online2.snapsurveys.com if you are using Snap Surveys Subscription service,
   • <surveyGUID> is the unique GUID for the survey you are using.

5. Next add in login information required by the API. In the HTTP request header parameters add your username, API key (Password) and API version info.
   • Enter X-USERNAME with the Snap XMP Online account email address. Click Add header.
   • Enter X-API-KEY with the user’s API key. Click Add header.
   • Enter X-VERSION as 2.0.

6. Click OK
7. The first time you enter the login information, it will ask what credentials you want to use. Select Anonymous from the left side. (This is not actually anonymous since the login details have been passed through and will be used for authentication.)
8. Select the API level for access. For example, for any API call use “https://<servername>/snaponline/api” replacing <servername> with the name of the server you are using.
9. Click OK.
10. Click Close and Apply to load the data. The API data is one row per variable, so each column has just a list of one aspect of the variable (one column for variable number, one for responses, etc.)

Using the API, means that you can refresh the response data from Power BI and the data is kept up to date. Be aware that there is a unit cost associated with using the API.

You can use the API to return a number of different data sets for your surveys.

Transforming the response data

Once the response data is in Power BI, you can change the data.

We recommend that you duplicate the response data before making changes. This is for safety so that you have your original data to return to, if necessary, and if you are using the API there is a unit charge for re-loading the data.

1. In Power BI, click Transform data. This opens a spreadsheet-style view of the data.

2. Some example transformations are:
   • If the response data uses a header (top) row, this will load as a data row and populate in your chart. You can choose to use the first row to name your column headers or you can remove rows by selecting Remove rows>Remove top rows then enter “1” to remove the top row.
   • Apply a filter by clicking the drop-down next to the column that you want to transform. Select the filter from the options, then click OK.
   • Remove unwanted columns by selecting the column, right-clicking then selecting Remove Columns from the pop-up menu.
3. Click Close and apply to save all the changes.

Using Power BI for charts

There are a variety of visualizations that you can create in Power BI, including charts.

When you have loaded your data set the data source is shown in the Data section. Expand the data source to view the columns.

In the Visualizations section, there are a number of charts that you can select.

Example: Stacked bar chart

To add a chart:

1. In Visualizations, click on the Stacked bar chart icon to add it to the display area.
2. In Data, select or drag a data column, e.g. Location, to add it to the Y axis.
3. Drag the data column to the X axis to view the location counts.

Refreshing data

Using the API, means that you can refresh the response data from Power BI, by clicking Refresh. The data is kept up to date, as there is a connection to it.

For refreshing data obtained from an exported CSV file:

1. In Snap XMP Online, re-download the CSV data export file, keeping the same file name and location. This can be done by overwriting the original file or deleting it ahead of time and replacing it with the new one.
2. In Power BI, click Refresh to load the latest response data.

The next step is to publish.

Publishing data

When you have completed your chart or updated the data, you will need to publish the changes.

1. In Power BI, click Publish.
2. Select a publish location, such as, “My Workspace” and click Select.

Further Power BI help

For further help with Power BI you can access guided learning and videos from the Help menu.

The post Exporting response data to Power BI appeared first on SnapSurveys.

Repairing a survey

Updating a survey

Exporting and Importing a SNIF file

Run a report

Print from the Questionnaire window

Run a database link

Open with a specified window

Running options

General considerations

You may leave out speech marks, but they are always required if the value contains either a space or a forward slash ‘/’. Note that “snap desktop.exe” contains a space, and so must appear within quotes.

Speech marks are always double quotes, single quotes are not supported.

Most options ignore case; however the case-sensitive options are: /y, /Y, /DB “dbLink”, and /V “dbLink” where the correct case has to be used for the “dbLink” name.

Return values

The program returns 0 if the command line is successful.

• 0: Success
• 1: Unspecified Error
• 2: File Not Found
• 3: File Access Error
• 4: Data Error
• 5: Object Not Found
• 6: Process Aborted
• 7: Licence Error
• 8: Terminal Error
• 9: Repair Failed
• 10: Validation Failed (eg SOL login)
• 11: Action Not Supported (eg some command line options do not work with online surveys)
• Other value: Unexpected Error

The post Command Lines for Snap XMP Desktop appeared first on SnapSurveys.

To connect the survey to a database, you need a database field that contains a unique ID for each participant. This is used to identify a participant variable in the survey, so the data is put in the correct person’s record or response. Snap XMP Desktop can automatically identify many database types. However, some databases have specific requirements, such as password protection. For these, you need to specify how to connect the data link. You use Microsoft’s Data Link tool to do this.

This tutorial describes how to create a link between a Snap survey and a SQL Server database, to seed your survey, or send updated data from your survey to your database. You can set this up to happen automatically by using a Hot Link.

Setting up the Database Linkage Wizard

1. In the Survey Overview window, open the required survey.
2. Select File | Database Link to display the Database Links dialog.
3. Click New to create a new database link. This opens the Database Linkage Wizard.
4. In Linkage Type, select Import from Database.

5. Click Next. The next step requires a database file or to build a database link. For most types of database file, click Select Database File. If the database type is not listed as one of the defaults in the Select Database File dialog then click Build Data Link to create the connection. This example describes how to build a link to an SQL database.

Creating the data link for the SQL database

1. Click Build Data Link. This opens the Data Link Properties dialog where you can create the data link
2. Select the appropriate data type. For a link to an SQL Server database, select Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server.

3. Click Next. The Data Link Properties dialog moves to the Connection tab.
4. Select the SQL server on your network from the dropdown list.
5. Select the appropriate security type for the server.
6. Select the SQL Server database file from the drop-down list, or type the name of the file.

7. Click Test Connection to confirm that you can connect to your database.
8. Click OK to return to the Database Linkage Wizard.

Matching records between the survey and the database

1. Select the table or sheet in your database containing the data you want. Click Next.

2. Select how you will import data to the survey. You will need a unique id for each person in the database that can be matched with a participant (for example, a customer id or email address). This is called the link variable.
   • Join cases where the link variables match only imports data from the database if the id is already in the survey.
   • Join matching cases and append unmatched cases imports all data from the database. If the id is already in the survey, the appropriate data is added to that case. If it’s not, a new case is created.
   • Append unmatched cases creates new cases in the survey for the ids that are not already in the survey. It does not change the existing cases.
   • Append all cases creates new cases in the survey for every id in the database. It does not check if the id already exists in the survey.
3. Select the field in the database that contains the unique id from the Database field dropdown list.

4. Select the variable in the survey that contains the unique id from the Use Snap variable list. (You can also use the case number as the unique number for each case.)
5. Click Next.

Choosing the database fields to import

After selecting the database, database table, and matching variable, you need to select the database fields to import. The Database Linkage Wizard dialog shows a list of database fields that you can import on the left, with variables in the current survey on the right.

1. In each row, select the survey variable that maps to the database field. Snap XMP Desktop initially works out a suggested mapping. To change this mapping, select a variable from the list of available survey variables. Select blank if you do not wish to map the field.

2. If you wish to import a field into your survey that does not already have a variable set up in your survey, select <Create Variable> from the dropdown list. The Name and Label automatically display the name of the database field. You can edit them if you wish. Set the response type and length to appropriate values and click OK.
3. If you wish to import data into a multi-response variable, you may need to set up which codes in the database match to which variable codes in the survey. When you select the multi-response variable in the right hand column, a code mapping area appears. Select the appropriate code or define a new one as you can with variables.

4. Click Next to display a summary of what the link does.
5. Check the details are correct, and enter a Name for the database link.
6. Click Finish. Snap shows the Database Links dialog including the new link.
7. If you wish to alter any part of the link, click Modify. To delete a link, click Delete. To make a copy of the link, click Clone, and then modify the new link as required.
8. Select the link and click Run to import the data. A brief report is displayed.

Setting up an automatic Hot Link

Making an import link into a hot link means that when you identify a new case by entering a unique value in the link variable, data from the external file is copied into the new case. This means that details such as name, address and email address could be loaded into the survey as soon as the case was identified.

If it is an export link, the data entered in the survey is copied to the external file. If it is a new case, a new record is created. This allows you to keep a database up to date.

1. Select File | Database Link to open the Database Linkage dialog.
2. Select the database link.
3. Click the Hot Link button. This opens the Hot Link dialog.
4. Select Use As Hot Link, then select the appropriate option.
   • Automatic update: updates the matched variables of each case when the key link field is entered.
   • Manual update: update the matched variables when you click the refresh button  on the Snap XMP Desktop toolbar.

5. Click OK. The Database Link dialog shows the amended link specified as a Hot Link.

6. The link will update the survey when the database changes. Click Run to update the survey immediately.

For instructions on linking to a database containing email addresses, see Setting up email invites for online surveys.

For information on using a database link to share information between Snap surveys, see Importing data from another survey and Exporting data from another Snap survey. Further information on using Hot Links is at Using Hot Links.

If there is a topic you would like a tutorial on, email to snapideas@snapsurveys.com

The post Transferring data between a survey and a database appeared first on SnapSurveys.

This worksheet uses Snap XMP Desktop to insert participants’ names and addresses on the first page of a questionnaire, load the participants’ address details from a spreadsheet and then use them to print ready for mailing.

Step 1: Adding the name and address to your survey

In order to display the participant name and address details in the questionnaire, you will need to create some variables to contain this information

1. In the Survey Overview window, choose whether the survey is online or offline then open the survey in the Questionnaire window.
2. Make sure that you select the Paper edition that is going to be printed.
3. Click New Question . This question will be used to add the name and address lines.
4. Select the Open Series First style from the style selection menu.

5. Click Variable Properties . In the Variable Properties dialog, change the Name property to Name and click OK. This is not required, but will help to match the name and address to the correct fields in the database or spreadsheet.

6. Select Tabs in the toolbar topics, and then select Name. Set the tab value to 0%. Then repeat with Grid Label.

7. Click on the question box and press the tab key to add as many additional Open series questions as required. E.g. If you have 5 fields in your database that contain the name and address details then you would create 5 Open Series questions. Rename these variables, as explained in 5 above, if appropriate.

8. Select Show from the toolbar topics then select Text and clear the Show checkbox. This hides the Open Series question text.

Step 2: Removing the question box borders

Although the question boxes are useful in making it obvious where the variables are in the questionnaire, they are not required when printing the address details onto the paper questionnaire.

1. Click the question to select it and remove the boxes by selecting Boxes in the toolbar topics, and then select <None>. The questionnaire now appears to have a blank area where the address variables are. Note: box outlines not available for scanning editions.

2. If the survey has other editions, which do not display the address, you need to hide the address lines in each of those editions. To hide the address, select an address line then select Show in the toolbar topics. Select (All) and clear the Show checkbox.

Step 3: Importing the participant name and address details

You will need a list of your participants’ names and addresses in a spreadsheet or database format.

1. Click Database Links to display the Database Links dialog and click New.
2. In the Database Linkage Wizard select the Import from database option and click Next.
3. Click Select Database File and browse to the file containing the participant data. . If connecting to a database select the Build Data Link option and enter the connection details.
4. In Select the table to use, select the table or worksheet required. Click Next. If you do not wish to import details for all the participants in the file, you can set a filter in Where condition (SQL).
5. In Import/Export Options, select Append all cases. This option imports new cases from the data file and appends them to the existing cases. If you already have cases in your survey, you can select a different option so identical cases are not imported. Click Next.

6. The next page allows you to map the fields in the database or spreadsheet to the fields in the questionnaire. Select the Snap variable in the right-hand column with the corresponding the name and address fields from the database or spreadsheet. Click Next.

7. A summary of your database link is displayed. If you wish, change the name of the link to something easily recognisable. Click Finish to save the database link then click Close to close the Database Links dialog.

Step 4: Previewing and printing your questionnaire

1. In the Questionnaire window click Data View mode  on the questionnaire toolbar to see how the printed questionnaire will look.
2. Select Panel Data from the dropdown list. If it is the first time you have selected Panel Data, you will be asked which panel you wish to display. In this example, there is only one panel and one database link. The selection dialog appears with this link selected.

3. Click OK to display the questionnaire with the panel data included.

4. To see how it will look when printed, select Print preview .
5. If you are happy with your questionnaire, you can now print it. Select the All Filtered Cases radio button and click Print. If you need to make any changes select Cancel in the Print dialog. You must print from Data View mode to include the imported panel data. If you print from anywhere else, you will print out the empty questionnaire.

If there is a topic you would like a worksheet on, email to snapideas@snapsurveys.com

The post Adding name and address details to a printed questionnaire appeared first on SnapSurveys.

You may need to merge surveys in these situations:

• Surveys run on an annual basis, to analyse trends through two or more years. (The questionnaire might change slightly from year to year).
• Surveys on one subject but with different focal points (e.g. surveys of users and non-users of a service).
• Surveys conducted for different locations (e.g. a survey of similar tourist attractions which varies between sites).
• Surveys conducted using two different interviewing methods (e.g. kiosk and web).

Step 1: Create a master survey to contain the data for both surveys

It is preferable to make a separate master survey to combine your surveys so that both the original surveys remain intact. The master survey will need to contain all the variables and codes in both surveys so that the analysis can be performed correctly.

1. In the Survey Overview window, select the survey with the highest number of variables.
2. Select Clone to create a clone of this survey.
3. In the Clone Survey dialog, select whether the new survey is Online or Offline then select Also clone the raw data to include the existing data. Click OK.
4. In the New Survey dialog, enter a name for the new survey that indicates it is the combined survey.
5. Click OK to open the new survey. Add in any variables or additional codes that are in the other survey but are not in this survey.

Step 2: Setup a database link to import the data

1. Select Database links from the Snap toolbar. This opens the Database Links dialog.

2. Click New to open the Database Linkage Wizard which guides you through the process of creating a new database link.
3. In the Linkage Type section, select Import from Snap Survey and then click Next
4. A list of all the surveys in the default directory is shown. Select the survey you want to import from and then click Next. (If the survey you require is not shown use the Browse button to find the appropriate directory.)
5. You are asked how you wish to merge the survey. Select Append all cases. This adds all the imported cases as new cases at the end of the survey. Click Next.

Step 3: Mapping the variables

The next window is where you will match the variables from the survey you are importing the data from to the survey you cloned as the master.

The variables in the survey you are importing from are displayed in the left column and the current survey variables are displayed in the right column.

1. The wizard attempts to map any variables from both surveys if the variables are identically named.

2. Click each of the variables in the right-hand column. If the variable is a coded question the codes will be displayed in a section below the mapped variables. Check that the codes on the left match the codes on the right.

3. If there are any blank codes in the right hand column, see the code label where Ice cream should be in the image above, click into the blank area and select the correct code label.

4. Click Next to see a summary of the mapped variables. You can also give the Database Link an appropriate name in this window.

5. Click Finish to return to the Database Links dialog where you will see the link you have just created.

Step 4: Running the database link

When a Database link has been set up it can be run at any time.

1. Select Database links to open the Database Links dialog, if required.

2. Select your new Survey Import link and click Run.
3. A Report dialog is displayed. You can see the number of cases imported in Processed Cases of the Report dialog. Click OK to close the report.

If there is a topic you would like a tutorial on, email to snapideas@snapsurveys.com

The post Analysing two surveys together appeared first on SnapSurveys.

1. On the main toolbar, click to open the Data Entry window.
2. Select the menu option File | Export to display the Data Export dialog box.
3. Specify the Format for the exported data. This will depend on the requirements of the package that the data is destined for. The available formats are
   • Comma separated (CSV)
   • Tab separated (TSV)
   • Excel (CSV)
   • Plain text (TXT)
   • There is a database link option available for data export that opens the Database Linkage Wizard at the import or export stage, as appropriate.

4. Specify the Destination for the data report as either File or Clipboard. The Clipboard provides the most straightforward method of output and will be suitable for most surveys. However if there is a very large number of cases the computer may not have enough memory to hold all the required data on the clipboard in which case the file option should be used.
5. Specify the Content as the name of the variable or variables to be printed. You can enter:
   • Individual questions (e.g. Q4a)
   • List of questions (e.g. Q1,Q3)
   • Range of questions (e.g. Q1 TO Q3)
   • Informative text strings enclosed in single quotes e.g., ‘My report’.
6. Leaving the Content field blank will include all data in for each case that meets the Filter Specification.
7. Select Expand Multiples if you wish to place each multiple response code in a separate column on export.
8. Select Responses Only to omit derived variables. (This will export all user responses, including paradata.)
9. Select whether you want the exported data to overwrite an existing file of data or append the exported data to the current one. The default setting is to overwrite.
10. Click OK. The data is exported to the clipboard or specified file. This can then be opened or imported into the appropriate package.

The post Exporting data to another program appeared first on SnapSurveys.

If it is an import link, making it a hot link means that when you identify a new case by entering a unique value in the link variable, data from the external file or survey is copied into the new case. This means that details such as name, address and email address could be loaded into the survey as soon as the case was identified.

If it is an export link, the data entered in the Snap survey is copied to the external file or survey. If it is a new case, a new case or record is created. This allows you to keep a database or other survey up to date.

Creating a Hot Link

You must first create a database link using a link variable. The Import/Export options must be set to Join cases where the link variables match or Join matching cases and append unmatched cases.

1. On the main toolbar click Database Links to open the Database Links dialog.

2. Click the Hot Link button.
3. The Hot Link dialog appears. Select the appropriate option
   • Automatic update: updates the matched variables of each case when the key link field is entered.
   • Manual update: update the matched variables when you click the refresh button on the Data Entry window toolbar.

4. Click OK.The Database Linkage dialog shows the amended link specified as a Hot Link.
5. Click Run to activate the link.

Hot Links in use

1. Open the survey, and click to open the Data Entry window.
2. Create a new case by clicking in the data entry window.
3. Enter your data as normal, either online or by keying data into the Data Entry window.
4. If you are using an export link, when a case is added, deleted or modified, the changes are made to the linked database or survey when you click the Refresh button on the Data Entry window toolbar, or automatically, depending on the Hot Link settings.
5. If you are using an import Hot Link, when the unique Id in the link variable is entered, this imports all the other information in the external database or survey that you linked in the Database Link Wizard.

The post Using Hot Links appeared first on SnapSurveys.

1. As a precaution, archive your survey first before merging the data.
2. From the Survey Overview window, open the survey that you want to add data to.
3. On the main toolbar click Database Links to open the Database Links dialog.

4. Click New to open the Database Linkage Wizard which guides you through the process of creating a new database link.
5. In the Linkage Type section, select Export from Snap Survey and then click Next
6. A list of all the surveys in the default directory is shown. Select the survey you want to import from and then click Next. (If the survey you require is not shown use the Browse button to find the appropriate directory.)

7. On the next page of the wizard select the type of Import/Export option you want:
   • Join cases where the link variables match
   • Only import/export data where the value in the link variable matches between the two surveys (E.g. a survey containing customer ID numbers matches the information in the link survey with the same ID number.) This imports all requested data where two ID numbers are matched, and ignores all data in cases where the ID number does not match.
   • Join matching cases and append unmatched cases
   • This option works as above, and also adds the unmatched data as new cases at the end of the file.
   • Append unmatched cases
   • This option only imports/exports cases that do not find a match between the link variable in the surveys.
   • Append all cases
   • This option imports/exports every case of data into your survey as a new data case. It does not try to match the link variables.
8. Select the link variable in your current survey marked as This Survey and then select the variable containing the matching data in the Link Survey you are importing from. The link variables must contain a value that is unique for each case, and which matches between the two surveys. For example they could both be ‘Customer ID’ variables. (Link variables are also known as database keys).

9. Click Next to move to a list of variables in the Link Survey to import from and variables in This Survey on the right. Map the variables between the surveys. The default mapping between the variables is shown, where possible. To change a mapping, select a row in the right hand column, and click to display a list of available variables in the Link Survey. Select a variable to load data from, or select blank to load nothing.
10. If you match variables with multiple responses, the possible responses are shown below the variable list. Match the responses in the same way as you match the variables. The example shows an extra code, Wine/Beer, is an extra code in the survey that you are importing data to. You can assign Wine/Beer to the Other code.

You could also create a new code in the current survey for Wine/Beer by right clicking the row and selecting New code from the context menu.
You can create a new variable to match an existing variable in the same way. Right-click in the right hand row, and select New variable from the context menu. Any variable that you create in this way can be modified or deleted.

11. Click Next to display a summary of how the link will merge the data.
12. Check the details are correct, and enter a Name for the database link.
13. Click Finish to return to the Database Links dialog now showing the new link.

14. If you wish to alter any part of the link, click Modify. To delete a link, click Delete. To make a copy of the link, click Clone, and then modify the new link as required.
15. Select the link and click Run to import the data. Snap displays a brief report. Click OK to close it.
16. Now you can check your data by looking at a summary of the results. In the Questionnaire Design window, click Data View Mode and choose Counts on the toolbar. Scroll down through the questionnaire checking the figures for each question are correct.

The post Exporting data to another Snap survey appeared first on SnapSurveys.