Reuse Questions from a Repository#

In this lesson you draw on a shared question bank: you insert a question that another survey already uses, and you let the application suggest a shared question while you write a new one. Both need a connection to a Colectica Repository that holds published questions. If you have none yet, see Connect to a Colectica Repository. The steps assume the repository holds the Meridian Household Panel Survey, one of the sample surveys.

The video below performs every step in this lesson.

Watch the lesson video.

Turn On Suggestions#

  1. Choose Tools, then Settings…, and select Search.

  2. Tick Suggest similar questions while writing a new question.

  3. Under Repository to search, choose your repository.

  4. Click Save.

Insert a Question from the Question Bank#

  1. Open the Meridian Internet Access Survey and select Internet use in the structure tree.

  2. Click Add item and choose Question in the Repository group. The Question bank opens.

  3. Type internet in the search box.

  4. Select How often do you use the internet, for any purpose?. The pane on the right previews the question, names its repository and version, and lists the surveys that already use it.

  5. Click Insert.

The question appears at the end of the section as a shared reference. Its card shows the repository’s version of the question, and it will carry an Update available tag whenever a newer version is published.

Accept a Suggestion While Typing#

  1. Hover above the comments question, click Insert an item here, and choose Multiple Choice.

  2. Name the question netbank and type the question text In the last three months, have you used the internet for online banking?. After a moment, a Similar questions panel appears under the question text, listing up to three shared questions and how closely each matches.

  3. Click Use this question on the best match.

The question you were writing is replaced by the shared question, and the editor returns to the canvas. Press Ctrl+S to save.

Where Next#

You have built, routed, personalized, translated, validated, and exported a survey, and you have connected it to a shared question bank. The How-to Guides cover the tasks these lessons did not, such as grids, rosters, custom fields, and publishing your own items to a repository. The Reference describes every page and setting you have seen. The Explanation explains how surveys are stored, versioned, and shared.