Interactive variables (askiadesign)

An interactive variable is a specially defined question in askiadesign that, when it is inserted into a questionnaire from the library, asks the person inserting it to provide specific details of the question's content (for example they may be asked to enter a long caption or answer list). You can use interactive variables to assemble a repertoire of stock questions in the library that can easily be customised for specific situations, such as multi-coded brand awareness questions where the brand list may vary, but you want the overall style to remain consistent across questionnaires. Once inserted into a questionnaire, an interactive variable behaves just like a normal variable and can be edited as required.

When an interactive variable is inserted from the library, a wizard appears. This wizard is an interactive process that guides the questionnaire designer by asking him or her to provide specific details of the variable. The special syntax present in the interactive variable determines the questions that the wizard asks the designer. For example, an interactive variable might have been set up to help create brand awareness questions. When the variable is inserted, the wizard asks the designer to enter a long caption and brand list.

Interactive questions can also present a selection of scenarios to the questionnaire designer. Doing so causes specific questions, responses or routings to be included or omitted from the questionnaire, according to the scenario chosen by the designer. To use this feature, you need to set up a variable which presents the questionnaire designer with a choice of scenarios, and at least one other variable or routing whose content is conditional on a specific scenario being selected. See keywords used when defining scenarios for a description of the syntax you need to use in order to define scenarios.

From version 5.4.6.0, you can prompt the questionnaire designer to specify a multimedia file when he or she inserts an interactive variable.

In this topic

• Defining an interactive variable
• Keywords used when defining interactive variables
• Keywords used when defining scenarios
• Prompting the questionnaire designer to select a multimedia file
• Copying an interactive variable to the local or global library

For further information on interactive variables, including an interactive example, see the Knowledge Base article Interactive Libraries in Design 5.4.

Defining an interactive variable

An interactive variable is defined in exactly the same way as a normal variable, except that you should place special syntax into the variable to define the interactive elements. This syntax can be placed into the question's long caption, short caption, ADC properties, response caption, shortcut caption or routing description in order to add the interactive elements, depending on the type. For example, to prompt the questionnaire designer to enter a response list, you might enter the following into a response caption: @@brandlist|please enter a list of brands@@. Any responses entered by the designer are then stored in brandlist, and any instances of brandlist in the questionnaire will be populated with the responses they entered.

To define an interactive variable:

1. Ensure you are working in askiadesign's question mode (in the toolbar, click question mode):
   
2. Create a new variable and give it a shortcut.
3. Define your variable (captions, response list etc.) as appropriate.
4. In the appropriate areas of the question (e.g long caption, short caption etc.), enter the special syntax (as described below) that allows you to prompt the user for details of the variable.
5. When you have finished defining the variable, you should copy it to the library so that it can be used during questionnaire design.

Keywords used when defining Interactive Variables

Use the following keywords in your long caption to define your interactive variable:

Keywords for use with scenarios

The following keywords can be used to include scenarios in your interactive variables.

Prompting the questionnaire designer to select a multimedia file

You can set up a question that prompts the questionnaire designer to select a multimedia file when he or she inserts the question from the library. You need to add a multimedia resource to your QES. Then, you need to give a special name to the resource, and finally, reference the resource in one of the responses to your question.

To set up a prompt for a multimedia file:

1. In the toolbar, click screen mode to switch to screen mode.
2. At the bottom of the left-hand pane, click the resources tab.
3. In the left-hand pane, right-click anywhere and select insert picture... (for a still image), insert animation... (for a video), etc.
4. Specify a file. This is simply a place-holder, and will not be inserted into the questionnaire designer's QES when he or she inserts your library question.
5. In the left-hand pane, right-click the file you just added and select edit.
6. In name, enter a an appropriate special name that will prompt the questionnaire designer to select a file. For example: ~~bmp;jpg;png|Please enter a brand logo~~
7. Click OK.
8. In the toolbar, click question mode to switch to question mode.
9. In the question you want to add to the library, select your file in the resource column for the relevant response:
   
10. Copy the question to the library.

When adding a multimedia resource that will prompt the questionnaire designer, it is important that you name your multimedia resource correctly. The name consists of the file type (or types), then the message you want the questionnaire designer to see. The following rules apply:

• the entire name must be surrounded by double tilde (~) characters
• file types must be separated by semi-colons (;)
• a pipe (|) character must separate the file types and the message

For example, the following name will display the message "Please enter a brand logo" and allow the designer to select a BMP, JPG or PNG file:

~~bmp;jpg;png|Please enter a brand logo~~

In this example, the message "Please upload a bitmap for the brand" will be displayed, and the designer will be able to select an AVI, BMP or JPG file.

~~avi;bmp;jpg|Please upload a bitmap for the brand~~

In this example, the message "Please upload the advert you want to test" will be displayed, and the designer will be able to select a supported video file.

~~video|Please upload the advert you want to test~~

Copying an interactive variable to the local or global library

Once you have defined one or more interactive variables you easily add them from your questionnaire to the local or global library.

To add one or more interactive variables to the library:

1. Ensure you are working in askiadesign's question mode (in the toolbar, click question mode):
   
2. If you want to add multiple interactive variables to the library, in the question list (in the left-hand pane), select those variables.
3. In the question list, right-click the interactive variable or variables you want to place in the library.
4. Select add to the local/global library... (alternatively, select add to library from the edit menu). The categories window opens:
   
   
5. Select the category in which you want to file the interactive variable; categories keeps your library organised, and therefore make it easier to locate variables in future. If none of the existing categories are appropriate, type a new category name in category.
6. Finally, click OK. The interactive variable is added to the library and a new category is created in the library, if you entered a new name in category.