Composing Open-End Questions
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Open-end questions let respondents type any characters (including letters and numbers) into an answer field. You can create either fixed entry fields (single line) or free entry fields (multiple lines) that give text scrolling capabilities when typing long text strings.

First we'll describe how to compose Open-end questions, and then we'll provide a simple example for you to try.

When you add an open-end question to your survey, the new question is inserted directly after any highlighted question in the List of Questions of the Write Questionnaire dialog. If no question is highlighted, the new question is inserted at the end of the list.

The Open-end Question dialog is used for constructing open-end questions.


Open-end Question Layout

The open-end question has four main sections:

1. Header 1  
2. Header 2  
3. Question  
4. Footer  

The Question text line with its answer field is indented according to the Question Indent Width you specify in the Survey Settings | Page Format dialog.

The Open-end Question dialog has five buttons: Rename, Advanced..., Preview, OK and Cancel.
Format controls (Color, Size, Bold, Italic, Underline, and Justification) are available for formatting text using the paintbrush paintbrush icon.

Advanced...This button accesses advanced settings for this question.  
Open-end Question Settings

From the Settings tab, you can specify options that control how the open-end box looks and operates. You can specify whether to Require Response, whether the entry box has a single or Multiple Lines. You can specify the Maximum and Minimum Number of Characters required, as well as the Width and Height of the box (in pixels).


Referencing Open-End Questions in SSI Script

Open-End Questions:

Syntax:
QuestionName

Examples:
Q1
[% Q1 %]

Description:
You refer to open-end question using the question name. For example, [% Q1 %] returns the typed response for Q1.



Example: Composing a Single Line Open-end Question

1. Click Add from the Write Questionnaire dialog.  
 
2. Select the Open-end question type.  
 
3. Type a valid name in the Question Name field, such as FirstName, then click OK.. Question names can include up to 24 letters or numbers (no spaces or underscores permitted, and cannot start with numbers).  
 
4. From the Settings tab, uncheck Multiple Lines. Specify a Maximum Number of Characters of 15.  
 
Click the Question Text tab.  
 
5. Header 1:  
Text:      What is your first name?  
 
(Skip Header 2)  
 
6. Question:  
Text:      Name:  
 
(Skip Footer)  
 
7. Click Preview:  
Example: Composing a Multiple Line Open-end Question

1. Click Add from the Write Questionnaire dialog.  
 
2. Select the Open-end question type.  
 
3. Type a valid name in the Question Name field, such as VanStyle, then click OK..  
 
4. From the Settings tab, specify to use a width of 400 (pixels) and a height of 100 (pixels).  
 
Click the Question Text tab.  
 
5. Header 1:  
Text:      What do you like or dislike about the styling of the Summit minivan?  
 
6. Header 2:  
Text:      (Type your response below)  
 
(Skip Question)  
(Skip Footer)  
 
7. Click Preview: