After you publish the final version of a survey, you can still make some changes yourself. Most changes reach respondents only after you re-publish the survey. Changing the closing date is the exception: it takes effect straight away.
Quick answers
| I want to… | What to do | Re-publish? |
|---|---|---|
| Fix a typo or reword text in a text element (not in a question or answer option) | Edit the text, then re-publish | Yes |
| Add, edit or delete translations, including translations of questions and answer options | Update the translation, then re-publish | Yes |
| Add a logo, image or new text element | Add it in the editor, then re-publish | Yes |
| Change a question's settings, e.g. make it required | Change it in Extra settings, then re-publish | Yes |
| Extend or shorten the response time | Change the closing date in Settings | No |
| Close the survey now | Set the closing date in Settings to now. The survey closes immediately. | No |
| Reopen a closed survey | Move the closing date later in Settings | No |
| Change the wording of a question or answer option, add or remove answer options, delete a question, change a page type, or change the map layers used by a Pop-up map or Select map | Contact support (see Changes you can't publish yourself) | Only with support |
How to re-publish a survey
Make your changes in the survey editor.
Go to Publish and click Publish final version.
Check the confirmation window. It lists what is changing and tells you if a change can't be published without our help.
Confirm. Click only once: in large surveys it can take a moment.
Open the survey link and check that the live survey looks right.
Re-publishing:
- keeps the same URL and QR code
- keeps all responses collected so far
- does not use a survey from your subscription quota
If you edit the survey but don't re-publish, respondents keep seeing the previous version.
Extend, close or reopen a survey
Go to the survey editor > Settings, turn on Survey closes and pick a date and time. You don't need to re-publish. Once that time has passed, the public can no longer open the survey.
- Extend: move the date later.
- Close early: move the date to now.
- Reopen: move the date later again. This doesn't use a survey from your quota.
Entering paper responses after the survey has closed? Reopen the survey, enter the responses, then set the closing date back. If Allow only one respondent per device+browser is on, add ?reset=true to the survey link so each paper response starts as a new respondent (more about the reset link).
When someone opens the link of a closed survey, they see a message saying that the survey is no longer accepting responses. You don't need to add one yourself.
Changes you can't publish yourself
Some changes could damage the responses already collected, so the confirmation window stops them. These include:
- changing the wording of a question or an answer option
- adding, changing or removing answer options
- deleting a question that already has responses. Its responses would disappear from the analysis tool.
- changing a page's type
- changing or replacing the map layers used by a Pop-up map or Select map, or their ID key attribute
If you need one of these changes, contact us at support@maptionnaire.com with the survey link and what you want to change. In some cases we can publish it for you. Until the survey is re-published, the live survey stays as it was.
Tip: if you think respondents may need an answer you haven't listed, add an "Other, please specify" option before you publish the final version.
Avoid changes after launch
- Publish for testing first. Test publishing doesn't use your quota, and you can still change everything.
- Go through the checklist for survey launch before you publish the final version.
- A survey can't be switched back to test mode after the final version is published.