File Menu Options
The File | New... menu options allow the user to create a variety of new elements in the CAPI Designer. The user can create a new round or instrument, a container for all the other elements, smaller containers or sections of a round or instrument, a new question type, the smallest logical element of design in CAPI, and lastly, elements that are used in various types of questions like pick lists, ranges, symbols, and help files.

Once one of the 'new' options is selected from the 'new' list shown below, a series of dialogue boxes will lead the user through an intuitive creation process. Abundant help messages appear throughout the selection process to guide the user to correct choices. The examples below will take the user through the first five selections of the File | New menu -- through the Question element. The other eight selection processes in the menu, starting with Pick, should be intuitive to the user after the discussion below.

When the user clicks on the File menu's, 'New' option, a list of elements is displayed as shown in the figure below. If the user mistakenly clicked on the File menu, it may be closed by clicking elsewhere on the question record screen. Caution: The Exit option of the file menu will close the CAPI Designer. Unsaved data will be lost.

Survey designers should be conscious of where they are in the CAPI Designer tree (the left column, above image) when making a selection from the New menu. The proper position in the tree should be highlighted before making a selection. If that is not the case the CAPI Designer will display a Help message box to alert the designer where the selection should be make as shown below.

When a message similar to the one above appears, click 'OK' and highlight the proper location in the tree. Then, select again from the File | New menu. In the example below, Round or Instrument (Demo2) was first selected in the tree, then New | Round was selected. A new Round always implies a new Instrument. The converse is not always true.

When New | Round is selected a dialogue box show below will appear. The designer must begin identifying the new round and instrument by:

• giving them unique names that will appear in the tree, and
• filling in certain characteristics about each instrument.

Some of the additional characteristics that must be included are:

• the primary design language (the language in the text fields of question records that will be read to the respondent);
• the name of the first question in the survey;
• the primary color of the text on the screen; and
• at survey started-up, what will be the language of the first question to appear; and
• whether it will appear on the Web or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

Secondary characteristics of the new Round | Instrument may include: HTML__??, a description of the instrument for documentation purposes, other languages that may be used in the text of the questions, whether question names will on the screen (for interviewer reference), whether a logo is to appear on each screen, and what the audio capabilities of the survey will be.

If New | Instrument is chosen the instrument may become a part of an existing Round. Round information will not have to be filled out, but the characteristics for the new instrument will have to be defined. The primary and secondary characteristics use the same fields as those described in the above example for a new Round | Instrument.

When New | Section is chosen from the File menu, the designer must have highlighted the appropriate position in the Designer tree or a Help message will appear.

New | Section appears to be inoperative
Section selected

Nothing happens when blank filled in and pressed?

Definition of what is an information sheet.
An information sheet is a file that contains data on specific cases (a case is one respondent's information) that will be opened in the survey. It may contain such information as the 'last interview date', the 'name' of the respondent, the 'names' of the members in the respondent's household, addresses, employers, etc. Usually this information is carried over from the last interview with the respondent so that the information doesn't have to be re-collected each time the respondent is interviewed.

When New | Customized Info Folder is selected an Information Sheets folder (a.k.a. 'node') must already be selected in the tree. If it is not, the following message will appear. Go back to the tree and select the folder marked with an 'I' Information Sheets. Then select File | New | Customized Info Folder again.

When New | Customized Info Folder is selected properly, the following dialogue box will open offering the user a choice of four modes in which to use the information sheets will be used: for training purposes, for 'mock' or imitation purposes.

If New | Question is chosen, a list of question types will appear for further selection. Choosing a new question type from the File menu may be shortcut by using the white, blank page icon directly to the left of the record (question) name field. New Question (same as the white page in the CAPI Designer menu) -get clip of white page.

New Question, e.g., Dummy

Question "Dummy3" selected

Filling in blanks with Next QQ and font change (righ-click) in text field.

Question Dumm_4 in place

The rest of the New is much the same.