CAPI Designer Quick Start Manual
Introduction
The purpose of this Quick Start document is to familiarize experienced survey designers with the differences between the CAPI Designer and the CAPI Manager (WinMgr). In many respects the CAPI Designer functions like the Manager and contains the same fields used in the latter. After the creation of a few questions you should be familiar with the basic Designer operation. However, there are major differences in several aspects and those aspects will be addressed in this document. The functions that are different will be briefly addressed here with more detail given in the form of a hyperlink; all of the hyperlinks on this Quick Start page will open in a new window.
Some examples of differences are:
- Some question types (see a list with images) have changed dramatically such as Rosters (see an introduction to the new Roster question types). From one original 'roster' question type there are now six Roster question types.
- The former Multiple Fields question type, no longer exists; but its functionality is supported in the CAPI Designer. Multiple Fields have been replaced by using several contiguous question records displayed on a single CAPI survey screen. For a more detailed explanation, see the discussions on Multiple Fields; and the coordinated use of the
Display_Qtext and
End_Display checkboxes,and the
Prompt field.
Accessing the Designer and its Questions
Before the differences are pointed, however, a quick explanation of what is needed to run the Designer and how and where to access an instrument, a cohort, and the question records contained therein.
The Capi Designer is a Java application. In order to make it work, you must have the Java Runtime Environment installed. To find out how to install it, click here. Once you have the Java runtime environment and the shortcut on your PC, you will always be running the latest version of the Designer. You do not have to reinstall new versions on your PC when a new 'executable' is released. The shortcut will always point to the new version.
After installing the Java Runtitime Environment and starting the CAPI Designer by clicking on the shortcut,
you will see a screen appear with two columns. In the left column, single-click on the top item in the tree to open it.
Click here,
to see a screen clip of the tree and a sample question's contents.
A list of current survey-projects will appear. Single-click on the magnifying glass (
) next to survey-project, to open the list of cohorts for that project. Next click on (the magnifying glass () next to the cohort to open it. Continue single-clicking in this tree until you reach a section and a list of questions in that section for which you have permission to edit. (For more information on permission and modifying them, see Modifying User Privileges.) Finally, click on the question where you wish to begin. The contents of the question will appear in the right column in all the appropriate fields for the question. Click in the field (or on the checkbox) that you wish to edit.
To find out more about navigating among questions, click
here.
To create a new question, use File | New | Question. To view all the 'New' options in the File | New | menu, click
here.
Major Changes
Modes. The CAPI Designer has two 'modes' in the design phase of survey creation. To find out more on how to switch from Input mode to Preview/Summary mode for a question, click here.
Improved diagnostics In addition to basic checks (missing jumps, invalid syntax, unreachable questions, etc.), diagnostics can now be run within the Designer to find missing symbols. Previously, the survey had to be executed to find these errors. To run diagnostics, use the Tools menu: Tools | Run Diagnostics. To find out what symbols are used in the survey, use the diagnostics function under Tools | Run Diagnostics Missing/invalid {Symbol} or [Qname] for the missing symbols.
Global settings for default next questions,
areas of interest (AOI),
and user guide links are available now.
Syntax Changes
- Question Names, have new syntax rules: one-word names that may contain characters (A-Z) in UPPERCASE only, numbers, and underscore '_' (without the quotes). Examples: QUESTION_NAME_1A, YHH1_6800. When a copy/cut/paste function from an old instrument to a new instrument is used, non-conforming characters will be automatically removed by the CAPI Designer. Naming Rules
- Symbols must now be enclosed in curly brackets {...} NOT percent signs %...%. Examples: {LINTDATE}, {CURDATE}, {FATHERS_NAME}, and {bdate} are all valid symbols. See the Save_Symbol field for more information. There is no way currently to view a list of symbols used in the survey during the edit process. However, to find out what symbols are used in the survey, use the diagnostics function under Tools | Run Diagnostics | Missing/invalid {Symbol} or [Qname] .
- Format and length fields have been replaced by predefined 'masks' or templates. See the Mask field for the question type and the mask it uses.
- Loop commands' syntax have changed. For more details, see the functions: REPEAT ... UNTIL, FOR ... ENDFOR, WHILE ... ENDWHILE.
- Pick Lists may now be either 'read-only', 'normal' (editable), or 'dynamic'. For more information on pick lists, see the Pick List documentation.
Functions List Changes
The following functions are used with the Internal Function question type. View the index to get an overview of what is new. Review the familiar functions to see if they have changed.
- Click here to view a list of the new functions. Click on the functions in the list to view the documentation for that function. This list is incomplete at the moment but growing every day.
- Click here to view the complete documentation for all the new functions. The functions are listed in alphabetical order; no index is provided.
Question Types Changes
The following question types are new and the last one was little used in the Manager. These new types are more robust, easy to design, and deserve a closer look.
The following question types no longer exist.
- Multiple fields question type: replaced by a feature that directs the CAPI survey to display more than one question at a time on the survey screen. This allows for new flexibility. A common use for this would be in the question, "What is your address?" where several ‘questions’ (address, city, state, zip) can be asked on a single screen. A new use would be to logically group a series of related questions (height, weight).Read about Multiple Fields in Documentation, Design, and Different Question Types. See also, the Display_Qtext and End_Display checkboxes and the Prompt field.
- Select One / RECORD VERBATIM question type: replaced by a feature that directs the CAPI survey to display more than one question at a time on the survey screen. This allows for new flexibility, in that, each element of the multiple field input (Select One and the Verbatim) is designed as a separate question, linked together to display on a single screen. Read about Multiple Fields then Select One / Record Verbatim in Documentation, Design, and Different Question Types. See also, the Display_Qtext and End_Display checkboxes and the Prompt field.
- Documentation question types: a question should be documented in the same question type as it was fielded. Therefore, ‘documentation question types’ are no longer supported. If a question cannot be released to the public in its original type, then a new variable should be created. See, Design and Documentation in one phase in Documentation, Design, and Different Question Types. Basic documentation information is automatically generated for each question at the time that the question is entered in the Design record. Remaining fields in the Documentation record can be entered (or not) at a later time.
Lists
- Question Fields
- Design Fields: Index of Design question fields regardless of question type with links to field's documentation
- Documentation Fields: List of Documentation fields and explanations for a question record.
- Question Types:
- Functions:
- Menus (introduction):
How do I ...?
Diagnostics
Last updated: 16 Apr 03