Participant settings
About the participant settings
The participant settings control how people from your participant list and their responses are handled: anonymity, coming back later, answering more than once, registering themselves and the emails they get. Open them with the gear icon in the left toolbar and then Participant settings. Every option is an On and Off switch, and changes are saved as you make them.
The options, in order
Anonymized responses: when On, responses cannot be linked to participants. The response and the participant record are stored without a connection, so nobody, not even an administrator, can tell who gave which answers. Use it for sensitive topics where you promise real anonymity. See Set up an anonymous survey.
Enable participant-based response persistence: when On, invited participants can close the survey and come back later through their personal link. Their answers are still there and they continue where they left off. Use it for long surveys with invited participants. It needs a participant list and does not work with anonymized responses, because the answers must be linked to the participant to be restored.
Allow multiple responses with the same access code: when On, a participant who has already submitted can open their link again. Depending on the persistence and anonymity settings, they edit their response or submit a new one. Leave it Off when every invitee should answer exactly once.
Allow public registration: when On, people who open the survey without an access code get a registration form. They enter their name and email address, are added to the participant list and receive an invitation with their own access code. Use it when you want one response per person but do not have the list up front.
Use HTML format for participant emails: when On (the default), invitations, reminders and confirmations are sent as HTML, so you can format them in the email templates. Turn it off only if your participants can receive plain text emails only.
Send confirmation emails: when On (the default), participants from the participant list get a confirmation email after they submit. The text is in the email templates.
Set access code length: turn it On to set Access code length, the number of characters of the generated access codes (15 by default). Longer codes are harder to guess. Shorten them only if participants must type their code by hand.
Note: Anonymized responses is locked once the survey is active. Decide before you activate.
Related settings
- What is recorded with each response, such as date stamp, IP address and timings, is under Notifications & data. See Notifications and data.
- Whether anyone with the link or only people with an access code can answer is set in Share. See Access mode: choose who can take your survey.
Next steps
FAQ
Can I switch on anonymized responses after activation?
No. Anonymized responses is locked once the survey is active. Decide before you activate. See Set up an anonymous survey.
Why can't participants continue where they left off?
Enable participant-based response persistence needs a participant list and doesn't work with anonymized responses. Check both. See Create a participant list.
How long are the access codes?
15 characters by default. To change it, turn on Set access code length and enter the Access code length.