About the access mode

The access mode decides who can take your survey:

• Anyone with link: everyone who has the survey link. Use it for public surveys on a website, in a newsletter, on social media or with a QR code.
• Link with access code: only participants from your participant list, with their personal link or with the survey link and their access code. Use it when every invitee should answer once, or when responses must belong to known participants.

Older LimeSurvey versions call the two modes open access and closed access, and call access codes tokens.

Check or change the access mode

1. Click Share in the top bar of the editor. Sharing overview opens.

2. Under Select how you want to share your survey, click the access mode (1).

3. Choose Anyone with link (2) or Link with access code (3).

The change takes effect right away, also for an active survey, and is saved automatically. Your responses and your participant list stay as they are.

Note: Link with access code needs participants with access codes. See Create a participant list.

What participants see

With Link with access code, the survey link opens a page that asks for the access code. Participants enter their code (1) and click Continue (2). The personal link in an invitation email already contains the code, so invited participants go straight to the survey.

With Anyone with link, the link opens the survey directly. If the survey also has a participant list, invited participants still use their personal link, or enter their code with Enter access code in the ... menu at the top of the survey. That way the public answers without a code, while the responses of invited participants belong to them.

Uses left and validity of access codes

Each access code has Uses left, 1 by default: how many times the code can be used to complete the survey. It counts down when the participant completes the survey, not when they open the link. Valid from and Until limit the code to a period.

To change them for a participant:

1. On the Share page, click Participant lists. The Survey participants page opens in a new browser tab.

2. Click ... in the row of the participant and then Edit this survey participant.

3. Change Uses left, Valid from or Until and click Save.

Note: The Survey participants page does not save automatically. Click Save to keep your changes.

Next steps

• Embed your survey on a website
• Create a participant list
• Participant settings

FAQ

A participant says the survey has not started yet. Is the access mode wrong?

No. The start date of the survey is in the future. Check Start date/time under Settings > Publication & access.

Can people sign up for the survey themselves?

Yes. Choose Link with access code and turn on Allow public registration under Settings > Participant settings. People who open the survey without a code get a registration form and receive their own access code by email. With Anyone with link, the survey opens directly and nobody is asked to register.

A participant's access code does not work anymore. Why?

Usually the code is used up: the participant completed the survey and Uses left is 0. Raise Uses left to let them answer again. Also check Valid from and Until.

Are responses with access codes anonymous?

Not by default. Responses can be linked to the participant unless Anonymized responses is on. See Set up an anonymous survey.