An active survey runs in one of two access modes. Open access means anyone with the survey link can respond. Closed access means each participant needs an access code to enter the survey (older LimeSurvey versions called these codes "tokens").

You set the mode in the Share tab, and you can change it afterwards.

How to tell which mode your survey is in

New editor

1. Open your survey and select the Share tab at the top of the editor.
2. Look at the access mode shown in the sharing overview:

• Anyone with link = open access.
• Link with access code = closed access.

Classic editor

The quickest check is to open the survey link yourself:

1. Copy the survey link and open it in a browser.
2. If the survey opens directly, it is open access.
3. If it asks for an access code first, it is closed access.

How to switch

Whichever way you checked the mode, you switch it in the same place — the Share tab. The link check only tells you the current mode; it does not change it.

1. Open the Share tab at the top of the editor.
2. In the sharing overview, switch the mode: Anyone with link for open access, or Link with access code for closed access.

Switching a survey back to open access does not delete responses you have already collected. LimeSurvey keeps a backup of the participant (access code) table when you make the switch; access codes are simply no longer required.

Common confusions

"This survey has not yet started"

This message is not an access-mode problem. It means the survey's start date is in the future. Participants can enter once the start date is reached. Check the survey's start date before changing anything about access codes.

Public registration needs closed access

If you want participants to register themselves, the survey must be in closed access mode (Link with access code). With open access, the link admits anyone directly — no one is asked to register, so registration will not work as expected.

Using a participant table with an open-access survey

An open-access survey can still have a participant table — and that combination is useful. Everyone can fill in the survey without an access code, but you can also send invitations to selected participants, who then answer with a code. For example, in a survey open to both patients and doctors, the doctors can be invited from the participant table so their responses are linked to them, while the patients answer anonymously through the open link.

"Uses left" on access codes

Each access code has a number of uses. Uses left counts down when the code is used to complete the survey, not every time the link is opened.

If a participant reports that their code no longer works, check how many uses their access code has left. In the Share tab, open Participant lists — this opens the classic Survey participants screen. Find the participant and use the row's Action menu → Edit this survey participant to see the Uses left field. This screen is not part of the autosaving editor: if you change the value, click Save (or Save and close) to apply it.