> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.smartinterview.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Design, test, and export your first survey > Import or build a questionnaire, test the link, review the responses, and download the raw data. Welcome! This tutorial walks you through everything you need to ship your first questionnaire in Smartinterview: building it, testing it, reviewing the answers, and exporting the raw data. ## 1. Create a new survey A hands-on, end-to-end walkthrough of the Smartinterview builder. By the end of this document, you will know how to: * Create a survey from scratch or import one from an existing PDF / DOCX * Design every type of question the platform supports * Add AI-driven conversational (smartquestion) blocks with follow-ups * Localise question text and navigation buttons into any of 10 languages * Configure display conditions and URL variables * Test the survey in three different ways before sharing it * Generate synthetic test data * Visualise responses in the Data tab * Export raw data to Excel, CSV, or JSON * Deploy and share the survey (direct link or embedded iframe) *** ## 1. Creating a survey From the dashboard, click **+ New survey**. You are dropped into the builder with: * An empty questions list * A default `End Screen` already wired at the bottom * The "No created questions yet" empty state in the centre panel, showing two buttons: **+ Create question** and **Import a file** ### 1a. Create questions from scratch 1. Click **+ Create question**. 2. A new question appears in the list (named `Q1`) and the editor opens. 3. Type the question title directly in the centre canvas. 4. Click **+ Create question**. 5. A new question appears in the list (named `Q1`) and the editor opens. 6. Type the question title directly in the centre canvas. ### 1b. Import an existing questionnaire (PDF / DOCX) If you already have a questionnaire written, you do not need to re-type it. 1. Click **Import a file** in the empty state (or **+ Add question** then "Import" if you already have other questions). 2. Drag-and-drop or choose a `.pdf` or `.docx` file (max 25 MB). 3. Click **Importer** and wait for the "Importation en cours…" toast. 4. When the import finishes, every question the LLM detected appears in the builder with the right type already selected: | Detected type | What you get | | ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | `radio` | Radio Group with the choices from the source | | `dropdown` | Dropdown | | `checkbox_group` | Checkbox Group | | `boolean` | Yes/No checkbox | | `number` | Number input | | `scale` | Slider with the detected min / max | | `likert` | Checkbox Table with Likert columns | | `long_text` or `vocal` | smartquestion (AI voice + follow-ups) | | `text` | Short text | 5. Skip-logic conditions and min/max ranges are preserved when they're explicitly stated in the source document. > **Tip:** the import uses AI. For complicated layouts it's worth opening each question afterwards and verifying both the title and the control type match what you expected. *** ## 2. The builder at a glance ![Builder interface](https://auth.smartinterview.ch/storage/v1/object/public/documents/Builder.png) Once you create a survey you land on the builder. The interface has three main regions: * **Header** — a single `Settings` toggle on the left and a four-button segmented toggle for the builder modes. `Deploy` opens a pop-up with the shareable links; it is not a tab. * **Center panel** — everything you design or preview for the currently selected question. Its content changes with the mode selected in the header. * **Right panel** — the question list, the controls palette (expert mode only), and the Endings list (welcome/end screens). * When you click **Data**, the Questions panel auto-collapses to give the response table room to breathe. ## 3. Writing the question title Click anywhere in the large title area and start typing. Smartinterview uses a Notion-like WYSIWYG editor with a floating **bubble toolbar** that appears when you select text: Click anywhere in the large title area and start typing. Smartinterview uses a Notion-like WYSIWYG editor with a floating **bubble toolbar** that appears when you select text: | Button | What it does | | ------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | H1 / H2 / H3 | Headings (for long multi-line questions) | | **B / *I* / ~~S~~** | Bold, italic, strikethrough | | T | Font family + size | | 🎨 | Text colour | | ≡ | Alignment (left / centre / right) | | 🖼 | Insert image | | 🌐 | Translate (see section 4) | The editor accepts inline images (drag-and-drop or paste a URL) and supports keyboard shortcuts for bold/italic/underline (`⌘B`, `⌘I`, `⌘U`). ## 4. Translating a question (10 languages) Smartinterview stores a primary language per question and any number of translations alongside it. Smartinterview stores a primary language per question and any number of translations alongside it. 1. Write the question in whatever language feels most natural — this becomes the **primary** language. 2. Select any portion of the question title so the bubble toolbar appears. 3. Click the 🌐 icon on the far right of the toolbar. 4. A hover menu lists every supported language: * Français (FR) ★ principale * English (EN) * Deutsch (DE) * Español (ES) * العربية (AR) * हिन्दी (HI) * Português (PT) * Português (BR) * ไทย (TH) * 中文 (ZH) * 日本語 (JA) * Français (FR) ★ principale * English (EN) * Deutsch (DE) * Español (ES) * العربية (AR) * हिन्दी (HI) * Português (PT) * Português (BR) * ไทย (TH) * 中文 (ZH) * 日本語 (JA) 5. Click the target language. Smartinterview calls the translation API and writes the result to `uischema.options.translations[]`. 6. The editor view automatically switches to the newly-translated version so you can verify and fine-tune it inline. 7. Click the 🌐 icon again and pick `★ principale` to go back to the original — no second API call. 8. Click the target language. Smartinterview calls the translation API and writes the result to `uischema.options.translations[]`. 9. The editor view automatically switches to the newly-translated version so you can verify and fine-tune it inline. 10. Click the 🌐 icon again and pick `★ principale` to go back to the original — no second API call. Respondents see the version that matches their URL locale (`/fr/…`, `/en/…`, `/de/…`, etc). If a translation isn't set for their locale, they fall back to the primary language. *** ## 5. Adding answer blocks Every question can contain one or more **answer blocks**. In expert mode the full palette is visible on the right. In simple mode only the most common blocks are shown to keep the UI approachable. ### 5a. The full block catalogue | Group | Block | Use it when | | ------------ | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Yes / No** | Checkbox | Single yes/no or opt-in | | | Toggle | Yes/no but in switch form | | **Choices** | Radio Group | Single choice from a short list | | | Dropdown | Single choice from a long list | | | Checkbox Group | Multi-select from a short list | | | **Checkbox Table** | Matrix: multi-select across rows × columns (Likert scales etc.) | | | **Open Text Table** | Matrix: free text in each row × column cell | | **Text** | Short Text | One-line free text | | **Number** | Number | Numeric value | | | Slider | Scale / NPS (`0-10`, `1-5`, etc.) | | **AI** | **smartquestion** | Conversational AI-powered interview with follow-ups | | **Special** | Welcome Screen | First-screen landing with a Start button | | | End Screen | Thank-you screen | | **Redirect** | Redirection | Auto-redirect to another URL | ### 5b. Adding a block 1. Pick a question in the right-hand list. 2. Click any block in the **Controls** palette. It's inserted at the bottom of the current question. 3. Hover over the new block — a toolbar appears on the top-right corner with a pencil (edit) and a trash (delete) icon. 4. Click the pencil to open the edit popover where you can: * Change the block type (within the same group) * Rename the label * Toggle `Required` * See the internal response ID (e.g. `ctrl1`) 5. Click the trash to delete the block. ### 5c. Matrix blocks (Checkbox Table & Open Text Table) Both matrix blocks open with a default 2 rows × 3 columns grid and an inline editor bar: ```text theme={null} [+ Row] [+ Column] [R: Row 1 ×] [R: Row 2 ×] [C: Column 1 ×] [C: Column 2 ×] [C: Column 3 ×] ``` * **+ Row** / **+ Column** — grow the matrix. New rows get a fresh property key on the schema so answers stay separated. * **R:/C: chips** — click any chip to rename the row or column inline. Hit Enter to commit, Escape to revert. * **×** on hover — delete a row or column (the last one is protected so the matrix is never empty). Checkbox cells behave like a multi-select per row. Text cells accept free text at every intersection. ### 5d. Smartquestion (AI conversational block) Adding a smartquestion converts the question into an AI-driven interview. Respondents see: * A large circular microphone button in the middle of the screen * A small **"I prefer to write"** checkbox under it They can either **speak** (click the mic, talk, click again to stop; the platform transcribes on the fly) or **type** (toggle the checkbox and a text box appears). Either way, the AI then generates follow-up questions — the full Q/R chain is stored on the answer. As soon as you select a question that contains a smartquestion, an **AI config panel** slides in on the right with these fields: * **Question** — the visible prompt (mirrors the question title) * **Contexte** — the persona / instructions passed to the AI (e.g. "You are a market research specialist investigating brand perception…"). This is what steers the follow-ups. * **Mode** — optional tags (Vérification noms propres, Relances AI) * **Mode de réponse** * **Vocale** — voice only * **Vocale ou texte** — voice with a "I prefer to write" fallback (default) * **Texte** — text only * **Vidéo** — video recording * **Relances** — number of AI follow-ups, 1 to 4 (default 2) * **Langue** — the interview language, or `None (user locale)` to auto-match In **expert mode**, the inline smartquestion card collapses to a simple mic-only visual so you don't see the same config twice — the side panel is the source of truth. *** ## 6. Editing navigation buttons (Next / Previous) Below every question preview, the builder shows a **Next Question** button (and a **Previous** button when the question is not the first in the order). Both labels are click-to-edit: 1. Click directly on the label. 2. Type your replacement text. 3. Hit Enter to commit (or click outside). Escape cancels. Labels are saved per question under `uischema.options.navigation.{nextLabel, previousLabel}` and respondents see them exactly as written. If you leave a label empty it falls back to the locale-wide default (`Next Question` in English, `Question suivante` in French, etc.). *** ## 7. Display conditions (skip logic) Click **Conditions** at the bottom of the right panel to configure when a question is shown. You can chain rules like: ```text theme={null} Show this question WHEN Q1.ctrl1 == "choice1" AND Q2.ctrl1 > 5 ``` Conditions reference earlier questions by their response ID and support the comparison operators `==`, `!=`, `>`, `<`, `>=`, `<=`. Imported questionnaires preserve any conditions the original document expressed. *** ## 8. Paramètres tab Click **Paramètres** in the header to jump to survey-level settings: ### 8a. Variables URL Define named variables that can be passed via the survey URL (`?gender=F&age=25`) and referenced in display conditions or the End Screen return URL template. Each variable has a name, a type (`text`, `number`, `boolean`, `object`), and an optional default value. ### 8b. Expert features A single toggle that enables the full expert palette, the expert smartquestion editor, and the Preview / Widget tabs. Keep it off for authors who only need the simple-mode blocks. *** ## 9. Testing the survey There are three complementary ways to QA a survey before sharing it. ### 9a. Test mode (inside the builder) Click the **Test** button in the header's mode toggle. The currently selected question renders exactly as a respondent sees it, with a working **Next Question** button that navigates the whole flow. The end screen, the welcome screen, and any smartquestion follow-ups all fire normally. Test mode is perfect for checking styling, slider defaults, matrix layouts, and the mic interaction without any network latency. ### 9b. Deploy → Test link Click **Deploy** in the header. A small pop-up lists one direct link per supported locale: ![Deploy screen](https://auth.smartinterview.ch/storage/v1/object/public/documents/Deploy.png) ```text theme={null} FR https://www.smartinterview.ch/fr/ EN https://www.smartinterview.ch/en/ DE https://www.smartinterview.ch/de/ ``` Toggle **Mode test** on at the top of the dialog and each link is augmented with `?user_id=test_`. Because each `test_` is treated as a brand-new respondent, you can: * Take the same survey multiple times from the same browser * Skip the "already completed" end-screen cache that real respondents would see on a repeat visit * Separate QA answers from real ones later (all `user_id` values starting with `test_` are still written to the database but are easy to filter out) Every time you toggle Mode test on, a fresh `user_id` is generated — copy the link, take the survey, toggle off and back on for the next run. > **Warning:** a link without `?user_id=` remembers completion in `localStorage`. If you take a real link twice in the same browser the second visit lands directly on the end screen. Always use Mode test during QA. ### 9c. Generating synthetic test data Once you have a test link, 2–3 runs is usually enough to light up every question in the Data tab: 1. Open the link in an **Incognito / Private window** to avoid cookie bleed. 2. Fill only the required fields (red asterisk). Optional fields can be skipped. 3. On smartquestion blocks, type a short answer so the AI has something to follow up on. Two or three sentences produce a realistic Q/R thread. 4. For each synthetic respondent, flip **Mode test** off and on in the Deploy dialog so you get a new `user_id`, then copy the updated link. *** ## 10. Reviewing responses (Data tab) Click **Data** in the header. The Questions panel collapses and the centre fills with a pivoted table: ![Dataset](https://auth.smartinterview.ch/storage/v1/object/public/documents/Dataset.png) * One **row** per unique `user_id`. * One **column** per non-special question, in builder order. * `—` marks a question the respondent didn't reach or didn't answer. * The first two columns (`#` + `Respondent`) are sticky-left, so they stay pinned while you scroll horizontally through many questions. ### 10a. Filtering Above the table, a chip bar lets you narrow the view: ```text theme={null} Filtrer par question : [All (N)] [Q1 (n)] [Q2 (n)] [Q3 (n)] … ``` * **All** — show every question (default). The number is the respondent count. * **Qx** — show only that one column. Other columns are hidden, rows remain. ### 10b. AI / smartquestion cells For conversational questions, the cell renders the **full Q/R conversation** stacked inline: ```text theme={null} R: I was looking for better pricing. Q: Can you clarify what you mean by "better"? R: The competition is 20% cheaper. Q: What features matter most to you? R: Speed and reliability. ``` Original follow-up questions are in italic grey (marked `Q:`). Respondent answers are in solid text (marked `R:`). ### 10c. Personas ![Personas](https://auth.smartinterview.ch/storage/v1/object/public/documents/Personas_2.png) ## The Generate personas button creates scenarios to help anticipate the launch of an AI survey. Click the Save icon to store them so they appear in the dataset. ## 11. Exporting raw data At the top-right of the Data tab, click **Télécharger / Download** for a dropdown of export formats: | Format | What you get | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Excel (.xlsx)** | A multi-sheet workbook. One sheet lists every respondent with their answers, one sheet per question if you need to dig. | | **CSV** | A flat file with one row per respondent. Multi-value fields are pipe-joined. Opens cleanly in pandas / R / Stata. | | **JSON** | The raw answer blobs exactly as stored in the database. The most lossless format — use it if you're building an integration. | Under the hood, the button calls: ```text theme={null} GET /api/survey//export?format=excel|csv|json ``` Only the survey owner (or a member of the owning company) can call it, so your data is not publicly reachable. For programmatic access to responses per question, there's also: ```text theme={null} GET /api/survey//answers?question_id= ``` / which returns structured Q/R parts. This is exactly what the Data tab reads internally, so it's handy when you want to debug what the platform sees for a specific submission. *** ## 12. Deploying & sharing Once the survey is ready for real respondents: 1. Make sure every question has a meaningful title (and translations if your audience is multilingual). 2. Click **Deploy** in the header. 3. Copy the link for the locale you want to share. Note that the link starts with the locale path segment (`/fr/`, `/en/`, `/de/`) — the survey UI (Next button text, end screen strings, error messages) auto-localises based on that segment. 4. Share the link on your own channel (email, panel provider, QR code, Slack…). 5. Optionally append tracking parameters: ```text theme={null} https://www.smartinterview.ch/en/?gender=F&age=25&source=linkedin ``` Any parameter declared under **Paramètres → Variables URL** becomes available inside display conditions and the End Screen return URL template. ### Embedding in your own site (expert mode) If you prefer to host the survey inside your own site: 1. Enable expert mode in **Paramètres → Expert features**. 2. Switch to the **Widget** tab that appears. 3. Customise width, height, and theme. 4. Copy the generated `