Limits and Limitations
Survey Solutions Limits
The table below summarizes some of the Survey Solutions limits.
It is not advisable to design a questionnaire or rely on a work flow that
is balancing on the margin of these limits.
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum number of questions in a section: | 400 [questions] |
| Maximum number of roster elements in a single roster (including rosters nested into it): (applies to versions older than v24.06) | 10,000 [items] |
| Maximum number of roster elements in the whole questionnaire: | 80,000 [items] |
| Maximum question text length: | 2,000 [characters] |
| Maximum length of a variable label: | 80 [characters] |
| Maximum variable name length for most question types: | 32 [characters] |
| Maximum variable name length for GPS and some other question types: | 20 [characters] |
| Maximum number of GPS questions marked as prefilled: | 1 [question] |
| Maximum nesting depth for rosters: | 4 [levels] |
| Maximum nesting depth for sub-sections (not including the section level): | 9 [levels] |
| Maximum number of items in a roster: (for versions older than v24.06 it is 60 [items]) | 200 [items] |
| Maximum number of items in a simple roster: | 200 [items] |
| Maximum number of questions* in a roster to qualify as a simple roster: | 30 [questions] |
| Maximum number of questions in a roster to be shown in plain mode: | 10 [questions] |
| Minimum number of items in a categorical question: | 2 [items] |
| Maximum number of items in a categorical question: | 15,000 [items] |
| Maximum number of items in a categorical question (with all options visible to interviewer): | 200 [items] |
| Maximum number of validations (rules and messages) that can be attached to a single element: | 10 [validations] |
| Maximum number of suggestions in a combobox categorical question: | 50 [items] |
| Maximum length of a category label in a categorical question: | 250 [characters] |
| Maximum number of list items in a text list question type: | 200 [items] |
| Maximum length of response to a text question type that can be entered: (This limit does not apply to content that is pre-loaded by file upload method) | 750 [characters] |
| Earliest date that can be entered into a date question: | 1 January 1900 |
| Latest date that can be entered into a date question: | 31 December 2100 |
| Maximum length of a syntax condition: | 10,000 [characters] |
| Maximum length of an error message: | 250 [characters] |
| Maximum number of decimals in a numeric question: | 15 [digits] |
| Maximum number of data rows in a lookup table: | 15,000 [rows] |
| Maximum number of data columns in a lookup table: | 10 [columns] |
| Recognized barcode formats: | see list |
| Supported graphic file formats for upload to static text: | .jpg & .png |
| Maximum size of a single image for upload to static text (larger images result in warnings): | 5 [MB] |
| Maximum image dimensions for upload to static text: | 4,096 x 4,096 [pixels] |
| Maximum size of the longer side of captured images: | 1024 [pixels] |
| Maximum duration of record in audio question: | 3 [minutes] |
| Maximum size of the assignments preload file: | 300 [MB] |
| Maximum size of the (compressed/zipped) map preload file: | 500 [MB] | Maximum size of any (decompressed/unzipped) map preload file: | 512 [MB] |
| Maximum size of the questionnaire (not including attachments) | 5 [MB] |
| Minimum length of a required password**: | 10 [characters] |
| Maximum number of user accounts that can be created in a single batch: | 10,000 [accounts] |
| Maximum size of an image for Headquarters login page: | 10 [MB] |
| Maximum number of markers*** in Headquarters map report: | 50,000[markers] |
| Reserved value (numeric variable types): | -999,999,999 |
| Reserved value (string variable types): | ##N/A## |
| Length of an internally generated case ID (GUID): | 32 [hexadecimal digits] |
| Maximum length of a comment to a question: | 750 [characters] | Maximum length of a comment to an assignment: | 500 [characters] | Maximum length of a comment to approval/rejection transaction: | 200 [characters] |
| Timeout for inactive web-interviewing sessions: | 15 [minutes] |
| Maximum number of unsuccessful login attempts before a CAPTCHA gets activated: | 5 [attempts] |
| Maximum length of a customized notification email email templates | 1,000 [characters] |
| Maximum number of interviews that can be requested in a finite assignment: (Infinite-size assignments are not affected by this limit). | 10,000 [interviews] |
| Minimum value for accuracy of location detection in automatic and semi-automatic modes in geography questions: | 1 [meter] |
| Maximum value for accuracy of location detection in automatic and semi-automatic modes in geography questions: | 1,000 [meters] |
| Minimum value for frequency of location detection in automatic mode in geography questions: | 5 [seconds] |
| Maximum value for frequency of location detection in automatic mode in geography questions: | 1,000 [seconds] |
*) in addition to the limit on number of questions a roster may not contain nested rosters to qualify as a simple roster, read more details here; as of v24.06 there is no longer a distinction between a roster and a simple roster.
June 6, 2024Design limitations by question type
When laying out the questionnaire in the Survey Solutions Designer, mind
the following design restrictions by question type:
| Type of question | Can be used as interviewer | Can be used as supervisor | Can be used in cover section | Can be used as hidden | Can be preloaded | Can be used in substitutions | Can be used in Web interviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO | YES |
| Barcode | YES | NO | NO | NO | YES | YES | YES (appears as text entry) |
| Categorical multi-select | YES | YES (NO for linked) | NO | YES (NO for linked) | YES (NO for linked) | NO | YES |
| Categorical single-select | YES | YES (NO for linked) | YES | YES (NO for linked) | YES, (NO for linked) | YES | YES |
| Date | YES | NO | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Geography | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO |
| GPS | YES | NO | YES | YES | YES | NO | YES |
| List | YES | NO | NO | YES | YES | NO | YES |
| Numeric | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Picture | YES | NO | NO | NO | NO | NO | YES, (upload file only) |
| Text | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES | YES |
Please note:
March 6, 2024Roster limits
Survey Solutions provides capabilities for building complex multilevel data structures and at the same time prevents these data structures from exploding uncontrollably. Earlier this has been done at design-time - when the questionnaire was checked during compilation, error
[WB0262]:Roster has reached size limit. Reduce roster size or decrease nesting.
was sometimes issued, when the structure may have resulted in a large (multiple thousands of) number of items.
At design time the actual number of elements was not known, so the Survey Solutions applied the pessimistic strategy of taking maximum values for each trigger. This worked, but resulted in some seemingly valid designs to be banned, notably listing questionnaires where in an enumeration area there could be a large number of small dwellings or a small number of large houses, but never a large number of large houses. The pessimistic strategy deemed that possible.
January 14, 2019Recognized Barcode Formats
The barcode question allows optical recognition of the following barcode
types:
- Aztec Code
- Codabar
- Code 11
- Code 25,
- Code 39
- Code 93
- Code 128
- Data Matrix
- GS1 DataBar
- MSI Plessey
- PDF417
- QR Code
- EAN
- UPC
The exact type of the barcode is determined automatically during recognition and doesn’t have to be specified during questionnaire design.
February 2, 2017Multimedia reference
Survey Solutions from version 5.7 allows the users embedding images into questionnaires. These images can be presented by configuring the static text elements. For details on the use of the images in the questionnaires, see the article on Questionnaire Attachments.
The following file types are supported:
| File type | Extension | Max dimensions |
|---|---|---|
| Portable Network Graphics | *.png | 4096x4096 |
| Joint Photographic Experts Group | *.jpg | 4096x4096 |
We recommend combined size of attached files not to exceed 2MB to avoid slow synchronization. Suggested width for images contained in static texts is 720px, which may vary depending on tablet model, screen size and resolution.
October 3, 2016