Overview
Excel-based questionnaires are one of the common RFx formats.
Note: For instructions on importing Microsoft Word documents, please refer to Importing and Mapping Microsoft Word Documents.
Importing Files from the Project Page
You can import Excel questionnaire in the following two ways.
- Click the Upload Document and selecting the the file from your computer or any of the available storage integration options.
- If you have already started a project, click New Section, and then select Import File.
The imported file page appears. Click the
icon and select Add New File.
You can upload the file from your computer, or any of the available storage integrations such as Google drive, Dropbox, Box, etc.
File will be automatically identified and configured. If all sheets are auto-identified, it will be imported to and a message will be displayed as shown below:
When there are unidentified sheets, it will be displayed as shown below:
You can view the unmarked sheets by clicking the drop-down icon. To review the unidentified sheets, click Review and Import.
The import page appears, you can make any required changes and click Import to import the file to the application.
In cases where files are of non-standard response template or the system cannot identify and auto-configure the Excel, you can manually configure the Excel. The following section explains how to manually configure an Excel file.
Manually Configuring an non auto-identified Excel file
A sample Excel file is displayed below:
Users can ignore the sheet if it has no questionnaire by clicking icon beside the sheet's name and selecting Ignore this Worksheet.
Identifying Header Rows
Users can ignore the rows which will not be helpful in responding to the RFP. Click the row and select HEADER. The rows till the header rows will be excluded.
Configuring Sections
Click the section title and map with the Section from the right navigation. The title will be shown with the S indicator.
Note: If the section title is not present in the worksheet cells, worksheet name will be taken as a section title.
Users can also use Auto Identify Sections option so that the system will automatically map the title with the section. The system will auto-identify sections only when the section has a unique style.
Select the sections and click APPLY.
Configuring Sub-Sections
You can configure a Subsection by selecting the row, clicking the icon beside Sections icon on the floating toolbar and selecting LEVEL 1 - SUB SECTION as shown:
Users can also use Auto Identify option so that the system will automatically map the title with the section. The system will auto-identify sub sections only when the sub section has a unique style.
Configuring Questions
Select the question and map with the question by selecting the QUESTION icon from the floating toolbar.
Users can also use AUTO IDENTIFY option so that the system will automatically map the title with the question. The system will auto-identify questions only when the question has a unique style.
Click APPLY.
In a similar way, users can configure Sub-questions.
Note: If there are identical questions with different answers, we consolidate those questions into one question with multiple answer types upon import
Configuring Question Numbers
Click the column which has the question numbers and click the three-stacked icon to display additional options as shown below:
Next, click the QUESTION NO icon to set the column as Question Numbers. The indicator will be shown as N.
Configuring Tags
If there are several categories/department which has questions, the category/department can be considered as tags, which helps you to filter questions.
Click the category/department column and map it as tags by clicking the three-stacked icon and selecting Tags. The whole column will be considered as tags.
Configuring Answers
Click the response column and select Answer on the floating toolbar. The system will auto-identify and display answer type suggestions based on questions in the document. These suggestions can be configured further manually.
Answer Headers you choose for a question type will reflect on the Answering Page.
You can explicitly specify rows that the headers should apply to in the Applicable to Rows column.
To change the Answer Type, click the drop-down arrow and select an option from the list.
You can set Q&A pairs to be added to the Answer Library or mark questions as required by selecting the corresponding Index and Required checkboxes.
Click Add Answer Type, to configure and add an answer type manually.
To Delete a suggested answer type, click the corresponding trash icon on the far right.
The system will automatically identify the drop-downs from the document. Click Auto-Identify Drop-downs to view/edit the fields.
The application is capable of handling different types of questions and responses. The following sections describe the available answer types and provide details on the best fit based on use case.
Here is a preview of the sample file that is used to explain the various Answer Types.
Answer Type: Radio/Drop-down
If you respond to a question which has choices in a column. (Example: If Question A has answer choices "Yes" or "No" or "N/A", etc.) you can go ahead with radio/drop-down as an answer type.
Choose the answer type Dropdown from the dropdown list.
Add an answer options (displayed on the Answering page) and their corresponding value in a row.
To add a row, click Add Answer Option.
To remove a row, click the Trash icon.
To save the options to the answer type, click Save.
To save the Answer Type, Click Save.
To add additional options or edit the current answer options, click the Options icon.
Answer Type: Basic Rich Text
This answer type best suits responses that are expected to be brief but limited to a few words. To set a column to Basic Rich Text, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the Basic Rich Text from the dropdown in the Answer Type and click Save.
Answer Type: Full Rich Text
This answer type best suits responses that are expected to be descriptive, format rich, include attachments etc., To set a column to Full Rich Text, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the Full Rich Text from the dropdown in the Answer Type and click Save.
Answer Type: Multi-Column Radio
When the questionnaire calls for you to select one answer in a radio format from multiple columns, the appropriate answer type is a multi-column radio. For example, if question A has 3 responses in columns G, H, and I, as possible options, and the expected response is to fulfil the question requirements of any one of them.
You can define these answer types as a multi-column radio.
Select the Multi-Column Radio from the dropdown in the Answer Type.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
The answer indicator A will be shown on all three columns.
Answer Type: Date
To set a column type as Date, select the column, then click Answer.
Select the answer type as Date.
Answer Type: Multi-Column Drop Down
When the questionnaire asks that you select one answer from a row across multiple columns, the appropriate answer type is a multi-column drop-down.
For example: Shown below, question 1 has 3 possible responses in columns K, L, and M. You are being asked to provide your response in one of the columns to fulfil the question requirements.
Users can define these answer types as a multi-column drop-down in the application.
Select the answer type as Multi-Column Dropdown.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
Answer Type: Checkbox
When responding to a question which has answer choices in a different column and you can select multiple answers, you can choose checkbox as an answer type.
Configure the options as required and click Save to save the options.
Click Save to save the answer type.
Importing Questions and Answers in the Same Column
Below is an example of both questions and answers are in the same column "B":
To import the excel questionnaire with Q and A in the same column follow steps below:
1. Import the file into the project
2. Select column B and mark as Question
3. Select the B column and click the arrow next to Answer on the floating toolbar. Then click Mark Rest as Answer.
4. A confirmation Popup is displayed
5. Check to make sure you have all the rows you need listed in the Applicable to Rows.
Note:
- You can use comma "," as a delimiter to add/specify more rows in the Applicable to Rows field
- You can also specify a range of rows. For eg: 3,5,7,9,11-19,23,25-32,35
6. Review the markings and click Import
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Note: You can import few question and answer in the same column, and the rest in different columns too. While configuring each, you can specify the rows for which it has to be applied.
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Importing the File
Once all the answer types been configured, click Import to initiate import process.
Imported Sections