Creating Questions - Create Questions for a Section – CommunityForce

Create Questions for a Section

Home > (Select - Application Name) > Application Settings > Sections and Questions > (Select - Section Name) > Select - Add Question

Once you have created the sections of your application you can create questions under each section of your application for the applicant to answer.

To add a question to a specific section, click on the blurred Section Name link, as shown below.

Click the Add Question button to begin creating a new question for the selected section. 

This will open the Add/Edit Question information screen. 

Question Field Descriptions

Question fields that are included in every question type are described below. Question-specific fields are included in other question-related articles, as noted below. 

Linked Question: Click Add to link this question to an existing question in this application.

Question: Type the text for your question. 

Report/Excel Column Name: This is the name that appears as your column heading in Excel exports and reports created in the CommunityForce system. Therefore, it is important to make this name a short descriptive version of your question so the column headers in your reports will not be so long that you have to scroll through multiple pages to view the entire report. 

Question XML Name: This is the abbreviated name that the database uses to refer to the question. The XML Name is very important when importing applicant data from one application to another or when integrating data from CommunityForce to another database. 

For the data extraction (mapping) to be successful, the source application's task question and the destination application's task question must have the same XML names.
Once an application has been created, and data is being exported/imported, it is very important to never change this name in your application.
When creating additional applications where an applicant can export/import data from one application to another, the fields within each application must have the same XML names.

The Question XML Name and the Report/Excel Column Name should be the same except the Question XML Name cannot contain spaces between words. (See example below.)

Guidelines for Applicants: This is a brief note with helpful hints regarding the information requested by this question. 

 A blue icon will display next to the question in the application. When the applicant hovers over this icon, the information will be displayed. 

Note - If you have important, detailed instructions regarding how to answer a question, it may be better to include the explanation as part of the question itself or add a message type question to display before this question. This will ensure that the instructions are not missed by the applicant.

Type: The question Type is used to describe the type of answer field appropriate for the desired response from the applicant. There are different types of questions you can configure. For instance please view the below question types.

Required: Select Yes to require the applicant to answer the question, otherwise, select No.

Exclude: Select Yes to exclude this question from displaying for applicants. Use this setting when a question for which data has been entered in the past is no longer valid (since questions with data cannot be deleted.) Select No to display the question for applicants.

Hidden from Reviewer: Select Yes to hide the question and any answers supplied by applicants from reviewers, otherwise, select No. 

Hidden from Applicant: Select Yes to hide the question from the applicant, otherwise, select No.

Show on Award Screen: Select Yes to display the replies to this question in the Manage Awards section. 

Show on Reviewer Scorecard PDF: Select Yes to include the question on the Reviewer's Scorecard PDF when they view or print it. Select No and the question will not be included on the Scorecard PDF, but can still be viewed in the application PDF and the application preview reviewers use to make their determinations.

Read Only: Select Yes to mark this question as read-only and the applicant will not need to reply to the question, otherwise select No.

Use in Fund Criteria Setup: Select Yes to include this question as an option when setting up fund criteria for the selected application, otherwise, select No.

Show for Fund: Designate the fund(s) for which this question will be visible. You can select one or more or all funds, as applicable, for this application. 

Default Display: Enter a default value to display as a reply to the question. The value will display by default and the applicant will not be required to answer unless they need to change the reply to the question. 

Note - This value must exactly match a value entered in the Add Values table for it to correctly display for the applicant.

Display Order: This is the order in which the question should display in the section. The order auto-populates as you add questions. You cannot edit the field here, but you can change the order of the questions on the Question listing page.

Add File to this Question: Upload documents you need applicants to complete that apply to the question.

Be sure to save your new question with one of the options below:

Save - Save the question and remain on the Add/Edit screen.

Save & Exit - Save the question and return to the Question listing.

Exit without Save - Returns to the Question listing and does not save the question. 

Reset Form - Use this option to reset all fields to the default parameters and remain on the Add/Edit Question screen.

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