From Add Item in Template Maintenance select the Multiple-choice button shown here. |
The Multiple-choice item allows the user to choose one from a list of allowable options on the device. The fact that it is called "multiple" choice does not indicate that multiple answers can be selected, it indicates that one answer can be selected from multiple choices. The multiple choice item tends to get used in cases where there are between two and four or five options, and is really just a direct alternative to a drop down list. The display of options can either be vertical or horizontal and it can either be of the option text or of associated images.
Multiple choices items are commonly used as a mechanism for recording findings and follow-up actions. In these cases the selection of the non-default answer will trigger the display of a new screen to record the detailed findings. |
How your Multiple-choice prompt might look on a device. |
Main |
Main screen for creating/amending a Multiple-choice prompt |
Main screen for creating/amending a Multiple-choice prompt |
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| *Question | This is the text “label” that is specifying the information that needs to be entered or the question to be answered. Although this is not necessarily a question in all cases, Question is used as the general term to cover the text shown next to an input field. The text should be as short as possible whilst still being self-explanatory. Over-long questions take up a lot of space on PDA screens with their restricted size, so try and make them concise. This text should be an aid to help guide the user through the screen. Any more explanatory text can be made available as “Auditor’s notes” or “Full question text”. | ||||||||
| Mandatory |
Tick this box if the question is mandatory and leave it blank if it is optional. This will depend on whether the answer to this question is critical to the data that is being collected, such as signature to confirm customer acceptance. |
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| List name | Select the name of the list that will supply the choices. This list is created via Lists in Setup and Maintenance. | ||||||||
| Default value |
Enter a value that will be inserted without the user doing anything e.g. '0' (zero) for quantity in a supplies list so that only significant entries need to be entered. Sometimes it is appropriate to use values entered by administrators when setting up a job. In this case, use the syntax: $$[unique name used in job definition] |
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| Arrange horizontally | By default list items are arrange vertically - one per line. By ticking this box magic5 will fit as many as possible on one line. This is useful for short options such as "yes"/"no" or "1-2","3-5", "5-10". | ||||||||
| Prompt for findings/actions for results (except for first result) | This is useful if something out of the ordinary has been encountered by the operator, such as customer not home or condition unacceptable, where further information needs to be collected. It is an alternative to the tick box below, so make sure that only one of these is ticked. | ||||||||
| Use same-page findings/actions |
This inserts default findings and/or actions into a text box (which must be manually created beneath this multiple-choice item) so that it appears on the same screen on the device (rather than in a separate screen as the tick box above). A drop-down list to record the timescales may also be required (add manually) and findings can be shown. |
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| Use list entry images instead of text | Images, such as smiley/frowning face, tick/cross, can be used instead of text. | ||||||||
Advanced |
Advanced features of a Multiple-choice list. |
Advanced features that can be applied to a Multiple-choice list. |
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Auditor's notes |
If you wish to offer the end-user guidance and direction on how to answer a question then use the Auditor’s notes field. This allows you to input any necessary text expanding on the basic question. For the end-user, the auditor’s notes are available via the “right click” option on the device – tap and hold the stylus on the question text. |
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Full question (for report) |
The question text mentioned above should be framed in such a way as to indicate to the user the information that needs to be input. However, when this information is output on a report via the web site or a PDF additional wording may well be required. Use this field to phrase the original question in a way suitable for the report. |
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Cross reference |
This field is output on reports to cross-reference the information with any relevant legislation etc. |
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| Background colour of question | Specify the colour that should appear behind the question on the device. | ||||||||
| Colour of question | Specify the colour of the text in the question on the device. | ||||||||
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Don't keep previous result when part of a document lifecycle |
Tick this box if you DO NOT wish data to be collected in this template item to be copied to any jobs created directly from the original form. This is useful for a repeated task (such as booking in/out a rental item or repeated delivery) where the data remains the same but a sign-off is required so this box may be ticked for Date, Surname and Signature. Please note that if a $$transformation$$ option is applied to the newly created job, this setting may be over-ruled. |
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| Show all choices on report | |||||||||
| Allow multiple results for this field? |
If you wish to have the capability of entering more than one “answer” to a question then you can use this field. If it is checked/ticked then a button will be displayed allowing further responses to be input. The text shown on this button can be specified (see below). |
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| Text on button for adding additional results |
This option is used in conjunction with “Allow multiple results for this field” and specifies the text shown on the button (for example, “Add response” or “Another value"). |
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| Item flag |
Template item flags are used to apply display classes to $$template item$$ in a consistent and efficient way. They are set up in a system list called Template item flags and might be given names such as Danger so the text appears in red, Disclaimer for smaller text, Long answer to give extra space to the answer. This means that changing the display class can be done in one place rather than on all template items. |
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| *Unique name |
A unique name must exist for everything in a magic5 template. It is so important that magic5 pre-fills the prompt with a non-meaningful name which it will use by default. This does not need to be changed. However, if the data associated with the unique name is to be used elsewhere (for example as part of a calculation, imported or exported, or carried over to a new job), it is helpful to use a meaningful name (such as RefNo, QuantityOrdered, ItemTotal, ContactName, ReasonForReferral) and this meaningful name must be entered before the template is used with real data. If the unique name is changed at a later date, existing data will not be lost but it may no longer be accessible by magic5, in which case it cannot be displayed, used in calculations or exported. It is therefore recommended that this is done only as a last resort and that the original template is duplicated before changes are made - this means that existing data can still be retrieved if necessary. If in any doubt, please contact magic5 support for the best way to deal with this. |
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Default findings |
Add findings for this list that will appear automatically. |
Adding default findings for items in a Multiple-choice list. |
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| Add Finding | Click this button to add additional information to the selected item in the list. More information on Item Type - Findings |
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