A survey is composed of two parts: the form item that the app uses and the feature layer that contains the data submitted from the survey. It's possible to update a survey that has been published.
After making changes to a survey, you can typically republish it without deleting and re-creating the feature layer. Only the form item is updated. The following table lists the changes you can make to a published survey that do not cause loss of data. N/A denotes a feature that is unavailable to add to the survey in this environment and cannot be changed.
| Survey changes | Survey123 web designer | Survey123 Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Reorder questions | Yes | Yes |
| Delete questions | Yes | Yes |
| Update labels in questions | Yes | Yes |
| Update labels in groups | Yes | Yes |
| Add or delete choices in lists | Yes | Yes |
| Update constraints, defaults, hints, and whether a question is required | Yes | Yes |
| Update calculations | Yes | Yes |
Update choice filters | N/A | Yes |
| Delete questions or repeats | Yes | Yes |
| Change question types | No | No |
| Add new questions | Yes | Yes |
| Add repeats | N/A | No |
| Add new notes | Yes | Yes |
| Update repeat name | N/A | No |
| Add groups | Yes | Yes |
After saving changes to the survey, click the Publish button to republish it, after which, your changes will be available to all users.
If your updates will change the feature layer where the responses are saved, you are warned and asked whether you want to delete questions that have answers. In the following image, the question named Description has been selected to be deleted. The field for the question and its three collected answers will be deleted from the feature layer when the survey is republished.
Caution:
Once a survey that was created with the Survey123 web designer is republished from Survey123 Connect, you can no longer edit the portions of the survey that are managed by the XLSForm in the web designer. For example, the survey title and survey questions cannot be edited. Themes, webhooks, and sharing options can still be edited in the web designer.
Choice lists
Choice lists for Single select, Single select grid, and Dropdown questions are stored as a list of values (domain) for the field in the feature layer. When you remove a choice from a question, the value is also removed from the domain. The data in the field is not modified.
Choice lists for Multiple select questions are not stored as a domain in the feature layer. Removing a choice from a Multiple select question has no effect on the feature layer.