Add a map question

You end up with a question that collects geometry on the section’s map, with the number of features per respondent under your control.

Before you start

• The section’s Layout must be Map. Map questions are not offered in a Form section.
• If the survey is published and already collecting responses, adding a question happens in unpublished changes; see Edit a published survey.

Steps

1. Select the section in the left column and click New Question.

2. In the type picker, choose one of the types under Map questions:

   Type	Respondent does	Ask it when
   Geo Point	Taps the map to drop a marker	The answer is a place: a crossing, a bench, an incident
   Geo Line	Draws a route by placing vertices	The answer is a path: a walk to school, a cycling route
   Geo Polygon	Outlines an area vertex by vertex	The area has edges a respondent could trace: a plot, a block, a site
   Spray area	Paints a fuzzy cloud with a brush	The area has no honest boundary: where the centre ends, where it feels unsafe

   Points get answered about twice as often as polygons, because drawing costs effort. When in doubt, ask for a point.

3. Under Name, write the question as respondents should read it on the draw button, for example Where do you feel unsafe crossing the street?

4. Under Subtext, add one line of instruction. For a spray area, tell respondents that density means confidence: “spray thicker where you are certain”.

5. Pick a Color and, for points, an icon under Icon class. These are what the respondent’s markers look like; they also tell different map questions apart on the Responses › Map.

6. Tick Required if every respondent must place at least one feature before moving on. A required map question that is never answered blocks the section, so use it only when the survey is pointless without that answer.

7. For a point, line or polygon, set Places per respondent:

   • Min is the smallest number of features a respondent must place to move forward. Leave it empty (or 0) for optional.
   • Max is the ceiling. When a respondent reaches it, the draw button is disabled until they delete a feature. Leave it empty for unlimited.
   • A value in either field shows an “N of M marked” progress line inside the draw button. A spray question has no feature count: each respondent paints one cloud. Instead it offers Brush size (Small, Medium, Large) and an optional Max dots per respondent.

8. Click Create.

Result

The question appears in the section’s question list with its type badge, and the Live preview shows the draw button. Place a feature in the preview to check the flow: after each feature the respondent returns to the question list and can tap the button again for the next one; a counter on the button shows how many they have placed.

All features from one question export as one layer, however many a respondent adds. Do not clone a question to collect “the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place”; use Max instead.

Related

• Add sub-questions — ask something about each feature.
• Question types — every type, including Objects on the map.
• Writing map questions — wording that gets usable geometry.