Use case: Whenever a condition is written, the designer typically needs to write that a question variable is equal to a value (e.g., b24 == 2
). When this is done, designer needs to remember the variable name (made easier by the current intellitype/autocomplete functionality) and the intended target value. When memory fails or the designer is uncertain that a value corresponds to the desired answer option, they must toggle between the question where the condition is being written and the question whose value is needed for the condition. To make this process easier, it would be good if Designer’s conditions editor would show a set of values and the corresponding string labels. For example, if one types b1 ==
, show 1 "yes"
and 2 "no"
. If these values have already been defined, then Designer is simply fetching previously defined key-value pairs for the target question. If these values have not been defined, implement current approach.
Some practical limitations:
- Only works for single-select and multi-select questions
- Drop-down of values only triggered after certain syntactical elements. Proposal: after
==
,!=
,>=
,<=
,>
,<
. Ideally also afterContains(
, . Bonus points if invoked where arguments expected forInList
andInRange
. Other methods, in my experience, are less used. - Shows full set of answer options in order of appearance in target question
- Drop-down reacts to numeric input only
Some visual examples from other systems:
RStudio’s IDE: