Helper variables
Helper variables are used to store supplementary information for a field. Source file variables are common examples of helper variables. Source file variables store the name of a file that contains an image or a recording of a question response (such as a .tiff file containing a scanned image of a hand-written response, or a sound file that contains a recording of an open-ended response in a Quancept CATI interview).
Syntax
You specify a helper variable at the end of a Long, Double, Text, Date, Boolean, or Categorical question as follows:
helperfields ( <field> (; <field> )* [;] )
Note You do not need to specify the helperfields keyword in the following situations as helper variables of the correct data type and usage type are added automatically to the metadata:
▪Other Specify categories in Categorical questions
▪categories that use the Multiplier keyword in Categorical questions
▪codes lists in Long, Double, Text, Date and Boolean questions.
Examples
This example creates a single source file helper variable for a double field:
Rating "How would you rate this product on a scale of 1 to 10?"
double [1.0..10.0] helperfields(SourceFile text
usagetype ("SourceFile"););
The
usagetype keyword defines the field as a source file variable. The HelperField usage type is set automatically. See
Special usage types for more information.
See