Engage Help Center
ENGAGE HELP CENTER
Editing an already-live activity: what you can and can't change
A short cheat sheet for what to keep in mind when making changes to Engage surveys that participants are already answering.
The golden rules of making changes in an already live activity.
- A question's identifier ("Question name") and an answer option's identifier ("Value") become permanent the moment a survey starts collecting data — never delete or change them.
- Visible text ("Question title", option "Text") can always be edited freely.
- If a change would alter the underlying meaning of a question or answer, deactivate the old question (uncheck "Visible") and create a brand-new one instead of deleting or renaming the existing question.
1. How do I add a new question to an activity?
❌ Don't: repurpose one of the existing questions.
✅ Do: create a brand-new question.
❌ Don't: repurpose one of the existing questions.
✅ Do: create a brand-new question.
2. What do I do with a question that no longer needs to collect answers?
❌ Don't: delete the question from the survey.
✅ Do: in the question's settings, under General, uncheck Visibleeg — this deactivates the question.
❌ Don't: delete the question from the survey.
✅ Do: in the question's settings, under General, uncheck Visibleeg — this deactivates the question.
This way, previously submitted answers remain untouched in both the Excel export and Analytics.
3. What do I do with a question whose wording needs to change?
❌ Don't: delete or change the question's identifier (the Question name field, under General settings).
✅ Do: freely edit the question's wording (the Question title field, under General settings).
❌ Don't: delete or change the question's identifier (the Question name field, under General settings).
✅ Do: freely edit the question's wording (the Question title field, under General settings).
4. What if the question's identifier ("Question name") itself needs to change?
❌ Don't: delete or change the identifier of a question that's already in use.
✅ Do: deactivate the outdated question, unchecking Visible under General settings. Create a brand-new question and give it the new identifier.
❌ Don't: delete or change the identifier of a question that's already in use.
✅ Do: deactivate the outdated question, unchecking Visible under General settings. Create a brand-new question and give it the new identifier.
5. What do I do when a question's answer choices need edits?
❌ Don't: delete or change an answer option's identifier (the Value field, under Choice Options settings).
✅ Do: freely edit an answer option's text (the Text field, under Choice Options settings), as long as it doesn't conflict with the identifier.
❌ Don't: delete or change an answer option's identifier (the Value field, under Choice Options settings).
✅ Do: freely edit an answer option's text (the Text field, under Choice Options settings), as long as it doesn't conflict with the identifier.
If a conflict does arise, delete the outdated option and add a new one in its place.
6. What if an answer option needs to be deleted?
✅ Do: delete the option under Choice Options settings, in the question's settings.
❌ Don't: edit or re-save previously submitted participant responses that selected the now-deleted option.
✅ Do: delete the option under Choice Options settings, in the question's settings.
❌ Don't: edit or re-save previously submitted participant responses that selected the now-deleted option.
Responses that previously selected the deleted option keep that option's identifier on their record. However, if those responses are re-saved (for example, by editing and re-submitting them), Engage permanently deletes its stored historical information about the answer option that's no longer in the activity.
7. What if a question needs a brand-new answer option?
✅ Do: freely add a new option under Choice Options settings, setting its own text (Text) and identifier (Value).
❌ Don't: turn an already-used answer option into the "new" one.
✅ Do: freely add a new option under Choice Options settings, setting its own text (Text) and identifier (Value).
❌ Don't: turn an already-used answer option into the "new" one.
Quick recap
- Only delete an answer option per rule 6 — never delete a question that already has response history.
- Identifiers ("Question name", "Value") are permanent — only the visible wording changes.
- When the underlying meaning changes, deactivate the old question and create a new one — don't rename it.
- When in doubt, deactivate and create new, rather than delete or rename.
If you're not sure how to handle the needed changes, contact the Longenesis Customer Support team at support@longenesis.com.
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