I'm testing LimeSurvey and have a couple of questions that perhaps someone more familiar with the system could answer:

-Is there a slider control available? I browsed these forums and there is talk of one but I haven't found it as yet.

-Can reminder emails be handled automatically? In other words if a set of respondents doesn't respond X days following the initial invitation, can the system be pre-programmed to send a first reminder to nonrespondents? Can a second and third reminder be programmed but with different content? For example, reminder1 text says "you have may forgotten...", reminder2 says "we're desparate..." reminder3 says "are you alive..." And the idea is that each reminder would be programmed to go out to nonrespondents x days after initial email. Basically, a set it and forget it approach.

-Are there any automated reports that can either be generated and sent to clients or is it possible for clients to log in to see canned reports (but not the raw data)?

-I'm curious how folks on this list feel LimeSurvey compares with SurveyMonkey or SurveyGizmo. Overall it has a bit of an open-source feel but given that I'm not really unlearning either of these alternatives (I have been using SnapSurvey for a while but their pricing model no long er works for me) that's not really an issue.

Thanks much,

Eric

ericgraig wrote: -Is there a slider control available? I browsed these forums and there is talk of one but I haven't found it as yet.

The Slider option is part of the Multiple Numerical Input Question ( www.limesurvey.org/manual/Question_type_...merical_input#Slider )

-Can reminder emails be handled automatically? In other words if a set of respondents doesn't respond X days following the initial invitation, can the system be pre-programmed to send a first reminder to nonrespondents? Can a second and third reminder be programmed but with different content? For example, reminder1 text says "you have may forgotten...", reminder2 says "we're desparate..." reminder3 says "are you alive..." And the idea is that each reminder would be programmed to go out to nonrespondents x days after initial email. Basically, a set it and forget it approach.

No, you will have to trigger this yourself. There might be a possibility to create a plugin for this, but I am not aware that there currently is one. Or you might be able to do this with cron jobs. But this would be something that you would need to custom develop.

-Are there any automated reports that can either be generated and sent to clients or is it possible for clients to log in to see canned reports (but not the raw data)?

Reporting in LImesurvey is currently relatively basic. There is a reporting feature, but it will not send automatic reports an there is no possibility to create fixed reports.

-I'm curious how folks on this list feel LimeSurvey compares with SurveyMonkey or SurveyGizmo. Overall it has a bit of an open-source feel but given that I'm not really unlearning either of these alternatives (I have been using SnapSurvey for a while but their pricing model no long er works for me) that's not really an issue.

Can't talk about that, because I haven't looked at those two in a while, so anything I might say might have changed already. I like Limesurvey because you can install it on your own server, have total control over the installation and all data. Then this might be actually a negative for some people who don't want to take care of the installation, administration, update, etc. but would rather prefer a SaaS option. Then you can always look at Limesurvey Pro, the SaaS option.

Slider is (as Holch indicated) available in Multinumerical: just look at the extra attributes at the right of the edit screen.

Reminder emails cannot be handled automatically out of the box, but I believe Mazi (one of the power users, often here at the forum) has a solution for that in his shop:
survey-consulting.com/product/automatica...end-email-reminders/

Reporting is indeed a bit poor at the moment. We tend to create reports ourselves:
toolsforresearch.com/project/dutch-decent-work-survey

I stopped comparing, LS is free and fits my needs.

Hope this helps you,

greetings from the Netherlands,

ericgraig wrote: -Can reminder emails be handled automatically? In other words if a set of respondents doesn't respond X days following the initial invitation, can the system be pre-programmed to send a first reminder to nonrespondents? Can a second and third reminder be programmed but with different content? For example, reminder1 text says "you have may forgotten...", reminder2 says "we're desparate..." reminder3 says "are you alive..." And the idea is that each reminder would be programmed to go out to nonrespondents x days after initial email. Basically, a set it and forget it approach.

handled automatically : if you can add a cronjob : yes , see extensions.sondages.pro/37 for example.
About automatic test : i think you can use {REMINDERCOUNT} in expression.

-Are there any automated reports that can either be generated and sent to clients or is it possible for clients to log in to see canned reports (but not the raw data)?

I do a lot of automated report for client, each one are different with different usage and evaluation system.

ericgraig wrote: -I'm curious how folks on this list feel LimeSurvey compares with SurveyMonkey or SurveyGizmo.

If you want to compare LimeSurvey with SurveyGizmo featurewise, SurveyGizmo is miles ahead. You really need to make a list of features you need and test them on your own. When you read "programming" in the LimeSurvey-forum is often php/javascript stuff. Often features which are added in form of plugins which are not part of the LimeSurvey distribution.

If you're used to SnapSurveys smart reports you will not find such a feature in LimeSurvey. Depending on your strategy you might invest time and money to sponsor such a feature. Or code it on your own.
If you're not used to PHP/Javascript coding and need snap surveys replacement now, you should use SurveyGizmo for the next months and spare some time on LimeSurvey.

But why is the snap surveys pricing not working for you? Do you need many loginaccounts for a team?
Isn't SnapSurveys 700 GBP per year?