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Your LimeSurvey version: 5.x
Own server or LimeSurvey hosting: Own
Survey theme/template: Any
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When a survey is either offline or expired, I would like to be able to inform the person that arrived at the link with some information. At this moment the following happens:

• when the survey is expired: ugly error message, which I cannot influence
• when the survey is offline: Error 401: Unauthorized you are not allowed to do this (system message, which I cannot influence)

There is always the possibility that you change this in the backend: Configuration > Global > Security and switch off: "Survey preview only for administration users". It means that when you switch this off ALL surveys that are offline will be visible for external, not logged in people (when they know the link).

What I would like to have in the "Text elements" of the survey: a text field, just like the other text fields and a switch that gives the possibility to either show the "Offline text" or to show the ugly error message.

Do you agree? Do you have other thoughts about this? Please let me know, so I can make a feature request.
 

Edit layout_errors.twig?

I agree that we need to work on the default way errors are displayed. I always found it a little "off putting" and not very informative. We should collect the possible error scenarios and prepare some standard text. Of course only, if this will make it into the core somehow, otherwise there is no point of doing it collectively here.

Good idea for a workaround: use the description text for display in the error message when there is no other serious error happening...

layout_errors.twig is usable for this, yes.

Thank you tpartner!

tammo wrote:

What I would like to have in the "Text elements" of the survey: a text field, just like the other text fields and a switch that gives the possibility to either show the "Offline text" or to show the ugly error message.
 

There where some posts about ideas around that.
My idea was to have a maintenance mode per survey, where have an textfield, an URL field and on/off button (perhaps with or without date from / till ).
That way, you could redirect visitors of expired URLS to new destinations or inform them. And you could take a survey offline for a while.