Piping
The Piping feature allows users to inject previously collected data into text on a data collection form or survey, thus providing greater precision and control over question wording. It can also be used in other ways, such as for customizing survey invitations (e.g. by including the respondent's name in the email) or survey acknowledgments (e.g. thanking your respondent by name after completing a survey).
Piping can be used in many different places in REDCap. Below is a list of all the places where Piping may be utilized to insert a data value *INTO* text.
- Field Label
- Field Note
- Section Header
- Matrix field column headers
- Option labels for multiple choice fields (radio or drop-down)
- Slider field labels (i.e. text displayed above slider bar)
- Survey Instructions
- Survey Acknowledgement Text
- Survey invitation emails (sent via Participant List or Automated Invitations) - includes both subject and message
- Custom text displayed at top of Survey Queue
To use piping, do the following:
- Edit or add the field you would like to apply piping to
- In the “Field Label” box (shown below), enter the text and include piping by typing inside brackets the variable name of the field that you would like its contents to be displayed (e.g. [first_name], as shown in picture below)
- When you go to enter data on the form or survey, either a blank line or an entered answer will appear where piping is applied (as shown in pictures below)
Or entered answer: