Test Settings: Question Layout

Modified on Thu, 28 Apr 2022 at 05:12 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction

Test Sign-Offs are a type of Custom Form used within ManagementStudio to collect additional information from end-users via a web browser.  The question text, type of field, and options are defined in the Test Questions tab of the Test Type, whereas the layout and presentation of the web form is managed within the Question Layout tab, as detailed within this document.


Working with the Question Layout Page

Accessing the Question Layout Page


  • Switch to Administration and select the appropriate module. This example uses Applications.
  • Scroll down to Surveys, Sign-Offs & Self Schedule and select Test Sign-Offs.
  • Click Select Test Type (1) to choose the correct test or create a New Test Type (2).
  • Select Question Layout (3).



Question Layout Page Structure

The Question Layout page consists of three core areas, each of which is discussed in more detail further in this document:

  • Question Layout Toolbar (1)
  • Question Layout Grid (2)
  • Details Panel (3)


Question Layout Page Toolbar

The Question Layout Page Toolbar provides quick access to all the functions that are required in order to manage the Questions Layout:


The table below provides more information about the features referenced in the screenshot above.

FeatureDescription
1. New Field
Creates a new field in the Question Layout Grid.
2. Details Panel
Controls the visibility of the Details Panel at the bottom of the screen.  Enabled by default, untick to hide the panel.
3. Search Grid
4. Clear Search
The Search Grid will display entries in the Question Layout Grid that contain words similar to the text entered in the Search Grid.  For example:

The Clear Search icon will clear all text entered in the Search Grid and reset the Question Layout Grid so that all entries are displayed.
5. Toggle Group Bar
The Toggle Group Bar enables the grid to be grouped by specific fields.  To enable this functionality, click the Toggle Group Bar icon and drag a column header to the toggle area, as illustrated below:

The grid will collapse the groups by default. To view the entires, click the arrow next to the group header:

Or alternatively, choose one of the options available in the Toggle Group Bar menu to action against all groups:
6. Select Grid Items
Shortcut options for working with grid items in bulk:
  • Select All
  • Select None
  • Invert Selection
7. Copy/Export Grid Items
Copy/Export enables grid items to be copied for use within other areas of ManagementStudio or exported to third-party applications.  Options include:
  • Copy to Clipboard (Selected)
  • Export to Excel (All)
  • Export to CSV (All)
8. Pivot
The Pivot option provides an interactive way to quickly summarise large amounts of data in ManagementStudio.  Options available are:
  • Pivot to Table (default)
  • Pivot to Chart
9. Reset Grid Layout
Resets the grid layout to the default, including column visibility, order, and sort.


Question Layout Grid

The Question Layout Grid is the area where ManagementStudio administrators would manage the Question Layout.  The sections are:

  1. Detail Field: Retrieve information about a record from the ManagementStudio DB that is usually held in the Details tab. For example, application vendor, application name, and application version.
  2. Text Question: Specify a question that was previous created in the Test Questions section.
  3. Special Control: Include visual elements that improve the usability or level of detail in the Test Sign-Off but do not send data back to ManagementStudio.  Options include:
    • Header: Adds a bold line of text, suitable for section headings.
    • Text (Parsed): Text is put through a keyword parser.
    • Line: Adds a horizontal line.
    • Spacer: Adds white space between elements.
    • Attachment: Allows file attachments such as screenshots to be uploads to the Test Sign-Off.
    • Show / Hide: Allows fields on a Test Sign-Off to be hidden until ticked.  For further information, please refer to https://support.managementstudio.com/support/solutions/articles/14000109918-surveys-display-fields#Show-/-Hide
    • Blueprints: Display a list of Blueprints as a dropdown menu.  For further details on the arguments available, please refer to https://support.managementstudio.com/support/solutions/articles/14000109918-surveys-display-fields#Blueprint-Dropdowns
    • Link-Applications: Display a list of all applications associated with the record.
    • Link-UserMigrations: Display a list of all users associated with the record.
    • Link-Devices: Display a list of all devices associated with the record.
    • Link-Mailboxes: Display a list of all mailboxes associated with the record.
    • Link-Bespoke: Display a list of all bespoke module items associated with the record.
    • Data Mining Report: Include the output of a specific data mining report.
  4. Special Control Text: Text to be shown inside the Special Control, above.  Text-based controls support HTML and Markdown.  For example, to add a custom header:
    • Special Control: Header
    • Special Control Text: Welcome to User Acceptance Testing
  5. Special Control Args: Several of the Special Controls also accept additional arguments to govern layout and presentation. For example, the target Blueprint path can be specified when using the Blueprints control.
  6. Order: An item's position on the page is controlled by the Order column, a numerical value assigned when initially created.  The closer the number is to zero (0), the higher up the page it will appear.  
  7. Width:  The web form that users interact with is based on a layout consisting of twelve columns.  The Width value determines how many columns the question will use.  For example, a value of 12 will use all available space, whereas a value of 3 will use 25% of the space, allowing for other questions to be included on the same line.
  8. FieldId: ManagementStudio's internal ID for the field.
  9. Delete: To delete a question from the layout, tick the Delete box and save changes.


Details Panel

The Details Panel is used in conjunction with the Question Layout Grid to build the question:

  1. Detail Field: Information that usually appears in the Details tab of a record is added to the form using the Detail Field dropdown menu. For example, First Name and Email are available fields from a User Migration record.
  2. Special Control: Items such as lines, headers, parsed text, data mining report and links are added to the form using Special Controls.  This control should be used in conjunction with Special Control Text (4) and Special Control Args (8).
  3. Custom Form Field: Questions that are created in the Test Questions section of a Test Sign-Off are selected using the Custom Form Field.
  4. Special Control Text: When a Special Control (2) is used, the text that should appear is defined in Special Control Text.  For example, to create a new section heading to record hardware information select:
    1. Special Control: Heading
    2. Special Control Text: Hardware Information
  5. ToolTip: To improve the user's understanding of a question, a tooltip can be configured to display when the mouse hovers above a specific field.
  6. Display Order: The Display Order value is mirrored from point 6 in the section Question Grid Layout, above.
  7. Width: This Width is mirrored from point 7 in the section Question Grid Layout, above.
  8. Special Control Args: Additional parameters, such as setting the root level of a Blueprint, is passed to a Special Control using the Special Control Args field. For further information on setting arguments, please refer to Surveys Display Fields.
  9. Visible: Toggle to control the visibility of a field on the survey.
  10. Not Required: By default, a question is set to optional when created. When toggled to Required, the form can not be submitted until a response to that question is provided.
  11. On New Line: All questions are created to appear on a new line. When toggled off, the question will appear on the same row as the previous question provided there is sufficient width (7) available to accommodate multiple questions.
  12. Read Only: Prevent the end-user from modifying the value presented.  This is useful when displaying information for reference only.
  13. Change Doesn't Trigger Fail: When a form is submitted, the user will have the option to pass or fail the survey. It is also useful to fail a survey if a user changes any fields to make it easier to identify responses that require additional validation. Toggling this value to Change Triggers Fail will auto fail the survey regardless of the user's pass/fail result.



Special Control Examples

The table below provides several examples using Special Controls in web forms, including support for HTML and Markdown.


ManagementStudio Config
Web Form Output
Please refer to Creating Rich Text with Markdown.
Please refer to Creating Rich Text with Markdown.




Further Support

If you require further support, please visit ManagementStudio's Service Desk to search the knowledge base or create a new support ticket.