Text/graphic blocks present content without collecting an answer. Plugin question types and Guided Story add mobile-first and voice-first interfaces on top of standard question bases.
Three blocks on this page collect no answer at all — Instructions, Create Global Variable, and Display Global Variables. None of them can be made required, none of them takes a question number, and none of them appears in your exported data.
Instructions#
A display-only block — no answer is collected. Use it for instructions, images, or section breaks.
- Text variation — Rich text content respondents read before continuing.
- Graphic variation — Image with optional caption, alignment, and max width.
- Supports display logic and a custom Next button label.
When to use it:
- Section introductions and consent text.
- Stimulus images before a choice or matrix question.
- Break pages between long batteries.
Create Global Variable#
A block that sets one or more global variables at an exact point in your question order, without opening the Flow tab. Respondents see nothing at all: the assignment runs and the survey carries on.
Select the block and open Settings in the properties panel. You get the same Set Variables editor the Flow tab uses — click Add, pick an existing variable or create a new one on the spot, choose Set / Increment / Decrement / Formula, and type the value. You can attach a condition to an assignment so it only fires in certain cases. The condition's question list shows the same question numbers you see on the canvas, and covers only questions that record an answer — blocks like this one, Display Global Variables and Text/Graphic are left out, because a rule about a question nobody answers can never come true.
The assignment keeps up with the page it sits on. If its condition is about a question on the same page, the variable changes as soon as that question is answered, and changes back if the answer changes. Inside a Section Loop, each pass checks its own answers, so a variable set on the first pass does not leak into a pass where the condition isn't met. Pressing Restart in preview starts every variable fresh, the same as a new respondent.
When to use it:
- Tag a respondent mid-section ("everyone who reaches here is a
qualifiedlead") without building a flow block. - Set up a value right before the question that reads it, so the order is obvious on the canvas.
Good to know:
- It is never required and never blocks the respondent. If it is the only thing on a page, the page is passed straight through.
- Save it with no assignments and the builder flags it — an empty block does nothing.
- It carries no question number and is not in your exported data.
- If the section it sits in uses question randomization, the block can be shuffled after a question that depends on it. Keep it out of randomized sections, or pin its position.
See Variables & panel redirects for what global variables are and where else they can be set.
Display Global Variables#
A block that shows a table of every global variable and its current value at that point in the survey. It is a build-and-test aid: nothing is collected, and respondents simply press Next.
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| region | EU |
| score | 12 |
| segment | not set |
A variable that has no value yet shows as not set. One setting, Show variables with no value, hides those rows if you would rather only see what has been filled in.
When to use it:
- Watching what your Set Variables blocks, URL parameters, and panel bindings actually produce while you build.
- Handing QA a page that proves the right values reached the right point in the flow.
Good to know:
- It renders wherever the survey runs, including live published links. That is deliberate — you decide where it appears. If you want it in preview only, give it the display-logic rule Mode Is Preview (see Display logic).
- It never blocks Next, is never required, and takes no question number.
- In preview it lists your variables in the order they appear in the Global Variables panel; on a live published link it lists them alphabetically.
Specialized interfaces (plugin question types)#
In addition to standard types, the builder includes custom interface plugins optimized for mobile and tactile research. They are listed in the question palette alongside the standard types, in the group that matches what they do: Standard, Specialized, Rank, Matrix, Multi-Matrix or Choice Modeling. Eighteen plugin types are supported in production (four in the palette, six StorySync formats, eight additional research plugins). More may appear via QSF import or deployment — see the Platform Feature List.
Graphical Choice#
A quick-tap single-choice interface optimized for touch. Answers appear as large tap targets that advance automatically — ideal for "Which one do you prefer?" style questions on mobile.
When to use it:
- Mobile-first studies where every extra tap matters.
- A/B image picks and quick-swipe-style screening.
- Any single-choice question you want to feel frictionless.
Graphical Choice is built on top of single choice — all your existing single-choice logic, piping, and carry-forward options apply. The question-level settings let you control timing, auto-advance behavior, and the image/text display mode.
Tap & Drag Rank#
A touch-friendly ranking interface. Respondents first tap items to include them, then drag to reorder. Non-selected items stay in a pool so respondents can partially rank without being forced to rank everything.
When to use it:
- Ranking studies where not every item is relevant to every respondent.
- Mobile experiences where traditional drag-to-rank is fiddly.
Tap & Drag Rank is built on top of ranking — it uses the same rank-position logic operators as standard ranking questions (see Logic, Flow & Conditions).
Group Rank#
A two-panel thumbnail rank interface. Respondents assign items into ranked bucket groups. Built on the ranking base type.
Swipe Matrix#
A card-swipe interface where each item is a card and each direction (left/right, up/down) maps to a category. Respondents swipe cards one at a time — great for Tinder-style concept testing.
When to use it:
- Rapid concept sorting (accept / reject / maybe).
- Mobile product or ad testing.
- Any grid where you want a tactile, one-card-at-a-time experience instead of a traditional matrix.
Swipe Matrix is built on top of a matrix question, so each card can be categorized into any of the matrix's column values. The settings panel lets you configure the swipe directions, card width, stack depth and direction, the swipe overlay opacity, whether the card tilts as it is dragged, whether on-screen direction buttons are shown, the instruction popup, and an optional Back button.
How far does a respondent have to swipe? This is not something you configure. A card commits as soon as it has travelled half the distance to the edge of the respondent's screen, so the gesture takes the same effort on a small phone as on a desktop. A short nudge still does nothing, so the card can be moved a little to peek at the direction labels without accidentally answering.
Tip: Plugin questions render a built-in preview inside the builder so you can try the interaction without opening the full preview tab.
Other plugin types#
Additional plugins (sequential select, icon grid, brand projection, constant-sum plugin UI, info-icon augment, and others) are documented in the engineering platform docs and often arrive via Qualtrics QSF import. See Qualtrics QSF Import & Export.
Guided Story (StorySync)#
Guided Story is a voice-first question format that turns open-ended feedback into a guided conversation. The respondent speaks their answer, the system transcribes and structures it, and you get a rich narrative response back.
When to use it:
- Customer research where written answers feel too formal.
- Mini in-depth interviews at scale (Mini IDI workflows).
- Any open-ended question where you'd normally want a voice note.
Adding a Guided Story#
From the question palette, open the Story group and drag Guided Story onto your canvas. A configuration wizard opens where you can set up the full narrative — the wizard handles the question text, prompts, and expected response shape, so you don't need to hand-write everything in the main canvas.
How it looks to respondents#
Respondents see a clear prompt and a large microphone button. When they tap it, they can speak their response naturally. A transcript appears live as they speak, and they can re-record before moving on. The full question text (built from the wizard) is shown above the recorder so expectations are clear.
Related Story formats#
The Guided Story wizard also powers a set of related formats:
- Guided Story + Segmentation — Voice narrative plus single/multiple-choice follow-ups in the same frame.
- Camera Video Story — Video response instead of voice-only.
- Image Capture Story — Photo upload with optional narrative.
- NPS / CSAT Story — Wrap an NPS or CSAT prompt with a spoken follow-up for context.
- Mini IDI — A short, guided interview flow of multiple Story prompts.
The primary entry point in the palette is Guided Story; other Story formats are configured through the same StorySync wizard (segmentation, video, image capture, NPS/CSAT story, Mini IDI).
Related guides#
- Question Types — overview and when-to-use table
- Logic, Flow & Conditions — plugin base types, ranking and matrix operators
- Platform Feature List — plugin inventory and status
- Qualtrics QSF Import & Export — importing plugin questions
- Choice Questions — standard single and multiple choice
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