Intuify

Intuify

Documentation

Logic & flow35 min read

Randomization & Section Loops

Shuffle content, show subsets, and repeat sections per loop item.

On this page (20 sections)

Randomization varies the order in which sections or questions appear, which helps reduce bias in your results. Section loops repeat the same block of questions for each item — for example, one pass per product or concept.

See Logic, Flow & Conditions for how these features connect to display logic, skip logic, and the Flow tab.


Randomization#

Randomization lets you vary the order in which sections or questions are shown, which helps reduce bias in your results.

What you can do#

  • Randomize section order — On the Flow tab, add a Randomizer block and drag the sections you want shuffled inside it.

  • Show a subset — The block reads Randomly present N of the following elements, in a random order. Set N below the number of elements and only that many are shown, for example 3 out of 10 concepts. If some of those elements sit behind Branch Conditions, only the ones the respondent currently qualifies for are in the running — the count is a maximum, not a guarantee, so a respondent who qualifies for only 1 of them sees just that 1, and one who qualifies for none sees none.

  • Even distribution — Turn on Evenly Present Elements and the randomizer favors whichever elements have been shown least, so each one gets roughly equal exposure. A Times presented list under the toggle shows the running counts.

  • Randomize Constant Sum items — A Constant Sum question's Randomization section offers the same options as a Multiple Choice question: shuffle, flip, present only N of M, Least Fill, groupings, and locking or excluding individual items. You can also open it from the shuffle icon above the item list.

  • Show a random selection of products on a shelf — On a Simplified Shelf Choice question, the question's Randomization section offers a random product draw (off by default), so each respondent sees a different set of products on the shelf. Only None and Shuffle with "Present only N" are offered there. A shelf question cannot be used as a loop source.

  • A Van Westendorp question offers no randomization and cannot be a loop source: its four prices are always asked in the same order.

Randomizing a question's options#

A question's own answers (or grid rows and columns, or ranking items) are randomized from the Randomization row in the question's properties: None, Shuffle, Flip or Advanced.

Grouping answer options#

A group keeps a set of answer options (or grid rows, grid columns, ranking items) together, so whichever of them are shown always appear next to each other. Under the question's Randomization row in its properties, choose Set Groupings. Matrix questions have one Set Groupings button for Rows and one for Columns.

In the Set Groupings window:

  • Create a group, name it, and drag options into it (or tick several and use Add selected, or the Move to menu on each option).
  • Show group names displays each group's name as a heading above its options. Names cannot be shown when options have images. For grid columns the switch is not offered, because column headings are not drawn.
  • Save Settings saves the groups.
  • Save and Apply Randomization saves the groups and opens Advanced Randomization on the Items tab, so you can set up how groups and options are randomized in one go. Nothing changes for respondents until you choose Save there; if you cancel, the question keeps the randomization type it already had. To use Shuffle or Flip instead of Advanced, cancel Advanced and choose Shuffle or Flip in the Randomization row: groups are then shuffled or flipped first, and the options inside each group after them.

The Set Groupings window with ungrouped answers on the left, two named groups on the right, the Show group names switch, and Save Settings and Save and Apply Randomization buttons in the footer

Groups are randomized first, then the options inside each group. There are no separate "Randomize group order" or "Randomize within group" switches any more; the question's randomization type decides both:

Randomization typeGroupsOptions inside a group
NoneIn the order you arranged themIn the order you arranged them
ShuffleShuffledShuffled
FlipThe whole list, groups and ungrouped options together, is reversedReversed
AdvancedChosen and ordered by the settings on the Groups tabChosen and ordered by the settings on the Items tab, only inside the groups that were chosen

Options that are not in any group keep to the places ungrouped options had: they never move into a group, and groups never split them. To keep some options of a group in a fixed place, use Advanced and Lock Position; a locked option keeps its place inside its group.

Advanced Randomization: Items, Groups and priority rules#

Randomization → Advanced has four tabs in the bar at the top: Items, Groups, Item Priority Rules and Group Priority Rules, each with a count. The selected tab is filled in, and everything below the bar belongs to it. It opens on Items.

Items tab. Lock, exclude, Present only a number of options, Evenly balance? (Least Fill) and, with Set priority on, a priority per option, as before. Each option shows the group it belongs to. If its group is excluded, the option is greyed out ("Excluded because its group is excluded").

Groups tab. One row per group, with:

  • Priority (1–99) (while Set priority is on). With Present only set for groups, priority 1 groups are chosen first. Priority decides which groups are shown, not their order: the groups shown are shuffled. With groups Present only at All, the tab notes "Priority decides which groups are shown when Present only is less than all."
  • Exclude, which hides the group and every option in it.
  • Lock Position, which keeps the group in its place among the groups while the others are shuffled around it. A locked group is always shown, even with Present only set for groups. A group locked at a position after the last group shown appears at the end, in its locked order. Locking every group keeps the groups in their order and shuffles only the options inside them. Like option locks, it applies in Advanced only.
  • Times Shown (while group Least Fill is on), with Reset All to 0 and Restore Original.
  • Present only a number of groups, and Evenly balance groups? (Least Fill) in the bar at the top.
  • Edit groups, which saves your changes and opens Set Groupings.

The Advanced Randomization Groups tab, selected in the tab bar at the top, with Present only 2 of 3 groups, group Least Fill and Set priority switched on, and three groups with their priority, Times Shown, Exclude and Lock Position controls; Premium brands is locked and the footer reads 1 group locked

If the question has no groups yet, the Groups and Group Priority Rules tabs say "No groups exist for this question." with a Create groups button, which saves your changes and opens Set Groupings.

The Groups tab of a question without groups, saying No groups exist for this question with a Create groups button

How groups and options are chosen (Advanced):

  1. Excluded groups, and excluded options, are taken out.
  2. Groups are chosen: with Present only set for groups, priority 1 groups are chosen first; within a priority, Least Fill (if on) picks the least-shown groups, otherwise the pick is random. Priority always beats Least Fill.
  3. Options are chosen only from the chosen groups (plus any ungrouped options), using the Items tab's Present only, priority and Least Fill.
  4. Groups are ordered, then the options inside each group. In Advanced the chosen groups and options are shuffled; priority does not decide their order.
  5. A chosen group that ends up with no options is hidden, with its name.

For example, with three groups of four options each, groups Present only 2, group A at priority 1 and B and C at priority 2, and options Present only 6 with Least Fill: every respondent sees group A plus one of B or C, and six options drawn only from those two groups. Options from the group that was not chosen never appear.

Group settings only take effect with the Advanced randomization type and Randomize unlocked items on (exclusion works whenever the type is Advanced). With Shuffle or Flip they are kept but not used.

If everything is excluded (every group, or every option), the question is skipped for respondents. The dialog warns "All groups are excluded: this question will be skipped" and asks you to confirm when you save.

Priority and priority rules#

With Randomize unlocked items on, turn on Set priority to give each option a priority from 1 to 99 in the Priority (1 = highest priority) column:

  • Priority decides which items are shown, not their order. With Present only, the slots are filled from priority 1 first, then priority 2, and so on, so priority 1 items are always among the ones shown.
  • The items shown are then shuffled together, so a priority 1 item can appear anywhere in the list.
  • With Present only at All, every item is shown and priority has no visible effect. The dialog says so under the controls: "Priority decides which items are shown when Present only is less than all."
  • Every item starts at priority 1, which behaves exactly like an ordinary shuffle until you change a value.
  • Locked items keep their position and are always shown; priority picks which of the other items fill the remaining slots.
  • If you lock an item at a position after the last one shown (for example at 9, 10 and 11 while Present only is 8), those items show at the bottom of the list, in their locked order. On a question without groups, the dialog warns you: "3 locked items can't keep their positions because only 8 items are shown. They show at the bottom, in their locked order."
  • When the question has groups, an item's priority only decides which items are chosen inside the chosen groups. A group's own priority is set on the Groups tab.
  • Section loops are different on purpose. A loop's Randomize with priority setting decides both which iterations run and their order (priority 1 first).

The same Set priority switch turns on priority for groups and for both kinds of rules.

Item Priority Rules let an option's priority depend on a respondent's earlier answers. Open the Item Priority Rules tab and choose Add rule. Hover the ⓘ icon there for a summary of how priority works. Each rule is one line with:

  1. If — a condition built in the same logic window used for display logic (questions, global variables, survey metadata and so on).
  2. Items — one or more items the rule applies to, picked from a searchable dropdown. Items are numbered like the Original Position column, and the dropdown has Select all / Clear for the items your search shows.
  3. Then set priority to — the priority those items get when the condition is true.

When a rule's condition is true for a respondent, its items use the rule's priority instead of their Priority value, which changes which items fill Present only (not their order). Rules run from top to bottom, so if two matching rules set the same item, the lower one wins — drag a rule by its six-dot handle (on the left) to reorder, as on the Items tab. When no rule matches, the Priority values apply as normal. A rule without a condition does nothing, and a rule with no items is removed when you save.

For example, with priorities Apple 1, Banana 1, Cherry 2, Present only 2 and a rule "If Q1 is Brand X, set Cherry to priority 1", respondents who chose Brand X see any two of Apple, Banana and Cherry, while everyone else sees Apple and Banana. Either way the two shown are in random order.

Group Priority Rules work the same way, but the rule picks groups and sets the group's priority. With groups Present only set, use them, for example, to make sure a respondent who uses Brand X always sees the Brand X group (it may appear anywhere among the groups shown).

The Group Priority Rules tab, selected in the tab bar, with one rule: if the screener question (QS: Do you shop at premium stores?) is answered No, the Value brands group gets priority 1

If Set priority is off, both rules tabs show "Turn on Set priority to use rules" with a button that turns it on.

The Flow tab lists each question's item and group rules under the question, and the dialog's Preview button shows a sample order using the Priority values (rules depend on answers, so they show up in the survey preview rather than here).

Questions grouped before this update#

Questions whose groups were set up before this update keep working exactly as they did, including any "Randomize group order" and "Randomize within group" settings they had. In Set Groupings those settings appear as a read-only line with an ⓘ icon explaining this, and in Advanced the old Randomize group order switch is still shown for them.

Set Groupings on a question set up before the update, showing the read-only line with its settings and an info icon, and a note above the footer explaining what Save and Apply Randomization changes and how to choose Shuffle or Flip

To move such a question to the new behaviour, use Save and Apply Randomization, or change anything on the Groups or Group Priority Rules tab and save. Applying the new setup randomizes groups first, then the items inside each group, so a group's items may no longer stay in their current order (use Lock Position to keep them). You can undo the change with one undo step. Changing groups with plain Save Settings does not move the question.

On the Flow tab#

A randomized question shows the same icon on its line as on its Build card: a shuffle icon for Shuffle, an up-and-down arrows icon for Flip, and a settings icon for Advanced. Hover over the icon to see the mode. A grid whose rows and columns use different modes shows the settings icon. A section is marked Randomized when a question in it changes order for respondents. A question set to Fixed order (Advanced with Randomize unlocked items off) still shows the Advanced icon, but does not make its section Randomized, because its order never changes.

A question whose groups use the new behaviour shows a line under it, for example "Groups first: 3 groups, show 2 of 3, Least Fill, priority on", or "Groups first: groups shuffled, then items inside each group". Group settings that only apply in Advanced are marked "(settings apply in Advanced)", and a question where everything is excluded says "skipped: everything excluded". The rule badges are titled Item priority rules and Group priority rules.

A Flow tab question row with the line Groups first: 3 groups, show 2 of 3, Least Fill, priority on, and the group rule summary below it

Tip: Randomizers can mix sections and other flow blocks as children. Use the Flow editor to place randomizers on the visual map and confirm which content is inside each shuffle group.

Tip: A randomizer only draws elements the respondent qualifies for: a section inside a Branch whose condition fails, or a section whose own display conditions hide it, is never picked. With Present 1 of two sections shown to different respondents (for example "Brand A Is Displayed" and "Is Not Displayed"), every respondent gets the one meant for them.

Tip: If a respondent goes back and changes an earlier answer in a way that would have disqualified their randomizer assignment, the randomizer re-draws from whatever they now qualify for — it doesn't leave them on an assignment they can no longer see.


Randomizing the options inside a question#

Answer randomization varies the order of the options inside a single question, so the option that happens to sit first does not collect extra votes. It is set per question and is separate from the section shuffling above.

Select the question, open the Settings tab in the properties panel, and look for the Randomization row. On a Standard Matrix that row is replaced by a Randomization / Ordering block holding two rows, Rows and Columns, each configured on its own.

Randomization is offered on Multiple Choice (both Single Select and Multiple Select), Basic Rank, Standard Matrix and Distribution questions. The row names whatever that question orders: Answer Order, Item Order, Column Order or Row Order.

Clicking the row opens the Randomization dialog, which offers four types:

TypeWhat the respondent gets
NoneThe options exactly as you arranged them in the builder
ShuffleThe options in a random order, drawn once for that respondent and kept for the rest of their session
FlipThe options in reverse order. This is a plain reversal, so every respondent sees the same flipped list
AdvancedPer option control: fix an order, lock or exclude individual options, balance exposure, set priority groups

Below the four buttons, Present only appears once you have picked a type other than None, as long as the question has more than one option. Leave it on All, or pick a number, and the line beside it reads of N choices. Only that many options are shown, drawn from the full list.

Choosing Advanced keeps the dialog open and adds a Configure Advanced (order, lock, Least Fill)… button that takes you to the bigger screen described next.

Back on the Settings tab, the row shows the type it is set to plus a summary pill: Shuffle All, Flip Order, or for Advanced a joined summary such as 3 of 8 · 2 locked · Least Fill, or Fixed order when randomizing is switched off inside Advanced.

Note: Setting the type back to None clears the whole configuration for that row, including any per option locks, exclusions and hand set order you arranged under Advanced.


Advanced Randomization#

Advanced Randomization is the full screen version, where each option is a row you can drag, lock, exclude, weight and count. Reach it by choosing Advanced in the Randomization dialog and clicking Configure Advanced (order, lock, Least Fill)…, or, once Advanced is the saved type, with the Configure Advanced (order, lock, show N of M, Least Fill) button under the row on the Settings tab.

The list has one row per option, with these columns:

ColumnWhat it shows
Original PositionWhere the option sits in the builder
New PositionWhere it sits after your dragging, or a dash when it is excluded
ItemThe option text
Priority GroupIts priority number, shown only while Set priority groups is on
Times ShownHow often it has been displayed so far, shown only while Least Fill is on
ExcludeToggles Exclude item (never show) and back to Include item
Lock PositionToggles Lock position, pinning the option to its New Position, and Unlock position

Drag a row by its handle to change the order. The controls across the top decide what happens to everything that is not locked:

ControlWhat it does
Randomize unlocked itemsShuffles every option that is not locked or excluded. Switch it off and nothing moves: respondents see the order set in this list. The controls below it disappear while it is off, and are ignored
Present onlyShows only this many options, out of the of N items beside it
Evenly balance? (Least Fill)Prefers the options shown fewest times so far, so exposure evens out across respondents. Reveals the Times Shown column
Set priority groupsFills a subset from priority 1 first, then 2, and so on. Reveals the Priority Group column, where each option takes a number from 1 to 99
Randomize group orderShuffles the order your groupings appear in. Only present when this row has groupings, and it is the same setting as the toggle in Set Groupings
PreviewDraws one sample order and shows it under the list as Preview — Sample Display Order, with any excluded options counted beneath

While Least Fill is on, a Counts: row adds Reset All to 0 and Restore Original. Reset sets every Times Shown box to zero; Restore puts back the values the dialog opened with. Counts you edit become the running totals the balancing works from, so they are the way to hand a new option a head start or to retire one that is already ahead.

The footer keeps a running summary: how many options are randomized (or Fixed order), how many are locked, how many are excluded, and whether Least Fill active or Priority active. Save Settings stores everything and closes; Cancel leaves it untouched.

Three things that surprise people:

  • Least Fill and priority groups only decide which options appear. If Present only is left on All, every option is shown anyway and both settings have nothing to choose between.
  • Locked options use up the subset. With Present only set to 4 and two options locked, only two unlocked options are drawn to join them.
  • An excluded option is never shown to anybody, and it cannot be locked at the same time. Excluding one clears its lock.

Set Groupings (for display and randomization)#

A grouping keeps a set of options together. However the question is randomized, the options inside a group are shown next to each other, so three price tiers or a pair of matched statements never end up scattered down the list. Groups are also how you put a heading above part of a list.

Each randomization row has its own Set Groupings button underneath it, so a Standard Matrix groups rows and columns separately. When groups exist, the button carries a pill such as 2 groups · random order. Clicking it opens Set Groupings (for display and randomization).

The dialog has two halves. On the left is the pool of loose options, titled Ungrouped Answers, Ungrouped Rows, Ungrouped Columns or Ungrouped Items depending on what the row orders. On the right are the group cards, created with Add Group.

Each card is labelled Group 1:, Group 2: and so on, with a name box (<enter group name>), a Randomize within group toggle that shuffles the options inside that group, and a delete button.

There are three ways to put an option in a group:

  • Drag it from the pool onto the card.
  • Tick several options, or use Select all at the top of the pool, then drag any ticked one. The whole selection travels together, or click the group card's Add selected (N) button.
  • Use the folder button on the option itself. Its Move to menu lists every group and the ungrouped pool, apart from the one the option is already in.

Two toggles sit above the two halves:

ToggleWhat it does
Show group names (display only, cannot be selected)Prints each group's name as a heading above its options. The heading is a label, not an answer, and respondents cannot pick it
Randomize group orderShuffles the order the groups appear in, while the options inside each group stay adjacent. This is the same setting as the one in Advanced Randomization

Save Settings stores the groupings; the footer counts how many options are ungrouped and how many are in groups.

Worth knowing:

  • Group names cannot be shown alongside images. If any option on that row has an image, the toggle is switched off and badged Disabled (images present).
  • A group with a blank name shows no heading to respondents even with names turned on. In the builder it is listed as <No group name> so you can find it.
  • Groups do not decide which options a subset picks. Present only still chooses option by option, so a group can come out partly shown.
  • An empty group is dropped when you save. Add the options first, or the card disappears.
  • Group order stays as you arranged it unless Randomize group order is on, whatever the question's own randomization does.

Section loops#

Loops let you repeat a section multiple times with different items — for example, asking the same set of questions about each of several products or concepts.

How to set up a loop#

  1. On the Build tab, open the section's menu and choose Section Loop.
  2. Click Turn On Section Loop.
  3. Under Loop Source, choose Static Items, Based on a Question, or Fixed Count.
  4. Each item or iteration becomes one pass through the section.

Once a loop is on, the section carries a pink Section Loop badge you can click to reopen the dialog. Turning it off again discards that loop's configuration when you save.

Inside the loop, you can use piping to insert the current item's name into question text — so respondents see "Thinking about Product A, how satisfied are you?" and then the same questions again for Product B, and so on.

Each loop iteration is shown on its own page — the respondent completes one pass through the section, clicks Next, and sees the next iteration.

The dialog keeps a running count under the settings as you configure: an exact number when it can be known up front (static lists, fixed counts, conditions that loop over everything you authored), or a note that the count depends on the respondent's answers. On the Flow tab, a looped section carries a pink summary line such as Loops over 4 static items, or the source question and condition when the loop is driven by a question.

Looping based on a question#

When you set the loop source to Based on a Question, you can pick an earlier Multiple Choice (Single or Multiple Select), Standard Matrix, Basic Rank, MaxDiff, Transposed Matrix or Funnel question, and the available conditions change depending on its type. The condition dropdown updates automatically when you pick a source question, and a short description of the selected condition is shown beneath it.

Note: Only single choice, multiple choice, matrix, ranking and MaxDiff questions from earlier sections can drive a loop, and the dialog says so under the question picker. Slider, Distribution, Constant Sum, Multi Numeric and Text questions are no longer offered for new loops. A survey that already loops on one of them keeps working, and the dialog shows an amber note saying the type can no longer be selected: if you switch to a different source you will not be able to switch back.

Older surveys: some surveys carry a Section Loop (Legacy) element in the Flow tab instead of the section's own loop settings. New ones can no longer be added, but existing ones keep working and can still be configured. Its card names the question it loops over (for example — From Q3); if that question is deleted, the card and its configuration read Missing question until you pick another source.

Multiple Choice (Single / Multiple Select)#

ConditionWhat it does
All ChoicesLoop over every answer option, regardless of what the respondent picked
Displayed ChoicesLoop over answer options that were visible to the respondent
Not Displayed ChoicesLoop over answer options that were hidden by display logic
Selected ChoicesLoop only over the answers the respondent selected (default)
Unselected ChoicesLoop over answer options the respondent saw but did not pick

Matrix questions#

For matrix sources, the condition dropdown is grouped into Rows and Columns. The wording stays "Choices" for the row conditions and "Answers" for the column ones.

Rows:

ConditionWhat it does
All ChoicesLoop once per authored row, even ones the respondent never saw
Displayed ChoicesLoop over rows the respondent actually saw
Not Displayed ChoicesLoop over rows hidden from the respondent
Selected ChoicesLoop over rows the respondent answered
Unselected ChoicesLoop over shown rows the respondent left unanswered
Selected Choices for AnswerLoop over rows where the respondent picked a specific column
Unselected Choices for AnswerLoop over rows where the respondent did not pick that column

Columns:

ConditionWhat it does
All AnswersLoop once per authored column
Displayed AnswersLoop over columns the respondent actually saw
Not Displayed AnswersLoop over columns hidden from the respondent
Selected AnswersLoop over columns the respondent picked in any row
Unselected AnswersLoop over columns the respondent never picked

For the two "for Answer" conditions, a Match column value picker appears right inside the condition panel so you can choose which column to filter by. Leave it empty and the dialog tells you to pick one. The item table below lists whichever axis the loop iterates: columns for the Columns group, rows otherwise.

Example: You have a matrix asking "Rate each feature" with columns Poor/OK/Great. Choose Selected Choices for Answer and set Match column value to "Poor", and a follow-up section loops over only the features the respondent rated poorly.

Ranking questions#

A Basic Rank source offers the five choice conditions above, plus five that work on the rank position:

ConditionWhat it does
Rank position greater thanItems ranked below a position you set
Rank position less thanItems ranked above a position you set
Rank position equalsThe item at the exact position you set
Highest ranked itemOne pass, for the respondent's top ranked item
Lowest ranked itemOne pass, for the respondent's bottom ranked item

For the three position conditions a Rank position box appears beneath the condition, where you type the number. 1 is the top rank, up to the number of ranked items.

Guided Story + Segmentation questions#

To loop over the choices the AI assigns, pick Segmentation choices from <tag> (Guided Story) as the loop source. It is the hidden choice question that holds the AI's pick, and it loops like any choice question. The Guided Story question itself is not offered as a loop source. When no choice was assigned (for example the microphone was denied), a loop over Selected choices runs zero times and a loop over Not Selected choices runs once for every choice. A Guided Story + Segmentation question made before this update has no such question until you open its setup window and press Save once. See Guided Story + Segmentation.

MaxDiff questions#

A MaxDiff offers the same conditions as a Ranking question and loops over its items in that respondent's preference order — the order saved with their answer (Best +1 / Worst −1, ties in a random order fixed for that respondent), the same order carry forward and piping use. Every condition, including All Choices, Displayed Choices and Not Displayed, repeats the section in that order.

ConditionWhat it does
Selected ChoicesItems the respondent picked as Best at least once (in rank order)
Unselected ChoicesItems they never picked as Best (in rank order)
Value > / < / =Items whose rank position is greater than / less than / equal to a threshold
Highest ValueThe respondent's most-preferred item
Lowest ValueTheir least-preferred item

For example, loop a section with Value < and a rank position of 4 to ask follow-up questions about each respondent's top three items, most preferred first.

Transposed Matrix and Funnel questions#

A Transposed Matrix or a Funnel is a matrix question — its rows are the brands and its columns are the sequential slides — so it offers the same conditions as any other matrix question. Read them in funnel terms:

ConditionWhat it does
All ChoicesLoop once per brand
Selected ChoicesLoop over the brands the respondent picked on any slide
Unselected ChoicesLoop over the brands the respondent never picked
Selected Choices for AnswerLoop over the brands picked on one specific slide you choose
Unselected Choices for AnswerLoop over the brands not picked on that slide

Looping over one recall window. Choose Selected Choices for Answer, then pick the slide in the Match column value dropdown that appears — for example "purchased in the past month". The section then repeats once per brand selected on that slide, and no others.

In Single and Reverse Funnel the dropdown also lists the question's "None of these" column. Matching on it loops over the brands the respondent never picked on any slide. Brands saved as "None of these" are never counted by Selected Choices, and are included by Unselected Choices. A Reverse Funnel made before October 2026 has no "None of these" column until you switch it to Forward Funnel and back.

In Multiple, Forward Funnel and Reverse Funnel selection modes, brands carry forward across slides. In Reverse Funnel the selections are cumulative, so "selected on slide 3" means the respondent picked that brand on or before slide 3.

Excluding options from a loop#

When a loop is based on a question, the Section Loop dialog (and the loop editor on the Flow tab) shows an Exclude (optional) list with the options the loop can repeat over. Click an option to exclude it: that option never becomes a loop iteration, whichever loop mode you picked. For example, loop over the options not selected in Q1 and exclude "NA", so the section never repeats for "NA".

Excluded options are removed before Present only X, Least Fill and priority run, so "present 3" picks 3 of the options that can actually loop. The section's loop badge and the Flow tab summary name what is excluded. Changing the source question, or switching a grid loop between rows and answer columns, clears the list. A Numeric Response loop repeats a number of times, so it has nothing to exclude.

Loop randomization options#

The loop settings include three related options that form a dependency chain:

  1. Randomize loop order — Shuffles the order in which loop items are presented. The shuffle is stable per respondent — resuming the survey keeps the same order.
  2. Present only X of total loops — Shows only a subset of loop items instead of all of them. Requires "Randomize loop order" to be enabled (a random subset only makes sense when the order is randomized).
  3. Show least-seen items first (Least Fill) — Ensures each loop item is shown a roughly equal number of times across respondents. Requires both "Randomize loop order" and "Present only" to be enabled. Per-item display counts are shown in the item table and can be adjusted.

Warning: "Present only X of total loops" and "Least Fill" depend on earlier toggles in that chain. Enable Randomize loop order first, then subset and least-fill options as needed.

When a loop has nothing to loop over#

If a Section Loop is based on a question and the respondent has no active items to loop over, the whole looped section is skipped — they never see a single pass of it. The loop's items are worked out exactly as they always were; the only difference is that a section with nothing active is left out instead of shown once with blank loop fields.

A looped section is skipped when:

  • The source question was never shown to them. If display logic hid the source question, nothing about it is active, so there is nothing to loop over. What counts is whether the question was actually put in front of them: a question they were shown, or answered, still counts, even if an answer or variable set later in the survey would hide it now.
  • None of the source question's items is active for them. For example: the condition is Displayed Choices and every answer option was hidden by choice-level display logic; the condition is Selected Choices and they selected nothing, or everything they selected is hidden; the condition is Not Displayed Choices and nothing was hidden; the condition is Unselected Choices and they selected every option they could see; or a ranking condition such as Rank position greater than matches no ranked item.

One exception: on the Unselected Choices condition, a source question whose every option was hidden by choice-level display logic still shows the section once, unlooped, as it always has. A question with no options on screen leaves no record of what the respondent saw, so the survey does not treat that as proof there is nothing to loop over.

When a section is skipped, the respondent moves straight from the page before it to the page after it, and Back steps over it the same way.

The decision is made once, when the respondent reaches the section. Once they are inside a looped section, nothing they answer and no variable set on its pages can remove the passes that remain — the section runs to the end exactly as it started, including when skip logic jumps them to a later page of that same section. And a section they have already seen is never skipped later: going Back into it, or Back out of it and then Next again, shows it just as before. That holds across a refresh too: a respondent who resumes the survey never resumes inside a skipped section, and a section they saw before refreshing is never skipped afterwards.

The progress bar and the Next / Submit label catch up one page later, deliberately. A looped section is only taken out of the count once the respondent has actually been asked its source question, on a page they have already submitted. So if the source sits on the very page before a skipped looped section that ends the survey, that page still shows Next and a bar that has not reached the end — and pressing Next finishes the survey anyway.

This only applies when the source question is asked before the looped section in the order this respondent walks the survey. A section that loops on one of its own questions, or on a question asked later, is never skipped — and neither is one that a section randomizer happens to present ahead of the section holding its source. Those loops run exactly as they did before.

Note: The All Choices and All Answers conditions loop over what you authored rather than over what the respondent saw, so a section using one of them is never skipped, even if the source question was hidden.

These are configuration states, not skips#

A loop that comes up empty for a reason that has nothing to do with the respondent still shows the section once, unlooped, exactly as it always has:

  • A Fixed Count of 0.
  • A Static Items list with no items in it, including a loop you turned on but never configured.
  • A source question with no answer options, rows, or columns to loop over, or a source question type that has no items to loop over at all.
  • A count-driven loop where the respondent typed something that isn't a number — "0", "-2", "three", "lots". A respondent's answer can never delete a section.
  • A source question that has since been deleted from the survey, or a loop where no source question was picked.
  • A loop whose saved condition does not fit its source question's type (for example after importing a survey or changing the question type). It behaves exactly as it did before.
  • A Not Displayed Choices or Unselected Choices condition on a source whose items are generated rather than authored — a slider's scale points, for instance.
  • A for Answer condition whose column is no longer on the source question, or a Rank position condition whose position is missing or is not a number. These can only come from an edit to the survey JSON.

Known limitation — a source question inside another looped section. When the source question is itself asked inside a different looped section, its answers are stored separately for each pass of that other loop, so the section is never skipped on its account and works exactly as it did before. In particular, if the respondent leaves that source question blank and the condition is Unselected Choices, the looped section shows once, unlooped, with blank loop fields.

Tip: If a section is unexpectedly missing in Preview, check the source question first — if it is hidden for the path you are previewing, the looped section is hidden too. Previewing from a single section or question never skips it.

Piping inside loops#

Use these piped text tokens inside a looped section to personalize each iteration:

TokenWhat it shows
${lm://Field/1}Current loop item's name / label
${lm://Field/2}Second field value (auto-filled with the item's image URL when the looped item has one — a column's image when looping over matrix columns)
${lm://Field/N/ImageHTML}The field value rendered as an image
${lm://LoopNumber}Current iteration number (1-based)
${lm://TotalLoops}Total number of loop iterations
${lm://CurrentItem}Same as Field/1 (alias)

These tokens work in question text and answer options, and also in the value of a global variable assignment placed inside the loop. Setting a variable to ${lm://CurrentItem} (loop ${lm://LoopNumber}) records the item shown on that iteration.

For general piping syntax and QID-based references, see Carry forward & piping.

Logic inside and after loops#

  • Loop number is a condition source for display, skip and question termination logic on questions inside a looped section. It is the pass the respondent is on, starting at 1.
  • Loop item lets a condition read the answer given for one specific item of the loop, for example only Brand B, even when the loop order is randomized. Pick the question, then pick the item in the Loop item dropdown that appears next to it. See Display Logic.

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