SurveyToGo: How To Work with QRef’s & Short ID’s

Guide to using QRefs and Short IDs—reference questions by auto-adjusted index (QRef) or fixed short variable ID to make scripts safer and more readable.

Aug 4, 2026
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How To Work with QRef’s & Short ID’s

Overview

Using QRef and Short IDs is a best practice for creating survey scripts that are easier to read, maintain, and update. These features help keep question references accurate, even as the survey structure changes, reducing the risk of scripting errors.

Using QRef

When writing survey scripts, you can reference questions by their index. For example:

Answer(15) == 1

While this works, it can cause problems if you later add, remove, or move questions or chapters within the survey. In those cases, question 15 may no longer be the question you intended to reference.

To avoid this, use the QRef() function:

Answer(QRef(15)) == 1

QRef() creates a dynamic reference to the original question. If the survey structure changes, the reference is automatically updated to point to the correct question.

Using QRef() helps:

Prevent broken question references.
Reduce maintenance when modifying the survey.
Make scripts more reliable and easier to update.

For these reasons, it is recommended to use QRef() whenever you reference questions by index.

Using Short IDs

Short IDs provide a simple and consistent way to identify questions throughout your survey.

To enable Short IDs:

Open the Survey Properties.
Enable ShortID as Question Index.
Enable Show Question Index.

Once enabled, you can assign a Short ID to each question from the Variables tab.

During the interview, the assigned Short ID is displayed alongside the question, making it easier to identify and reference questions while testing or debugging.

Using meaningful Short IDs makes your survey easier to organize, simplifies script development, and improves communication when discussing specific questions with other team members.

Using Short IDs as the Basis for Variable Names

A more advanced use of Short IDs is in tracking surveys, where variable names must remain consistent across multiple survey waves.

For example, in a tracking study, each variable name must remain exactly the same from one wave to the next to ensure that the data can be compared over time. Using Short IDs as the basis for variable names helps maintain this consistency, even if questions are moved or the survey structure changes.

If you are developing a tracking survey that requires stable variable names across survey rounds, consider using this feature.

You can set this in Survey Properties:

How It Works

When this feature is enabled, answer and topic variable names are based on the question's Short ID instead of its numeric index.

This ensures that the variable names remain unchanged, even if questions are added, deleted, or moved within the survey.

Example

Suppose you have a Multiple Selection question with a question index of 1. Its answer variables are generated as:

A_1_1
A_1_2

If you insert a new question before it, the question's index changes from 1 to 2, and the answer variables are automatically renamed to:

A_2_1
A_2_2

This can be problematic for tracking surveys, where variable names must remain consistent across survey waves.

When Short IDs are used as the basis for variable names, the answer and topic variables are generated using the configured Short ID instead of the question index. As a result, the variable names remain unchanged regardless of changes to the survey structure, helping maintain consistency across multiple survey versions and tracking waves.

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