Is there a way to build a feed to automatically update a drop down list?

Question

I need an automated solution that will update a drop down list. Possibly from an Excel file or a contact list. I'm open to other ideas as well. However, I don't have the option to use a third party tool unless it's already behind our firewall. So that limits my options a bit. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

TomG · Accepted Answer

> @Julie_130 said:> @TomG thanks for the response! Right now, the drop down list is manually updated. > Would you mind explaining your response in more detail? I'm a novice, so it would be great if you could dumb it down for me a little.  :)  Or better yet, do you have an example qsf file you can share?> Are you suggesting using a second survey to feed a contact list? I'm not following what the text entry field would be doing.You mentioned a contact list in your original message, which led me to believe the contents of the drop down was specific to each respondent.  If that's not the case, then using a contact list isn't a good choice.  Instead, create a text file with your dropdown list in a simple json format such as:```{"list":"item1,item2,item3,item4"}```Upload it to a web server.  You can upload it to your Qualtrics File Library if that is easiest.  Add a web service call to your survey flow that gets the file and sets an embedded variable that contains the comma delimited list of items.The text entry question in your survey will contain the answer to the question (i.e., the item the respondent picks from the dropdown list). This solution requires that you write some JavaScript that dynamically creates and adds a dropdown box (i.e., select) to the question based on the embedded variable containing the list, hides the text input, and automatically updates the contents of the text input any time an item is selected in the dropdown.  If you can't write JavaScript, you'll need to find/hire someone who can.

TomG · Answer

Assuming your drop down choices are based on a contact list embedded data field (say a comma separated list)...In your survey use a text entry question. Add JavaScript to parse your comma separated embedded variable and dynamically build an html select. Add the select to your question and hide the text entry field.  Then have an event handler update the text entry field anytime something is selected in the drop down.

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