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Update Historical Data

  • December 16, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 28 views
M
Level 1 ●
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I have ~300k responses to my survey today that are tied to a location ID.  The location ID is collected in two different fields, one from the query string in an email invite.  The other from a text box field on the first page of the survey.

I have to switch my data values for the location ID to now have leading zero’s up to 4 digits.  So location 6 would now need to be 0006, or 24 would need to be 0024.  All of my data collected starting next year will be collected with the leading zeros.  I want to make sure my historical data and my new data all match, so I need to add leading zeros to the old data.

I can’t just export, add leading zeros and then import because that will create all new records and not update the existing records.  I don’t want to delete the old records and then reupload because that will count against my total interactions.

I’m trying to not add additional embedded data fields, mostly because it’s fairly messy with a lot of embedded data already, so I’m hoping there is some way that I can easily solve this by simply manipulating the data that I haven’t considered yet.

2 replies

C
Level 5 ●●●●●
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Although it may be tedious, you can filter by a location ID and select all, then edit all responses of the same location ID at once by adding the leading zeros.

Repeat the step above for each location ID.

However, given the volume of responses, it may take some time for the responses to be updated.

 

More information:

Editing Responses

arunxmarchitect
Level 2 ●●
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Hi ​@MB_XPM ​@Chee Heng_SZ ,

Qualtrics doesn’t currently support bulk, in-place edits of existing response values through the platform itself.

If you want historical and future Location IDs to truly match inside Qualtrics (without reimporting responses or increasing interaction counts), the only reliable path is via the Responses API, where you update existing responses by ResponseID.

A number of XM Community members handle this using the Qualtrics API Toolkit (Chrome extension), which is essentially a no-code wrapper around the official Qualtrics API. The typical flow is:

  • Export ResponseID + Location ID

  • Left-pad the Location ID to 4 digits (e.g., 6 → 0006, 24 → 0024)

  • Upload the CSV back through the toolkit to update the existing field in place

This approach:

  • Updates responses without creating new records

  • Doesn’t affect interaction counts

  • Works with existing embedded data (no new fields required)

  • Avoids writing custom scripts

It’s been used by several XM Community members for large-volume cleanup tasks like this when historical data needs to be aligned with new collection standards.

If you want to give it a try, here’s the installation and documentation:

Chrome Extension: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/qualtrics-api-toolkit-by/lloepmlcmkeohopokcedejdelohoilip
Docs: https://piraiai.com/docs/qualtrics-api-toolkit

 

Thanks,

Arun

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