Importing surveys to Qualtrics

Hello @MoserJess,

Currently, Qualtrics does not support importing survey questions from PDF files. You have two options: either convert the file from PDF to a compatible format allowed by Qualtrics and then import the survey, or manually build your survey within Qualtrics.

For more information on how to build your survey manually, please refer to the link provided:

https://www.qualtrics.com/support/survey-platform/survey-module/survey-module-overview/
 

Let me know if this helps.

@Sachin Nandikol Thank you! I couldn’t find a good way to convert the pdfs into an acceptable format, so I plugged it all in manually. It didn’t take too much time. I wish there was a better way to turn PDFs into a readable format for Qualtrics. 

Hi ​@MoserJess ​@Shashi ! Great question - this is exactly the challenge we've been solving for research labs and agencies.

The most efficient approach: Convert your PDFs to Word documents, then use automated conversion to Qualtrics format.

Here's the step-by-step process:

1. PDF → Word: Use Adobe Acrobat or online converters to create a .docx file
2. Word → Qualtrics: Use piraiai.com to automatically convert your Word document into either:
   • Qualtrics Advanced Format (ready for direct import)
   • QSF file format 

Why this works so well for labs:

✅ Reduces 8-12 hours of manual programming to ~15 minutes

✅ Maintains validated scale structures and question formatting

✅ Perfect for labs processing multiple measures regularly

We're currently in early access and offering first conversions free.

What types of measures are you looking to convert? (personality scales, experimental paradigms, longitudinal questionnaires?) 

Check out piraiai.com - we're specifically designed for exactly this use case!

​@MoserJess , 

You're correct that only .docx or .txt files can be imported directly. One approach that often works well is to first convert your PDFs into Word documents, then make sure the formatting aligns with Qualtrics’ requirements.

There’s also a Pirai AI tool that lets you convert documents directly into a Qualtrics QSF format, which can save a lot of manual formatting time: https://piraiai.com/convert-now.

It’s pretty straightforward and can help you get started faster without having to recreate every question by hand.

Hope this helps!