Parts of a Variable
When you edit a variable within the Word designer or in the Knackly Online Workspace, you will notice multiple different sections within variables. This article will walk through each variable type and what the each section within that variable means.
Note: The included screenshots are from both the Word designer and the online workspace. You can access the same options within either the Word designer or the online workspace.
All Variables
Variable Name
All variables contain a name. You can rename a variable however it will not update across your templates, so if you have renamed a variable, review your documents to update that change.
Type
All variables have a type. Type consists of two parts: Single or List of options and variable type selections (for example, changing a variable from a text to a number). A single variable type accepts one input. A List of variable type accepts multiple answers.
Question Prompt
All variables contain questions prompts which are the specific question users will see in the interview. By default, Knackly will use the variable name and include any spaces between capitalized letters.
Relevance (Condition)
All variables allow you to set the relevancy. The Relevance (Condition) refers to it a variable will appear in the interview. True means that no matter what, that variable will be asked. Automatic means only if that variable is called upon (mostly within a template), then that variable will appear.
Question Help
All variables contain question help. Question help is additional text you can include in the interview. It will appear next to the question prompt as a question mark icon and when that icon is selected, the additional help text will show.
Text Variables
Text Intake Pattern
The text intake pattern is used when you want to limit the user to input text in certain formats and limit the number of characters for a variable. The list below gives the tokens and what they do.
- 9 - Only numbers (0-9) can be typed
- A - Only letters can be typed
- X - Numbers and letters can be typed
- L - Only lowercase letters can be typed
- U - Only uppercase letters can be typed
Anything you type that is not one of the tokens will show up as text in the App’s user interface. You can also mix and match between letters, numbers, uppercase letters, and lowercase letters (e.g. 99-AA, (999) 999-9999, XXX-XX-9999.)
Validation
Validation allows you to give the user the option to put text on multiple lines, Text may contain line breaks, and to format the text, Allow formatting (markdown).
When choosing the option Text may contain line breaks, you will want to update the Input Height (Lines) shown below; otherwise, pushing Enter will result in selecting the Save and Exit button on the App.
Allow formatting (markdown) lets the user format the text (bold, italics, etc.), which will carry over to the document created.
Answer Suggestions
Answer suggestions allow you to give the user suggested values that they can choose from. The user will have those suggestions, and if the information they want to input is not an option, they can manually write in their answer.
When you create a text variable, Knackly automatically has None selected for answer suggestions.
You can add suggestions specific to the given text variable by selecting Fixed values defined below. Click on Add suggested answer and you can add a value. Repeat this process until all desired values are created.
You also have the option to use Values defined somewhere else. This allows you to fill in the name of another Variable or Formula under Suggestions From (Expression).
For example, in a field requesting a person’s relationship to another person, you might have a list of typical relationships (brother, sister, step-sister, daughter, son) as well as permitting users to type in less common relationships (step-daughter-in-law, grand-uncle, second cousin twice removed).
Input Height (Lines)
Input height is how many lines this variable will take up on the App. The default height is one line. You can increase this, which we recommend for larger blocks of text.
Number Variables
Intake Style
There are three ways to present the number variables to users: a textbox, a spinbox, or a slider.
Textboxes are default and are intended for users to type in a number. The following photo shows how a textbox reveals itself in the app intake.
Spinboxes use both typing or selecting up and down arrows to adjust the number.
Sliders use a single point along a bar to choose a number. The slider will have a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 100.
Decimal Places
You choose how many decimal places a number can have. This feature is mostly used for monetary or precise amounts. The default setting will not allow any decimal places.
Minimum and Maximum Values
Minimum is the lowest number allowed in a range while maximum is the highest.
Date Variables
Intake Style
The two ways to present dates to users are textbox and date picker.
Date picker shows a pop-up calendar. This is useful for recent dates. A user could also type in the date including slashes to separate month, day, and year.
Textbox allows users to type in the date without typing slashes. The calendar icon will reveal a date picker pop-up calendar.
Note: Different platforms or browsers react differently to each intake style. Try another style if you feel the intake style does not present properly. If neither styles work appropriately, Knackly is always available to help you!
True/False Variables
Intake Style
True/False variables are presented by a checkbox, switch, or radio buttons.
Checkboxes are the default user input. The user will check it if it is true or leave it blank if false.
Switches allow the user to toggle a gray and blue switch. Blue means true and gray means false.
Radio buttons allow the user to select yes or no.
Moving on from the intake, default value means you can select true, false, or neither. The default on Knackly is false.
Selection Variables
Selection variables provide lists of values for the user to choose. Depending on the selection type, a user can choose one or multiple values. There are three property settings to further design the user experience.
Select From
Select From is where you input the values users will see. You can do this in An option listed below, A table, or User data.
An option listed below will populate a table at the bottom of the variable designer. Type your values and push Enter to create a new row. To delete a row, select the row number and Delete. To add a column, select the plus sign Add column and name the column. To delete a column, select the column menu and Delete. You can also copy and paste a list from another document or spreadsheet into the table after all necessary columns are created.
A table requires you to select Option Source. The Option Source drop-down menu is a list of all the tables you have created in Element. These are similar to tables from Options defined below, however, you can reuse these tables in multiple places and maintain data in one place.
User data allows you to select a resource that provides values based on the user entering information and Knackly then dynamically captures these values, which is explained later.
Style
Style formats the user interface. You can select from checkboxes, dropdown, listbox, and radiobuttons.
Checkboxes are the default input. For a selection that has a lot of variables, like states, we recommend not using the checkbox style. However, this style is great for a small selection.
Here is how the states look as a checkbox style:
Here is how a small selection looks as a checkbox style:
Dropdowns provide the options listed in a dropdown you can select.
Listboxes present the user with a small box they can scroll through to select their option.
Radiobuttons are similar to checkboxes. This style is also recommended for a short list of options.
Here is a long list:
Here is a small selection:
Option Template
The option template will be whatever the user sees within the interview. Insert an option template by using brackets and the name of a column. Review Selection Variable Labels to learn more about option templates.
Object Variables
Object variables are based on object models and group-related pieces of data. In the Elements tab, there are two types of models: Catalog Models and Object Models. You cannot create an object variable if you do not have an object model to base an object variable on.
Note: The photo below is a photo of the online workspace. It shows that the variable is reliant on the matter model.
Style
Object variables are presented either by a popup, inline, or accordion. Hidden means the variable will be hidden in the app intake.
Popups are the default style. To fill in information inside of a popup, you need to select it. After filling out the information, select Ok.
Inline presents the information inside of a box, however, it will all be available from the main screen.
Accordion presents the information to a user inside of an accordion.
