Versions & Publishing

Questionnaires move through a small, explicit lifecycle so that respondents always answer a fixed, reviewed version while authors keep working on the next one.

Statuses

Status	Meaning
Draft	Editable. Cannot be used for enrollments or anonymous links.
Published	Locked for editing. Can be scheduled, enrolled and answered.
Archived	Access disabled, data kept for reporting. Can be restored.

The status badge is shown in the questionnaire header, and a banner above the designer explains what is possible in the current state.

Publishing

1. Complete the content and resolve all validation issues.
2. Add at least one schedule under Scheduling; publishing is refused for a questionnaire without a schedule.
3. Select Publish Questionnaire (from the draft banner or from Publishing & Enrollments) and confirm.

Once published, the version is frozen. Enrollments created from it always deliver exactly this content, even if you later create new versions.

Creating a new version

On a published questionnaire select Enable Editing. Medipal confirms that saving your changes will create a new version. You then edit as usual; when you save, a new draft version is created and linked to the original in the version tree. The published version remains untouched and keeps serving its enrollments.

Publish the new version when it is ready. Existing enrollments stay on the version they were created with; new enrollments can use the new version. This is deliberate: a patient who started a study on version 1 is never silently switched to version 2.

Versions & Relations

The Versions & Relations page has two tabs.

Version Tree

A tree of all versions and duplicates derived from the same origin, with name, version number, status and creation date. The version you are viewing is marked Current. Use it to navigate to any version, for example to compare results across versions in Analytics.

Revision History

A timeline of every change recorded for this questionnaire. Each revision shows the operation, the author and the time. Operations include Create, Edit, Metadata Edit, Publish, Fork (new version), Archive, Restore and Delete. Filters let you narrow by operation and sort newest or oldest first.

For any revision you can:

• View Changes: a diff of metadata (field, old value, new value) and of content, grouped by sections, questions, options, definitions, scoring and translations, with added, removed and changed entries marked.
• View Snapshot: the reconstructed state of the questionnaire at that revision.
• Restore this version: load the snapshot into the designer as unsaved changes. Nothing is overwritten until you save; on a published questionnaire, saving creates a new version as usual.

Duplicating, exporting and importing

• Duplicate creates an independent copy in draft state, linked as a relation but with its own version line.
• Export as File (on Configuration → General) downloads the full definition for backup or transfer; Export JSON in the folder browser does the same for several items at once.
• Import Questionnaire in a folder creates a new draft from an exported file.

Archiving, restoring and deleting

Action	Effect
Archive	Disables editing and new enrollments; existing submissions remain available for reporting.
Restore	Reactivates an archived questionnaire for editing and new enrollments.
Delete Permanently	Removes the questionnaire and all associated data. Deleted questionnaires can be listed and restored by administrators for a limited time.

All three are on Configuration → General → Actions and require Owner access.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
"Cannot publish questionnaire: no schedule"	No schedule has been defined	Add a schedule under Scheduling, then publish.
Enrolled patients do not see my latest changes	They are on an earlier published version	Expected behaviour; create new enrollments on the new version if they should switch.
Enable Editing is not offered	The questionnaire is archived, or you have viewer access only	Restore it first; request editor or owner access.
A restored snapshot did not apply	The snapshot loads as unsaved changes	Review the designer and select Save Questionnaire.
Version numbers skip	A version was deleted or archived	Check Revision History for the operation.