3. Complete Guide to the Survey Debug Sandbox
Operational manual for the survey testing environment: Phased Flow, Single Sandbox isolation, live JSON state inspector, and screenout validation mocking.
Isolated Testing & Component Sandbox: The Survey Debug Sandbox (/survey/[id]/test) is an interactive testing environment that enables researchers and survey programmers to verify question rendering, conditional branching, and termination rules without altering production data or consuming live quotas.
1. Access & Execution Modes#
The Debug Sandbox can be launched directly from the Details Tab of the Manage Survey dashboard (Open Survey Preview button) or accessed via the direct URL:
https://your-domain.com/survey/[id]/testThe right-hand Debug Panel provides two specialized testing modes:
| Testing Mode | Operational Scope | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| Phased Flow (End-to-End) | Executes the complete questionnaire in realistic phase sequence (Pre-screener → Screener → Survey), validating skips, piping, and screening thresholds. | For full participant walkthroughs and quality assurance prior to fieldwork launch. |
| Single Sandbox (Isolated Component) | Isolates any specific question, allowing direct interaction without answering preceding questions. | For rapidly debugging complex components (matrix grids, comboboxes, dynamic dropdowns). |
2. Features of Single Sandbox Mode#
Selecting the Single Sandbox tab unlocks atomic inspection capabilities:
- Question Dropdown Picker: Direct selection of any question in the study, displaying ID, phase, and truncated prompt (e.g.
S1 (screener): What is your primary specialty...?). - Quick Stepper Navigation (
← Previous/Next →): Move sequentially forward or backward across questions without fulfilling required field validations. - Screenout Validation Mocking:
- Selecting a choice with a strict termination rule (
[CLOSE]or[SOFT TERM]) triggers a simulated floating toast rather than terminating the testing session:
🛑 Screen out / CLOSE validation triggered at S1 (Mocked in Sandbox Mode)This guarantees that termination flags are firing correctly while preserving testing workflow continuity.
3. Live Data State Inspector#
The lower section of the right-hand panel provides a real-time reactive state viewer:
- Real-Time JSON Object (
answers): - Displays live state data as selections and text inputs are made.
- Enables instant verification of captured data structures (strings, numeric values, multicode arrays, matrix coordinates).
- Reset State Button:
- Clears memory state and resets the survey flow instantaneously, enabling clean iterative test runs without page refreshes.
4. Key Differences: Sandbox vs. Live Production#
| Attribute | Sandbox (/survey/[id]/test) | Live Production (/survey/[id]) |
|---|---|---|
| Database Persistence | Zero DB writes. Responses exist strictly in browser client memory. | Full persistence to the response collection. |
| Quota Consumption | Does not decrement quotas. Safe for repetitive testing. | Increments live quota counters in real-time. |
| Debug Sidebar | Visible sidebar featuring question picker and JSON state inspector. | Hidden. Clean respondent-facing interface. |
| Management Navigation | Dedicated Back to Survey Management button. | Not available to respondents. |
5. Questions & Answers (Q&A)#
How does Single Sandbox handle piping when source questions are unanswered?#
In Single Sandbox mode, if a question utilizes dynamic answer piping (e.g. [PIPE: S1]) and the prerequisite source question S1 has not been answered, the engine automatically injects a safe fallback placeholder so the component renders without errors.
Can I test panel query parameters (e.g. ?uid=test123) in Sandbox mode?#
Yes. The Sandbox captures query string parameters and injects them into the live session context, displaying them in the Live Data State inspector to confirm panel tracking passthrough.
Was this article helpful?
Your feedback helps us continuously improve our technical guides.