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Automated Survey Invitations CSV

Automated Survey Invitations CSV — Column Reference and Format Guide

Article ID RC-IMP-06 — Automated Survey Invitations CSV — Column Reference and Format Guide
Domain Data Import
Applies To All REDCap project types with surveys enabled
Prerequisite RC-IMP-03 — CSV Upload Reference: All Bulk Upload Options in REDCap; RC-SURV-06 — Automated Survey Invitations (ASI)
Skill Level Intermediate
Version 1.0
Last Updated 2026-05-07
Author See KB-SOURCE-ATTESTATION.md
Related Topics RC-IMP-03 — CSV Upload Reference: All Bulk Upload Options in REDCap; RC-SURV-06 — Automated Survey Invitations (ASI); RC-SURV-07 — Survey Queue

1. Overview

The Automated Survey Invitations (ASI) module supports CSV export and import of invitation configurations. This allows bulk editing of invitation schedules outside of REDCap and copying a complex invitation setup from one project to another.

Location: Online Designer → "Automated Survey Invitations" button (project-level, not per-instrument).

Upload behavior — Additive/update: ASIs matching the form_name/event_name key are updated; others are left unchanged.

Rights required: Project Design and Setup (at least one survey must be enabled in the project).

Always download first. Start from an exported file rather than building from scratch, both to get the correct 32-column structure and to have a recovery snapshot.

For full coverage of configuring ASIs through the REDCap UI, see RC-SURV-06 — Automated Survey Invitations (ASI) — Automated Survey Invitations.

2. Column Reference

Column Values / Format Notes
form_name Instrument variable name The survey being invited
event_name Unique event name (e.g. baseline_arm_1) Longitudinal only; blank in classic projects
condition_surveycomplete_form_name Instrument variable name Completion trigger: instrument that must complete before the invitation fires
condition_surveycomplete_event_name Unique event name Completion trigger: at which event (longitudinal)
num_recurrence Integer Delay between repeating instances; 0 in non-repeating configs
units_recurrence DAYS / HOURS / MINUTES Unit for the recurrence delay
max_recurrence Integer or blank Maximum repeats; blank = unlimited
active 1 / 0 1 = Active, 0 = Not Active
email_subject Plain text Subject line
email_content HTML Full email body as HTML; piping and smart variables stored literally (e.g. [survey-link])
email_sender Email address From address
email_sender_display Text or blank From display name; blank = email address used as display
condition_andor AND / OR Relationship between completion and logic triggers; present even when only one trigger type is configured
condition_logic Branching logic expression Empty-string comparisons ("") are double-escaped in CSV — [record_id]<>"" appears as [record_id]<>"""" in the raw file
condition_send_time_option IMMEDIATELY / TIME_LAG / NEXT_OCCURRENCE / FIELD_DATE / EXACT_TIME Selects the timing mode (see Section 3 below)
condition_send_time_lag_days Integer or blank Lag days; used when TIME_LAG
condition_send_time_lag_hours Integer or blank Lag hours; used when TIME_LAG
condition_send_time_lag_minutes Integer or blank Lag minutes; used when TIME_LAG
condition_send_time_lag_field Field variable name or blank Date/datetime field to schedule relative to; used when FIELD_DATE
condition_send_time_lag_field_after before / after or blank Direction relative to the field date; used when FIELD_DATE
condition_send_next_day_type after / same / before or blank Day relative to trigger; used when NEXT_OCCURRENCE
condition_send_next_time WEEKDAY / EVERYDAY / WEEKEND or blank Day type to target; used when NEXT_OCCURRENCE
condition_send_time_exact HH:MM:SS or blank Exact time of day; used when NEXT_OCCURRENCE or EXACT_TIME
delivery_type EMAIL / SMS / VOICE / PREFERENCE Delivery method; SMS and VOICE require texting to be enabled
reminder_type TIME_LAG / NEXT_DAY / EXACT_TIME or blank Reminder timing mode; blank = no reminders
reminder_timelag_days Integer or blank Reminder lag days; used when reminder_type = TIME_LAG
reminder_timelag_hours Integer or blank Reminder lag hours; used when TIME_LAG
reminder_timelag_minutes Integer or blank Reminder lag minutes; used when TIME_LAG
reminder_nextday_type Day type or blank Used when reminder_type = NEXT_DAY
reminder_nexttime Time or blank Used when NEXT_DAY reminder
reminder_exact_time HH:MM:SS or blank Used when EXACT_TIME reminder
reminder_num Integer 0–5 Number of reminders; 0 = none
reeval_before_send 1 / 0 1 = "Ensure logic is still true before sending invitation" is enabled

3. Timing Modes (condition_send_time_option)

Mode Active columns Behavior
IMMEDIATELY — Invitation sent as soon as trigger fires
TIME_LAG condition_send_time_lag_days/hours/minutes Sent N days/hours/minutes after the trigger
NEXT_OCCURRENCE condition_send_next_day_type, condition_send_next_time, condition_send_time_exact Sent on the next matching day type at a specific time. Example: after + WEEKDAY + 10:32:00 = next weekday at 10:32 AM
FIELD_DATE condition_send_time_lag_field, condition_send_time_lag_field_after, lag columns Sent N days/hours/minutes before or after a date stored in a project field
EXACT_TIME condition_send_time_exact Sent at an absolute date and time

4. Common Mistakes

Quote escaping in logic. When condition_logic contains an empty-string comparison (""), the raw CSV value will have doubled double-quotes — [record_id]<>"" appears as [record_id]<>"""" in the file. Spreadsheet applications handle this transparently; plain-text editors will show the raw encoding and can corrupt it.

HTML in email_content. The body is stored as HTML. Prefer editing email content within the REDCap UI, or use a dedicated HTML editor and paste the result into the cell.

All 32 columns must be present. Do not add, remove, or reorder columns — REDCap expects the exact structure on import. Reminder columns are always present even when reminder_num = 0.

condition_andor is always populated. It contains AND or OR even when only one trigger type is configured. Leave it as-is — do not blank it out.