In this article
1: Overview
The Audio Capture item allows respondents to upload an audio file as the answer to a question. Note that the item will only accept audio files.
Note: The media capture items (image, video and audio) can only be used for interactive capturing of the content. It is not possible to copy content from one question to another, and it is not possible to copy content between surveys. You can however pipe answers back to a respondent during the interview.
The question details page for this item - allows you to set a minimum and a maximum length for the recording, in seconds. All the properties available for this question type are described in the Question Properties documentation (go to Accessing Question Properties for more information).
Figure 1 - The Audio Capture item’s question details page
Audio capture questions can be set as hidden. This will be of use in the Forsta offline data collection apps, adding support for background audio capture.
Use the Text field to tell the respondent how to respond to this question.
2: Recording Time Limit
When using an Audio Capture question, there is no maximum recording duration. However if a respondent tries to upload a very large recording it may take a long time and they are more likely to abandon the survey. It is therefore recommended to set a maximum of no more than 15 minutes. A warning will be given by the system if setting a limit over 15 minutes (although it will still be possible to launch the survey).
3: Storage of Multimedia Files
All audio (as well as image and video) files captured through media question types are stored by the system as Multimedia Data. Multimedia Data is distinct from both the standard survey response data and file library data and is stored/managed separately.
4: Account Multimedia Storage Limit
By default, each company account is allocated 5 GB of total Multimedia Data storage across all surveys and media types. This limit includes audio files captured using Audio Capture questions. Administrators can monitor how much of this storage quota has been consumed by checking the storage usage indicator at the top of the Account Overview page in the Forsta Plus application. When the storage quota approaches the limit, administrators may need to delete unused media or request additional storage from Forsta.
5: Exporting Uploaded Multimedia Files
Multimedia files can be exported by performing a survey response data export. The export file type must be Delimited Text and the option to ‘Include uploaded files’ must be enabled (under Advanced options). Since downloads containing media files are likely to be very large it is recommended to use the FTP delivery method.