Downloading data and reports

Use the Download files dialog when you need respondent-level data, a bundle of reports, respondent transcripts, or a specialist analysis file. Open the survey, select the download icon in the top-right corner, then choose the dataset and file type before starting an export.

Choose the dataset first

Use the Dataset list to choose which responses the file should contain. Select Live for collected fieldwork, or select another available dataset when you are checking simulated, synthetic, or separately prepared results.

The available cards can change with the dataset. For example, exports that need completed responses are unavailable until the selected dataset has completes. Check the dataset again whenever a card you expect to use is missing.

Filter the download cards

Use File Type to narrow the dialog to:

• Excel for report workbooks, wide or long respondent data, stacked data, and reconciliation files.
• SPSS for standard, Q-optimized, stacked, or analysis-ready respondent data.
• Text for CSV report bundles, raw CSV data, specialist CSV outputs, and respondent transcripts.

Each card names the output and describes what it contains. Selecting a different file type does not change the dataset. The dialog remembers your most recently selected file type while you continue using the platform, so check both controls before starting the next export.

For help choosing an SPSS structure, see SPSS Export Format. For Excel structures, see Wide Excel Format and Long Excel Format.

Track downloads in the background

Select a download card to start preparing the file. You can close the dialog and continue working while the export runs. The Downloads panel opens with the new job marked Preparing; collapse it when you need more screen space and use the Downloads button to reopen it.

When preparation succeeds, the browser download starts automatically and the completed job is removed from the panel. If preparation fails, the job stays in the panel with the reported error:

1. Select Retry to run the same export again.
2. Select the dismiss button when you no longer need the failed job.

Preparing jobs cannot be dismissed from the panel. Download jobs are held only in the current browser session: refreshing, closing, or leaving the session clears the list. The platform does not provide persistent download history, so retain the downloaded file somewhere appropriate for your project.

Use the raw-data map

Raw Excel and CSV downloads include a data map that explains how export columns relate to the survey. Use it before renaming columns, building a script, or handing the file to another analyst.

• Raw Excel workbooks contain Data and Data Map worksheets.
• Raw CSV downloads are delivered as a .tar.gz archive containing respondent_data.csv and data_map.csv.

Use the map to find the source question and response labels for each exported column. When one question creates several columns, the map also identifies the option or topic represented by each one.

Open-ended verbatim text is not repeated in the data map. Use the respondent data file when you need the actual response.

Choose the right report download

Use All Reports in Excel when you want one workbook containing every survey report. Use All Reports in CSV when you want the same reports as CSV files in a ZIP archive. Multi-sheet Excel workbooks include a Contents sheet and return links to help you move through long files.

Project report downloads work the same way from the project's Reports tab. For the full reporting workflow, see Reporting with MX8 Labs.