CHAPTER 9

Using The Mail Diskette Option

Creating The Mail Diskette

1. Before you create all your diskettes, we recommend you make a single copy and try it out. It could save you a lot of effort if you find any errors...especially if you are making hundreds of diskettes.
2. Always format and recreate a mail survey diskette before sending it out to another respondent. This will insure that there are no answers in the QUESTION.SDB and the QUESTION.TDB files. It will also clean the diskette of any VIRUSES it may have picked up while being circulated. This will protect your systems as well as your respondent’s systems. You may also want to scan your PC’s disks and any network drives for VIRUSES on a regular basis.
3. Once a diskette is received back from a respondent, import the data into the main (consolidated) survey library. Do NOT run the WSURVEY.EXE program once the diskette is received back from the respondent, as this is how most viruses are transferred. They attach themselves to an executable (program file) and then when the program is run it transfers the virus to your computers hard drive or RAM memory. It is extremely unlikely, and virtually impossible to import a virus by using the SURVEY MANAGER program to import the respondent’s answers because it performs a validation check on every field it imports.
4. License Information - The WSURVEY.EXE program is licensed to you for use as a method to acquire respondent’s answers by loading the WSURVEY.EXE program along with your survey files containing your questionnaire onto a diskette. This disk may then be mailed or hand delivered to the respondent. You are not licensed to use the WSURVEY.EXE program as a data entry station for entering respondent’s answers by your staff. If you need to have additional staff performing survey data entry, contact us for additional user licenses of the Survey Said for Windows software.

Files that are typically found on a mail survey diskette.

• WSURVEY.EXE Marketing Masters program for answering the Survey
• VBRUN300.DLL Required by WSURVEY - Run time library for WSURVEY
• SURVEY.HLP Optional - can be omitted if space limitation on diskette
• QUESTION.SDB Renamed survey file for distribution on the mail diskette
• QUESTION.TDB Renamed survey file for distribution on the mail diskette.

Note: QUESTION.TDB may not exist depending on question types selected for survey and survey options selected.

Creating The Mail Diskette

1. Use the Survey Creator to:
2. Create the survey you want to put on diskette
3. Set the survey options before making diskette
4. Put a blank diskette into the appropriate drive A: or B:
5. Select the Distribute - Mail Diskette Survey - On Drive A: (or B:)
6. Answer any questions during the transfer procedure.
7. Upon successful completion of the transfer, click on OK

1. All survey files and associated image files will be copied to diskette
2. The survey copied will be renamed to QUESTION on the Mail Diskette
3. This procedure creates a survey file on diskette void of any responses

Be sure to test the mail diskette. It may take a couple of iterations to get the mail diskette set up correctly. Once the Mail Diskette is generated satisfactory, be sure to recreate it on a blank formatted diskette. This is to ensure that your answers are NOT on the diskette from your testing sessions. A good procedure at this point would be to make a master mail diskette using the above procedure. Label it Master. Then make a copy of it using the Windows File Manager or the Windows Explorer. Label the copy (or duplicate) as Test. Then run WSURVEY.EXE off the Test diskette and if satisfactory, begin duplicating the Master.

Answering The Mail Diskette

1. Insert survey disk into drive A or drive B
2. Pull down the File menu and click on Run
3. Type a:\wsurvey (or b:\wsurvey) and click on OK
4. Answer the survey
5. Click on Finished Survey when completed
6. Click on Save Answers
7. If enabled print a copy of your responses
8. Click on Exit

Importing The Mail Diskette

1. Insert respondent’s disk into drive A or drive B
2. Run the Survey Analyzer program
3. Pull down the File bar and click on Open
4. Select the survey into which the data is to be imported and click OK
5. Choose Mail Diskette and click on Import A or B
6. Select the appropriate survey file and click on OK
7. Click on OK Merge - when the merge form appears
8. Transfer is complete when status gauge disappears
9. Remove diskette and insert next respondents diskette
10. Repeat procedure until all diskettes are entered