Sharing a survey: page, link, QR code and kiosk mode

You share a survey from its Share tab. Put it on a page so members can find it in Hives, or turn on the share link so anyone with the link or QR code can answer, even without signing in. Kiosk mode lets you run it on a tablet or public screen.

Who can do this: Survey managers and Admins.

Option	Who can answer	Signing in
Share page	Members who can see that page.	Yes, they are already in Hives.
Share link and QR code	Anyone with the link, inside or outside your organisation.	Not needed.
Kiosk mode	People using one shared device, such as a tablet in a canteen.	Depends on how the device opens the survey.
Preview link	Nobody: it is a walk-through only. Nothing is saved.	Not needed.

You can use several at once, for example a page for office staff and a QR code on posters for people without a Hives account.

Put the survey on a page

Open the survey and go to the Share tab.
In Share page, choose a page from the list.
Click Save in the Unsaved changes bar.

Members who can see the page now see the survey’s card on it and can answer it in Hives. A survey can be on one page at a time. To take it off, clear the page and save.

The page must be published for members to see the survey. On an unpublished page, only survey managers, Admins and the managers of the survey’s folder see it. Read more in Pages: how to create, publish and choose who sees them and Adding a collection or survey to a page.

Open the survey and go to the Share tab.
In Share link, turn on Activate link. It is saved straight away.
Click the copy button next to the link, or download the QR code.

Anyone who opens the link can answer the survey, with or without signing in, from any organisation. The link shows the survey only, never the results.

Print the QR code on posters, slides or handouts. Scanning it has the same effect as opening the link.

Turn a link off, or get a new one

Turn off Activate link to stop the link working straight away. People who open it are sent to your hive’s home page instead.

Good to know: Turning a link on again creates a new link. The old link and any printed QR codes stop working for good. Only turn a link off if you are sure, or be ready to share the new link and reprint QR codes.

The results link and preview link work the same way.

Stopping a survey

There is no separate “close survey” switch. To stop people answering:

turn off the share link, so people outside Hives can no longer answer; and
remove the survey from its page, so members can no longer answer it in Hives.

Members who can see the survey on a page can still answer it even when the share link is off.

Preview the survey

On the Share tab, turn on Activate preview link in Preview link.
Click Preview at the top of the survey, or copy the preview link to send to colleagues.

The preview shows the survey exactly as respondents see it, with a badge saying answers are not saved. Nothing is recorded, and it never shows results. The preview link works whether or not the survey is shared. It is off for every new survey.

Use kiosk mode

Kiosk mode is for a tablet or screen where many people answer one after another.

On the Share tab, turn on Kiosk mode.
Click Save in the Unsaved changes bar.
Turn on the share link and open it on the device. Do not sign in on the device.

In kiosk mode, the survey goes back to the start screen:

10 seconds after someone finishes, so the next person can begin;
after 30 seconds without any touch, click or key press while someone is answering.

Each restart is a new, anonymous response. Kiosk mode does not give anyone access by itself: the share link must be on.

Common questions

Do people need a Hives account to answer? Not if they use the share link or QR code. On a page, they answer as signed-in members.

Can I see who answered through the link? No. All survey answers are anonymous. See Answering a survey.

Can I send the survey by email from Hives? No. Copy the share link and send it with your usual email tool.