How do I set up a mirrored fields functionality?

Modified on Fri, 25 Sep at 2:19 PM

Learn how set up mirroring a field from one input form to another

Mirrored fields copy a value from a field in one form into another form. Mirrored fields are available for scheduled events, surveys and (S)AEs.

Definitions:

Source field = editable input field where data can be entered. This is mirrored to the destination field.
Destination field = non-editable input field that shows/mirrors the value of the source field.

Key characeristics of mirrored fields:

No manual re-entry: Data from a source field is directly copied into a destination field, so no one has to re-enter it. This saves time, reduces errors, and supports a wide rand of use cases.
Read-only: Mirrored data can't be edited in the destination form. Make any changes in the original source form.
Always in sync: Changes to source fields in the source form show up immediately in every connected destination field.

⭐ Good to know: supported mirroring setups

You can set up mirrored fields:

Between scheduled event forms: Both the source and destination fields are scheduled event fields.
Between (S)AE forms: Both the source and destination fields are (S)AE fields.
From a scheduled event form to an (S)AE form: The source is a scheduled event field and the destination is an (S)AE field.
⚠️ One source field fills the destination field in every (S)AE of that subject, including (S)AEs that already exist, resolved ones, and any (S)AEs created later. If the source field is already filled when a new (S)AE is created, the destination field is filled straight away.
❗ Mirroring from an (S)AE form to a scheduled event form isn't possible.

How destination fields behave

Once data has been mirrored, the destination field behaves like any other field in the scheduled event or (S)AE form. It:

Counts towards the form's completion percentage.
Can have its own validations, automated queries and dependencies, and is checked against them.
Is included in the data export.
Is fully tracked in the audit trail, including the first mirroring and every later update from the source field.
Is cleared if the source field is hidden by a dependency. If the source field is marked N/A, a destination field in an (S)AE keeps its last value.

❗ Locked and signed destination forms

Locked forms: When the source field is updated, the destination field is updated as well, even if the destination form is locked.
Signed forms: Whether a signature breaks depends on the setup:

Setup	Signature on the destination form
Between scheduled event forms	Stays valid
Between (S)AE forms	Stays valid
From a scheduled event form to an (S)AE form	Breaks, and the (S)AE form must be signed again

1. Form setup (step 3)

Before the mirroring function can be configured, it is necessary to set up both the source and the destination field inside the input form set-up.

⚠️ Important: The source and destination fields must have matching field types:

Source field	Possible destination fields
Text	Text
Number, slider	Number, text
Dropdown, single choice	Text (option label is mirrored); number (option value is mirrored, only if all option values are numeric)
Date and time	Date and time
Date (incl. partial)	Date (incl. partial)
Smart field	Depending on its output type (number or text), as above

Field types that can't be mirrored:

Multiple choice
Tables (entire tables or single columns). To copy table rows into (S)AEs, use mirrored table rows instead.

Set up your source input field inside the form set-up (step 3).

Set up your destination input field inside the form set-up (step 3).

⭐ We recommend giving the destination input field a similar name to your source input field to facilitate the mirroring set-up in step 5 and to easily identify it in your data exports.

⚠️ Please note that the source and the destination fields must be placed on two different input forms.

2. Mirrored field setup (Step 5)

Once you have set up the source and destination field inside your forms, you can start to set up your mirrored fields function.

	Navigate to the Trigger Events in Step 5.
	Select the "Mirrored fields" tab here. In the "Mirrored table rows" tab, you can configure row mirroring from a defined source table. During data entry, site users select which rows to mirror into the (S)AE. Learn more in this article: How do I set up mirrored table rows from scheduled events to (S)AEs?
	Click on "Mirror a field".
	Name your mirrored field comprehensively so you can identify it later on.
	Select the source form and field. ⭐ For scheduled event destinations, you can also select the randomization group as the source. Afterwards, please choose the destination form and field that the source value should be mirrored to. ⭐ You can mirror one source field into several destination forms. ⭐ The source and destination fields must be in different forms. When you mirror between two scheduled event forms or two (S)AE forms, the destination form must also come after the source form in the workflow.
	Check your set-up using the preview functionality.
	Don't forget to save!

3. Mirrored fields: Good to know

⭐ Utilizing field mirroring to enable smart fields across forms

The mirrored fields functionality enables you to perform smart field calculations with input fields that are placed across different forms. Simply mirror all fields that you wish to include in your calculation as destination fields into the same form.

For this purpose you can, for example, create a data calculation sheet at the end of the workflow and exclude all collaborator roles that should not see this input form via the "excluded collaborators" setting in the input form setup (step 3).

⚠️ Amendments/Setting updates to an active project:

When a mirrored field is added to a study that already contains data for the source field, mirroring for these subjects needs to be triggered manually by updating any field in the form in which the source field appears.
When updating the option labels of a single-choice or dropdown field (source field) in step 3 and the labels are mirrored to a text field (destination field), the updated option label will automatically be synchronised with the destination field.
However, when updating the option values of a single-choice or dropdown field (source field) in step 3 and values are mirrored to a numeric field (destination field), the updated option values will not be updated in the destination field.
Renaming a source or destination field or form updates the mirrored field automatically.
Deleting a source or destination field switches off the mirrored field. It stays in the list as disabled and no longer mirrors data.

✉️ Still have questions? Feel free to contact your Customer Success Manager or email us at support@climedo.de.

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How do I set up a mirrored fields functionality?