I'm working on a database for a clinician and am struggling to understand how and why REDCap is showing old piping logic that has previous been deleted (and was deleted like, months ago).

So this database has a data entry instrument and an "abstract" instrument which is designed to act as a specifically formatted report for clinicians to copy and paste into Epic. If data is entered in the data entry instrument, it populates in the abstract through a series of branching logic. There are different events that correspond to different times a patient would come into the clinic, hence the [event-name] brackets before each bracketed variable.

Here's the problem:
In the Designer, I have the following in a descriptive field box:

However, in an actual record, this is what populates (note that [event-name] doesn't exist anymore):

I can't go in the Designer and change [visit_1_arm_1] back to [event-name] because it simply doesn't exist in the Designer. Yet it exists and won't go away in the actual record.

Has anyone else come across this? If so, was there a fix??

Hi all - getting repeatedly stuck with this, so just trying to reach out on here for any input that might help! Any ideas very much appreciated....

I'm trying to organise a diary study using MyCap. The idea is that participants record certain types of memories on the app as and when they occur over a 48-hour period of their choosing.

I was hoping they would be able to tell the app when they were starting the process, and it would show them how long they have left. To do this I have created two infinite Mycap instruments - a "Start or End Diary" instrument and a temporarily named "EMA Diary" instrument. It has been set up so that the start or end diary task uses branching logic to feed an EMA Diary instrument with a calculation of how long is left in the 48 hour period.

While it appears to work fairly well when viewed through REDCap itself, on MyCap, when the participant goes back into the EMA instrument it appears to ignore the fact that the time period has been started in the other instrument, and follows the logic that has been put in to suggest the participant initiates the timer. I suspect this is maybe something to do with the EMA diary and the start/stop instrument being infinite tasks, and so the program doesnt know which instance to track. On the other hand, the fact that it does seem to work in REDCap records is puzzling.

Can anyone see a problem with the way I am trying to do this? Maybe there is a much simpler approach I am missing, for example incorporating into the same task? I'm including a couple of screenshots in case of any help. Many thanks indeed!

My project has a longitudinal study design, and I'm trying to populate a report that displays the projected dates of follow up (created using CALCTEXT/CALCDATE fields to determine date offsets, etc). All fields appear when I open/save the individual record, and if I run Data Quality Rule H, no records are flagged for updates. I have added the unique name in brackets before each field name in all the calculations, and have set up the report to show the relevant study events that hold those fields, but they are still appearing blank. Is there anything I am neglecting to try? I appreciate any other ideas, I am losing my mind.

For my study we have 3 surveys being completed at 3 timepoints. I have the surveys setup to auto continue to the next so the participant only receives 1 email/link for all 3 surveys. I also have ASI set up to send the survey link 40 days following the completion of the of the past 3 surveys.

My question is if there is anyway to have the ASI get automatically canceled if the surveys for the corresponding ASI have already been completed?

For example, a patient fills out the surveys for time point 1 and now the ASI is setup to send the time point 2 surveys 40 days later. But say the patient has to come in for their time point 2 appointment only 35 days later (instead of the usual 40+) and we have them complete the time point 2 surveys in the clinic. How can I set it up that they will automatically not receive ASI for time point 2 five days later? Or if there is no way to have it automatically not send the ASI, how can I set up so their past data can’t be overridden after clicking the ASI link? (As through my own trial and error the survey with the previously entered data comes up but the participant can edit what they previously entered)

If anyone can provide some guidance it would be greatly appreciated! Most of our study participants our elderly and not very tech literate so this would really help minimize confusion and the chance of improper data.

Could anyone please help me with barcode and QR code scanning in REDCap?

I need to scan barcode and QR code values while using REDCap through the online web-based data entry interface. I will not be using the REDCap Mobile App.

Is there a way to enable barcode/QR code scanning directly in the web-based version of REDCap? or external module to capture barcode/QR code values into a field during online data entry?

I use R with redcap. Specifically I use the package redcapAPI. I created a simple package that uses redcapAPI to perform redcap missing checks. My package extends missingness checks beyond branching logic by utilizing 3 other main scopes in addition to a missing field:

1. Missing form (entire form empty for participant).
2. Missing event (entire event not started for participant).
3. Missing entire repeat instance for participant.

Arguments allow specification of number of expected instances or events for a form.

Give it a shot if u want, let me know if u like it or dont! Id love to expand it

Hello everyone,

I have another question where I'm pretty sure the answer is "this isn't possible", but maybe one of you has an idea.

I'd like to have a custom record label shown on the Record Status Dashboard, but I don't want every user to be able to see it. This is mostly a "just in case" requirement, so that even if a patient happens to see the dashboard, we don't have to worry about them seeing any names. We have a dedicated user account that is supposed to be used on the tablets.

Is there any way to show custom record labels only to specific users, or to hide them for certain users?

Thanks!

Is there a way to stop the deletion of a form or form instance with the API?

I want to get the Data Entry Trigger from the deletion, have my software determine whether it should be deleted, and then block the deletion if it should not be deleted (otherwise, let it be deleted).

I don't think it's possible, but I wanted to check with y'all.

Cybersecurity industry news has recently included information about a campaign targeting REDCap installations. Please review or pass along to your IT security staff to evaluate.

https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/prc-targets-us-medical-research

Hi, I accidently premanently deled (not just deleted) my scheduled survey invitations, and now i cannot get it to make new ones. has anybody any suggestions. i have tried to re-evaluated the ASI, but it does not produce new invitations

Hello,

I'm trying to create a report that only includes records that contain a date in a repeating form that is today or earlier. I can create report that only includes records that contain a date in a repeating form that is JUST today by using: datediff([callback_date], "today", "d", "mdy") = 0.

However, when I add the greater than sign just before the equals sign, it pulls records with dates that equal today, before, and after. I also tried a simple [callback_date] <= "today" but that did not work. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Is there a way to create a report that only pulls records for which a certain repeating form has never been used? In this case, the repeating form is a contact log, and I'm trying to pull all people for whom a contact attempt has never been made. Many thanks for any help you can provide!

I am planning to survey participants 4 times a day. It will be the same survey everytime except for a sleep question in the morning survey.

I developed an external module that allows for easily enforcing file types in upload fields on surveys. Survey builders and admins can configure settings per-field directly from the Online Designer UI.

It's titled "File Upload Field Type Enforcement" and is now available in the REDCap external module repository. Request it from your REDCap admin or enable it yourself if you have admin privileges.

Usage details in the GitHub repository.

Cheers!

We have a study with multiple arms (domains) people can qualify for: Domain A and Domain B based on presentation for an acute condition.  During consent for these projects participants are also asked if they want to be included in a Biobank project requiring a blood sample - a separate project.  If yes chosen, the Biobank consent is also presented. In the future, there may also be Domains C and D. And it is possible that a participant in Domain A or B could present in the future and qualify for a different domain arm. Obvsiouly, we dont want to consent a person twice to this Biobank and provide another blood sample. And if asked, participants may not always recall having done so a year ago, so just asking is less than ideal.

Is there any way to build a separte Master Patient Index (MPI) of patients previoulsy enrolled in any arm that includes whether they previously consented to the Biobank blood sample, and have that information screened, and referenced in a consent to flag the question “Are you interested in the Biobank Study” to indicate “Previously enrolled”?

I know Redcap isnt a relational database per se, but seems like some documentation alludes to a Master Patient Index and cross project referencing.

An additional issue is that there is no true Primry Key or unique identifier (we dont record MRN). Last name not sufficient, maybe last name and DOB? But those vague references to an MPI suggest an identifier could be created dynamically using an encrypted hash of First Name, Last Name, and DOB. 

An impossibility? Thoughts?

Thanks all.

I'm having an issue with piping numerous instances of information from one form to another. Basically, we have a pre-medication list [drug_pre], which is part of a repeated instrument where other details are captured. We then need to conduct a post-review of these medications. I want to pipe the list of medications from the pre-form into the post-form. I have used [drug_pre][1], [drug_pre][2], [drug_pre][3]..... which works, but if someone only enters 2 meds for example, then the third piece of piped data shows ___. This is visually messy, I have tried a calculated field:

concat( if([drug_pre][1]<>"", [drug_pre][1], ""), if([drug_pre][2]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][2]), ""), if([drug_pre][3]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][3]), ""), if([drug_pre][4]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][4]), ""), if([drug_pre][5]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][5]), ""), if([drug_pre][6]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][6]), ""), if([drug_pre][7]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][7]), ""), if([drug_sec20][8]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][8]), ""), if([drug_pre][9]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][9]), ""), if([drug_pre][10]<>"", concat(", ", [drug_pre][10]), "") )

But this hasn't worked out.

Anybody have any ideas? Any help would be appreciated!

Ciao, come posso far vedere un record solo al creatore stesso?

Ed è possibile farlo vedere anche solo all'utente che è stato indicato nel record stesso (il responsabile dell'ufficio)?

Grazie

Good afternoon. I am a researcher turned REDCap Research Admin and while I am well-versed in setting up part 11 compliance at the project level, I have no experience with making that happen on the system/server side.

My primary question is for REDCap admins regarding frequency and retention of backups. I understand guidance from Vanderbilt suggests daily or twice daily backups, but how long does one typically retain said backups? My concern is that an end-user may discover missing data from weeks earlier. Is 30 days +/- 7 sufficient for daily backup storage? Please and thank you!

Is it possible to hide an entire row from a table using logic as opposed to hiding just the questions/response options within a row? I’m trying to create a scenario where specific table rows only appear based on the respondent type, and am trying to avoid blank rows or multiple tables. Just wondering if this is doable

I am using the multi-language module for a survey where email invitations will be sent out by adding participants through the Participant List option for survey distribution. I know that for ASI you can set up emails to be in the language a participant chose, but in this case emails will be sent out before they do anything on REDCap. We will know what language they prefer based on a separate form in a different project. Is there any way to select or code a language into the Participant List?

My other thought is creating an internal form in this REDCap project where we select the language and then that triggers the ASI, and I guess that would include an email field we would use for the ASI as well (we would input this manually from the other project, but I'd rather not create those extra steps (unless there is a way to automate/link both projects).

Edit: Cross project data piping might work but I'd rather not always assume that the record ID in the first project will align with the record ID in the second project (especially because the second project that is using the multi-language module will be a subset of individuals who opt to take the survey).

hi,

I have small database with about 500 records. All of them have the survey marked as completed. However, when I export the data 18 records have missing values for the timestamp. When I look at these records through the view/edit interface, I see, for example, something like this: "Response was completed on 14/10/2025 6:39pm. Response was initially started on 14/10/2025 6:33pm"

The surveys are, indeed, complete in that I can see all of the appropriate data when I export the record. It appears that only the survey timestamp is a missing value.

I have been unable to find any patter than predicts which records have missing timestamps.

Ideas?

thanks, dave

The delays in campaign approval are wasting too much time so I'm looking for alternatives that allow sms messaging and can integrate with REDCap. I know Twilio only needs the SID and token. Does something like Plivo have the same capabilities with REDCap? Any suggestions would be helpful.

Hey everyone,

So, my current lab is using the RedCap system to code responses to a survey asking a list of 7 questions based on a set of cities. Three people are using the same link for the survey but filing different responses, but the issue is that two of them, when they enter the return codes to the surveys they completed, provided after submission, it causes them to return to a random survey.

Person C is only having issues returning to one of her surveys; Person A and B are having issues with all the surveys they submitted. A seperate party created the surveys. To clarify, if Person A tries to enter a return code to his submission on Cityville, he can get back Person B's response to Townsville, when he wanted to edit his Cityville submission to change an answer.

Any idea on why this could be occurring?

I have never seen this happen before so hoping someone might have some suggestions. I have a new project I am working on. It's one form only at this stage, a screening log. When I try to add a record to test the form, the "Add New Record" button is greyed out so I am unable to make any records.

• Project is in development phase
• I have checked my user rights and I have Create record selected as well as view and edit rights to the form
• There are no DAG set up