SMDS Help Desk

This guide demonstrates how to add an entire tool or module to a custom SMDS tool. 

A Tool is a set of questions that can stand alone. It has a title, and perhaps instructions and a thank you at the end. 

A Module is a set of questions that is intended to be inserted into a tool. It does not have a title or a thank you at the end. 

• Login to SMDS.
• Place cursor over the Data Collection Tools link. 
• Click the Manage Tools link. 

Here, you will see a list of every tool in your SMDS account. To find the tool you are customizing, select the tool directly from your tool set, or search for the tool by name. Click the name of the tool to open it in Tool Builder. 

TIP:  Only tools in draft form can be customized (see status column). To learn how to put a tool in draft form, please use the Customizing Tools guide on the SMDS Help Desk. 

• In Tool Builder, click the insert tab in the place where you would like to insert the Tool.

The Insert Tool(s) screen displays. The “Find a Tool” text field is available to search by name. 

• Type the name or keywords of a tool or module into the Find a Tool box.
• Click the magnifying glass icon to search

Now, a list of every tool and module in this category is displayed.

To view a preview of the tool, click the green Preview button. 

Locate the desired tool or module to insert. 

• Click the checkbox next to the tool or module. 
• Click the green Insert button on the bottom right of the screen. You can also click the Insert this Tool button. 

TIP:  Always be sure you are inserting the correct tool or module into your tool. You can insert an entire tool with the click of a button, but once the tool is in your draft tool, questions can only be removed one at a time.   

The selected tool or module will appear in the Draft tool. 

After adding the tool, the questions will be automatically renumbered in the survey.

TIP: When adding a tool, be sure to scroll to remove any duplications of titles, thank yous,  copyrights, or unnecessary information.

• When you have finished making changes to your tool, review your tool in Word form and in Preview mode by using the buttons at the bottom of the screen.  

TIP:  In preview mode, be sure to test each answer option to make sure buttons are working correctly. 

• Click the Publish button. 

The tool is successfully published.