There's an almost infinite number of ways people can present questions within Word/PDF and Excel documents. Whilst (in general), these follow fairly logical patterns, that's not always the case. This article explains how to deal with the exceptions to the normal rules of presentation!

You can Download the example document used in this lesson here ⬇️

Sometimes you might have a straight forward list of questions, but with some variant part way down as in the example below:

In this case, you can simply select two lists. Or, use break apart and then remove the offending paragraph

Table selection gives you quite a few options to omit rows and columns by clicking back into the selector.

If the formatting is very strange you can break apart and then alter the offending item(s).

Tables may also contain multiple selections (as is usually the case in Excel).

Sometimes questions need to be built up of multiple parts. Using break apart, or the parts selector, you can build up questions and answer parts from as many pieces as is required.

There are a few objects in Word and Excel that Answertree does not support. For example, if a document has a floating text box which contains a question or where the answer should go, Answertree won't present this (yet). Equally, charts in Excel and some types of image format won't display.

In these cases, it's recommended that you move onto 'If all else fails'. If you're seeing them a lot, then let us know and we'll prioritise the inclusion of these objects!

Ultimately, Answertree is all about saving time. That's all. Selection should only take a few minutes (maximum) for any length document - which is small price to pay for all of the benefits you win.

So, if you receive a format that's so complicated, it would require a Parts selection for every question, then it might not be worth the effort. We suggest simply reformatting the source document in this instance into something more straight forward and importing that instead. This might mean some copy pasting at the end if the answers need to go back into the source document - but that is still a small price to pay for the savings of using Answertree in the first place.

Of course you don't have to load a document into answertree at all. If you're working solo on a project, and don't wish to load it in - or perhaps your document is an online form, you can always copy and paste each question into the master search input and paste the matching answers back out again. Afterall, that's the primary benefit of using a centralised answer library in the first place.

There just remains the task of familiarising yourself with the different Selection types available in Answertree. Remember, most of the time, Answertree will suggest the right one each time anyway, but it's always good to be aware of their existence!

📒 Selector Reference: Get to know your selectors