Segments

 

Segments are a component of the form template used for containing the checkbox/bubble sheet mark areas. Because it contains the segment barcodes which are used for locating the checkbox or mark areas of the form, it is designed separately and then added to the form template.

What is a segment?

A segment can have two individual or combined purposes.

  1. A segment is used by FormReturn to find the location of mark areas (fragments) on a form.
  2. A segment can be thought of as a "sub-form" (a form within a form). You can have one or more of these appearing on a form. Segments can allow you to randomise content in a form or personalise the content displayed, e.g. a random block of multiple choice questions.
  3. Segments usually take up the main body of the form template and contain the checkbox mark areas. Checkboxes are quick and easy to add using the duplicate feature. Even save preset styles of checkboxes to use again.

segment

 

Basic Form Structure:

  1. Form ID Barcode: This barcode is used to let FormReturn know the publishing information about this form (such as what form template was used, what segments it contains, what is the published form it relates to etc). From there, FormReturn will be able to determine the form structure for processing. You must always have this barcode in every page processed by FormReturn.
  2. Segment Area: The area from the corner of the top right segment barcode to the corner of the bottom left segment barcode is the segment area. Inside here is where segments appear. The purpose of using segment barcodes to define a physical area gives the image scalability.
  3. Fragment (Mark Area): A fragment is each checkbox mark area and the immediate area surrounding it on the segment. Usually many fragments will appear in a segment. Fragments are the area that FormReturn scans to detect what options have been marked by the person who completed the form.

mark areaA fragment is a single checkbox mark area which includes the white area around the checkboxes.

 

 

The segment, outlined in green, contains all checkbox mark areas and is designed separately and loaded onto the form template. The segment templates and checkbox styles can be saved and can be used again to design other form templates.

Segment areas & segment selection

A segment is loaded into a form template by drawing an empty segment area and adding segment files.

Question banks can be added randomly when the forms are printed, so that a number of students get a different form each that contains the same questions overall...... Explanation: You can embed one or more segments into a segment area. If there is more than one segment loaded into the segment area, the segment that is published will be determined by the segment area's segment selector; either a random segment, a pre-selected segment or a segment chosen by matching its segment selector ID to records that come from the database when publishing a form.

Multiple segment areas per form

Since you can define the segment areas in a form, you can also have as many segment areas per form as you like (as long as each segment fits within one form page).

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