How do I add categories to a Closed sort survey in OptimalSort?

If you choose to run a Closed sort using OptimalSort, you will provide named categories into which survey participants will sort the survey's cards.

Before you are able to add categories to the survey, you will need to change the survey type from the default of 'Open' to 'Closed'. You can do this on the Categories tab in OptimalSort. You'll find the Categories tab by creating a new OptimalSort survey (or by clicking on the name of a survey the surveys list) and clicking "Categories".

There are two ways to define your OptimalSort category names - using a spreadsheet, or by entering them directly into the text box on the OptimalSort Categories tab.

Use the text editor on the OptimalSort Categories tab

To add categories to your OptimalSort survey directly, just type them one-by-one into the text box on the OptimalSort Categories tab.

Type each category on a new line. You can add an optional description to a category by entering your category in the following format: “category title | category description”. An example list of categories might look like this:

Produce
Butchery | Meat and Poultry
Delicatessen
Cheese
Wine and Beer

Copy and Paste from a spreadsheet

To add categories from a spreadsheet, you'll need to copy and paste two spreadsheet columns into the text box on the OptimalSort Categories tab. The first column will be your category titles, and the second column will be your category descriptions. When you paste into the text box, a pipe “|” character will automatically be added between the category titles and descriptions.

Here's what your categories might look like in the spreadsheet:

And here's what they’ll look like after you copy and paste them into the text box:

Adding categories to a live survey

Once your Closed sort survey has been launched, you won’t be able to add more categories. To add categories to a survey once it is live, you will need to duplicate the survey and launch the duplicate.