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API: Troubleshooting and FAQ

If you’re a developer and you’re using our APIs to create forms and retrieve responses, you can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions and troubleshooting tips here. Read on to find out more.

- Can I modify just one question in a form without using the entire form structure?

- Can I use the Response API to request a specific page of the paginated results?

- Can I create public links to the files uploaded on the File upload question type?

- Can the question titles be shown in the response payload?

- Are calculated fields (price/score) included in the API response?

- Can I see the Quiz outcome in the API response when using Score or Outcome logic?

- How can I set or modify Block references for the fields of the Matrix, Contact Info, or Address questions?

- Why do I see a difference in the number of responses between the API and the Results panel in my Typeform account?

- Why do I see a Null value in the response API payload?

- Why do I see a CORS error when using the API?

- I get a 2xx response when I’m updating my form using the API, but the changes are not reflected in the Create panel when I log in to my account, what’s happening?

Can I modify just one question in a form without using the entire form structure?

Unfortunately, we don’t offer an endpoint that allows changes to just one field/question on a form.

The creator must use the entire form structure payload they get from our retrieve-form API request, then modify the desired fields and pass the entire new payload to our Update Form API.

Can I use the Response API to request a specific page of the paginated results?

With our retrieve responses API request, you can either retrieve all the responses at once (up to 1,000) or use the since/until or before/after query parameters to narrow the scope of your request.

Can I create public links to the files uploaded on the File upload question type?

No. Currently, we don’t offer public links that you can share with other people to view uploaded files.

Links to the files always require authentication via the API or our website, unless it’s used in an integration or an exported file. You can download all the files respondents have sent you or export all the answers to your form including the public links the export creates. Another option is to use an integration like Google Sheets to generate public links.

You can use our API to retrieve the file, but you’ll need to store the file in your application and then create a public link from the new file.

Can the question titles be shown in the response payload?

Yes, you can use Block references to edit the unique identifier to your question titles for easy reference. Your question titles will then be shown in your response payload.

Are calculated fields (price/score) included in the API response?

Yes, they are included. For more information, check out the retrieve responses section in our API documentation. You’ll find an example response at the bottom of the section.

Can I see the Quiz outcome in the API response when using Score or Outcome logic?

Yes, the outcome of the Score or Outcome logic will be shown in the Responses API under Outcome. See the below example:

"outcome": {

"id": "BZyqJR7shm0o",

"ref": "c9eebdc1-4a88-4e7e-9b78-04cb04cd28ee",

"title": "Ending B"

}

How can I set or modify Block references for the fields of the Matrix, Contact Info, or Address questions?

While it’s possible to set custom Block references for the Matrix, Contact Info, and Address question types, it’s not possible to do so for the individual fields within these questions in the builder.

However, there is a workaround for this using our API. You can modify the references of these fields by using Retrieve form API to obtain the form structure. Then, you can update the references for each field using Update form API.

When someone submits a response to the form, our webhook payload will include these custom references, as shown in the example below of the Contact Info question:Typeform - Connect 2023-10-16 at 12.31.30 PM

Our Responses API will also provide these custom references, like in the example below:

Retrieve responses - My Workspace 2023-10-16 at 12.34.09 PM

Why do I see a difference in the number of responses between the API and the Results panel in my Typeform account?

One reason you could see a difference in the number of responses between our API and what you see in the Results panel is if you make a request to our API with the date and time filters like below:

forms/OM1YKa/responses?sort=submitted_at,asc&page_size=1000
&until=2020-03-03T00%3A00%3A00&since=2020-03-02T00%3A00%3A00

This happens because the date and time sent to the API are in UTC, while the Results panel will send data in the time zone your device is set to.

If you would like to match the results with what you see in your Results panel, then you would need to calculate the time difference when making requests to our API.

Why do I see a Null value in the response API payload?

This can happen when certain parameters of a specific field are added to the request, but no answer is given to the question.

By default, our retrieve responses API only includes answers to questions that have a response. If a response is missing from a question, the question will be skipped in the payload.

If you add a field parameter to a specific question, you’ll see a Null value when retrieving responses, as seen here.

Why do I see a CORS error when using the API?

Our APIs don’t allow requests from the front end of your application. You’ll need to use the back end of your application to make the requests. More information on the CORS error can be found here in this Community post.

I get a 2xx response when I’m updating my form using the API, but the changes are not reflected in the Create panel when I log in to my account, what’s happening?

This can happen if you have an unpublished draft in the builder (the Publish button is black).

If this is the case, you can click the Publish button in the builder—this will overwrite any previous changes you’ve tried to make with the API. You’ll then be able to make another API call with the updates you want on your form.

Alternatively, you can contact the Support team for help with removing the unpublished draft in your builder.

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