# Point in Time Surveys - Complete Guide

### What is a Point in Time Survey?

A Point in Time survey is designed for surveys that launch on a specific date and run for a defined period. All participants receive the survey invitation at the same time, making it ideal for:

* Annual or quarterly engagement surveys
* Pulse surveys
* Event-specific feedback (e.g., post-conference survey)
* Project-specific surveys with fixed timelines

**Key characteristic:** Everyone starts at the same time on a scheduled date.

### Setting Up Your Email Campaign

#### Step 1: Schedule Your Initial Invite

The initial invite is the first email your participants will receive with the link to your survey.

**To schedule your invite:**

1. Click the **Schedule** button on the Initial Invite card
2. Select your desired date and time
3. **Important:** Time is displayed and entered in UTC timezone

> ⏰ **Understanding UTC Timezone**
>
> Times are shown in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). If you're in:
>
> * Eastern Time (EST): Add 5 hours to your local time (or 4 hours during EDT)
> * Pacific Time (PST): Add 8 hours to your local time (or 7 hours during PDT)
>
> Example: To send at 9:00 AM EST, schedule for 2:00 PM UTC

**What you'll see:**

* The scheduled date and time appears on the Initial Invite card
* The "Queued" count shows how many participants will receive this email
* Once sent, the "Sent" count shows how many participants received it

> 📌 **Important:** The initial invite cannot be deleted. It's the foundation of your email campaign.

#### Step 2: Upload Your Participants

**Best Practice - Upload Before Invite Sends:**

If you upload participants BEFORE the scheduled invite time:

* They're automatically added to the queue
* They'll receive the invite at the scheduled time
* No additional action needed

**If You Upload After Invite Already Sent:**

If you upload participants AFTER the invite has already been sent:

* They will NOT automatically receive the invite
* You must click **Send Now** on the Initial Invite card to send it to them immediately
* This ensures new participants don't miss the survey

**Invalid Emails:**

* If a participant's email is already in the invalid email list, they're automatically moved to the bounce list
* You'll see them in the bounced count, not the queued or sent count

#### Step 3: Schedule Your Reminders

Reminders encourage participants who haven't completed the survey to do so. You can add as many reminders as you need.

**Key Rules:**

* ✅ You can only schedule reminders AFTER the initial invite is scheduled
* ✅ Each reminder must be scheduled AFTER the previous email
* ✅ You can create unlimited reminders

**To add a reminder:**

1. Click **Add Reminder** button
2. Click **Schedule** on the new reminder card
3. Select a date and time (must be after the previous email)

**Scheduling Order Example:**

```
Initial Invite: March 1 at 9:00 AM
Reminder 1: March 5 at 9:00 AM ✓
Reminder 2: March 8 at 9:00 AM ✓
Reminder 3: March 12 at 9:00 AM ✓
```

**Unscheduled Reminders:**

* You can create a reminder without scheduling it immediately
* Unscheduled reminders show "Not Scheduled" on the card
* You must schedule them before the previous email sends

**Reordering Reminders**

You can drag and drop reminders to change their order, but there are important rules:

**What You CAN Do:**

* ✅ Reorder unscheduled reminders freely
* ✅ Drag a scheduled reminder before another scheduled reminder (this removes the schedule - you'll need to reschedule it)

**What You CANNOT Do:**

* ❌ Drag a reminder before one that has already been sent
* ❌ Schedule a reminder before the previous reminder is scheduled
* ❌ Move sent reminders at all

> ⚠️ **Why these restrictions?** Once an email is sent, its position in the sequence is locked to maintain consistency for participants who already received it.

**Deleting Reminders**

**You can delete:**

* ✅ Unscheduled reminders (anytime)
* ✅ Scheduled reminders that haven't been sent yet

**You CANNOT delete:**

* ❌ Reminders that have already been sent

#### Step 4: (Optional) Add a Thank You Email

Thank you emails are sent automatically when a participant completes the survey.

**How it works:**

* Not scheduled to a specific time
* Sends immediately upon survey completion
* Always appears as the last email in your sequence
* Shows the count of completed surveys on the card

**Special properties:**

* Cannot be dragged or reordered (always last)
* Can be deleted at any time, even after it's been sent to some participants
* There is no "Send Now" option (it only sends on completion)

### Managing Active Campaigns

#### Using the Send Now Button

**What Send Now Does:**

* Immediately sends the email for that specific card to all queued participants
* Only affects that one email - doesn't change any schedules or timings for other emails

**When to Use Send Now:**

**For Initial Invite:**

* You added participants after the invite already sent
* You want to send immediately instead of waiting for scheduled time

**For Reminders:**

* You want to send a reminder earlier than scheduled
* You added participants and want to ensure they receive upcoming reminders

**What Send Now Doesn't Affect:**

* Scheduled times for other reminders remain unchanged
* Participants who already received the email don't get it again
* Future reminder schedules stay the same

#### Adding Participants Mid-Campaign

**Scenario 1: Before Initial Invite Sends**

* Add participants anytime before the scheduled invite time
* They're automatically added to the queue
* They'll receive the invite at the scheduled time

**Scenario 2: After Initial Invite Has Sent**

* Add the new participants to your list
* Click **Send Now** on the Initial Invite card
* New participants receive the invite immediately
* They'll then receive future reminders according to your schedule

> 💡 **Pro Tip:** If you know you'll be adding participants after launch, consider scheduling your first reminder a few days after the invite to give yourself time to add everyone.

#### Removing Participants

When you remove a participant from your list:

**What happens:**

* ✅ Removed from all future email sends
* ✅ Removed from queued counts on all email cards
* ✅ Removed from sent counts and statistics
* ❌ NOT removed from the invalid email list

**Effect:**

* It's as if they were never added to the campaign
* They won't receive any future emails
* Historical logs may still show they received previous emails

#### Resending the Invite

From the Participants page, you can resend the initial invite to individual participants.

**What happens when you resend:**

* The participant receives the initial invite email immediately
* Works even if they already received it before
* Works even if the invite is currently queued for them
* They'll appear multiple times in the detailed send log

**Where you'll see this reflected:**

* Email card shows count of participants who received the email (unique count)
* Stats/log page shows every individual time an email was sent (includes duplicates)

**When to use this:**

* Participant says they didn't receive the original invite
* Participant deleted the email and needs another copy
* Participant's email was fixed after bouncing

### Understanding Email Card Information

Each email card shows important information:

#### Status Indicators

**Scheduled Time:**

* Displays when the email will automatically send
* Shown in UTC timezone
* Only visible on scheduled emails

**Queued Count:**

* Number of participants who will receive this email
* Updates as you add/remove participants
* Only counts participants who haven't received it yet

**Sent Count:**

* Number of participants who have already received this email
* Updates immediately after sending
* Shows in the email history/logs

**People Icons:**

* Red icon with number = queued to send
* Green icon with number = already sent

#### Email States

**Not Scheduled:**

* Email exists but doesn't have a scheduled time
* Shows on reminder cards before you schedule them
* Must schedule before the previous email sends

**Scheduled:**

* Email has a set date and time
* Will send automatically at that time
* Can be changed before it sends

**Sent:**

* Email has been sent to participants
* Shows sent count
* Cannot be rescheduled or moved
* Still appears in sequence for reference

### Stats and Reporting

#### Viewing Send History

**Email Card Level:**

* Shows high-level counts (queued vs sent)
* Quick status check
* Visible on the Schedule Survey page

**Stats Tab:**

* Detailed send logs for each email
* Shows every time an email was sent (including resends)
* Participant-level detail
* Timestamps for each send

#### Understanding Counts

**Why might counts not match?**

**Resent emails:**

* A participant who was resent the invite appears once in the card count but multiple times in detailed logs

**Removed participants:**

* Removed from all counts as if they never existed
* May still appear in old logs if they received emails before removal

**Invalid emails:**

* Moved to bounce list immediately
* Not included in queued or sent counts

### Troubleshooting Common Issues

#### "Why can't I schedule my reminder?"

**Likely reasons:**

1. The initial invite isn't scheduled yet → Schedule the invite first
2. You're trying to schedule before the previous reminder → Check the schedule of the reminder above
3. The previous reminder isn't scheduled yet → Schedule reminders in order

#### "I added participants but they didn't get the invite"

**Check if:**

* The invite already sent before you added them → Click "Send Now" to send it immediately
* Their emails are in the invalid list → Check the bounce list

#### "I need to change my reminder schedule but the button is grayed out"

**This means:**

* The reminder has already been sent to at least one participant
* You can no longer change the scheduled time
* You can still delete the reminder if needed

#### "Why did the reminder lose its schedule when I moved it?"

**This happens when:**

* You dragged a scheduled reminder before another scheduled reminder
* The system removes the schedule to prevent timing conflicts
* Simply reschedule the reminder in its new position

### Frequently Asked Questions

#### Can I change the initial invite time after scheduling it?

Yes, as long as it hasn't been sent yet. Click the scheduled time and select a new date/time. Once it's sent, you cannot reschedule it.

#### What if I realize I made a mistake in the email after sending it?

You cannot unsend emails, but you can:

* Edit the remaining unsent emails (reminders)
* Use "Send Now" to send a corrected version as a new reminder
* Contact participants directly if the error is critical

#### Can I pause my campaign mid-way?

There's no "pause" button, but you can:

* Remove scheduled times from future reminders (they won't send until you reschedule)
* Delete future reminders if needed
* The thank you email will still send on completion

#### How do I know if a participant received the email?

Check the Stats tab for detailed send logs. You'll see:

* Which emails were sent to which participants
* Timestamps for each send
* Bounce information for failed sends

#### What happens if someone completes the survey before receiving a reminder?

* They receive the thank you email immediately upon completion
* They're automatically removed from the queue for future reminders
* They won't receive any more reminder emails

#### Can I send the same survey to different groups at different times?

For Point in Time surveys, all participants follow the same schedule. If you need different groups at different times, consider:

* Creating separate survey instances for each group
* Using Lifecycle surveys if participants naturally join at different times

#### What's the difference between "Send Now" and "Resend Invite"?

**Send Now (on email cards):**

* Sends to everyone currently queued for that specific email
* Available on invite and reminder cards

**Resend Invite (on Participants page):**

* Only sends the initial invite email
* Targets a specific participant
* Used for individual resend requests


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