.. _Create a Poll via OLX:
Create a Poll (via OLX)
########################
.. tags:: educator, how-to
.. note:: If you choose to edit polls via OLX, we
recommend that you create a backup copy of your course before you create the
poll. We also recommend that you only edit the files that will contain polls
in the text editor if you are very familiar with editing XML.
To work with polls without OLX, see :ref:`Enable the Poll Tool` and :ref:`Add Poll`.
**********************************
Enable the Poll Tool (via OLX)
**********************************
To enable polls in your course, you edit the XML file that defines
the course structure.
Open the XML file for the course in the ``course`` directory. In the ``course``
element's ``advanced-modules`` attribute, add the string ``poll``.
For example, the following XML code enables polls in a course.
.. code-block:: xml
...
*******************************************
Add the Poll Component to a Unit (via OLX)
*******************************************
#. In Studio, navigate to the unit where you want to create the poll.
#. Click the **Edit** button.
#. In the unit where you want to create the poll, create components that
contain all the content that you want *except* for the poll. Make a note of
the 32-digit unit ID that appears in the **Unit Identifier** field under
**Unit Location**.
#. Export your course. For information about how to do this, see
:ref:`Export a Course`. Save the .tar.gz file that contains
your course in a memorable location so that you can find it easily.
#. Locate the .tar.gz file that contains your course, and then unpack the
.tar.gz file so that you can see its contents in a list of folders and
files.
- To do this on a Windows computer, you need to download a third-party
program. For more information, see `How to Unpack a tar File in Windows
`_,
`How to Extract a Gz File `_,
`The gzip Home Page `_, or the `Windows
`_
section of the `How to Open .tar.gz Files
`_ page.
- For information about how to do this on a Mac, see the `Mac OS X `_ section of the `How to Open .tar.gz Files `_ page.
#. In the list of folders and files, open the **Vertical** folder.
.. note:: If your unit is not published, open the **Drafts** folder, and then open the **Vertical** folder in the **Drafts** folder.
#. In the **Vertical** folder, locate the .xml file that has the same name as
the unit ID that you noted in step 1, and then open the file in a text
editor such as Sublime 2. For example, if the unit ID is
e461de7fe2b84ebeabe1a97683360d31, you open the
e461de7fe2b84ebeabe1a97683360d31.xml file.
The file contains a list of all the components in the unit, together with
the URL names of the components. For example, the following file contains an
Text component followed by a discussion component.
.. code-block:: xml
#. Add the following poll code in the location where you want the poll. Change
the text of the prompt to the text that you want.
.. code-block:: xml
Text of the prompt
Yes
No
In the example above, if you wanted your poll to appear between the HTML
component and the discussion component in the unit, your code would resemble
the following.
.. code-block:: xml
Text of the prompt
Yes
No
#. After you add the poll code, save and close the .xml file.
#. Re-package your course as a .tar.gz file.
#. In Studio, re-import your course. You can now review the poll question and
answers that you added in Studio.
.. note::
* Although polls render correctly in Studio, you cannot edit them in Studio.
You will need to follow the export/import process outlined above to make
any edits to your polls.
* A .csv file that contains student responses to the problem is not currently
available for polls. However, you can obtain the aggregate data directly in
the problem.
******************************
OLX Poll Element Attributes
******************************
The following table describes the attributes of the ``poll`` element.
.. list-table::
:widths: 20 80
* - Attribute
- Description
* - ``url_name``
- The unique identifier of the poll.
* - ``xblock-family``
- The XBlock version used. Must be ``xblock.v1``.
* - ``private_results``
- Whether the poll results are shown to learners (``true``) or not
(``false``).
* - ``display_name``
- The display name for the poll.
* - ``question``
- The prompt for the poll.
* - ``feedback``
- The text shown to learners after they submit a response.
* - ``max_submissions``
- The number of times a learner can submit poll answers. Use ``0`` to
allow unlimited submissions. If you use a value other than ``1``, set
``private_results`` to ``true``. Otherwise, learners will be able to
change their responses after seeing others' responses.
* - ``answers``
- An array of answers in the poll. Each answer has a unique
identifier, and a dictionary that defines values for the following
names.
* ``img``, the static URL of the answer image.
* ``img_alt``, the alternative text for the image.
* ``label``, the answer text.
Each answer must have a value for ``img`` or ``label``, or both.
**************************************
Example Poll OLX with Four Questions
**************************************
The following example shows the OLX definition for a poll with four answers.
.. code-block:: xml
.. seealso::
:ref:`Guide to the Poll Tool via OLX` (reference)
:ref:`Enable the Poll Tool` (how-to)
:ref:`Add Poll` (how-to)
**Maintenance chart**
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Review Date | Working Group Reviewer | Release |Test situation |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| 03/20/2025 | Leira (Curricu.me) | Sumac | Fail (https://github.com/openedx/docs.openedx.org/issues/970)|
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------------------------------------+