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CensusIO CensusIO Guide

Beyond the builder

The visual builder covers the common cases. The survey engine itself supports a few more options that the builder does not edit directly. Depending on the option, these come from drafting with AI or from a hand-authored schema. They are worth knowing so you can recognize them when you see them, and ask for them when you need them.

Units on numbers

Section titled “Units on numbers”

A numeric field can carry a unit with a canonical form and accepted inputs (for example, store water temperature in Celsius but accept Fahrenheit, or store length in millimeters but accept centimeters). The engine converts the input to the canonical unit before validating, so your data is stored consistently. The builder does not have a unit control yet; units come from AI drafting or a hand-authored schema.

Standards mapping

Section titled “Standards mapping”

A field can be mapped to a standards term, most importantly a Darwin Core term (for example, a date field to dwc:eventDate, or a location to the decimal latitude and longitude terms), and to a measurement type and unit for measurement-style export. These mappings drive standards-aligned export (Darwin Core Archive). They are set by hand, not in the builder.

A few field options

Section titled “A few field options”

Some per-field options exist in the engine but are not in the builder’s settings panel. You can include them by drafting with AI or by hand:

  • A free-text other on a single or multiple choice field, so a person can enter a value that is not in the list.
  • A validation pattern on a text field, to require a specific format.

Conditions the builder does not edit

Section titled “Conditions the builder does not edit”
  • Required only when a condition holds. A field can be required only when another answer makes it relevant, beyond the simple “required” flag.
  • Several conditions combined. Visibility can depend on more than one comparison, joined with “and” or “or”. The builder edits a single comparison; richer conditions are set by AI or by hand.
  • Keep a hidden field’s value. By default a hidden field’s value is cleared; the engine can also retain it. This is a schema option, not a builder control.

How to get them

Section titled “How to get them”
  • Draft with AI, then review. The AI designer can include units in a draft, which you review before creating the survey type.
  • Ask us. For a hand-authored schema (a complex standards profile, a measurement-heavy survey), reach out and we can set it up with you.