Flashlight Online: Common Problems

by Larry MacPhee, e-Learning, NAU

The URL for Flashlight is http://ctlsilhouette.ctlt.wsu.edu and online help help icon is available even without a login name and password.

Flashlight Basics | Common Problems | Flashlight Advanced


Common Problems and Frequently Asked Questions:

1) I can't figure out how to edit or delete a survey! Once a survey has been started, it cannot be modified or deleted even if it is later stopped. Presumably this was done to prevent accidental deletion of surveys which contain data or to avoid invalidating the survey by substantially changing the meaning of a question or the response choices. In the software industry they would say, "It's not a bug, it's a feature!" If you need to change the survey, even for something as trivial as a minor typo, you must copy the survey, make the desired changes to the copy before you start it, and then start the second survey. You can stop the previous survey and archive it to hide it.

2) The information I entered wasn't saved: Be sure to click the "Submit" or "OK" button before leaving any page within Flashlight. The web browser is just an interface or "front end" through which you submit information to a remote server. Information you enter isn't sent to the remote server until you click a send button. If you use the back and next buttons in the browser, you can leave the page without sending the data, so always click the Submit or OK button on a page after you enter data that you want "saved". If you leave a page with the forward or back button in your browser and then realize you forgot to click the send button, you may be able to browse back to the page and find that your data is still there, waiting to be sent. If the page has been reloaded or refreshed however, you will need to re-enter the data.

3) I wrote a question but it doesn't show up in the survey. To the left of each question is an unlabelled checkbox. If the box is unchecked, the question is not used. Be sure to check the checkbox if you want to use a question.

4) I can't pick the exact number of questions I need. Flashlight was designed to accept questions in blocks of ten, twenty, thirty or forty. Choose the next higher block of ten (for example, select 20 if you need 12 or 16 questions but select 30 if you need 23 questions). Flashlight ignores unchecked questions and questions that contain no text. If you need more than 40 questions, you're out of luck.

5) I want the respondents to be able to select more than one response per question. On the "add items" add items icon page in the Custom Questions section, use the checkbox option instead of radio buttons.

6) How do I change my password? When you log into Flashlight, select your group and then click the Profile button at the top of the screen. On that page, you can edit your personal information.

7) Where can I get help with Flashlight? Send an e-mail to NAU's e-Learning Center (elc-help@nau.edu) and someone should respond within 24 hours. If you need immediate assistance, try our tech support number: 928-523-5554, or toll free 1-866-802-5256. Formal training is also available.