After you create a dataset from a Digital Survey or Prompt, you manage and refresh that dataset from the Datasets tab. The Survey or Prompt is the source, the data as it comes from Alchemer Digital, before it's prepared as a dataset in Dashboard. This article covers when a dataset needs refreshing, how fresh your data is, how much history is available, and what happens when data changes or is deleted in Alchemer Digital.
Applies to Survey and Prompt datasets only. Love Dialog and Rating Dialog data comes as pre-built models that are managed for you automatically; there's nothing to refresh. See Working with Love Dialog & Rating Dialog Data.
When do I need to refresh a dataset?
Once a dataset has been created, responses to its Survey or Prompt are pulled into Dashboard automatically, so you don't need to refresh to see new responses.
The one exception is when the source itself has been modified. You only need to refresh a dataset when its Survey or Prompt has changed, such as adding or editing a question, changing answer options, or adding question labels. Refreshing updates the dataset to match the changed source, and it will not break existing charts or dashboards.
Refresh a dataset on demand
- In the top navigation, click Data, then open the Datasets tab.
- Find the dataset you want to update in the datasets table.
- Click the more icon (the three horizontal dots) at the end of that dataset's row, then select the refresh option.
How fresh is my data?
Responses and edits made in Alchemer Digital are typically available in Dashboard within about an hour. As noted above, new responses appear in your dataset automatically; a manual refresh is only needed to pick up structural changes to the source.
How much history is available
Dashboard keeps a rolling three-year window of response data:
- An interaction must have received a response within the last 3 years to appear in Dashboard.
- Only the most recent 3 years of response data is available.
- The window is a daily rolling window. Each day, the visible range shifts forward by one day.
When data changes or is deleted in Digital
Dashboard data stays consistent with Alchemer Digital. If data is deleted in Digital, through front-end actions or data-retention processes, it is also removed from Dashboard. Refresh the dataset to reflect the latest state.
Related articles
- Managing Sources — create a dataset from a Survey or Prompt
- Building Charts from Digital Survey and Prompt Data — chart your Survey and Prompt data
- What Digital Data You Can Visualize in Dashboard — the fields available for each interaction type
- Understanding the Digital Data Sidebar — how fields are grouped, color-coded, and named
