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REDCap preflight

Check a REDCap data dictionary before the project goes live.

Manual testing is indispensable, but it exercises the records and routes the tester happens to try. A definition-level preflight asks a complementary question: do the supported branches have any answer state that can make them true?

Export the Data Dictionary CSV, run it locally, review every reported proof, example, warning, and detected unsupported dependency, then return to REDCap for native end-to-end testing.

Check a REDCap dictionary All guides

Diagnostic checklist

Work from the stored answer outward.

  1. 01

    Use the Data Dictionary export

    FormPath expects the project definition CSV, not participant data, a report export, or a project XML file.

  2. 02

    Review coverage before findings

    Confirm how many questions and conditions were analyzed and which expressions were excluded or controlled by the REDCap runtime.

  3. 03

    Inspect evidence, not just counts

    For each supported finding, review the controlling rule, offered values, working answer state or proof, and practical effect.

  4. 04

    Finish with native test records

    Exercise affected branches, forms, events, calculations, permissions, alerts, and survey workflows inside the actual project before data collection.

Example

One dictionary can contain two evidence levels

The first branch can be translated against an inline finite choice. The datediff() rule depends on REDCap runtime behavior, so FormPath should list it as not checked rather than manufacture a proof.

Supported finite branch
eligible,radio,"0, No | 1, Yes",
follow_up,notes,,"[eligible] = '1'"
Runtime-dependent branch
visit_date,text,,
next_visit,text,,"datediff([visit_date], 'today', 'd') > 30"

Honest boundary

What this guide and analyzer do not establish.

  • The analyzer does not inspect production settings, user rights, record data, events, repeating instruments, alerts, queues, or integrations.
  • It does not audit whether required fields, validation rules, or action tags behave correctly throughout the live project.
  • A report with no proven defects means no defect was proved within the completed translated scope; it is not project certification.

Keep debugging

Related REDCap guides.

REDCap branching logic not workingREDCap choice code changed

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Ask which supported answer states are actually possible.

FormPath runs locally and exports each finding, how it was checked, and any important limits as JSON or Markdown.

Check a REDCap dictionary