How to Create a Custom Watch Survey

In Cozie, it is possible to create a custom watch survey. The watch survey is defined in a JSON file. An example is shown below.

Create a JSON file

Create a JSON file. A JSON file is just a text file with the file extension.json. Below is a minimal example of a watch survey with one question and one response option. A longer example of a working watch survey is available at the bottom of this page.

Minimal example

{
  "survey_name": "Example Survey",
  "survey_id": "example_survey",
  "survey": [{
      "question": "How would you prefer to be?",
      "question_id": "q_thermal",
      "response_options": [{
          "text": "Cooler",
          "icon": "snowflake",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": ""
        }
      ]
    },
  ]
}

The table below explains the field names from the example above.

Key	Description	Example value
survey_name	Name of watch survey that is shown in the 'Settings' tab of the Cozie iPhone app	Thermal (short)
survey_id	Survey ID	thermal_short
survey	Array with questions	-
question	Question that is shown in the watch survey on the Apple Watch	How would you prefer to be?
question_id	The question ID is used as a column name in the database. It has to have the prefix q_	q_preference_thermal
response_options	Array of response options objects	-
text	Response text that is shown in the watch survey on the Apple Watch and string that is stored in the database.	Cooler
icon	Filename or SF symbol name of icon that is shown on the left-hand side of the response option text	snow_flake
icon_background_color	Background color that is shown for image-based icons and SF-Symbol-based icons	#F1A62E
use_sf_symbols	Boolean that indicates whether the value specified in icon is a filename or an SF symbol name	false
sf_symbols_color	Foreground color that is shown for SF symbols	#000000
next_question_id	Question ID of the next question that is shown if this response option is selected. If the watch survey should end after selecting this response option, then the next question_id is an empty string.	q_location

How to create a watch survey link

The watch survey JSON file needs to be made available online. It cannot be uploaded into the app as a file. Here, we show two easy ways to host a file online, but you can also use other services.

Host watch survey on Github

1. Create the public repository on Github

2. Add the watch survey JSON file to the repository.
   

3. Go to the raw version of the file.
    

4. Copy the URL from the raw file.
    

5. Use this URL in the app settings as shown in the next section.

Host watch survey on Google Drive

1. Add the JSON file to a Google Drive

2. Open the 'Share' options for the JSON file of the watch survey.

   

   Make 'Anyone with link' a 'Viewer' for the JSON file.

   

3. Copy the link of the JSON file.

   

4. The link to the JSON file should look similar to this example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ECfttYiSX7e5vQwoVAldOrJerMwH-EBt/view?usp=drive_link

   The important part is the file ID 1ECfttYiSX7e5vQwoVAldOrJerMwH-EBt.

   Add the file ID to the following URL:
   https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=

   For the above example, the resulting URL is https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1ECfttYiSX7e5vQwoVAldOrJerMwH-EBt

   If you put this URL into your web browser, it should either display the watch survey file or download it directly.

5. Use this URL in the app settings as shown in the next section.

How to load the watch survey into the Cozie app

1. Open the Cozie app and go to the Backend tab.

2. Add the URL to the watch survey file in the input field labeled Watch Survey Link Link to example survey)  

3. Press the sync button in the Backend tab. The watch survey should now be available to select in the Settings tab.

4. Go to the Settings tab and select your watch survey. The watch survey defined in the JSON file provided with the link above should be in the pop-up list. Select it.

5. Sync the settings with the Apple Watch while the Cozie app is open on the Apple Watch, just like described in the Setup guide.

Example of JSON file for a custom watch survey

example_survey.json

{
  "survey_name": "Example Survey",
  "survey_id": "example_survey",
  "survey": [{
      "question": "How would you prefer to be?",
      "question_id": "q_thermal",
      "response_options": [{
          "text": "Cooler",
          "icon": "snowflake",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": "q_location"
        },
        {
          "text": "No Change",
          "icon": "emoticon_happy",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": "q_location"
        },
        {
          "text": "Warmer",
          "icon": "flame.fill",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": true,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#FF0000",
          "next_question_id": "q_location"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Where are you?",
      "question_id": "q_location",
      "response_options": [{
          "text": "Outdoor",
          "icon": "person_walking",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": "q_clothing"
        },
        {
          "text": "Indoor",
          "icon": "indoor",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": "q_clothing"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "What clothes are you wearing?",
      "question_id": "q_clothing",
      "response_options": [{
          "text": "Very light",
          "icon": "clothes_shirt_sleeveless",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": ""
        },
        {
          "text": "Light",
          "icon": "clothes_shirt_short",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": ""
        },
        {
          "text": "Medium",
          "icon": "clothes_shirt_pants",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": ""
        },
        {
          "text": "Heavy",
          "icon": "clothes_pullover",
          "icon_background_color": "#F1A62E",
          "use_sf_symbols": false,
          "sf_symbols_color": "#000000",
          "next_question_id": ""
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}