New Features

Background Data Import (Big data import tool)

• In the Data Import Tool, users may now alternatively import data using an asynchronous background process (as opposed to the existing real-time process). The background process is better for large data files. The background process will email the user after the data file has been fully imported, and the email will note any errors that may have occurred during the import process.
• During the background data import process, which is performed by several simultaneous cron jobs, each record will be imported one at a time. If there is any error with a record being imported, none of that individual record's data will be imported, after which the user will be able to view all the errors with the option to re-download the records/data that failed to import, thus allowing the user to fix the data and attempt to import it again.
• Note: The background data import works with the "Reason for Change" project-level feature, which requires a reason for any changes made to an existing record.
• The feature is currently only available in the user interface (not in the API), but it may be available for the API in the future.
• If the background data import has begun, the user who initiated the import (or an administrator) can cancel the import process at any time. However, any data that was imported by the import process prior to it being canceled will not be undone after it is canceled. All changes made by the process up until cancellation are permanent.

New Functions

Text Functions

• replace_text(haystack, search, replace) - Replaces parts of a text value with a specified replacement text value - Finds text ("search") inside another text ("haystack") and replaces all found occurrences with the given text ("replace"). For example, assuming [field1] has a value of "Paul Taylor, Rob Taylor", replace_text([field1], "Taylor", "Harris") would result in "Paul Harris, Rob Harris". Note: This function performs a case-sensitive replacement. Additionally, you can search for line breaks (e.g. in Notes fields) with "\n".
• concat_ws(separator, text, text, ...) - Joins the text from multiple text strings with a separator - This works exactly like concat but inserts the separator in between each concatenated item. For example, concat_ws(" and ", [veggie1], [veggie2], "Tomatoes") might result in "Peas and Carrots and Tomatoes".

Math functions

• mod(dividend,divisor) - Modulo - Returns the remainder of the (integer) division (modulo) dividend/divisor. Both values must be integers. E.g. mod(10,4) will result in 2 because 2 is the remainder of 10 divided by 4.

Functions for date/datetime fields

• year() - Returns the year component of a date/datetime field - e.g., year([dob]).
• month() - Returns the month component of a date/datetime field - e.g., month([visit_datetime]).
• day() - Returns the day component of a date/datetime field - e.g., day([visit_date]).

New piping parameters for date/datetime fields

• :year - Returns the year component of a date/datetime field - e.g., [dob:year].
• :month - Returns the month component of a date/datetime field - e.g., [visit_datetime:month].
• :day - Returns the day component of a date/datetime field - e.g., [visit_date:day].

New Action Tags

• @SHOWCHOICE

  When applied to a multiple-choice field, this action tag will hide all choices except for the ones listed in its argument. This action tag is useful if you wish to only show a subset of choices depending on some logic (e.g., depending on data access groups) via the IF action tag. The format must follow the pattern @SHOWCHOICE='??', in which the coded values should be inside single or double quotes for the choice(s) you wish to show. If more than one choice needs to be shown, then provide all the coded values separated by commas. For example, to show the choice 'Monday (1)', you would have @SHOWCHOICE='1', but if you wanted to additionally show 'Tuesday (2)', you would have @SHOWCHOICE='1,2'. NOTE: The @SHOWCHOICE action tag supports piping into its argument - e.g., @SHOWCHOICE="[my_checkbox:checked:value]".
• Improvement:The @HIDECHOICE action tag now supports piping into its argument - e.g., @HIDECHOICE="[my_checkbox:checked:value]".

General Improvements

• Extended Reports EM added to all projects- Due to a change in how REDCap handles project data storage, the existing plugin "Longitudinal reports" will not function on any NEW project. To provide the same and additional functionality, the External Module "Extended Reports" has been activated on all projects. This will allow you to create "flattened" reports that can reshape your longitudinal/repeating data into a single record per row export. This feature can also be used via API.
• Survey Queue Import/Export- Users can now export and import their Survey Queue settings via a CSV file in the Online Designer. After clicking the "Survey Queue" button on the page, it will reveal a drop-down list of options to 1) edit the SQ, 2) download the SQ as a CSV file, or 3) upload the SQ as a CSV file. This new feature will make it much easier for users to make modifications to their Survey Queue when they have many instruments and/or events that they wish to utilize in the SQ.
• Form Display Logic Import/Export: Users can now export and import their Form Display Logic settings via a CSV file in the Online Designer. After clicking the "Form Display Logic" button on the page, it will reveal a drop-down list of options to 1) edit the FDL, 2) download the FDL as a CSV file, or 3) upload the FDL as a CSV file. This new feature will make it much easier for users to make modifications to their Form Display Logic when they have many instruments and/or events that they wish to utilize in the FDL.
• Alert Repeat Interval:When setting up recurring Alerts & Notifications, users can now set the repeating interval value as a number with a decimal (in previous versions, the value could only be an integer). This will allow users to approximate the interval of a monthly recurring alert as 30.44 days since it is currently not possible for recurring alerts to be scheduled on exactly the same day and time each month. To help users, a note has been added in the repeating survey section of the alert setup dialog to inform them how to approximate a month as 30.44 days. (Ticket #215860)
• MLM Survey URL preset:When using Multi-Language Management, it is now possible to preset the language of a survey by supplying the URL parameter "__lang", which must be set to a valid (active) language id (and is case-sensitive). Example: https://redcap.vanderbilt.edu/surveys/?s=ABC123&__lang=es.
• Field Bank Validation:When using the Field Bank in the Online Designer to search specifically within the NIH CDE Repository, a new checkbox option exists in the search utility called "Search NIH-Endorsed CDEs". If this search option is checked, REDCap will search only for fields that are "NIH-Endorsed" in the NIH CDE Repository. NIH-Endorsed CDEs have been reviewed and approved by an expert panel, and meet established criteria
• Removal of "Enable auto naming of variable based upon its Field Label" option

CDIS Improvements

New FHIR resources

• New resources are available for Clinical Data Interoperability Services (CDIS) for extracting new types of data from a patient's chart. (Note: If using Epic, your institution will first need to upgrade to version 3 of the REDCap app in the Epic App Orchard/Vendor Services in order to use these new resources.) Below is a list of the new resources available:
• Appointment Endpoints - Appointments, Scheduled Surgeries
• Condition Endpoints (Epic Only) - Dental Finding, Genomics, Infection, Medical History, Reason for Visit
• Additional Endpoints - Coverage, Device: Implants, Diagnosis, Procedure
• Refactored "Mapping Helper"- The user interface has been simplified for ease of use. The workflow is adjusted so that data for all resources can now be fetched in one action, reducing the number of clicks needed.
• Clinical Data Pull - You can now map conditions to a specific clinical status. This is particularly useful for instances requiring detailed condition data.

Cosmetic Improvements

Codebook

• Improved user interface elements on the Codebook page. A new instrument table lists instrument names and also event designations, if longitudinal. The instrument and event tables are now collapsible. Additionally, the tables denote if an instrument is a repeating instrument or is designated to a repeating event, and the event table denotes if an event is a repeating event. All tables on the page are now collapsed by default.
• For longitudinal projects, a table of all events names is displayed near the top of the page. If events and/or missing data codes exist, the table of them may be included in or excluded from the page printout via a checkbox at the top right corner of their table. Also, in the printout of the page, the time and project title are now displayed.

Other Cosmetic Improvemenets

• Descriptive Text Fields:For Descriptive Text fields on the Codebook page, the attachment's filename and its display format are now listed on the page if it has an attachment, and the media URL and its display format are now listed on the page if it has a media URL.
• Public Reports:If a report has been set as "public", a link icon will appear next to the report title on the left-hand project menu. If a user clicks the link icon, the public report will open in a new tab.
• Public Dashboards:If a project dashboard has been set as "public", a link icon will appear next to the project dashboard title on the left-hand project menu. If a user clicks the link icon, the public project dashboard will open in a new tab.
• Rich Text Editor:The rich text editor has been updated to TinyMCE v6.
• Help & FAQ:The "Help & FAQ" page has been updated with new content.