LimeSurvey bugs and feature requests - Issues

20493: Retrieving the invitation email containing the tokenized URL issued through public registration

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:57:33 +0200

When public registration is enabled, participants receive an invitation email containing a tokenized response URL after registering their email address. If this email is lost for any reason, there is currently no way for the user to retrieve the response URL by themselves.

Even if the user attempts to register again with the same email address on the registration page, no email is resent because the address has already been registered. This behavior is also documented in the manual.

However, under the current behavior, a participant who registered their email address but later deleted the invitation email may no longer be able to respond. No new email is sent, and the screen does not indicate that the address has already been registered.

Therefore, it may be preferable that when the same email address is entered again, the system resends the exact same email that was originally sent at the time of first registration. Alternatively, the page could display a message such as “already registered,” together with a way to contact the administrator or a “resend” button, so that participants have some self-service method to recover the original invitation email.

20491: Behavior when registering the same email address more than once in public registration

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 03:30:49 +0200

When “Allow public registration” in “Participant Settings” is turned on, participants can register by first entering their email address and then responding via the tokenized URL sent to that address. In this situation, if a participant wants to receive the registration email again (for example, because they lost the first email), entering the same email address again on the registration screen results in no visible action.

If the same email address is entered more than once, it would be preferable either to resend the original email or to display a message indicating that the email address has already been registered.

Resending the email as the default behavior seems reasonable. However, it might also be useful to provide an option to disallow duplicate registrations. The appropriate behavior may depend on factors such as whether a response has already been completed or whether multiple submissions are allowed. As an initial approach, resending the original email appears to be the least problematic solution.

20490: Extra symbols "```" appearing in body and Favicon missing on all pages except Welcome page.

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:28:57 +0200

I have encountered two layout issues in LimeSurvey 7 after the Welcome page:

The text symbols "```" are appearing at the top of the body on every question page.

The Favicon is only visible on the Welcome page. As soon as I move to the next page, the Favicon disappears.

Both issues are absent on the Welcome page but persist through all subsequent pages.

20488: Landing page: "This survey includes 10 to 18 questions".

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:56:59 +0200

Hello,
I can offer you only the original string in German because of the setup of my survey.

"In dieser Umfrage sind 18 Fragen enthalten."

In translation it would be something like this: "This survey includes 18 questions."

If the survey has filters (if clauses) there are not 18 questions for all users. Some of them might see less of 18.

The users should know the minimum and maximum number of questions.

"This survey includes to questions."

As an alternative, if you don't like to expose the value, try this: "This survey includes up to questions."

Regards,
Christian

20487: Format of "Non-numerical answer option prefix" not specified to users

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:57:34 +0200

Hello,
in the personal accounts settings there is the field "Non-numerical answer option prefix".

I tried to set it to another value and got the message that the format does not fit or need to be right. But I don't know what the format is because the error message does not tell it.

Expected behavior:
Make the expected format clear.
Communicate the format before an error appears.

Sidenote: On my system the prefix is by default set to "AO" (two letters). I am not sure if this is default to LimeSurvey or just to my instance. If it is upstream default please take it as an extra bug report. The prefix is followed by numbers; e.g. "AO01" (letter A, letter O, number 0, number 1). Having letter O and number 0 side by side makes it hard to read.

20485: Force plain text in text fields (questions, answers, description)

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:10:13 +0200

Hello,
this is my first issue in this project and also with using Mantis bug tracker. So please let me know if I can optimize it somehow.

When creating a survey several text fields are offered: Question, Answers, Survey description, Survey introduction text, Survey outro (thank you) text, etc

When I copy and paste (e.g. form MS Word) text in to that field, the full formatting is kept and translated into HTML. This is ugly and inconsistent in most cases.
But even if I use "Ctrl+Shift+V" (plain text insert on Windows) or copy and paste from a plain text editor (e.g. Geany, which is like notepad) some HTML (e.g. h2-tags) are created.

I need to edit each of that fields manually, in its source view.

I would like to have a "plain text" button in the text editors widget. Or much better, I survey wide setting to force plain text or make texts plain text by default.

Regards,
Christian

20482: Add one click unsubscribe functionality

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 04:35:26 +0200

Email providers increasingly require one click unsubscribe (rfc8058) be present on emails for deliverability. This feature adds the following:

POST endpoint to perform the opt out
Required email headers for invitations/reminders

I also did a small refactor of OptOut token emailstatus across the codebase to bring repeated logic into the model

PR inc

20481: debug=2 : Implicitly marking parameter $data as nullable is deprecated

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:26:52 +0200

When log in in and when using KCFinder with PHP 8.4.19 get Implicitly marking parameter $data as nullable is deprecated

20479: CDbCommand fails because String data, right truncated: 1406 Data too long for column 'token'

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:35:00 +0200

We are running a LimeSurvey instance with a large number of users and surveys. We are receiving messages about an issue that occurs exclusively with survey 317.

Occasionally, responses cannot be saved due to a token (?) exceeding the allowed length. We have not yet identified the root cause, but we do know that clearing the browser cookies resolves the issue. This workaround, however, is not satisfactory. The problem occurs only intermittently and does not affect most submissions.

Here are the logs that are sent to the survey administrator by email.

First example
```
DONNÉES A SAISIR:
token: AT-4168-TrnJm-lbeJD-Stz0aYG8i8vFeeKLLe9k-svx-cas-212p
317462X41549X675990: N/A
317462X41549X675982: N/A
317462X41549X675983: N/A
317462X41549X675989: N/A
317462X41549X675984: N/A
317462X41549X675985: N/A
317462X41549X675986: N/A
317462X41549X675987: N/A
317462X41549X675988: N/A
317462X41549X675991: N/A
317462X41549X675990: N/A
317462X41549X675982: N/A
317462X41549X675983: N/A
317462X41549X675989: N/A
317462X41549X675984: N/A
317462X41549X675985: N/A
317462X41549X675986: N/A
317462X41549X675987: N/A
317462X41549X675988: N/A
317462X41549X675991: N/A

CODE SQL QUI A ÉCHOUÉ:
CDbCommand n'a pas pu exécuter la commande SQL: SQLSTATE[22001]: String data, right truncated: 1406 Data too long for column 'token' at row 1

#0 /srv/survey/htdocs/vendor/yiisoft/yii/framework/db/ar/CActiveRecord.php(1083): CDbCommand->execute()
#1 /srv/survey/htdocs/vendor/yiisoft/yii/framework/db/ar/CActiveRecord.php(811): CActiveRecord->insert()
#2 /srv/survey/htdocs/application/models/LSActiveRecord.php(457): CActiveRecord->save()
[...]
```

Second example
```
DONNÉES A SAISIR:
token: N/A
317462X41549X675990: firstname lastname, firstname.lastname@gmail.com
317462X41549X675982: Y
317462X41549X675983: Ja'i pris de cours de francais pendant 7 ans à l'école.
317462X41549X675989: J'ai l'occasion de pratiquer avec mes collègues à l'haute école et dans les courses.
317462X41549X675984: B1-B2
317462X41549X675985: Je m'appelle Alice, j'ai 17 ans et j'étudie soins infirmière.
317462X41549X675986: Après mes études je veux travailler et faire expériences dans différent institutions dans le système de santé publique.
317462X41549X675987: Au premier moitié de l'année dernière j'ai travaillé comme assistante médicale des animaux.
317462X41549X675988: Pour moi ça dépend de la vie que j'ai dans le moment de cet décision.
317462X41549X675991:
317462X41549X675990: firstname lastname, firstname.lastname@gmail.com
317462X41549X675982: Y
317462X41549X675983: Ja'i pris de cours de francais pendant 7 ans à l'école.
317462X41549X675989: J'ai l'occasion de pratiquer avec mes collègues à l'haute école et dans les courses.
317462X41549X675984: B1-B2
317462X41549X675985: Je m'appelle Alice, j'ai 17 ans et j'étudie soins infirmière.
317462X41549X675986: Après mes études je veux travailler et faire expériences dans différent institutions dans le système de santé publique.
317462X41549X675987: Au premier moitié de l'année dernière j'ai travaillé comme assistante médicale des animaux.
317462X41549X675988: Pour moi ça dépend de la vie que j'ai dans le moment de cet décision.
317462X41549X675991:
MESSAGE D’ERREUR:
Les données n‘ont pas pu être enregistrées car la réponse n'existe pas dans la base de données.
```

The second example says that an answer is not in the database. Deactivating and then reopening the survey may partially resolve the issue; however, we continue to receive emails similar to the first example.

20477: Yes/No/Uncertain array question type uses wrong type description

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:18:29 +0200

"Yes/No/Uncertain" is listed at the question type selector. But since this array question actually uses a rating type scale, the answers are ordered
Yes - Uncertain - No

The question type description is wrong and needs to be adjusted.

20476: Audio upload from iPhone (.m4a) fails

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:56:01 +0200

It is not possible to upload a .m4a file from iPhone, even if the extension is added to the list of allowed file types. The problem and workaround is written here: https://forums.limesurvey.org/forum/can-i-do-this-with-limesurvey/159280-allow-audio-upload-from-iphone

20472: Unable to update DB from 470 to 471 via CLI

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:04:02 +0200

When update from pre-470 to 471 : receive an error

20471: Bootstrap dropdown size setting has no effect

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:32:24 +0200

Setting the advanced option for dropdown size doesn't have any effect on the dropdown's behavior.

PR to follow

20469: I can not uninstall plugins that I installed

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:36:25 +0100

Looks like I as superadmin don't have permission to uninstall a plugin that I installed.

20468: Check whether an answer has been entered when the respondent types “false”

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:22:18 +0100

Hello

I have a very simple text field question and want to check in the following question whether an answer has been entered. The various tests return valid results EXCEPT in one case: if the respondent enters “false” in lowercase.

My tests :
{Q00}
{Q00.code}
{Q00.NAOK}
{Q00.value}
{Q00.valueNAOK}
{Q00.shown}
{strlen(Q00)}
{strlen(Q00.code)}
{strlen(Q00.NAOK)}
{strlen(Q00.shown)}
{if(!is_empty(Q00), "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(strlen(Q00)!=0, "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(Q00 + "" != "", "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(Q00 != "" || Q00 == "0", "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(!is_empty(Q00.code), "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(strlen(Q00.code)!=0, "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(!is_empty(Q00.NAOK), "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(strlen(Q00.NAOK)!=0, "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(!is_empty(Q00.value), "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(strlen(Q00.value)!=0, "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(!is_empty(Q00.valueNAOK), "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(strlen(Q00.valueNAOK)!=0, "Pas Vide", "Vide")}
{if(!is_empty(Q00.shown), "Pas vide", "Vide")}
{if(strlen(Q00.shown)!=0, "Pas Vide", "Vide")}

The only valid test is the one using “.shown”; all the others fail.

20463: Quick add labels in label set doesn't generate label codes correctly

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:26:43 +0100

Quick add labels in label set doesn't generate label codes correctly (see screenshot)

20460: Request: “Multiple Others” option with dynamic input fields + reusable responses

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 11:40:31 +0100

Hello,
We are submitting this feature request because one of our projects requires advanced functionality related to checkbox-type questions.
1. “Multiple Others” option for checkbox questions
We would like to have a new feature allowing the addition of a “Multiple Others” option.
When selected, users would be able to:

Display one or more free‑text input fields
Add extra fields dynamically using an “Add a line” button (ideally with customizable label)
Enter multiple custom responses that can later be reused individually

2. Reusing entered responses in other questions
All selected choices—including each item entered in the “Multiple Others” dynamic fields—should be reusable as answer options in:

- Other checkbox questions
- Matrix rows
- Labels in “multiple text fields” question types

Purpose
This functionality would enable more flexible and adaptive surveys where respondents can generate multiple custom answers that remain usable throughout the questionnaire.
Questions
Could you please indicate:

Whether such a development is feasible within LimeSurvey’s current architecture?
A potential timeline or estimate for when such a feature could become available?

Thank you for considering this request.

20457: tableExists helper function returns outdated result due to cache

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:18:21 +0100

We ran into the issue where on survey activation with closed-access mode and public registration allowed, a database error was thrown if the survey had been activated in open access mode previously. The database error stated that the final_tokens_ table already existed. Digging deeper, the SurveyAccessModeService->newParticipantTable method was called twice under these exact conditions, once via SurveyActivate->activate and once via SurveyAccessModeService->changeAccessMode. Obviously on the second call the table already existed and $survey->hasTokensTable should have caught that, but no.

So long story short, the tableExists helper in application/helpers/common_helper.php used cached results on the second call, meaning $survey->hasTokensTable was still false and an unsuccessful attempt was made to create the final_tokens_ table once more.

20453: Internal server error 500 – 3 arguments are required, 2 given

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:24:57 +0100

Conditions:

user selects it-informal on the login page

user account created with it-informal as default language and the language is left unchanged on the login page

20452: After the last update, the link on the menu for the 2FA settings is breaking with the HTML

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 10:52:27 +0100

After the last update, it seems that the link for the 2FA settings is breaking and presenting the " 2FA settings"

20451: Survey permissions panel no more appears after an update to 6.16.12

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:58:09 +0100

Hi.

I try to update our limesurvey platform this morning via comfortupdate, from 6.16.8 to 6.16.12 version.

After this update, I can no more access to the survey permissions panel !!!!

I have no other choice to return to the old version 6.16.8.

Am I alone in this case ?

Thank you by advance

20447: Low security : uiser can set any existing theme when save survey

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 08:06:44 +0100

When save survey : any theme can be set

20445: An non-recoverable error happened during the update. Error details:

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:06:22 +0100

An non-recoverable error happened during the update. Error details:
CDbCommand failed to execute the SQL statement: SQLSTATE[42601]: Syntax error: 7 ERROR: syntax error at or near "`" LINE 1: ...tle = 'Workspace', buttontext = 'View workspace', `desc` = '... ^

File DatabaseUpdateBase.php, line 47.

20441: Plugin API Access in RemoteControl

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:41:21 +0100

We need an API access to plugins. Its an AI driven jungle out there.

I propose we do 2 API endpoints that can be linked to plugins:

1) an endpoint that describes what internal api usages are served by plugins (documentation/formats/pesmissions needed etc)
2) one generic endpoint to call any of the plugin api actions with the specs given by 1

This will give an option to have that all also exposed via an MCP to agentic with tool descriptions etc.

Since its a security sensitive thing, I propose to add a global allow flag disabled by default that will allow/deny all plugin api access.

20440: list_response_exports in RemoteControl

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:31:06 +0100

## Summary
Add a RemoteControl method to list available `export_responses` document types (core + plugin formats).

## Problem
`export_responses` requires `sDocumentType`, but clients currently cannot discover valid values from the API.
This forces hardcoding and makes plugin-provided formats hard to use reliably.

## Proposal
Add:

`list_response_exports(sessionKey)`

Return each available export type with metadata:
- `type` (value for `export_responses`)
- `label` (human-readable)
- `pluginClass` (provider)

## Example Response
```json
[
{"type":"csv","pluginClass":"Authdb","label":"CSV"},
{"type":"spsssav","pluginClass":"ExportSPSSsav","label":"SPSS (.sav)"},
{"type":"spsssav_custom","pluginClass":"SpssExport","label":"SPSS (.sav) Custom"}
]

## Why

- Removes hardcoded assumptions in API clients
- Makes plugin export formats discoverable
- Reduces invalid export calls