Answering Oda's questions

While DataMind Oda works, it sometimes needs a decision from you. The questions appear in the message box, and every answered set leaves a record in the chat. This page covers answering, the record, and what a cancelled or stopped set looks like afterwards. How a question is built, and what Oda is told when a set ends without an answer, are covered in Questions and plan review. When a step needs more access instead of a decision, that is an approval card, not a question; see Your first task.

Answer in the message box

While a question set is open, the message box shows the questions, and you answer there.

The questions come one at a time; the pager shows where you are, such as 1 / 3.
Choose an option, or write your own answer in the Type your answer field. On a single-answer question, choosing an option moves on to the next question.
When a question accepts more than one answer, select every option you want before you continue.
Use the arrows to move between the questions and change anything you like; nothing is sent until the set is finished. Skip leaves a question unanswered.
On the last question, press Submit. The step that asked then carries on with your answers.

The record in the chat

Each set leaves a record: an Ask question row in the chat.

While the set waits, the row reads waiting.
After you send the set, the row sums it up: how many questions have an answer, such as 2/3 answered. Choosing an option and writing text both count; a skipped question is not counted.
Click the row to expand it. Each question appears with its answer underneath, one line for every choice and one for anything you wrote. A skipped question shows Not answered in place of an answer.
If the recorded answers cannot be matched back to the questions, the row keeps the recorded details of the step instead of a transcript.

Cancelled and stopped sets

If you dismiss the set with its close control, the record reads cancelled. It is not an error, and expanding the row shows the original questions with the note This question set was cancelled before answers were submitted.
If the turn is stopped while the questions wait, the record reads interrupted and is marked stopped, like any step that was stopped. Expanding shows the questions with the note This question set was interrupted before answers were submitted.
In both cases the row shows the questions themselves; answers that were never given are not invented.

For what Oda is told and how the run carries on, see Questions and plan review.

Questions, answered

Where do I answer Oda's questions?

In the message box: while a set is open, it shows the questions there. The record lives in the chat, but you do not answer in it. The message box itself is covered in Chat with Oda.

What does 2/3 answered mean?

It is the record's count of the set: the first number is how many questions have an answer, and the second is how many questions the set asked. A chosen option and written text both count; a skipped question does not.

Where can I see the answers I gave?

In the chat. Expand the Ask question row of the step: each question is listed with its answers, and a skipped question reads Not answered.

What do cancelled or stopped question sets look like in the chat?

A dismissed set reads cancelled, which is not an error; a set stopped with its turn reads interrupted with the stopped marking. Expanding either shows the original questions, and no answers are invented. For how the run continues, see Questions and plan review.

Why can't I send my answers yet?

The set sends when every question has an answer or a skip. If the question in front of you is empty, Next and Submit stay inactive: choose an option, write an answer, or press Skip; pressing Enter there shows Please select an option or enter a custom answer. If a question behind you was left without an answer or a skip, Oda returns to it and shows Please complete this question first.

Can I change an answer before sending it?

Yes. Moving between the questions sends nothing, so you can go back and change any answer until you send the set.

Does my progress survive if I collapse the card?

Yes. Collapsing hides the card and keeps everything you have answered so far; expanding brings it back where you left off. Dismissing with the close control ends the set instead.