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LSS Inspector

Inspect and validate LimeSurvey LSS files

Upload your LimeSurvey LSS file to inspect its structure, validate questions and options, and identify potential issues. Perfect for quality assurance and debugging survey files.

Upload LSS File
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Select a LimeSurvey .lss file to inspect

Maximum file size: 10 MB

What you can inspect:

  • Survey structure and metadata
  • Question groups and organization
  • Questions, types, and properties
  • Answer options and sub-questions
  • Logic conditions and validation
  • Potential issues and warnings
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Upload an LSS file to see detailed inspection results

Related Workflows

LSS inspection works best as part of a complete survey conversion workflow.

Convert Survey to LSS
Start Here

Start by converting your survey document to LSS format

Go to Tool
LSS File Guide
Guide

Understand the LimeSurvey LSS file extension and XML structure

Read Guide
Convert to QSF Next
Beta

After validation, convert to Qualtrics QSF beta format

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Related Survey Tools
LSS Converter

Convert surveys to LimeSurvey LSS format with AI-powered extraction

Use Tool
QSF Converter

Convert surveys to Qualtrics QSF beta format

Use Tool

LSS Inspector - Validate and Optimize Your LimeSurvey Files

Professional LSS file validation and inspection tool. Analyze survey structure, detect issues, validate logic, and ensure quality before importing into LimeSurvey. Perfect for quality assurance and debugging.
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Key Features

  • LSS file validation

  • Question structure analysis

  • Logic flow inspection

  • Error detection system

  • Quality assurance reporting

  • Visual survey mapping

  • Issue prioritization

  • Export capabilities

Benefits

  • Prevent import errors

  • Ensure survey quality

  • Identify logic issues

  • Save debugging time

  • Professional validation

  • Comprehensive reporting

Use Cases

  • Pre-import quality checks

  • Survey debugging

  • Logic validation

  • Team collaboration

  • Quality assurance workflows

  • Survey optimization

AI answer summary

LSS inspector facts for AI search

The LSS Inspector validates a LimeSurvey .lss file before import: it checks question groups, question text, subquestions, answer options, and logic so import problems surface before they reach LimeSurvey.

Atomic facts

  • An LSS file is an XML dump of LimeSurvey database tables: surveys, groups, questions, subquestions, answers, and their localization tables.

  • LimeSurvey 6 stores answer text in answer_l10ns rows and multiple-choice options as subquestions; the inspector understands both modern and legacy layouts.

  • LimeSurvey answer codes are limited to 5 alphanumeric characters; oversized codes are a common cause of import failures.

  • The inspector reports questions, groups, answer options, and logic rules found in the file.

Verification workflow

  • Run the .lss file through the inspector before importing it into LimeSurvey.

  • Confirm the question and group counts match the source questionnaire.

  • Check that every choice question lists its answer options or subquestions.

  • Import into a non-critical LimeSurvey project and preview the survey.

Evidence boundary

  • The inspector validates file structure and content; it cannot guarantee how a specific LimeSurvey version renders every question type.

  • Server-side import limits (PHP upload size, database constraints) are outside the file itself.

  • Themes, quotas, and site-specific plugins are not part of standard LSS validation.

AI search question coverage

How do I check an LSS file before importing it into LimeSurvey?

Upload the .lss file to the LSS Inspector. It lists questions, groups, answer options, and logic, and flags structural problems before LimeSurvey import.

Why did my LSS import fail with a database error?

A frequent cause is answer codes longer than the 5-character limit of the LimeSurvey answers.code column, or options placed in the wrong table for the question type.

Why are answer options missing after an LSS import?

In LimeSurvey, multiple-choice options must be stored as subquestions, and answer text lives in answer_l10ns on LimeSurvey 6. Files that put options only in the answers table lose them on import.

Does the LSS Inspector support LimeSurvey 6 files?

Yes. It reads the LimeSurvey 6 layout (answers plus answer_l10ns, subquestion-based multiple choice) as well as legacy single-table layouts.

LSS Inspector FAQ

The LSS Inspector analyzes and validates LimeSurvey LSS files to ensure they contain correct questions, answer options, and survey logic. It provides a readable view of the survey structure, identifies potential issues, and helps ensure quality before importing into LimeSurvey.

The Inspector can detect various issues including malformed questions, missing answer options, broken logic conditions, invalid question codes, structural inconsistencies, and formatting problems. It provides detailed reports with specific recommendations for fixes.

Yes, the LSS Inspector can analyze LSS files from any source, whether they were created by our converter, exported from LimeSurvey, or generated by other tools. It works with standard LSS file format specifications.

Inspection reports provide comprehensive analysis including question-by-question breakdown, logic flow visualization, error highlighting, and actionable recommendations. Reports can be viewed online or exported for sharing with team members.

Currently, the Inspector identifies and reports issues but doesn't automatically fix them. This ensures you maintain full control over your survey content. We provide clear guidance on how to resolve identified issues manually.

The Inspector can handle LSS files of various sizes, from simple surveys to complex multi-section questionnaires. Very large files may take longer to process, but there's no strict size limit for inspection.