> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.deepfield-ai.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Reuse earlier answers

> Insert previous answers into text and carry selected or unselected options into later questions.

Reuse answers already supplied by the participant to keep later questions relevant. Before you start, save the source question and place it before every question that depends on it.

## Insert an earlier answer into text

Type **@** in question text, help text, or an option label. Select an earlier question or an available variable. The editor inserts a token and the participant sees their own value in its place.

Only answers available earlier in the participant journey are listed. Move the source before the target if it does not appear.

A question inside a concept loop has an answer for each concept. Its answer cannot be inserted into text outside the loop because there is no single current concept there; saving rejects that reference. Keep the dependent question inside the loop, or collect the required value in a separate question outside it.

## Reuse earlier selections as options

Open the target question's **Options source** and select **Pipe from question**. Choose one or more source questions.

Piped options are combined with manually entered options. Leave the manual list empty when the target should contain only piped values.

Available controls depend on the source type:

* **Pipe unselected options** uses options the participant did not choose.
* **Top N** keeps the participant's highest-ranked or largest values.
* **Greater than** keeps numeric items above a threshold.
* Per-option conditions apply an additional **Show if** rule.
* Numeric matrices can pipe and filter rows or scale columns.

If a source question is removed, replace references displayed as a deleted question before saving.

<Frame caption="The Ranking question draws its items from the earlier occasions question. Participants receive their selected occasions.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/deepfieldai/dK8nllvOe0f0oG_-/images/building-your-study/configured-piping.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=dK8nllvOe0f0oG_-&q=85&s=413a63e03d57e3ba359c8de00a56c17b" alt="Ranking card with the earlier question selected as its piped-options source" width="852" height="414" data-path="images/building-your-study/configured-piping.png" />
</Frame>

<Frame caption="Only Morning and Afternoon were selected earlier, so Evening is absent from this participant’s ranking.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/deepfieldai/dK8nllvOe0f0oG_-/images/participants/participant-piped.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=dK8nllvOe0f0oG_-&q=85&s=bd89f7bad6ab9fa40c9fd637f4829f0d" alt="Participant ranking containing only the two previously selected occasions" width="1440" height="900" data-path="images/participants/participant-piped.png" />
</Frame>

## Verify each route

<Steps>
  <Step title="Save the source and target">Save the questionnaire, then generate a test link.</Step>
  <Step title="Answer the source">Choose a recognizable value and continue to the target. Confirm that text tokens resolve to that value and piped options match the selection or filter.</Step>
  <Step title="Test missing and changed inputs">Repeat with a skipped source and with the minimum possible selections. When back navigation is enabled, change the source and check the target again.</Step>
  <Step title="Check stored answers">Open the test response in Responses and inspect the target answer. Confirm that the saved choice belongs to the options actually shown.</Step>
</Steps>

If no option survives a filter, revise the filter or add an appropriate manual fallback option and test it. Do not publish a route that requires a choice from an empty list.

## Related

* [Configure conditions and routing](/building-your-study/advanced-logic)
* [Create a derived variable](/building-your-study/derived-variables)
* [Translate your survey](/translations/multilingual-studies)
* [Test and publish a study](/recruiting/testing-publishing)