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Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the Epi Info™ Help Desk, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)!
This section provides answers to a few common questions we receive at the Epi Info™ Help Desk.
If you have more complex questions, please contact the Epi Info™ Help Desk.
Answer:
Open your web browser and navigate to the Downloads page of this website (https://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/support/downloads.html). Click the “Download Zip File” button. The zip file can be downloaded to your desktop and extracted without requiring administrative or elevated privileges. The downloaded file is presented in different ways depending on the your web browser. Select the file and extract all contents. The contents may be extracted directly to the Windows desktop or to another folder on the computer. Double-click the file named “Launch Epi Info 7.exe” to open the Epi Info 7 Menu.
Answer:
Apparent delays downloading from CDC’s FTP server can be caused by many things, but are often the result of antivirus software or a firewall used by your organization. After checking with your own IT administrators, if you are still unable to download Epi Info™, please ask the Epi Info™ Help Desk for assistance.
Answer:
Yes, there are self–paced training tutorials that introduce you to the basic concepts of Epi Info™ along with short how-to videos. For the tutorials, please visit the Tutorials page on this website (https://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/support/tutorials.html) and the Epi Info™ Channel on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B9157E47AB3FDFA).
Answer:
The Epi Info™ Web Survey (EIWS) system is available for download and deployment as an open source system. An endpoint address is required to use the system and it is provided by your information technology (IT) office or database administrator that deployed the system. The Epi Info™ Development Team at CDC deployed a version of EIWS for use by CDC staff within the CDC network. If you are also within the CDC network, please contact the Epi Info™ Help Desk with your @cdc.gov email address for access to CDC’s Web Survey system.
Answer:
Yes, Epi Info ™ is compatible to Windows 10. If you discover an issue or bug, please submit a ticket to our Customer Request Portal (https://epiinfo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/1).
Answer:
Intel Macs are capable of running Windows programs but requiring the use of an Windows emulator for a Mac. Some Macs have the capability of running either a Windows or a Mac when starting the PC (dual boot between OS X and Windows). However, if the Mac does not have that option, there are Windows emulators that can be downloaded free or purchased which will allow users to run Windows in a virtual machine within OS X. Parallels Desktop for Mac by Parallels, Inc. is one that has been recommended by some users. Users might be required to have a license for Windows too.
The Epi Info™ 7 desktop tools only support the Windows operating system. However, you may be able to use another third party application such as Parallel’s Desktop for Mac. The Epi Info™ 7 Form Designer can be used to create data entry forms for use in the Epi Info™ Mobile App for iOS in order to collect data on an Apple iPhone or iPad device. We currently have a type of Form Designer for the iOS app in development, so check for that in an upcoming release. The current Epi Info™ Companion for iOS for collecting data in forms created in the desktop Form Designer can be downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store ( https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/epi-infotm-companion-for-iphone/id762428884?mt=8 ).
Answer:
Yes, Epi Info™ 7 comes packaged with sample projects, templates, and examples to demonstrate its features and functions. These are located in the Epi Info ™ 7 projects and templates folders.
Answer:
To use the Epi Info™ Community Questions and Answers (Questions for Confluence) site, you need to be logged into an account with Atlassian. If you get a message that says “Access denied”, it probably means you aren’t logged into your account. If you don’t yet have an account, follow the steps on our Help Desk page to sign up for a free Atlassian account.
If you already have an Atlassian account, click the log in button at the lower left corner of the page that shows “Access denied” in order to log into your account or you can log in here: https://epiinfo.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/user/login
After logging in, you can browse the Epi Info™ Community Questions and Answers site (https://epiinfo.atlassian.net/wiki/questions).
Answer:
Epi Info™ Web Survey is for anonymous data collection that does not provide any data management such as editing or deleting existing records. All responses to the online survey are downloaded back into the original Epi Info 7™ desktop project. There is no control as to who can submit a record or how many times. Anyone with the link can complete a survey response.
Cloud Data Capture requires an administrator to set up each user with an email address and password. It is for distributed data entry by known users—it is not anonymous. Publishers share forms with specific users added to the system. Users can browse all records entered into a form that was shared with them.