Frequently Asked Questions

Attention Epi Info™ Community of Users

Thank you for being part of the Epi Info™ Community of Users.

After careful consideration, CDC will be phasing out support for Epi Info™. Product development and technical assistance for Epi Info™ will discontinue after Sept. 30, 2025. The Desktop tool could remain functional without CDC assistance as long as Windows 11 is supported by Microsoft. This decision is part of CDC’s realignment of resources to focus on products that support the ONE CDC approach to data modernization in public health strategies. CDC understands that this may impact your operations, and we want to ensure users have ample time to transition smoothly. CDC is committed to assist throughout this transition period. A team has been assembled to ensure smooth sunsetting of support for Epi Info™ with an emphasis on customer experience. The team will continue to offer support and maintenance for Epi Info™ until the phase out date.

If you have any questions, please contact: epiinfohelp@cdc.gov or check our website for additional updates/information regarding this announcement.

Epi Info™ Sunset Page

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.

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Answer:

CDC is not offering a replacement for Epi Info™. However, we are committed to assisting during the sunsetting process. The team is in the early planning stages and will keep users up to date on developments. CDC will inform users throughout the process so you can make timely strategic decisions for your organization and the user experience remains as seamless as possible. The Epi Info™ team encourages users to migrate to another software solution before Sept. 30, 2025.

Answer:

CDC encourages users to identify and migrate to alternative software solutions that best meet their current and future needs before Sept. 30, 2025. Users can reach out to our customer support team at epiinfohelp@cdc.gov.

Answer:

Please reach out to our customer support team at epiinfohelp@cdc.gov. Additionally, CDC will post important updates on our website (www.cdc.gov/epiinfo) during the sunset period.

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 ).

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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.