What are External Modules?
External modules (EM's) are "plug-in" coding that extend REDCap's functionality. There are over 1300 institutions around the world using REDCap. Often, these institutions have a need for some custom coding to address a unique project or institutional need. When these custom features/functionality have a broader appeal, they can be packaged as an "External Module" (EM) and made available to other institutions.
Why are EM's not available to Bronze tier projects.
Most EM's are limited to Silver / Gold tier REDCap projects. There are two reasons why an EM may be restricted to Silver / Gold tier projects.
- Some EM's tend to require an additional level of training, support, and administrative maintenance, they are not available at the Bronze tier (which includes no support).
- Some bring an distinct added value that warrants the Silver / Gold tier.
Which EM's are avalailable to all projects?
Currently, 4 EM's have been made available to all projects. This is because they are quite unlikley to require any additional REDCap support and they don't dramatically extend the functionality of REDCap. The EM's that are currently available to all projects include:
How do I get access to an EM?
EM's are not all turned on by default. Reach out to your REDCap support team to request EM's for your project(s).
Which EM's are currently available to JH REDCap Silver and Gold tier projects?
The EM's marked with an asterisk (*) are available to all projects.
*Annotated PDF | Create a PDF copy of your instruments that includes the field names, branching logic, and other annotations | See Example Below |
Big-Data Imports | A tool for importing large import files and even queue up several imports to be run automatically | |
Date Calculated Fields | Pipe date fields from one field to another (with the ability to add to or subtract from the source date field) | |
Form Render Skip Logic | Setup branching logic to skip an entire form | |
Image-Map | Use an image for collecting data (e.g. emoji pain scale or body map) | View Sample |
Multi-Language | Allows the user to select the languange at the time of data entry | View Sample |
*REDCaptcha | When using a public survey, add the "I'm Not a Robot" checkbox to avoid receiving fake surveys generated by Internet Bots. | |
Stealth Queue | Hides the survey queue when a user completes a survey (or set of surveys) | |
*Tool Tips | Provide additional details/definitions/instructions for any given field. | See Example Below |
*@COLUMNS Action Tag | Split a long list of checkboxes or radio buttons into multiple columns (e.g., @COLUMNS=3) | See Example Below |
* Available to ALL REDCap Projects (Bronze / Silver / Gold)
Visit this page often, as more EM's will be added in the future.