Creating PDF of REDCap Instruments for IRB Submission

The IRB prefers multilingual instruments to be submitted as PDFs separately by language, therefore we need to create 2 separate PDFs of instruments for Spanish and English (and Catalan, if applicable). This is important because some of our instruments contain multiple languages in 1 instrument.

1 Option 1: Download individual instruments according to language
2 Option 2: Download the entire project & save individual pages
3 Option 3: Make copies of the entire REDCap project

Option 1: Download individual instruments according to language

This option only works if instruments are separated by language. In the case that there are multiple languages in 1 instrument, this option will not work.

Go to the project in REDCap and select “Designer” on the left hand side.
You will see a list of all the instruments. Select “Download as PDF” for instruments according to the desired language.
Do the same for the other languages (Spanish, English, Catalan).
Now you have downloaded separate PDFs for each instrument, which only have one language per instrument.
Combine all of the PDFs of the same language together (all Spanish instruments in 1 PDF, all English instruments in 1 PDF, etc.).

Option 2: Download the entire project & save individual pages

This option is pretty time-consuming and you may be susceptible to error

In the REDCap project, go to “View/Edit Records.”
Where it says “Choose an existing Unique ID for CG Project (Autonumbering),” select record 0 (test record).
Where it says “Choose an action for that record,” select “Download PDF of record data for all instruments” in the dropdown.
After downloading the project as a PDF, you can now go in and select pages that contain the desired language.
To do that, select the print option (without actually printing) and go through the entire document selecting only the pages that contain the desired language (Spanish, English, or Catalan). Pages with multiple languages on them at once can be dealt with later.

Save the selected pages as a new PDF.
To fix pages with multiple languages, open up the saved PDF with preview. Use the markup function to create a filled square shape that can be used to cover up unwanted text.
Save the edited PDF.
Complete steps 1-9 for the other languages (or just make a copy of the downloaded project PDF in 4 and use that).
Now you have downloaded separate PDFs according to language, with instances of undesired language hidden behind shapes.

Option 3: Make copies of the entire REDCap project

Make 2 (or the equivalent to how many languages you are using) copies of the entire project.
In 1 project, delete all of the undesired language. Do the same for the other project (e.g. in 1 project delete all of the Spanish, in the other project delete all of the English).
In “Designer” on the left hand side, you will see a list of all the instruments. Select “Download as PDF” for all instruments in each project.
Combine all of the PDFs of the same language together (all Spanish instruments in 1 PDF, all English instruments in 1 PDF, etc.).