What changes can I make when editing a published unmoderated study?

In some cases, you may find it helpful to edit an unmoderated study after publishing it. Such changes may affect how your participants interpret your questions or tasks, potentially impacting your results. This is particularly sensitive when a study already has participant responses. To protect the integrity of your data, not all fields in a block can be edited after you publish.

Why some settings lock after publishing

Some settings lock so that responses collected before and after an edit stay comparable. In general:

• Task structure — the questions asked, the answer options, the order of options — can't change.

• Task flow — how participants navigate through a block (paths, prototypes, tree structure) — can't change.

• Data collection settings — input types, answer ranges, recording formats — can't change.

These fields are locked at the block level. Some study-level settings, however, stay editable even after you publish — see below.

If a locked field is blocking a change you need to make, you have two options:

• Duplicate the block, hide the original, and make your change in the new one. Data collected before the change stays on the original block; new responses go to the new block. This is the right approach for most edits that would otherwise be blocked.

• Reset the study to draft. This stops data collection and unlocks every field, but you'll lose the ability to collect further responses until you republish. See How to reset an unmoderated study in Maze.

Block-level vs. study-level settings

Block-level settings live inside an individual block's form and control what participants see for that specific task — things like answer options, question structure, and flow control. Whether a block-level field is locked depends on the block type; see the reference below.

Study-level settings live in Study Settings and stay editable on a published study regardless of block type, including:

• Device restrictions (which devices can take the study)

• Clips / recording requirements

• In-app prompt settings

• Recruitment settings

This is a key distinction: for example, whether Clips recording is enabled or disabled for a study is a study-level setting you can change any time in Study Settings — even though some block-level recording fields (like the device type on a specific Website Test block) are locked once published.

A–Z block reference

Unless noted otherwise, every block lets you edit its title, description, images, and customization/display options after publishing. The lists below cover what's different for each block type.

AI Conversation

Can edit: Intro title, intro description, intro customization

Cannot edit: Discussion topic/goal, discussion style (e.g., debate, Q&A), allowed conversation languages, discussion depth, discussion instructions/questions — these define the scope of the conversation participants have already started.

App Test

Can edit: Title, description, task link

Cannot edit: All other fields.

Card Sort

Can edit: Title, description, images, instructions, "Shuffle cards," "Shuffle categories," "Allow participants to continue without completing"

Cannot edit: The card items themselves, the card sort type (open/closed/hybrid sorting vs. ranking vs. matching), the category structure, and enabling/disabling card ranking — these define the task structure and would invalidate existing responses.

Context Screen

Can edit: Title, description, images, customization

Cannot edit: All other fields.

Five-Second Test

Can edit: Title, description, images, duration (how long the image is shown)

Cannot edit: All other fields.

Legal Block

Can edit: Title, description, customization

Cannot edit: The uploaded legal document. Once participants have agreed to a specific document, it can't be swapped after the fact.

Matrix Block

Can edit: Title, description, images, the "none of the above" label, mobile layout option

Cannot edit: Question options (rows), answer options (columns), "Shuffle questions," "Shuffle choices," "Allow multiple selection," "Allow none of the above" — these define the question structure and answer space.

Multiple Choice Block

Can edit: Title, description, images, "Shuffle options," response option labels

Cannot edit: The answer options themselves, the "allow other response" toggle, the "allow none of the above" toggle, and the display type (e.g., single-select vs. multi-select) — these define the answer set and data structure.

Open Question

Can edit: Title, description, images, customization, the number of AI follow-up questions

Cannot edit: Whether AI follow-ups are enabled at all — toggling this changes how the block behaves for participants mid-study.

Opinion Scale

Can edit: Title, description, images, scale labels, starting number, scale type (numeric, stars, sentiment/emotions)

Cannot edit: The number of steps on the scale — this affects how responses are collected and compared over time.

Prototype Test

Can edit: Title, description, enable/disable hotspot hints, customization

Cannot edit: The linked prototype file (refresh or unlink), mission type (click-based vs. goal-based), the start screen, expected paths, end screens/success criteria, "use interactive components," "record non-click changes," and the custom completion message — the prototype and task flow define what participants experience and can't change mid-study.

Screener

Can edit: Display type (single-select vs. multi-select), customization, and you can add a new screener question.

Cannot edit: Little else is locked — screeners stay largely editable, though changing the list of choices or the select type on an existing question is a breaking change (see note below).

Simple Input

Can edit: Title, description, images, customization

Cannot edit: The input type (text, numerical, date, email) — this affects validation and how responses are stored.

Thank You Block

Can edit: Title, description, images, customization

Cannot edit: All other fields.

Tree Test

Can edit: Title, description, images, "Shuffle pages," customization

Cannot edit: The tree structure — this defines the task and can't be modified mid-study.

Variant Comparison

Can edit: Rename existing variants, add blocks to existing variants, hide blocks within existing variants, customization

Cannot edit: Adding new variants, removing variants, duplicating variants, or changing the variant distribution/comparison method — changing the set of variants mid-study would change what you're comparing.

Website Test

Can edit (block level): Title, description, customization

Can edit (Study Settings): Device restrictions, Clips/recording settings

Cannot edit (block level): Start URL, expected paths, the device type set on this specific block, task type, and screenshot anonymization options — these are task-critical and would change what participants see.

Welcome Block

Can edit: Title, description, images, customization

Cannot edit: All other fields.

Yes/No Block

Can edit: Title, description, images, display type (icons vs. emotions), conditional logic

Cannot edit: All other fields.

Study-wide edits

These apply regardless of block type and are always available on a published study:

• Reordering blocks

• Adding, removing, or updating conditional logic (paid plans only)

• Editing the Welcome or Thank You screens

• Device restrictions, Clips/recording settings, in-app prompts, and recruitment settings in Study Settings

While these changes are technically allowed, be aware that changes significantly affecting how participants interpret the study — reordering blocks, rewriting questions, or changing conditional logic — can still meaningfully affect your results. If a change is substantial, consider duplicating and hiding the affected block even when it isn't a hard restriction, so you can clearly separate before/after data.

FAQ

What if I need to change a locked field?

Duplicate the block, make your change in the new copy, and hide the original. This keeps prior responses attached to the original block while new responses go to the updated one.

If you need to change something that isn't at the block level — or need a clean slate — you can reset your study to draft mode. This stops data collection and unlocks every field, but you'll need to republish before collecting more responses.

Is "enable/disable Clips" locked once I publish?

No — Clips/recording is a study-level setting in Study Settings and stays editable after publishing. What's locked is the device type configured inside an individual Website Test block.

Can I add or remove answer choices on a Multiple Choice block after publishing?

No. Answer choice options are locked once published; you can only edit the display labels or toggle shuffle. To change the actual choices, duplicate the block and hide the original.

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