# Encode questions and answer options URL: https://docs.awellhealth.com/docs/design-care-flows/encode-questions-and-answer-options > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.awellhealth.com/llms.txt). Keys and codes give a form, its questions and its answer options stable identifiers, so an answer means something outside the form that collected it. ## Coding pays off in registries, in analysis, and in the data point list [#coding-pays-off-in-registries-in-analysis-and-in-the-data-point-list] * Codes let the data adhere to a registry, a standard outcome set such as those from the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement, or a research protocol. * Coded data is far easier to work with in analysis later. * Data points get referenced when configuring conditional logic. Coded form names, questions and answers make the right data point findable in that list; without them it's a guess between a dozen similarly-named entries. Code during the build rather than afterward, so the data point list is already usable by the time anyone configures the logic. ## Encode a form [#encode-a-form] 1. Create or open a form. 2. Click **Settings** at the top of the page. 3. Enter a **form key** in the text field. It saves automatically. A form question with its question key, coded answer options, and the option value type set to Number The form key shows up when configuring transitions and in the data catalog. ## Key each question, and code the answers to the standard [#key-each-question-and-code-the-answers-to-the-standard] Give each question a key, and where the answers map to a standard, code the answer options too. Use the code the registry or protocol expects rather than inventing one. Keys are for machines, so keep them stable. Renaming a key later breaks whatever referenced it. ## Next steps [#next-steps] **Next:** [Add conditions to questions](/docs/design-care-flows/add-conditions-to-your-questions), which is where coded questions immediately pay off.