Question types

Choose the right answer format: text, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, date and time, or slider.

For administratorsPortal3 min read

Every question has an answer type. Choosing the right one makes the form faster to fill out and gives you cleaner data to report on.

Answer type	Best for	Example
Text input	Short free-text answers	Asset or serial number
Multiple choice	Exactly one answer from a short list	Condition: Good / Fair / Poor
Checkboxes	Any number of answers from a list	Which areas were cleaned?
Dropdown	One answer from a long list	Department or room
Date, Time, or Date & time	When something happened	Time the delivery arrived
Slider	A value on a scale	Satisfaction from 1 to 10

Make a question required

Turn on Required for any question that must be answered. People can save their progress with required questions unanswered, but they can't submit until every required question has an answer.

Choosing between similar types

• Use Multiple choice instead of a Dropdown when there are about five options or fewer, so people see every option at once.
• Use Checkboxes only when more than one answer can be true. For yes/no questions, use multiple choice with Yes and No options.
• Avoid Text input when you can offer a list. Free text is hard to count and compare.

Tip

If you plan to score the form, use multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdowns or sliders. Their answers can carry points. See Score a form.