Question and Data Types in the Form Builder

Available on all tiers, with more options on the Advanced and Enterprise tiers:

Essentials
Advanced
Enterprise

Contents

About

Forms are made of questions and answers. When adding questions, choose the right Question and Data Types to improve the usability of a form, and to control the data that will be collected.

  • Question types describe what format a question is in. For example, a question where a user selects a single name from a list would likely use a dropdown question type.
  • Data types describe what format the user answers a question in. For example, a user might need to have a name (Text) in one question, and a dollar amount (Currency) in another.

This article will discuss question and data types and show which data types can be used with different questions.

Form Builder Question Views

The views and tabs shown when you add a question depend on the question type. Standard tabs include:

  • General: Features the question’s general configuration and appearance. This includes:

  • Options: Used with certain question types to set question-specific options (such as Button Group options).

  • Properties: What properties are displayed depends on the question and data type chosen. Common ones might be:

    • Validation Type

    • Default Value

    • Allowing certain actions based on the data type

General display in a question type

Question Types

These icons are used to show what kind of question is being used in a form. They show up when you select Add a Question.

Icon Description Icon Description
form-builder-icons-v6_Text_Field.png Text Field: Capture text input in a single-line field. form-builder-icons-v6_Text_Area.png Text Area: Capture text from a multi-line field.
form-builder-icons-v6_Dropdown.png

Dropdown: Choose one option from a list.

form-builder-icons-v6_Button_Group.png

Button Group: Choose 1-5 options from a list.

form-builder-icons-v6_Radio_Button.png

Radio Button: Choose one option from a short list.

form-builder-icons-v6_Multiselect.png

Multiselect: Choose multiple options from a list.

form-builder-icons-v6_Information.png

Information Label: Show an informational message.

form-builder-icons-v6_Number_Calculation.png

Calculation: Calculate any number.

form-builder-icons-v6_Image.png

Image: Capture or attach photos.

form-builder-icons-v6_Sketchpad.png

Sketch Pad: Annotate on top of photos, diagrams, or a blank canvas.

form-builder-icons-v6_Signature.png

Signature: Capture a signature.

form-builder-icons-v6_Check.png

Single Checkbox: A question with a single checkbox.

form-builder-icons-v6_Date-Time_Selector.png Date/Time Selector: Select a date/time. form-builder-icons-v6_Date-Time_Stamp.png Date/Time Stamp: Automatically collect a date/time.
form-builder-icons-v6_Geolocation.png

Geolocation: Capture your current location.

form-builder-icons-v6_Duration_Field.png

Duration Field: Enter a time duration (hours, minutes, seconds).

form-builder-icons-v6_Stepper.png

Stepper: Use + and - buttons to choose a number.

form-builder-icons-v6_Slider.png

Slider: Choose a number or range on a slider.

form-builder-icons-v6_String_Concatenation.png

String Concatenation: Build a string using answers and static text.

form-builder-icons-v6_Digit_Extraction.png

Digit Extraction: Isolate numeric digits from mixed characters

form-builder-icons-v6_Duration_Field_copy.png

Duration Calculation: Calculate a duration based on other durations or numbers.

form-builder-icons-v6_Duration_Time-Based_Math.png Duration Math: Calculate the duration between two date or date/time entries.
form-builder-icons-v6_Date-Time-Based_Math.png

Time-Based Math: Calculate a date/time based on another date/time and a duration.

Enterprise customers have additional options.

form-builder-icons-v6_Audio.png

Audio Recording: Capture an audio recording.

form-builder-icons-v6_Bar_Code.png BarcodeScan a barcode with your device's camera. form-builder-icons-v6_Attachment.png File Upload: Attach a file.
recap.png

Recap: Count the number of triggered Exceptions of a certain type within the form.

This question type is available on the Advanced and Enterprise tiers only.

aggregation-150px.png Aggregation: Perform various calculations on Repeatable Sections entries. (Repeatable Section Footer only)
The Card List icon displays two media squares with text descriptions represented as lines.

Card List: Choose one option from a list of 2-10 media cards.

This question type is available on the Advanced and Enterprise tiers only.

The Document Editor icon shows that it enables you to make changes on a document page.

Document Editor: Annotate PDF documents.

This question type is available on the Enterprise tier only.

Data Types

These icons describe what kind of answers go into the question types. Data types determine the sort of data a question will be collecting. For example, different icons will show in the Form Builder if the question expects text, an image, or GPS coordinates from the mobile user.

2017-06-08-V2fb-NumericDatatype.png Integer: This is an integer (whole number) data type. form-builder-icons-v6_Decimal.png Decimal: This is a numeric data type. You can set the number of decimal places.
form-builder-icons-v6_Currency.png Currency: This is a numeric data type. 2017-06-08-v2fb-textdatatype.png Free Text: This is a data type that can contain alphanumeric characters.
form-builder-icons-v6_Email-50px.png Email: This is a data type that checks if your mobile users have entered a valid example@email.com address. form-builder-icons-v6_Date-50px.png Date: This is a data type that uses a date selector to store answers as a Date value.
form-builder-icons-v6_Time.png Time: This is a data type that contains a Time value in standard UTF encoding. form-builder-icons-v6_Date-Time_Selector.png Date/Time: This is a data type that uses a standard UTF encoded date/time value.
2019-01-28-FB-DurationIcon.png Duration: This is a data type that records a span of time. form-builder-icons-v6_URL.png URL: This is a data type that contains an http:// or https:// type URL.
form-builder-icons-v6_Phone.png Phone Number: This is a data type that collects a phone number. form-builder-icons-v6_Image.png Attachment: This data type covers all attachments: image files, file upload, and audio files.
Document: This is a data type that enables you to annotate a PDF file.

This data type is available on the Enterprise tier only.

   

The data type affects the Properties tab of the question selection in the Form Builder.

Question-Relevant Icon Display

The question and data type are shown on the right-hand side beneath the question text. Icons on the right-hand side show links to other questions or Conditional Logic, and any restrictions chosen for the question.

Question-relevant icon display

Question and Data Type Compatibility

Most question types can use particular data types. This section has a list of each with their compatible data types, and what control types they can be changed to.

Question Type Compatible Data Types
Text Field Integer, decimal, currency, email, URL, Phone Number, Free Text
Text Area Free Text
Dropdown Integer, decimal, currency, email, URL, phone number, free text
Button Group Integer, decimal, currency, email, URL, phone number free text

Radiobutton

Integer, decimal, currency, email, URL, phone number, free text

Multiselect

Integer, decimal, currency, email, URL, phone number, free text
Card List Integer, decimal, currency, email, URL, phone number, free text

Information

N/A

Single Checkbox

Yes/No

Image

Image

Sketch

Image
Document Editor Document

Signature

Image

Audio

Audio File

File Upload

File Attachment

Date/Time Selector

Time, Date, Date/Time

Date/Time Stamp

Date/Time

Geo Location

Geo Location

Geo Stamp

Geo Location

Duration Field

Duration

Stepper

Integer, Decimal, Currency

Slider

Integer, Decimal, Currency

String Concatenation

Free Text

Digit Extraction

Integer

Calculation

Integer, Decimal, Currency

Duration Calculation

Duration

Duration Math

Duration

Time-Based Math

Date/Time, Date (Enterprise tier only)

Question Restrictions

Restrictions control whether a question shows up for users, in reports, or whether it must be filled out to continue with the form submission process. These restrictions can interact with Conditional Logic to create workflow refinements. Available restrictions vary depending on the question and data type.

"Required" Restriction checkbox Required: Required questions must be answered before proceeding to the next page of a form or submitting a form. If a user attempts to move to the next page or submit the form without answering a Required question, an error message will appear advising the user that there are unanswered Required questions.
"Read only" Restriction checkbox Read only: Read only questions cannot be edited on mobile devices. These fields usually either contain data filled out by an administrator in the case of a dispatched form or are auto-populated/prefilled based on selections made earlier in the form.
"Hidden on Device" Restriction checkbox Hidden on device: Hidden on device questions cannot be seen by mobile users. These questions may contain sensitive information, or data used by questions later in the form.
"Hidden on reports" Restriction checkbox Hidden on reports: Hidden on reports questions are not kept on completed documents and are not saved.
A question restriction checkbox that reads "Keep question width at 100%". The icon is a green circle with a white horizontal double-ended arrow. This restriction is available only in Side-by-Side Sections.

Keep question width to 100%: Keep question width... questions in a Side-by-Side Section override the section’s question-answer ratio. These questions fill the whole width of the page instead of the Side-by-Side Section two-column layout.

These icons will show up to the right side in the Form Builder.