Question Type: Button Group
Contents
About
The Button Group Question type
Question type refers to the format of a question in a form, such as a text field, dropdown, audio recording, or radio button, among others. Question types are chosen when adding questions to a form in the Form Builder. allows a mobile user to choose an answer from 2 to 5 color-coded buttons, providing easy visual feedback. Button Group questions are often used in inspection forms to show a Yes/No/Not Applicable question, and can collect additional comments when specified answers are selected.
Form Builder
In the Form Builder, a Button Group question will show up like this:
The Question Edit screen for these questions has four tabs: General, Options, Properties, and Help Options Help Options are ways to add help content, such as YouTube videos, web pages, text, or images, to questions in a form. Mobile users simply tap the help icon next to a question to see the help that the form designer provided.. This article will go through each of the tabs.
General
Unique ID
The Unique ID A Unique ID refers to the specific identifier of a question, form page, form section, or Data Destination. Unique IDs are used as reference points when pulling data for conditional logic, Analytics projects, Data Destinations, and Documents. is the reference for the question. For more information on Unique IDs, read: Overview: Unique IDs. It can either be auto-generated based on the question text, or customized.
Data Types
Data Types are the kind of information your mobile users will be putting into these questions. Setting a data type makes sure that you use the correct kind of information, in the right format. The data type can also influence whether the answer to a question can be used later in the form, or in the business process.
The Button Group question type supports the following data types:
| Free Text | URL | Phone Number | Integer | Decimal | Currency | ||
| Button Group | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Ensure you choose a data type that matches the options users can choose from, and what you need to do with the data.
- Email: Use this data type if collecting an email address that you need to send an email to with an Email Data Destination.
- Integer, Decimal, and Currency: Use one of these data types if the answer needs to be used in a calculation or aggregation later in the form. Note: In order to calculate a score using button group questions, such as for an inspection form, you must use a numeric data type.
Restrictions
Restrictions control how your mobile users interact with a question. They can be set on the question itself or controlled by Conditional Logic.
The following table shows which restrictions you can set for the question type. Note that:
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✓ indicates a restriction that you can configure.
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✓* indicates a restriction that is always on.
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✘* indicates a restriction that is always off.
| Required | Read-Only | Hidden on Device | Hidden on Reports |
Keep question width to 100% |
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| Button Group | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Options
The Options menu is where you can set up the two to five choices mobile users can select from in this question and configure the correct colors.
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Value submitted to server (required): This is the answer that will be sent to any Data Destinations attached to the form if selected. These are validated depending on the selected data type for the question. This value is required. If the question has a numeric data type, the number must conform to the number data type.
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Text displayed on device: This is the answer visible to users in the form. This does not have to match the selected data type. If no display text is entered, buttons will be labeled with the Value.
For example: A Numeric Button Question's display text can read “Excellent” while the value recorded is “10”. This is useful for calculating average scores on text-based rating systems.
Read more about calculating scores using button group.
Tip:For any Documents that you link to the form, you can choose whether to show the display or server value.You can also use the DREL
[display]property to reference the display value instead of the server value:%a[QuestionUniqueID][display]Info:If your team has the Multi-Language Forms add-on, you can translate the display value (but not the server value). When a field user selects a language, they see the translated display value.To show the translated display value in a Repeatable Section Summary Table, edit the column settings and set the Answer value to display to Display Value.
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Display color: Select from several pre-set colors or enter a hex code for custom colors.
Properties
Properties allow you to set up your question in various ways. Question Properties change depending on the data type chosen.
| Free Text | Email/URL/Phone Number | Integer/Decimal/Currency |
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Answer Exceptions
Answer Exceptions are used to categorize problems identified during the course of a field technician's work as the user completes a form. For example, if configured on an Inspection form, if a user selects "No" for an answer, an Exception could trigger that fails the entire inspection until problems are fixed.
For more information on setting up Answer Exceptions, please read: Answer Exceptions
Additional Comments
Additional Comments are useful for when certain answers from a user require further information, like a comment or reason. On a Button Group question, the additional comment field shows up when a user selects a particular answer. For example, if the options are Yes, No, and N/A, a comment could be configured to appear on a "No" answer, requesting details.
For more information on configuring Additional Comments on questions, please read: Additional Comments on Questions
Help Options
Adding "Help" content to forms gives mobile users access to support and other resources out in the field. Help content is available to users through a button embedded beside a question. Any question in the form can include a link to YouTube videos, web pages, or work instructions.
For more information on Help Content, please read: Add Help Options to Questions