Field Types
This lesson covers the different fields types available in FormLizard: Text Field, Text Area, Radio Buttons, Check Boxes, Lists, Drop-down Lists, Calculation. Conditional fields are addressed in a seperate section.
There are 8 different fields types in FormLizard
The default type of field is a text field
-Text fields are good for simple answers (Names, Street Addresses, Phone Numbers, etc.)
-Above is an example of how a text field appears in an interview. Here you can see the 1) question, 2) label, and 3) text field for the answer.
Text Areas are larger than text fields
-Text areas are good for answers that are more than a few words.
-Above is an example of how a text area appears in an interview.
Radio buttons only allow a user to select one answer
-Radio buttons are good for when you want to limit the answers available and the user is only supposed to pick one. These could be anything from simple yes/no questions to a list of colors.
-When you set a field type to radio, another section will appear for you to enter the choices available. Hit Tab to quickly add another option or enter to finish.
-In this case we have entered Yes and No as the choices.
Check boxes are similar to radio buttons except the user can choose more than one answer
-Check boxes are good for when you want to limit the answers available but allow the user to pick more than one. In this example we are asking what days an applicant can work.
-Similar to radio buttons, when you set a field to Check Box, another section will appear for you to enter the choices available. Hit Tab to quickly add another option or enter to finish.
-Above you can see what radio and check boxes look like in an interview.
Lists are similar to check boxes in that users can choose multiple preset answers
-Lists are good for when you have a lot of options for the user to choose from. A bunch of check boxes will take up a lot of room. A list will stay compact and use a scroll function instead.
-Hold Ctrl/Cmd and click to select separate answers or hold Shift and click to select a range of answers.
-Similar to radio and check boxes, when you set a field to a list, another section will appear for you to enter the choices available. Hit Tab to quickly add another option or enter to finish.
-Above you can see what a list looks like in an interview. There are 18 options but you have to scroll to see the rest.
Drop-down lists are similar to radio buttons in that users can only choose one preset answer
-Drop-down lists are like radio buttons in that you can only choose one answer. Drop-down lists are better than radio buttons when you have a long list of options.
-Similar to lists, when you set a field to be a drop-down list, another section will appear for you to enter the choices available. Hit Tab to quickly add another option or enter to finish.
-Above you can see what a drop-down list looks like in an interview. The user would click the down arrow to see all their options and then select one. Once selected, the list compacts to show only the answer chosen.
Calculation fields are used to calculate a value based on answers given in previous fields.
1: Select which fields will be used in this calculation.
2: A calculation field can perform one of three operations: Product (Multiplication), Sum, or Average.
3: Precision allows you to determine how many decimal places will be returned.
- Users do not see calculation fields, only the fields used in the calculations.
- In the setup pictured above [[qty1]] and [[amt1]] are being multiplied to calculate [[total1]].
- The tagged form looked like this: "Jim ordered [[qty1]] apples and each one costs $[[amt1]]. Jim will have to pay $[[total1]]"
- If a user supplies an answer that is not a number (i.e. contains symbols or letters), their entry will be ignored.
We will address conditionals in a separate lesson
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