Field types
Text
| Type | Stores | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Short answer | A single line of text | Names, reference numbers, anything under a sentence. |
| Long answer | Multi-line text | Comments and descriptions. Always takes a full row in grid layout. |
| A validated address | Contact details. Rejected at submit if it is not a plausible address. | |
| Phone | A phone number as typed | Contact details. Shows a numeric keypad on mobile. |
| Website | A URL | Links. Must include a scheme to pass validation. |
Text fields accept a minimum and maximum length, and a pattern for formats you need to enforce exactly — e.g. requiring exactly 10 digits for a phone number, or a fixed employee-code format like AB-1234. Pick a ready-made format (mobile number, PIN code, Aadhaar, UDISE code, PAN…), build a plain-language rule such as “starts with” or “only letters and numbers”, or — if you know them — write a regular expression under Advanced. A “Try it” box lets you test a sample answer, and you can set the message respondents see when it does not match. Phone fields also accept a minimum and maximum number of digits.
Datefields can be limited to a range — no past dates, no future dates, a fixed window, or a moving one like “within 30 days of today”. “Today” follows India time. Time fields accept an earliest and latest time.
Numbers and scales
| Type | Stores | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Number | A number | Quantities, amounts, and fixed-length codes (like an 11-digit ID number). Accepts a minimum and maximum value (e.g. age 5 to 18), a whole-numbers-only option, and a minimum and maximum digit count. Rules can do arithmetic on it. |
| Slider | A number within a range | A bounded value where the range itself is the point — satisfaction out of ten. |
| Star rating | An integer | Quick sentiment. Faster to answer than a number box. |
| NPS | An integer 0–10 | Net promoter score, with the standard eleven-point presentation. |
Choices
| Type | Stores | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one | One value | Radio buttons. Best under about seven options, where seeing them all at once helps. |
| Choose all that apply | An array of values | Checkboxes. Exports as a delimited list. |
| Select an option | One value | A dropdown. Better than radios once the list is long, and the only sensible choice above about thirty. |
Any of the three can take its options from an dropdown list instead of a hand-typed set. That is what you want for districts, schools or anything else more than one form needs — see Dropdown lists.
Dates, files and signatures
| Type | Stores | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Date | A calendar date | Dates of birth, visit dates, deadlines. Accepts an allowed range. |
| File upload | A reference to an uploaded file | Evidence and attachments. Accepts allowed file types and a size cap. |
| Signature | A drawn signature image | Acknowledgements and sign-off. Always full width. |
Structure
| Type | Stores | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Section header | Nothing | A heading and optional description between questions. Not counted in question numbering. |
| Matrix | A value per row | The same scale asked about several items. Always full width — a matrix at half width scrolls sideways. |
| Repeating section | An array of answer sets | A block asked an unknown number of times: every child in a household, every item on a claim. |
Required, and what it means
Marking a question Required means a response cannot be submitted without it. The check runs on the server, so it holds regardless of what the browser did.
A required question that is hiddenby conditional logic is not enforced — someone cannot be blocked by a field they were never shown. If you need “required only when…”, that is a rule rather than a checkbox; see Rules and calculations.
Frequently asked questions
- How many field types does ImpactLens have?
- Eighteen, including text, number, dropdown, checkbox, date, file upload, signature and GPS location.