Building forms
Pages and layout
Pages
A form starts as one page. Add more when the questionnaire is long enough that a single scroll is discouraging, or when there is a natural break — “about you”, then “about the visit”.
Each page can carry its own title and description, shown above its questions. Respondents move with Next and Back, and a progress indicator shows where they are. Answers are kept when moving between pages, and validation for a page runs when leaving it, so nobody reaches the end and is sent back four screens.
Layout modes
The layout mode decides how each page's fields are arranged. It is a presentation choice only — the same questions, the same answers, the same export.
| Mode | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Document | Every field stacked one per row, the whole page scrollable. | The default, and right for most forms. Also the most comfortable on a phone. |
| Conversational | One question at a time, advancing as each is answered. | Long forms where the length itself puts people off, and public surveys on mobile. |
| Grid | Narrow fields pair up two per row on wide screens. | Desk-based data entry, where fitting more on screen means fewer scrolls per record. |
Grid layout and field width
In grid layout each question has a width, set on the question card:
| Width | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Auto | The default. Pairs up with the next field, unless the control needs the whole row. |
| Half | Always takes half the row. |
| Full | Always takes the whole row — useful to force a break between groups. |
Long answer, matrix, file upload, signature, repeating section and section headers always take a full row whatever you choose. A matrix at half width scrolls sideways, and a paragraph box at half width invites one-line answers to a question that wanted more.
Choosing between them
Reach for grid when
- Operators enter many records a day at a desk.
- Most fields are short — codes, dates, numbers, short names.
- Fitting a whole section on one screen saves real scrolling.
Stay with document when
- The form is mostly long-answer questions, which take a full row anyway.
- Most respondents are on phones, where it makes no difference.
- The questions build on each other and reading order matters more than density.
Layout in data apps
A data app makes the same choice in App settings → Design → Layout, with a third option: Stacked and Two column impose one arrangement on every step, while Follow each form lets each step keep the layout its form was built with.
Imposing one arrangement is the default because a session that changes column count between step two and step three reads as a rendering fault rather than a design. The cost is that it overrides the widths above: a two-column form with paired fields renders as a stacked list inside a Stacked app, from the same definition that pairs correctly on its own link. Choose Follow each form to keep them.
Conversational is never used inside an app — it paces one question at a time, and an app already paces the respondent with its own steps. Such a form is shown stacked instead.