Adding an "Other" Textbox or Comment Field
Adding an Other Textbox or Comment field to a close-ended question allows people to either offer additional information about their choice, or provide an alternative answer if the available answer choices do not apply to them.
To add an "Other" textbox to a question:
- Click the Design Survey tab.
- Click a question to edit it, or add a new one. It must be one of the following question types:
- Multiple Choice
- Checkboxes
- Star Rating
- Dropdown
- Matrix/Rating Scale
- Matrix of Dropdown Menus
- Below the answer options, click Add an "Other" Answer Option for Comments.
- Customize the label for the "Other" textbox. By default, the label will say "Other (please specify)".
- Choose to display as an answer choice or display as a comment field.
- (Optional) Change the size and add answer validation requirements.
- Click Save.
Additional Label Options
Multiple Choice
When you add an "Other" textbox to a Multiple Choice or Dropdown question, you can choose to display it as an answer choice or a comment field. After your survey collects responses, it's not possible to change this setting.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Display as an answer choice | This will allow respondents to select "Other" as an answer choice without selecting any other answer choices listed. You will also need to customize the error message that will display if a respondent select the "Other" answer choice without entering a comment. |
| Display as comment field | This will allow respondents to select their answer from the listed choices, and also add additional open-ended comments about their choice. |
Matrix
If you choose the option to Use Weights on a Matrix question, you will see the following options:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| One comment for the question | This will place a one textbox for additional comments below the entire question. |
| One comment per row | This will place one textbox for additional comments below each row in the question. |
Validation
You can choose validation options that require respondents to enter their answer in a specific format. Validation is triggered when respondents click the Next or Done buttons at the bottom of the survey.
| Validation Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Don't validate this answer | People can enter an open-ended comment in any format. |
| Make sure it's a specific length | People must enter an answer between a specific character range. |
| Make sure it's a whole number | People must enter a whole number within a specific number range. |
| Make sure it's a decimal number | People must enter a decimal number within a specific number range. |
| Make sure it's a date (MM/DD/YYYY) | People must enter a date in MM//DD/YYYY format, within a specific date range. |
| Make sure it's a date (DD/MM/YYYY) | People must enter a date in DD/MM/YYYY format, within a specific date range. |
| Make sure it's an email address | People must enter an email address. NOTE: There is no way to validate that respondents have entered a valid email address. It will only detect whether or not their answer is in the format of an email address. |
