Textbox Grid Question Type

The Textbox Grid allows respondents to enter short open-ended text answers to multiple questions in a table format. Each 'cell' in the table is a textbox.

When To Use It

Use Textbox Grids to group multiple short-answer questions together. While these fields were designed to collect short answers there is no actual character limit set on these fields.

Consider using the Texbox List question type for a one-column-display.

Setup

  1. Click the Add New: Question link on the survey page where you want to add your Texboxes Grid and input your question text into the provided field.
  2. Continue to add both the Column and Row headers for your grid.
    Textbox Grid: Add Columns and Rows
  3. Make sure to Save your question once you are finished.

Validation

There are several validation options that may help you customize the data that you collect via this question:
Textbox Grid Validation Options

  • Use the Answer Format menu to determine the input type that you want to collect. Learn more about open-text validation. The available options are:
    • Normal/Open Text
    • Number
    • Percent
    • Currency
    • Email
    • Date
    • Regex
  • The Answer Requirements section allows you to determine how many rows and answers per row are required, if the question is answered.

Layout

On the Layout tab, you can adjust various widths of your textbox grid question.

Note: By default, grid questions will have an overall question width of 100% and a row-label width of 40% to stretch the question across the entire survey page. You can change these widths as needed.

Textbox Grid Layout Options

While each width is set as a percentage by default, you can toggle this to a pixel value if needed. Reference the below image to determine what each width will affect.

Textbox Grid Layout Key

Survey Taking

On a desktop and most laptops, the Textbox Grid question type looks like so.

Textbox Grid Survey Taking on Desktop

When optimized for mobile devices the Textbox Grid question type displays each row one at a time. You can turn off this one-at-a-time interaction if you wish.

Textbox Grid Survey Taking on Mobile

Reporting

The Textbox Grid reports as a Grid with a count and percentage of how many times someone answered each particular cell in the table. To look at the specific responses, you can view the CSV/Excel export or take a look at the Individual Responses.

Textbox Grid Reporting

 See additional compatible chart types

 See what other report types are compatible

The below grid shows which of the report types Textbox Grid questions are compatible with. If you plan to do some specific analysis within SurveyGizmo this report compatibility chart should help you choose the right question types!

Report Type
Compatible
Standard
 
Legacy Summary
 
TURF

Profile

Crosstab

Comparison
 
(not available as source question)

Exporting

The CSV/Excel export will display a column for each row and column combination within the grid. The export column headers will include the row header, then the column header, and then the overall question title. The respondents' open text responses will display in the cells.

Textbox Grid in Exports

 Best Practice Tip: Grid Questions on Mobile Devices

Grid questions are often used to allow your survey respondents to make comparisons. For example, in the below question, survey respondents are implicitly making a comparison across the various ice cream brands listed in the rows.

Because this is the most common and best use of grid question types it is important to note how grid question types display on mobile. Grid questions will be displayed one grid row per page. This will reduce horizontal scrolling trouble as well as problems survey respondents typically experience trying to select the correct option.

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