The Custom Group question type allows you to group questions of different types together and control the layout of the questions, specifically whether there is a line break and the next question displays on the same line.
When to use it
Use Custom Groups to group different questions types together to show that they're all related to each other. For example, you could add a Dropdown Menu, a Textbox, and a multiple choice question all into one group of questions.
Setup
- Click the Question link on the page where you would like to add your Custom Group question.
- Select Custom Group from the Question Type dropdown and enter the overall question text for your custom group.
- This will add a text and an essay sub-question; you can delete these if you wish. You can also add additional questions by clicking Add a Sub Question.
- Enter your sub-question question text and answer options.
- You can further customize your sub-question using the tabs along the top of the panel. On the Layout tab indicate for each sub-question whether you would like to Put a line break after this question.
- Click Add a Sub Question to add an additional sub-question.
- Rinse and repeat to finish adding all your Custom Group sub-questions and Save Question when finished.
Subquestion Display: Side by Side or on the Same Line
One of the benefits of using a Custom Group question type is the ability to add or remove line breaks after subquestions. This allows you to control whether subquestions display on the same line (side by side) or separate lines.
- To control the line breaks after your question edit your Custom Group question then edit your subquestions.
- Go to the Layout tab. Scroll to the Line Break option and check or uncheck the option to Put a line break after this question.
Add-as-Needed Setting
If you would like to set up your custom group to allow respondents to dynamically add the group of questions as needed, you can do so by editing the overall group and navigating to the Logic tab. Scroll to the bottom and check the box associated with the Add as Needed setting. Check out our Add-As-Needed Tutorial that covers this feature in greater detail.
Please note, the add as needed feature is not compatible with logic.
Editing and Deleting Subquestions
Once you have your Custom Group question configured it can be a little bit tricky to figure out how to make edits to the subquestions of your Custom Group. There are a couple of ways to make edits.
- First, you can click Edit on the parent question then click the pencil icon next to the subquestion to make edits.
- You can also click the Edit option directly associated with the subquestion itself to make changes.
- If you wish to delete a subquestion, click Edit on the parent question then click the red trash-bin icon to the right of the subquestion.
- Finally, if you're looking for a way to navigate back to the parent question from within the subquestion panel click the Edit Parent Question in the top-right corner of the panel.
Survey Taking
On a desktop and most laptops, the Custom Group question type looks like so.
When optimized for mobile devices the Custom Group question type looks very similar but a line break will be added between subquestions to prevent the need for horizontal scrolling on smaller screens.
By default, survey questions show one at a time on mobile devices to prevent the need for scrolling on smaller screens. You can turn off this one-at-a-time interaction if you wish.
Reporting
Custom Groups report each subquestion in order. Each element will be treated as its own question within the report. Check out the corresponding question type tutorial for each subquestion in your Custom Group to see how it will report (e.g. if your subquestion is a Radio Button, visit the Radio Button question type tutorial to see how it will report)!
Report Compatibility
The below grid shows whether Custom Group questions are compatible with each of our report types. 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 | See subquestion type for compatibility |
Crosstab | |
Comparison | See subquestion type for compatibility |
Exporting
Each column in the CSV/Excel export is linked to the custom group question title, however the reporting is based on the individual sub-question types.
— Brian on 02/23/2020
@Jeannie: Thank you for your question!
We do have the ability to create Response tables in standard reports. You will be able to group responses by response ID so that each text field is viewed in a row. Follow the link below for more information on how to build this in your standard reports!
https://help.surveygizmo.com/help/standard-report-response-table
I hope this helps!
Mike
Documentation
SurveyGizmo Customer Experience
— Jeannie on 02/19/2020
Hello! I have a survey that contains several custom groups. each custom group contains a text box, and an essay box. Is there a way to create a table like report that put the text box and essay box on the same row?
Admin
— Dave Domagalski on 11/30/2018
@Katherine: Thank you for your question!
Yes, this question would support images used as the 'row headers' (left-most column) with answer options in the right-hand column(s).
However, depending on the types of answer options that you need to include, you might consider a different question type such as a Radio Button Grid or Checkbox Grid (both of which will be more flexible).
I recommend reaching out to our Suppor team to discuss your desired outcome in more details. They will be able to provide specific recommendations based on your exact use case:
https://help.surveygizmo.com/help/surveygizmo-support-hours
I hope this helps!
David
Documentation Specialist
SurveyGizmo Customer Experience
— Katherine on 11/30/2018
Could I use this feature to design a question that has an image in a left-hand column and the answer options in a right-hand column (side by side, so that the image and the question appear on the screen together without the respondent needing to scroll up and down to look at both)?
Admin
— Dave Domagalski on 07/19/2018
@Mandylee: Thank you for your question!
My apologies for the trouble!
It's a bit difficult to determine what is causing this behavior. My tests indicate that multiple Likert scale questions are all aligned along the same line.
It may be that this behavior is caused by something specific in your survey. Please feel free to reach out to our Support team and they can take a closer look:
https://help.surveygizmo.com/help/surveygizmo-support-hours
David
Documentation Specialist
SurveyGizmo Customer Experience
— Mandylee on 07/18/2018
Hello, I use sets of rating(likert scale) in custom group. But the alignment not in straight with each other. Let say the answer option for 2nd rating question skew more to the right compare the option in the 1st rating question. How can I align them in straight line?
Admin
— Bri Hillmer on 10/27/2015
@Nicole: The instructions in this tutorial for addding and removing line breaks should get you what you need. Of course now that I read your question I see that this could be a little more clear to help users like yourself find their answer! I'll look into fixing this up!
Bri
Documentation Coordinator/Survey Sorceress
SurveyGizmo Customer Support
— Nicole on 10/26/2015
How can I put the sub questions side by side?
Admin
— Bri Hillmer on 10/06/2015
@George: It sounds like you are looking for question randomization. Check out this tutorial for more info:
http://help.surveygizmo.com/help/article/link/randomize-questions#to-show-a-random-set-you-specific-the-number-on-a-page
I hope this helps!
Bri
Documentation Coordinator / Survey Sorceress
SurveyGizmo Support
— George on 10/06/2015
How do you randomize a set of questions so that only one question among the group of questions is randomly presented to the survey taker?
Admin
— Dave Domagalski on 08/31/2015
@Subaru: Thank you for your feedback! I went ahead and added a little note to the following section in this article:
https://help.surveygizmo.com/help/article/link/custom-group#add-or-remove-line-breaks
Thanks again!
David Domagalski
Survey Explorer
SurveyGizmo Customer Support
— Julie on 08/28/2015
Very useful! The only sticking point for me was how to set questions side-by-side. I eventually figured out I must uncheck "Put a line break after this question", which defaults to checked. I recommend you add a section to this article titled, "How to put questions side-by-side" with this tip. :-)
Admin
— Dave Domagalski on 06/25/2015
@Jessica: Thank you for exploring SurveyGizmo Documentation! I'm very sorry that this article did not answer your question. I will be opening a ticket with you to follow up. You should see an email soon!
David Domagalski
Survey Explorer
SurveyGizmo Customer Support
— Rose on 06/25/2015
didn't answer my question