Manage questions

Questions form the structure of a CiviForm program. When a CiviForm Admin creates a question for one of their forms, the question is saved in the global question bank. When programs reuse the same question, all Applicant data related to the question gets autofilled. This reduces duplicate data entry and ensures accuracy by using previously vetted information.

Create a question

Watch the video or follow the step-by-step guide below.

Create new questions in the shared question bank.

1. Sign in to CiviForm as a CiviForm Admin.

2. Click Questions on the navigation bar.

3. Click Create new question and select a question type. For more details on question types, go to Question types.

4. Enter the information for the question.

5. Click Create. The new question appears in the list of questions.

Tip: You might want to develop a naming convention for your questions. For example, address-residence, address-work, etc.

Edit a question

You can edit both unpublished and published questions. To edit published questions, you need a new version. For more details on versioning, go to Manage versions for programs & questions.

1. Sign in to CiviForm as a CiviForm Admin.

2. Click Questions on the navigation bar and select a question.

3. Click Edit draft.

4. Modify the question information fields.

5. Click Update.

Archive a question

If a question is no longer in use by any program, you can archive a question.

1. Sign in to CiviForm as a CiviForm Admin.

2. Click Questions on the navigation bar and select a question.

3. Click Archive.

Restore an archived question

When you restore an archived question, you can use it in your programs. You can restore an archived question up until the next version is published. For more details on versioning, go to Manage versions for programs & questions.

1. Sign in to CiviForm as a CiviForm Admin.

2. Click Questions on the navigation bar and select an archived question.

3. Click Restore archived.

Question type requirements

All question types have the following configuration options:

• Title (text shown to the user)

• Description or help text (this is raw text, but if we detect a URL, we can format it as a hyperlink.)

• Required or optional

Each question may have zero, one, or more validation criteria.

• For simplicity, if there are two or more criteria, it's assumed that they're joined with "AND" (all criteria must be met for the answer to be accepted)

• The list of supported validation criteria are given under each question type's heading.

Each validation criterion may be paired with an error message in case that criterion isn't met.

Question types

You can customize your program to include multiple different question types. The table below shows the supported question types, along with the expected data input.

Type	Use case and expected data
Address	An Applicant’s address. For example, residential, work, mailing, school, etc.
Currency	Currency questions are formatted with a decimal point (.) as a separator between the dollars and cents. Useful for asking income and debt-related questions (e.g. wages, benefits received, loan amounts, etc).
Checkbox	Useful when Applicants need to check multiple items to answer the question fully. Tip: If you want Applicants to select only one option from a group of options, use a Dropdown or Radio Button question instead. Tip: If a Checkbox question is required, then Applicants must select at least one answer. For checkbox questions where an Applicant could have no answer, consider including a "None of these" option or making the checkbox question optional.
Date	Suitable for capturing dates. For example, date of birth, graduation date, employment start date.
Dropdown	Useful for long lists (>8 items) of static data where a single selection is required. For example, a daycare program restricted to certain daycare sites.
Email	An Applicant’s email address.
Enumerator	Allows applicants to create a list of one type of entity. For example, household members, vehicles, jobs, etc. Enumerators do not store question data. Instead, the data is stored within the repeated questions within the enumerator. Enumerators also allow you to dynamically add multiple questions whenever needed, reducing program clutter. For example, you can create a repeater to ask the same questions for every member of an Applicant’s household. Enumerator questions must be the only question in an enumerator screen. For more details, go to Using enumerator questions & screens in a program.
File Upload	Allows Applicants to upload files to support their application. For example, PDF files and images (PNG, JPG, GIF). File Upload questions must be the only question in a screen.
ID	Useful for requesting identification or account numbers. For example, a resident's utility account number. Only numeric numbers are allowed. The minimum and maximum length for this field can be defined in the question settings.
Name	A full, legal name.
Number	Applicants can enter a numeric value. For example, annual household income. Numbers must be integers only with no decimals allowed. Users can increase or decrease the number using the arrow buttons within the field.
Radio Button	Suitable for a short list (<=7 items) of static items where the Applicant is required to select only one option. For example, simple yes/no questions or employment status. Tip: If you want Applicants to select multiple options in a question, use a Checkbox question instead.
Static Text	A free form field that includes the ability to fully format text using Markdown. See Using Markdown for more information.
Text	A free form field that can store letters, numbers, characters, or symbols.
Phone	Accepts two inputs from the user: the country, and the number. The number is a formatted input in the (xxx) xxx-xxxx format. Currently, it supports only US and Canadian numbers. The phone numbers are validated and stored as strings. When the admin views the entered number, they see it in the +1 xxx-xxx-xxxx format.