XLS Survey Question Types
XLSForm supports a number of question types. These are just some of the options you can enter in the type column in the survey worksheet in your XLSForm:
Question type | Question example | Answer example | Answer explanation | Data type |
integer | How many individuals are living in this household? | 5 | Integer (i.e., whole number) input. | Short integer or long integer |
decimal | What percent of family members have attended any type of upper level school? | 0.60 | Decimal input. | Float |
range | What is the age of the head of the household? | Start: 25 — End: 55 Answer: 35
| Range input (including rating). A range is created with a step of one. For this example, the range would start at 25 and end at 55. | Short integer or Long integer |
text | What is the name on your government ID? | Joe Smith | Free text response. | Text |
select_one [options] | Which country do you live in? | Choices:
| Multiple choice question; only one answer can be selected. | Text |
select_multiple [options] | Which of the following are present in your household? Select all that apply. | Choices:
Answer: | Multiple choice question; multiple answers can be selected. | Text |
select_one_from_file [file] | Where do individuals in this household work? |
Answer: D. Cocoa Farm | Multiple choice from file; only one answer can be selected. The options will be taken from a separate file instead of the choice sheet. | Text |
select_multiple_from_file [file] | Why did you move to this village? | Choices:
Answer: | Multiple choice from file; multiple answers can be selected. | Text |
rank [options] | Please rank the most important fixtures below: | Choices: Shower Toilet Electricity Kitchen Answer: Electricity Kitchen Toilet Shower | Rank question; order a list. | Text |
note | Please display any necessary information in the note section. | The household was marked while I was offline. | Display a note on the screen, takes no input. Shorthand for type=text with readonly=true. | Text |
geopoint | Collect the GPS coordinates of your household. | *points* | Collect a single GPS coordinate. | GEOMETRY (point) |
geotrace | Please walk along the perimeter of your plot and record the coordinates at each corner point. | *geotrace* | Record a line of two or more GPS coordinates. | GEOMETRY (line) |
geoshape | Please trace the location of the toilet in your household. | *polygon* | Record a polygon of multiple GPS coordinates; the last point is the same as the first point. | GEOMETRY (polygon) |
date | What is the date today? | 03/20/2021 | Date input. | date |
time | What time did you collect this survey? | 09:10:59 AM | Time input. | date |
dateTime | What date and time was this survey collected? | 03/20/2021 09:10:59 AM | Accepts a date and a time input. | dateTime |
image | Please take a picture or upload an image of your government ID. | *picture* | Take a picture or upload an image file. | BLOB |
audio | Please record an audio message of the pronunciation of your first and last name. | *recorded audio message or uploaded audio file* | Take an audio recording or upload an audio file. | BLOB |
file | Please upload a file of your monthly spending. This can be in the form of a txt, pdf, xls, xlsx, doc, docx, rtf, or zip file. | *pdf of document* | Generic file input (txt, pdf, xls, xlsx, doc, docx, rtf, zip) | txt, pdf, xls, xlsx, doc, docx, rtf, or zip file. |
barcode | Please scan the sticker with the QR code. | *hit button to scan the barcode* | Scan a barcode, requires the barcode scanner app to be installed. | barcode |
calculate | Please calculate the area of your household. | Area= L*W Answer: 40 feet * 60 feet = 2400 | Perform a calculation. | text |
hidden | Do you have farm land? | Choices: Yes No On the backend, it would store as: Yes=1 No=0 | A field with no associated UI element which can be used to store a constant | hidden |