Adding an Other Textbox

Available to All Account Levels.

A very common feature in surveys is the ability to add an Other textbox or text field to a particular answer. This is most common in a radio button or checkbox question type. These are usually seen with the text of simply, "Other" or "Other (Please Specify)." Adding this to a question within SurveyGizmo is a simple task of editing your existing question. At the end of this tutorial there will also be a tip for advanced users to add an Other field when first creating your question.

To change an answer to an Other textbox, edit the question using the pencil icon on the left of all of your questions in the Question Editor. Scroll-down to the Answers section and click the edit icon on the far right next to the option you would like to switch to an Other textfield:

Once clicked, a new menu will appear; Select the Edit Properties option at the top. This brings up a brand new window that includes a Special Settings section. In this drop-down, select the Other option:

Finally, Save your work till you are back at the Question Editor. Congratulations, you're all set!

Adding an Other Textbox During Question Creation

For those advanced users, there is a way to mark an answer as an Other text field when you are first creating your new question.

When entering in the answers for your radio button or checkbox question, you can specify not only the answer's title (what the respondent sees), but also the reporting value (what is saved and in your exports), and finally specify the Other special setting! Using the following example:

Other (Please Specify) | Other | other

In the above example, each item is separated by the Pipe Symbol (located above the Return key on the keyboard). Here is what each part above represents:

• Other (Please Specify): This is the title, what is seen when you preview the survey (This can be changed)
• Other: This is the reporting value, what is saved and will be displayed in your exports (This can be changed)
• other: This is the special setting for an Other textfield and will set this answer as having an Other textbox

**SPECIAL NOTE**: Please note that script tags will not work in "other" textbox fields. The ability to add them was removed because it will break your reporting.

**SPECIAL NOTE**: Other Text-boxes will not automatically show up in your reports, you'll need to add them. Here's a tutorial to help: http://surveygizmo.zendesk.com/entries/20292958-adding-other-options-in-reports-v3

Updated: 4/13/12

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