How to allow a user to input free text in the response form

This article explains how to allow the user to input free text in the response form so it can be used to populate the smart template.

How to create a Text field

When building the response form, the Text question can be used to allow for free text input.
Creating a Text question can be achieved by following these steps: 

1. In Template Designer, open the Form tab.
2. Click + Add question.
3. In the Type field select Text.
4. In Question title type the question. This is the question that will be displayed to the end-user.
5. Optionally, set additional settings:
   • Required: Enable this option if the user should be prevented from finalizing the generation of the document if the input is missing. An asterisk will be displayed in the response form to indicate that the question is mandatory. 
   • Hint text: Prepopulate the question to guide the user when filling in the response form. The hint text will be deleted when the user starts typing in the field.
   • Reference name: Will be prepopulated based on the question title. The reference name will be displayed when using the form responses and is also the name used in the binding syntax.
   • Prefill text: Prepopulate the question with a default value to guide the user when filling in the response form. The prefill text can be edited.
     

     Note To show multiple lines of text as prefill text, create a data source with a text field and tick Multiple lines. Enter multiple lines of text. Then use the DataSources[] function in the Prefill text field to retrieve the value from the data source, for example {{DataSources.Products["Menu"].Value}}.

   • Textbox height: Set the height of the textbox in lines of text. The default height of a text question is set to 1 line.
   • Spacing before: Edit the space between the question and the elements above it in the response form (None, Medium, or Large).
   • Spacing after: Edit the space between the question and the elements below it in the response form (None, Medium, or Large).
   • Helptext prefix: Add additional help text above the question to guide the user.
   • Helptext postfix: Add additional help text below the question to guide the user.
   • Max length: Restrict the number of characters that can be entered by the user when answering the question.
   • Share value: Enable the Share value option if the same question is used in the response form of dynamic text elements or slides that would be inserted when generating a document or a presentation. The answer to the question will be reused to avoid prompting the user with redundant questions.
6. Click Add to form.
   

   Tip Once the question has been created you can click Preview form to see how the question will appear to the end-user.

Examples

Required subject question

Create a Text question using 'Subject' as the Question title and the Required option enabled: 

Address of the recipient question with custom textbox height

Create a Text question using 'Address of the recipient' as the Question title and the Textbox height set to '3':