Text

The Text question captures typed answers. It's a single-line input by default, but a toggle converts it to a multi-line box. You don't need two separate question types for structured fields and open-ended feedback.

When to use it

Use Text when you need a free-form typed answer. For short, specific inputs like names, email addresses, or job titles, keep it single-line. For open feedback or anything requiring more than a sentence, switch on Multi-line.

If you want respondents to choose from a fixed set of options, Single Choice or Multiple Choice will suit them better.

Single-line vs Multi-line

Open the question in the builder and look for the Text Settings section.

The Multi-line toggle controls the input shape. When it's off, respondents get a single-line field — good when the answer's length is predictable. When it's on, they get a resizable text area for open-ended responses where you can't know in advance how much someone will write.

Switching between the two doesn't reset your other settings. Placeholder, character limits, and required status all carry over.

When Multi-line is on, two extra options appear: Minimum length sets a floor on how many characters an answer needs before submission is allowed, and Maximum length sets the cap. Rows controls the starting height of the text area in the survey.

Formats

The Format dropdown in Text Settings restricts what respondents can type. When a format is active, anything that doesn't match is rejected with an inline error before the respondent moves on. Leave it on General to accept any text.

General
No restrictions. Use this for names, job titles, free comments, custom IDs, or anything that doesn't follow a specific pattern.

Email — example: name@example.com
Validates that the answer looks like an email address. Use it whenever you're collecting contact details for follow-up or account creation. It catches typos at entry, which is far easier than cleaning a list of bad addresses after the survey closes.

Phone Number — example: (555) 555-5555
Accepts international and domestic formats, including country codes, spaces, dashes, dots, and parentheses. Use this when you need a number to call or SMS respondents. The format is flexible enough that respondents don't have to guess how to type their number.

Number — example: 1234.56
Accepts integers and decimals, with or without commas as thousands separators. Use this for quantities, scores, amounts, or ages — any answer that will be compared or calculated later. Responses are stored as numeric strings, not as text.

Currency — example: $1,234.56
Accepts values with or without a dollar sign, with commas and up to two decimal places. Use this for budget questions, price inputs, or spend amounts where you want to enforce a monetary format and strip formatting before analysis.

Percentage — example: 75%
Accepts a number with or without a % symbol. Use this when asking about proportions, growth rates, or targets — for example, "What percentage of your budget goes to marketing?"

Social Security Number — example: 123-45-6789
Enforces the XXX-XX-XXXX pattern exactly. Use this only in verified, consent-based contexts where collecting SSNs is legally required. Make sure your survey's privacy settings and data handling comply with applicable regulations before using this format.

US Zip Code — example: 90210
Requires exactly five digits. Use this for location-based routing, regional analysis, or delivery address fields where you only need the base code.

US Zip Code +4 — example: 90210-1234
Requires the full nine-digit ZIP+4 format (five digits, a hyphen, four digits). Use this when you need precise delivery routing or when your downstream system requires the extended code.

Other settings

Placeholder shows hint text inside the input before the respondent types. For most formats, SurveyKar automatically shows the format's example when no placeholder is set. You can override it with something more specific to your question.

Character limit caps the answer length. Useful for single-line fields where very long answers would indicate the respondent misread the question.

Required stops the respondent from moving on without filling in the field.

Tips

Text supports branching logic. You can route respondents based on an exact value, a partial match ("contains"), or an empty field ("is empty"). It's useful when what someone types, like a country name or a department code, should change what they see next.

Pair a Multi-line Text question with a rating question when you want to understand the reason behind a score. Asking "Why did you give that rating?" directly after an NPS or CSAT question gives you the context that numbers alone don't provide.