Create a Text Entry

Text Entry screens ask participants to enter open-ended text responses.

To make a Text Entry screen as engaging and visually appealing as possible, try:

• Keeping question text concise.
• Using a background image.
• Selecting high-contrast text and button colors.

Note:

• The maximum response length is 280 characters.
• Sensitive data purge functionality is not supported for Text Entry questions.

1. On the Dashboard or the Activities page, click the activity name, and then click Build.
2. Click Add Screen and select Text Entry.
   A new Text Entry screen appears in the Activity Content area.
3. Optional: Edit the screen name.

   In the Activity Content area, click the edit button on the right and type a new name. This name is not visible to participants.

   
4. Select or clear Screen Rules.

   Option

   Description

   Make Response Optional

   By default, question screens require a response. Select this option to allow participants to proceed to the next screen without answering. You can also select or clear Show Skip. When selected, a Skip Question control appears separately from the transition and submission button. Participants can click Skip Question to skip the question, or they can answer the question and then click the transition and submission button. When cleared, only the transition and submission button appears. Participants click the transition and submission button to either skip the question or proceed. Tip: Customize the Skip Question control's text and appearance by clicking it in the preview pane.

5. Optional: Enable Response Assistance.
6. Set the respondent journey.
   This step is required for any screen that is not the last screen in the Activity Content area. You should also preview the respondent journey to ensure there are no errors.
7. Type the title and body text, and format the text.
8. Optional: Edit the label text for the text box.
   Tip: You can change the default English string to a localized string if you are distributing the activity in another language.
9. Add an image as a background.
   Tip:

   • You can use the Image Editor to make quick adjustments to background images.
   • If you want a solid background, you can set a background color instead.
10. For multilingual activities, add text translations.
11. Edit the transition and submission button.
12. Optional: Select or clear Treat the response as sensitive data.
13. To preview the activity while still building it, on the activity toolbar, click Preview.
    

    The preview opens in a new browser tab. Select a device type to simulate a screen size. Device type options include:

    • Phone
    • Tablet
    • Desktop

    For multilingual activities, you can also select the preview language from the language menu.

    Previewing the activity throughout the building process gives you a rough idea of how questions will display across different screen sizes, and lets you test the overall activity flow. However, the activity's appearance may vary on different devices and mobile browsers. Testing on a real device before publishing and distributing the activity is highly recommended.

14. On the activity toolbar, click Save.