How to add a question to a form ?

Who is this article for?

Questions are the heart of your forms: a yes/no question, a short or long text, a date, a list of choices or a document to attach. In Colib, each question belongs to a section of the form and has its own options (mandatory, help text, alert, link with the client record...).

This article explains how to add a question, which type to choose, how to set its options, and how to reorder, move, duplicate or delete your questions. It also explains what happens to the answers you have already received when you change a question.

Before you start: questions are added in a section of type Questions. Go to www.colib.io/forms, click the pencil icon (Edit) of your form, then Sections & Questions. If your form has no section yet, see the article titled "How to add a section to a form". Only the administrators of your practice can edit forms.

1Create the question

1. In the Sections & Questions tab, click Add Question in the header of the section that will hold the question.
2. Type the Question, exactly as your clients will read it.
3. Choose its Type (see the table below). The options of the window change with the type.

2Enter the choices of a list

For a List of values or a Multi selection list:

1. Type a choice in the Option box.
2. Click the green + button. The choice is added to the list above.
3. Repeat for each choice. The red trash icon next to a choice removes it.

3Set the options of the question

Click Save. Colib displays The question has been saved. and the question appears in its section.

4Edit, duplicate or delete a question

Each row of the list shows the question, its type and three icons on the right:

• Pencil — opens the question to change its text, its type, its options or its condition.
• Copy icon — duplicates the question: the copy is added right below it, with the same text, type, choices and options, but without its Client Mapping (choose it again if needed). Edit the copy to adapt it.
• Trash icon — deletes the question after a confirmation (Are you sure you want to delete this question?).

In the list, a red asterisk marks a mandatory question, a question shown in purple has a condition, and a gears icon means the question is linked to a field of the client record.

5Reorder a question or move it to another section

• Within its section — drag and drop the row of the question, or edit the question and change its Order.
• To another section — click the pencil of the question, choose the new Section, then click Save. The question keeps all its settings and goes to the chosen section.

The Section list only appears when you edit an existing question and the form has at least two sections of type Questions. When you create a question, it goes to the section where you clicked Add Question.

6Check the questions as your clients see them

Click Preview at the top right of the form editor. Here is how each type of question appears on the form:

What happens to the answers already received?

• Completed forms do not change — when you edit or delete a question, the answers and the PDF of the forms already submitted stay exactly as they were.
• Changes apply right away — the next client who opens the form sees the new version, including a client who received the link earlier and has not completed it yet.
• Deleting a question — the question disappears from the form; the answers already received for it are kept in the completed forms. If other questions were displayed depending on its answer, they are then always displayed.
• Removing a choice from a list — if a question was displayed only for that choice, its condition is removed and it is then always displayed. Check your conditional questions after such a change.
• Changing the type — if you change a list into another type, its choices are removed.
• Countersigned forms — if your practice countersigns forms, you must first countersign the forms waiting for your signature before you can change the questions (How to countersign a form).

Tip: to prepare a new version without changing the form your clients currently use, duplicate the form in the Templates tab of www.colib.io/forms and edit the copy (How to edit an existing form).

Good to know

• Forms in English and French — each language version has its own questions. Choose the version in the Language list above the sections, then add the questions of that version.
• First name and last name — every form already asks for the first name and the last name of the client at the top: you do not need to add these questions.
• Signature — the signature is not a question: it is set in the General tab of the form. See the article titled "How to add a second signature to a form".
• Related articles — How can I build a new form from scratch?, the article titled "How to add a section to a form", How do I see forms results?

Still have a question?

Write to us at support@colib.io, we will be happy to help.