Dropdown

"Feature request: Search field in google forms dropdown"- Google Docs Editors Community

Country, size, department, store: some questions have a long list of answers. As multiple choice, every option sits on the page and people scroll past all of them to reach the next question. A dropdown keeps the list in one short menu. In Formfacade you add a dropdown from the Edit tab and paste the whole list from a spreadsheet instead of typing each choice. When a list has more than 1000 choices, Formfacade turns the dropdown into a search box, so nobody scrolls through thousands of names.

Create your form and follow the steps below.

How to create a dropdown list?

  • Click on Create your form, name your form, click Build form and click Proceed.
  • Click on the "Edit" tab
The tabs Edit, Preview, Share and Responses, with Edit marked
  • Click on the + icon (Add field) in the toolbar on the right and enter your question
  • Select Dropdown in the question type list
  • Type the first answer choice in the first box, then click Add option and type the next one. Do this for each answer choice.
  • Enable Required toggle button to make this a mandatory question as shown below
A Dropdown question in the Edit tab with the sizes XS to XXL and the question, the question type and the gear icon marked

What your users see

Dropdown question allows users to select an answer from a [long] list of options. This is similar to a multiple choice question that allows users to select only one answer from the available choices.
A form titled Form with dropdown questions, with the questions Select your T-shirt size and Select your country, each with a Choose dropdown

Tip:

Instead of manually adding each choice, you can copy the answer choices from a spreadsheet (or other systems) and paste it into the first answer option.
A Google Sheets spreadsheet named List of countries with the countries selected in column A

Dropdown Vs Multiple choice questions

Dropdown and multiple choice question allows users to select an answer from a list of predefined answer choices. How do we decide whether to use dropdown question type or multiple choice question type?
If you would like all the answer options to be permanently visible to the users, use multiple choice questions. Your users can read, compare and make their selection. You can even add images to each of these options. Additionally, Multiple choice question type lets you provide "other" option so that users can add their own answer.
The question Select your preferred mode of travel with the choices Walk, Cycle, Bike, Car, Public transport and a box for Other
If you have a long list of choices, use the Dropdown question type. It will not take too much space on the form or overload user with a lot of information that is not necessary. Formfacade makes this experience even better by converting a dropdown list into a search box if the number of choices exceeds 1000. This way users don't have to go through the hassle of scrolling through a long list of choices!
The question Select your country as a box with a dropdown arrow

Summary

If you have a long list of answer choices, a multiple choice question will fill up your form. With the dropdown question in Formfacade, users select one answer from a short menu and you can paste the list from a spreadsheet instead of typing each choice. Create your form and complete the steps above.

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