How to Create a Form

Forms allow you to collect information from participants before or after they complete a simulation. This guide will walk you through creating your first form using our form builder.

Getting Started

Accessing the Form Builder

Navigate to Forms: Click on "Forms" in the main sidebar menu
Create a New Form: Click the "Create Form" button in the top-right corner
Form Editor Opens: You'll see the form builder interface with four tabs:
- Designer: Where you build your form
- Preview: Where you can test how your form will look to participants
- Translations: Where you add other languages
- Themes: Where you set colors, fonts and styling

Understanding the Form Builder Interface

The form builder is organized into several key areas:

Left Sidebar: Question Types

On the left side of the Designer tab, you'll see a toolbox with all available question types. These include:

Single-Line Input: For short text answers (names, email addresses, etc.)
Long Text: For longer responses that need multiple lines
Multiple Textboxes: For collecting several related pieces of information at once
Radio Button Group: For single-choice questions (participants select one option)
Checkboxes: For multiple-choice questions (participants can select multiple options)
Dropdown: For selecting one option from a list
Multi-Select Dropdown: For selecting multiple options from a list
Rating Scale: For rating questions (1-5 stars, 1-10 scale, etc.)
File Upload: For allowing participants to upload documents or images
Yes/No (Boolean): For simple yes/no questions
Image Picker: For selecting from a set of images
Single-Select Matrix, Multi-Select Matrix and Dynamic Matrix: For questions with rows and columns (like rating multiple items)
Signature: For collecting digital signatures
HTML: For adding formatted text, instructions, or images to your form

For a date, add a Single-Line Input and pick its Date variant.

Center Area: Form Canvas

This is where you build your form. You'll see:

Form Title and Description: At the top of the form
Pages: Your form can have multiple pages to organize questions
Questions: Each question you add appears here

When you select a question or page, the right sidebar shows all the properties you can configure, such as:

Question title and description
Whether the question is required
Default values
Validation rules
Display options

Step-by-Step: Creating Your First Form

Step 1: Set Your Form Title and Description

Click on the form title area at the top of the canvas
In the Properties panel on the right, enter:
- Title: A clear, descriptive name for your form (e.g., "Pre-Simulation Background Survey")
- Description: Optional text that explains the purpose of the form to participants

Note: Participants don't see the form's title, because it usually names the form in your library. They do see the description, so put their instructions there. To show the title to participants, select the form and turn on Show title to learners in the General section of the Properties panel. The Preview tab follows the same setting.

Step 2: Add Questions to Your Form

Choose a Question Type: Click on any question type in the left toolbox
Question Appears: The question will automatically appear on your form canvas
Customize the Question:
- Click on the question to select it
- In the Properties panel on the right, you'll see options to:
  - Change the question text: Replace the default question with your own
  - Add a description: Provide additional context or instructions
  - Make it required: Turn on Required if participants must answer
  - Set default values: Pre-fill answers if needed
  - Add validation: Set rules like minimum/maximum length, number ranges, etc.

Step 3: Configure Question-Specific Options

Different question types have different configuration options:

For Choice Questions (Radio Buttons, Checkboxes, Dropdowns):

Add Choices: Click the + below the choices, or Add new choice in the Properties panel
Edit Choices: Click on any choice to rename it
Remove Choices: Click the X next to a choice to remove it
Reorder Choices: Drag choices up or down to change their order

For Rating Questions:

Set the Scale: Choose the rating scale (e.g., 1-5, 1-10)
Customize Labels: Add labels for the minimum and maximum values

For File Upload Questions:

Allowed File Types: Specify which file types participants can upload
Maximum file size (in bytes): Set limits on file size

For Date Questions:

Min/Max Dates: Set Minimum value and Maximum value to limit the date range if needed

Step 4: Organize Your Form with Multiple Pages

If your form has many questions, you can organize them into multiple pages:

Add a New Page:
- Below the last page there is always an empty page. Drag a question onto it, or click Add Question on it, and it becomes a new page
Name Your Page:
- Click on the page title
- In the Properties panel, enter a descriptive page name
Move Questions Between Pages:
- Drag questions from one page to another

Step 5: Preview Your Form

Before saving, always preview your form to see how it will look to participants:

Switch to Preview Tab: Click the "Preview" tab at the top
Test Your Form:
- Fill out the form as a participant would
- Check that all questions work as expected
- Verify that required fields are properly marked
Test Different Devices: Use the device preview options to see how your form looks on mobile, tablet, and desktop

Step 6: Add Translations (Optional)

If you need your form in multiple languages:

Switch to Translations Tab: Click the "Translations" tab at the top
Add Languages:
- In the Languages list on the right, add a language
- Select the languages you want to support
Translate Content:
- For each string in your form, enter translations for all selected languages
- The form displays in the participant's language when it has text for that language

Step 7: Save Your Form

Click Save: Click the "Save" button in the top-right corner
Form Saved: Your form is now saved and available for use
Return to Forms List: You'll be redirected back to the Forms page where you can see your new form. If Cesura found issues in the form (see below), you stay in the editor so you can read them, and leave with Back when you're done

Tips for Creating Effective Forms

Keep It Simple

Don't overwhelm participants with too many questions
Group related questions together on the same page
Use clear, concise language

Make It Clear

Use descriptive question titles
Add descriptions or help text for complex questions
Clearly mark required fields

Test Before Using

Always preview your form before using it with participants
Test on different devices to ensure it works well on mobile
Have a colleague review it for clarity

Organize Logically

Start with the most important questions
Group related questions together
Use multiple pages to break up long forms

Common Question Types and When to Use Them

Single-Line Input

Best for: Names, email addresses, short answers, numbers

Long Text

Best for: Open-ended feedback, detailed explanations, comments

Radio Buttons

Best for: Single-choice questions where you want all options visible (e.g., "How did you hear about us?")

Checkboxes

Best for: Multiple-choice questions where participants can select several options (e.g., "Which topics interest you?")

Best for: Single-choice questions with many options (saves space)

Rating Scale

Best for: Satisfaction surveys, quality ratings, agreement scales

File Upload

Best for: Collecting documents, images, or other files from participants

Date Picker

Best for: Birth dates, event dates, scheduling information

Yes/No

Best for: Simple binary questions (e.g., "Do you have previous experience?")

Editing Existing Forms

To edit a form you've already created:

Go to Forms Page: Click "Forms" in the sidebar
Find Your Form: Use the search bar or browse the list
Click Edit: Click on the form or use the edit icon
Make Changes: Use the form builder to make your changes
Save: Click "Save" to update the form

Note: If a form has already been used in simulations, editing it won't affect responses that were already collected. Historical data is preserved.

Fullscreen Mode

For a better editing experience, especially with longer forms:

Click Fullscreen: Click the "Fullscreen" button in the top-right corner
Edit in Fullscreen: You'll have more space to work
Close Fullscreen: Click the close button when you're done

Answers to hidden questions are not submitted

This changed how forms behave, so read it before you rely on old data.

If a question is hidden by a condition — the learner answered it, then a later answer made it disappear — that answer is now cleared. What is on screen and what gets submitted are the same thing.

Previously the answer stayed in the session, survived a restore, and vanished only from the submitted payload. Nothing on screen showed the loss, so a form could look complete and report differently. If you built a form that depended on the old behaviour, check it.

An author can override this per form with the form's Clear hidden question values setting, if a particular form genuinely needs to keep hidden answers.

The form tells you what it will not do

When you save, Cesura reports issues that affect how the form behaves in a chip at the top of the editor, Issues that affect how this form behaves, with the number of issues. Nothing blocks the save — hiding a question is sometimes exactly what you meant — but the chip turns red when an issue would stop the form from working. Click the chip to list them.

What it looks for:

Questions that can never collect an answer — “X is hidden, so it never collects an answer”.
Requirements that never apply — “X is required and hidden, so the requirement never applies”.
Strings left empty in a language the form itself offers.
Conditions that cannot work: one referencing a question no longer in the form, one that depends on the question itself, one comparing against a choice that does not exist, or one that simply cannot be read.
Two elements sharing a name, whose answers overwrite each other.
A question taking its choices from a source that supplies none, and pages with no questions at all.
A choice question — checkboxes, radio buttons, a dropdown, and similar — with no answer options: “X has no answer options, so it never collects an answer”.
A required choice question with no answer options: “X is required but has no answer options, so the form can never be submitted”. This one is shown in red, because no participant could ever finish the form.

💡 Consent checkboxes: a checkbox question needs the option the participant ticks, such as “I agree”. A checkbox question with only a title and no options can’t be answered, so a required one blocks every participant.

A definition that could not render at all is now refused outright, with a message naming the exact place in the form that broke.

Hidden questions are marked while you edit

A hidden question used to look identical to a live one on the design surface. It is now dimmed and carries a Hidden badge, which follows the Visible property rather than whatever the condition happens to evaluate to while you are editing.

Missing translations fall back to your text

Where a form has no text for the reader’s language and no default either, the question used to render as nothing at all — a blank where a question should be. It now shows the author’s own text instead. This affected most of the forms in production, so some of your forms may look different (and correct) without you changing anything.

Getting Help

If you need help while creating your form:

Hover for Tooltips: Many options have helpful tooltips when you hover over them
Check the Preview: Always use the Preview tab to see how your form will look
Contact Support: If you encounter any issues, contact our support team

Next Steps

Once you've created your form:

Associate with Templates: You can link your form to simulation templates
Set Placement: Choose whether the form appears before or after the simulation
View Responses: After participants complete your form, you can view their responses in the simulation reports

This guide is based on the SurveyJS Creator interface. For more advanced features and detailed documentation, refer to the SurveyJS Creator documentation.