Select

Allows picking between a few choices.

Select questions are the easiest way to collect structured data from responders. Unlike text input fields, responders choose from pre-defined options, reducing friction and error. Common use cases include:

• Single- or multiple-choice questions

• Dropdown selections (e.g., U.S. states)

• Image or video-based pickers

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Core Settings

Allow multiple selection

Enable this setting to let responders choose more than one answer.

Autoadvance if possible

When enabled (default), the flow will automatically advance after the responder selects a choice—but only if all other questions on the step are already answered.

Autoadvance is disabled when multiple selection is allowed.

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Customizing choices

How to add choices

You can populate choices via:

• Manual entry in the Choices tab

• Bulk add from the Choice library

• Dynamically via external API lookup or local calculation (see below)

Randomize choice order

To reduce bias, enable this setting to shuffle the display order each time the step loads.

Pin to position

When randomization is on, you can pin specific choices (e.g., “Other”, “None”) to always appear in the same position.

Choice value type

By default, values are stored as strings. You can also choose boolean or number types from the Choice value type menu.

Customizing individual choices

Each choice has a:

• Label (shown to responder)

• Value (stored in submission)

Optional settings include:

• Show conditionally: Show the choice only if a condition is met.

• Exclusive: Deselect all others if selected (available only when multiple selection is enabled).

• Disabled: Prevent selection.

• Checked by default: Pre-select this option when the step loads.

• Description: Internal-only helper for admins (can be sent in payloads).

• Media (image/video): Attach visuals to choices if Show images on choices is enabled.

You can control the appearance of image/video choices in Theme → Buttons → Select → Image.

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Using the Choice Library

Formsort provides pre-built sets (e.g., U.S. states, Likert scales). Find them at the bottom of the Choices tab. Want to suggest a new one?

Adding from the choice library will replace/overwrite any existing choices.

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Collecting "Other" responses

To capture custom answers:

1. Add an “Other” option.

2. Add a Text question that appears conditionally when “Other” is selected.

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Dynamic Choice Loading

Dynamic loading is ideal when choices change frequently or are not known at build time.

Required format (choice schema)

Choices must follow this structure:

[
  {
    "label": "The first choice", // Displayed to the user
    
    "value": "choice_a",         // Stored in the answers
    
    "disabled": false,           // [Optional]: Whether the choice
                                 // is disabled
                                 
    "imageUrl": "https://..."    // [Optional]: If loading choices
                                 // for a select question with
                                 // images, the URL of the image.
  }
] 

How to configure

1. External API

• Go to Choices → Load choices dynamically → External API → Define api source.

• Set the URL for the API.

• If the API response doesn’t match the required schema, use a result mapping function to transform it.

Learn more in API answers.

2. Local calculation

• Choose Calculated locally and use TypeScript to generate choices

• The function must return an array of objects

function myFunction(): IChoice<string>[] { // readonly line
  return [
   {
     label: string, 
     value: string
    } 
  ]
}

Caclulate locally

When calculated locally is enabled, you will be able to use Typescript to output the answers for responder.

You can write any functions you need, but at a minimum, they must return an array of objects that follow the format below.

Calculated

See this video comparing different approaches to specifying choices for a visual walkthrough.

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Styling Choices

In the Style menu, use the Picker Style dropdown to choose how choices appear:

• Buttons

• Carousel

• Dropdown

• Native dropdown

• List

• Sliders

💡 For more style customization details, see Button Styling.