About Long text

Long text gives participants a text box of several lines for open answers: feedback, suggestions, descriptions. The box shows participants that you expect more than a few words. For one line, use Short text.

Add a Long text question

1. Click the purple + in the top bar. The question type picker opens.

2. Under Text, click Long text. The question appears at the end of the current question group.

3. Click Your question here and type your question.

Settings that matter

Select the question to open its settings on the right.

• Display rows (Advanced > Display): the height of the box in lines. A larger box invites longer answers.
• Max characters (Simple tab): limits the length of the answer.
• Text input box width (Advanced > Display): the width of the box.
• Question validation equation (Advanced > Logic): sets rules such as a minimum length. See Validation.

How the answers are stored

The answer is the text as typed, including line breaks. In the export it is one column per question.

Next steps

• Short text
• Validation: make sure the answers you get are usable
• Export your responses

FAQ

Where is Huge free text?

Huge free text is not a question type in LimeSurvey 7 any more. Use Long text and set Display rows to the height you want.

How do I ask for at least a few sentences?

Add a rule under Advanced > Logic: strlen(Q020) > 100 in Question validation equation accepts answers of more than 100 characters, for a question with the code Q020. Type a message such as "Please write at least a few sentences" into Question validation tip.