Yes, input fields can be set up so that they are displayed to the respondent in the form of a cascade only when an answer is entered in the first field does the next one appear below it, then the following one, and so on. This has two key advantages: It saves space on the questionnaire page in question and, more importantly, thanks to the dynamics, it gives a nice surprise effect for the respondent, e.g. in the case of a (wish) list!
Example of an input field list with a cascade effect
Here’s how to proceed:
- Select the “Multiple input fields” question type from the standard elements.
- Use the “Edit” button to go to the setting options for the individual input fields.
- Start at the second input field and there select the eye icon for the visibilities to the right of the red pin.
- Then set the visibility condition for the input field to: “Item is visible if … relevant question -> First text field is not equal to no answer” [Explanation: This means that the second text field is only visible if the first one is not empty, i.e. filled in].
- Set the visibility condition of the other input fields analogous to the second one – be sure to set “not equal to empty”.
- Save each visibility condition and finally the entire dialog box for editing the input fields with the green “Save” button!
Example of a visibility condition for input field cascade
It’s a few steps to the desired cascade effect but don’t let that scare you away. Once you’ve created the question, you can use it as a template or clone it into other surveys as you see fit.
By the way, the visibility feature, which is at the heart of the cascade effect, is a versatile feature that can be used to create a dynamic questionnaire: Questions, answers, images, etc. can be selectively shown and hidden. Read more about this in our helpdesk guide to Conditional Visibilities.