Shared controls
Settings used by most fields
- Question
- The main label or instruction. Keep it direct and put background detail in Help text.
- Help text
- Optional explanation beneath the question. Conditional endings use it as their ending message.
- Required question
- Blocks submission until answered. Calculated and structural fields do not use this control.
- Question image
- Select a JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF from the reusable media library.
- Only show if
- Select another question, an operator and a value. Operators are Equals, Does not equal, Contains, Greater than, Less than and Is answered.
- Insert a previous answer
- Inserts a token such as
{{answer:12}}into a later title or help message.
Only-show conditions control visibility. Logic & branching changes the next destination and is configured separately.
Answer fields
Text, official lookups, dates and signature settings
Short text
Use for: names, references and one-line answers.
Options: Question, Help text, Required, Question image, Only show if and answer piping.
Use for: respondent contact addresses.
Behaviour: requires a valid email format. It can be selected as an Email automation recipient.
Long text
Use for: comments, descriptions and detailed feedback.
Options: the common settings; respondents receive a multi-line text area.
Number
Use for: ages, quantities and measurements.
Behaviour: numeric answers can feed Calculated fields and Greater/Less than rules.
Date
Use for: preferred dates, event dates and deadlines.
Behaviour: opens the respondent device’s date picker.
Company lookup
Use for: UK customer, supplier and organisation details.
Behaviour: the respondent searches by company name or registration number. Name searches show matching companies with their number, status and address; selecting one fills the registered name, address, company type, SIC activities and incorporation date from Companies House and saves them as one response answer.
Food hygiene lookup
Use for: supplier onboarding, restaurant forms, event catering and food-business checks.
Behaviour: the respondent searches by business name or postcode, chooses the correct establishment and Gorilla Forms saves the official business name, address, type, food hygiene rating, rating date and local authority as one response answer.
Vehicle lookup
Use for: UK vehicle enquiries, bookings, inspections and service forms.
Behaviour: the respondent enters a registration and selects Find vehicle. Gorilla Forms retrieves the public make, colour, fuel, manufacture year, engine, emissions, tax and MOT details from DVLA and saves them as one response answer.
Signature
Use for: acknowledgements and approvals.
Behaviour: captures a hand-drawn signature on desktop, tablet or mobile. Confirm that your intended use meets any legal requirements.
Choice fields
Dropdown, multiple choice, checkboxes and Yes / No
Dropdown
Options setting: enter one permitted answer per line.
Respondents select exactly one answer from a compact menu.
Multiple choice
Options setting: one answer per line.
Displays all choices as radio buttons and allows one selection.
Checkboxes
Options setting: one answer per line.
Allows one or several selections. A Contains rule can match part of the stored answer.
Yes / No
Display style: Yes / No radio buttons or a single Yes confirmation tick box.
Rules automatically offer Yes and No as smart values.
Survey fields
Star rating, emoji voting, ranking and matrix
Star rating
Number of stars: choose 5 or 10.
Can be scored in quiz mode by selecting a correct rating and points.
Emoji voting
Voting rows: enter one item or statement per line.
Each row receives the same visual sentiment choices.
Ranking
Items to rank: enter one item per line in its starting order.
Respondents reorder the complete list by preference or priority.
Matrix
Rows: one statement/item per line. Columns: one shared response option per line.
Table style: Standard or Coloured. Coloured also unlocks the Table colour palette.
Smart and payment fields
Calculated, Product and Order total
Calculated field
Calculation: select Build equation, insert other question IDs and combine them with +, −, ×, ÷ and parentheses.
The result is read-only. Use earlier Number fields and test zero, blank and decimal inputs.
Product
Products and prices: one per line using Name | Price, for example Workshop | 25.00.
Quantity: enable Allow customers to choose a quantity when multiple units may be bought.
Order total
Displays a read-only live total from Product selections. Place it after all products and before submission.
It does not configure the payment provider; use Account → Payments for that.
Structure
Section header, Page break and Conditional ending
Section header
Section heading: the visible heading. Use Help text for supporting copy.
Header colour: selects the heading treatment. Images and visibility rules are also available.
Page break
Page break name: identifies the step. New page heading: optional visible heading after the break.
Choose a Header colour or make the page conditional. Standard display uses Next/Back controls.
Conditional ending
Ending title and message: replace the normal success message for this outcome.
Use Only show if or route to it through branching. The message supports answer piping.
Presentation
Images and side-by-side fields
The media library accepts JPEG, PNG, WebP and GIF and shows usage from a 100 MB allowance. Upload once and reuse an image. Removing it from a question does not delete the library file.
The following can use half-width side-by-side layouts: Short text, Email, Long text, Number, Date, Dropdown, Multiple choice, Checkboxes, Yes / No and Calculated. Drag a supported card beside another; the public form stacks them on mobile.
Test every required field, each conditional state, calculations with realistic values, product quantities and all mobile layouts.