5/16/2009

SharePoint: A better Yes/No field for surveys and lists

 

The out of the box Yes / No column type in SharePoint just displays a checkbox with no text next to it. If you are using it in a survey then you have biased the question as the field is either pre-unchcecked or pre-checked. (and it defaults to YES!)

The workaround? Just use a Choice field with two choices “Yes” and “No”. When used in surveys the end result is exactly the same as Yes/No and it defaults to neither choice selected.

And, you can be more verbose when needed: “Yes I agree” / “No I don’t agree”.

 

Both a normal Yes/No and the Choice Yes/No in a survey (or list) form.

The survey report:

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for this suggestion for a better Yes/No field. Exactly the problem I've encountered today. What kind of logical logic uses a single box for yes/no, and, as you state, biases the answer?? Thanks for your help!

Glenn Wallace said...

What if we need a "yes/no" choice, but if they select "no", we need an explanation why. What are the options for "No - Explain"?

Thanks~
glenn.wallace@hughes.com

Mike Smith said...

Glenn,

There are several options:

If you are using SP 2010:
- Add the comments field below the Yes/No and write a validation formula that reports an error if the user selected No and did not enter a comment.

If you are using SP 2010 Enterprise Edition:
- Use the InfoPath button in the list's ribbon and using InfoPath rules make the comment field required if "No" and hidden if "Yes".

If you are using SP 2007:
- Edit the New and Update forms using SharePoint Designer and add some JavaScript to hide/show the comments field and validate that a comment is required if "No". (do a web search for "SharePoint form validation JavaScript")

Mike

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