Format text

Format specific text by selecting bold, italic and underline. You can also insert a bulleted list or hyperlink text.

The Formatting toolbar is located in the Answers, Columns, Rows, and Question text fields. The text field displays Arial 12 in black, but this does not reflect the current style of your text when you distribute your survey. The Formatting toolbar values only apply to text that you select and format.

Note: The question and answer fields in the Edit Pane display text as Arial 12 in black. However, participants will see the font type, size, and color settings from the theme you selected when you distribute your survey. Participants will also see the font size scaled to their browser settings. To view how the text will appear in a theme, Preview a survey theme.
  1. Click inside the text field, and select the text you want to format.
    Result: The formatting toolbar appears.
  2. Optional: Format the font style.
    Option Description
    Bold Click Bold to bold your text.
    Tip: You can also press Ctrl + B if you are on a PC, or Command + B if you are on a Mac.
    Italic Click Italic to italicize your text.
    Tip: You can also press Ctrl + I if you are on a PC, or Command + I if you are on a Mac.
    Underline Click Underline to underline your text.
    Tip: You can also press Ctrl + U if you are on a PC, or Command + U if you are on a Mac.
    Subscript Click Subscript to apply subscript formatting to your text.
    Superscript Click Superscript to apply superscript formatting to your text.
    Remove format Click Remove Format to clear all font styles.
    Tip:
    • To undo the last font style, press Ctrl + Z on a PC, or Command + Z on a Mac.
    • To clear a font style, select the text and click the formatting button on the toolbar.
  3. Optional: In the Question text field, format the paragraph style.
    Option Description
    Insert a bulleted list
    1. Click Insert/Remove Bulleted List.
    2. To add another item to the list, press Enter on a PC, or Return on a Mac.
    Insert a numbered list
    1. Click Insert/Remove Numbered List.
    2. To add another item to the list, press Enter on a PC, or Return on a Mac.
    Increase indent for a list item
    1. Place your cursor in the list item.
    2. Click Increase Indent.
    Decrease indent for a list item
    1. Place your cursor in the list item.
    2. Click Decrease Indent.
    Change the text color
    1. Select the text you want to change.
    2. Click Change Text Color.
    3. Select one of the saved colors, type the color's hex code, or use the gradients to select a new color, and then click Choose.
    Change the text size
    1. Click Change text size.
    2. Select one of the following options:
      • Heading 1
      • Heading 2
      • Normal
      • Small
    Tip: Use Heading 1 or Heading 2 formatting on question text to optimize accessibility for screen readers, especially if there are multiple questions on one page.
    Tip: If you see a difference between the text size you have selected and what you see in the survey responding view, please check your browser settings. Survey responding will display the font size according to the participant's browser preferences, which will scale the font relative to the text size specifications.
  4. Optional: Check the spelling of the text using your browser's spell check function.
  5. Optional: Add or remove a hyperlink.
    Option Description
    Insert a hyperlink
    1. Click Link.
    2. In the Link URL field, enter the link address.

    When participants click a hyperlink that was created directly in the application, the page opens in a new tab.

    Remove a hyperlink Highlight the link text and click Remove hyperlink.

    Note:
    • The hyperlink must include the correct protocol. Supported protocols include:
      • http://
      • https://
      • mailto:
    • If you copy and paste text from elsewhere and the text contains hyperlinks, these hyperlinks retain the behavior that was set for them. For example, they will open in the same browser tab if no target value was specified, or open in a new window if they were set to target="_blank". To fix this issue, you can manually re-create the hyperlinks using the steps specified above so that they always open in a new browser tab.

To ensure your text is formatted correctly, preview your survey before sending it to participants.