Dropdown

Free feature

Dropdown is available to all Fomr users.

The Dropdown component provides a compact single-selection menu that expands when clicked. It works well for questions with many options where displaying all choices at once would take too much space.

A dropdown component both closed and expanded

When to use Dropdown

Dropdown is ideal for:

• Country or region selection
• Category selection from long lists
• Year or date selection
• Department or team selection
• Any single-choice question with 5+ options

Tip

For shorter lists (under 5 options), consider using Multi Choice instead, as it shows all options at once and requires fewer clicks.

Adding a Dropdown component

1. Open your form in the editor

2. Drag the Dropdown component from the left sidebar onto your form

3. Click the component to select it and configure its settings

4. Add your options in the settings panel

Configuration options

Question label

The main question or prompt displayed above the dropdown.

Examples:

• “Country”
• “Select your department”
• “How did you hear about us?”
• “Preferred contact method”

Supporting content

Add helper text, an example image, or a divider between the question’s title and its input: drag a Text, Image, or Divider component onto the question and drop it on the line that appears under the title. Supporting text comes with full formatting and answer piping. Learn more in Supporting content.

Placeholder

Text displayed in the dropdown before a selection is made.

Examples:

• “Select an option”
• “Choose a country”
• “Pick one”
• ”— Please select —“

Options list

The list of choices available in the dropdown menu.

The options list being edited

To manage options:

• Click to add new options
• Drag to reorder options
• Click the delete icon to remove options
• Edit option text directly
• Paste multiple lines of text to add several options at once — each line becomes its own option, blank lines are skipped, and supported text formatting is preserved

Tips for options:

• Order logically (alphabetically for long lists, by frequency for shorter ones)
• Keep option text concise
• Use consistent formatting across all options
• Consider grouping related options together

Random order

Turn on Random order to shuffle the answer options each time the form loads, so their order doesn’t influence responses.

Required

Toggle whether a selection must be made before the form can be submitted.

When enabled:

• An asterisk (*) appears next to the question label
• Users must select an option to submit
• A validation message appears if no selection is made

”Other” option

Turn on “Other” option to let respondents give an answer that isn’t in your list. This adds an “Other” choice as the last item in the dropdown menu.

When a respondent selects it, a text input appears below the question where they type their answer. Typing an answer is required — to submit without one, they need to pick a different option instead.

A dropdown with the "Other" choice selected and the text input visible below the question

On the editor canvas you can:

• Edit the option’s label directly (the default is “Other”)
• Edit the text input’s placeholder inline (the default is “Type your answer”)
• Delete the option to turn the setting off

The “Other” choice always stays at the end of the list, even when Random order is on. It can also be preselected as a default value — respondents still type their answer before submitting.

Tips

• Use for longer lists — Dropdowns shine when you have many options. For 4 or fewer options, Multi Choice is often better.
• Order options thoughtfully — Alphabetical order works well for long lists like countries. For shorter lists, consider ordering by popularity or logic.
• Write clear placeholders — The placeholder should indicate what kind of selection is expected.
• Keep options concise — Long option text can be hard to read in a dropdown. Aim for brevity.
• Include “Other” when needed — If your list might not cover all cases, turn on the “Other” option so respondents can type their own answer.

Dropdown vs. Multi Choice

Aspect	Dropdown	Multi Choice
Space	Compact, expands on click	Shows all options
Best for	5+ options	2-5 options
Interaction	Click to open, then select	Click directly on option
Visibility	Options hidden until clicked	All options visible
Mobile	Works well	Works well

Validation

When a dropdown is marked as required:

• A selection must be made before submission
• The placeholder doesn’t count as a valid selection
• A validation message appears if submitted without selection

Validation error

Accessibility

The Dropdown component is built with accessibility in mind:

• Proper select/combobox semantics
• Keyboard navigation (Arrow keys, Enter, Escape)
• Screen reader compatible
• Focus states are clearly visible

Handling responses

Dropdown responses in your form results:

• Show the selected option text
• Show the typed answer when the “Other” option was selected — in results, CSV exports, and Google Sheets
• Can be filtered by selection
• Are included in exports
• Allow analysis of selection distribution