The text area field gives your end client a large, multi-line text box, perfect for collecting detailed, open-ended responses in your Gatheroo requests.
What is the Text Area Field?
The text area field in Gatheroo presents clients with an expandable, multi-line text input.
It’s designed for situations where a short answer isn’t enough, when you want clients to describe something in their own words, provide context, or write a longer explanation.
For short, single-line answers, use the Single Text Line field instead.
When to Use a Text Area Field
Use the text area field when you need a detailed or open-ended response. Common examples include:
- Description of business activities
- Additional notes or context
- Special instructions from the client
- Explanations of circumstances (e.g. why a document is unavailable)
- Any question where the answer length is unpredictable
How to Add a Text Area Field to Your Request
- In the Request Builder (Step 2), navigate to the section where you want the field
- Click the + (Add Field) button
- In the field type dropdown, select Text Area
- Enter your question or prompt in the Field Name box
- Optionally add instructions in the field description area
- Click Save
Text Area Field Settings
The following field settings can be applied to a text area field:
- Mandatory: require the client to answer this field before submitting
- Conditional Logic: show this field only when a specific Single Select answer has been given
- Hide/Show Rich Text Editor: toggle this off to hide the formatting toolbar and give clients a plain text input. Useful when you want clean, unformatted responses without the distraction of bold, colour, and bullet point options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a text area field in Gatheroo?
A text area field in Gatheroo is a multi-line text input that allows end clients to write longer, open-ended responses within a request.
What is the difference between a text area and a single text line field in Gatheroo?
A text area provides a large, expandable input box for longer answers. A single text line provides a compact, single-line input for short answers like names or reference numbers.
Can I make a text area field mandatory?
Yes. Open the field settings using the gear icon and toggle on Make this field mandatory to complete .
Can I encrypt text area responses in Gatheroo?
Yes. End-to-end encryption can be applied to text area fields, which is useful when clients are entering sensitive or confidential information in their responses.
Also commonly searched
How do I collect longer written answers from clients?
Use a multi-line text or text area field in your client intake form.
This gives clients a larger input box where they can type a detailed response, such as a background summary, description of their situation, or any other open-ended answer.
In Gatheroo, the Text Area field is designed exactly for this purpose.
What is the difference between a text field and a text area in a form?
A text field (or single-line input) is designed for short responses like names or reference numbers.
A text area is a larger, multi-line input box suited for longer written answers, paragraphs, descriptions, or explanations.
Use a text area whenever you expect clients to write more than a sentence or two.