---
title: "Text Input Field: Capture Freeform Responses with Powerful Formatting Options"
url: "https://help.ontraccr.com/en/article/text-input-field-capture-freeform-responses-with-powerful-formatting-options"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2025-05-26T20:40:30.160Z"
---

# Text Input Field: Capture Freeform Responses with Powerful Formatting Options

## 📄 Text Input Field: Capture Freeform Responses with Powerful Formatting Options  
 

The **Text Input** field in Ontraccr is your go-to for collecting open-ended responses. From job descriptions to reference links, this field is versatile—and comes with some smart controls like character limits, number-only input, and hyperlink formatting.

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## ✍️ What is a Text Input Field?

A **Text Input** field allows form users to type in freeform answers—letters, numbers, symbols, or even URLs. It’s ideal for collecting information that isn’t stored in a database.

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## 🛠 How to Add a Text Input Field

1.  Go to **Step 2: Fields**
2.  Click **➕ Add Field** under any section
3.  Choose **Text Input** from the **Field Type** dropdown
4.  Enter a question or label in the **Title** field

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## ⚙️ Configuration Options

### ✅ **Optional Field**

-   Default: Required
-   Enable this checkbox to make the field optional

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### 🔠 **Character Limit**

-   Toggle: `Add Character Limit`
-   Input the **maximum number of characters**
-   Users see a live character counter as they type

### 🧠 Use Cases:

-   Limit field length to prevent PDF layout issues
-   Prevent errors when sending to systems with field size restrictions (e.g. **Zapier**, **Docusign**)

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### 🔢 **Numerical Input Only**

-   Toggle: `Is Numerical Input`
-   Restricts input to **numbers only**
-   User can:
    -   Type numbers
    -   Use up/down arrows to increment values
-   Field size shrinks to match number format

### 🧠 Use Cases:

-   Entering counts, costs, or reference IDs
-   Any field requiring numeric-only values

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### 🔗 **Hyperlink Mode**

-   Toggle: `Is Hyperlink`
-   Converts pasted URLs into **clickable links** in the form
-   Works on web and mobile
-   Opens the link in a **new tab or mobile app**

> Without this setting, links are plain text (not clickable)

### 🧠 Use Cases:

-   Add links to shared folders (e.g., **Dropbox**, **Google Drive**)
-   Reference specs or documents stored elsewhere

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## 🧠 Use Case Examples

| Scenario | Setup |
| --- | --- |
| Enter a custom issue description | Basic Text Input |
| Add a link to a shared file | Enable Hyperlink |
| Input a permit ID number | Enable Numeric Only |
| Capture a message with a 200-character limit | Enable Character Limit = 200 |

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## 🧾 Tip: Combine with Conditional Logic

Just like other field types, **Text Input fields can be shown conditionally** using prior responses. This keeps your forms lean and targeted.

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## 📌 Edge Cases & Gotchas

-   ⚠️ **Character limits** are recommended if you use **custom PDFs** to avoid layout breaks
-   ⚠️ Make sure hyperlink mode is **enabled** for any link fields—otherwise users can’t click them

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