The range question type displays a slider (or equivalent input) that lets respondents pick a number within a defined minimum and maximum. It is ideal for collecting ratings, satisfaction scores, or any numeric value where you want to constrain the range visually rather than relying on a text input with constraints.

Basic XLSForm Specification

The parameters column defines the slider bounds and step size:

For more details on the standard range question type, see the XLSForm specification (opens in a new tab).

Uses

Range questions are commonly used for:

1. Satisfaction or rating scales (e.g., 1–5 or 0–10)
2. Likert-style numeric scales
3. Collecting measurements where only discrete values are valid
4. Age brackets or score ranges where a slider improves usability over a text field

Example Usage

Basic rating scale

Decimal step

Using the value in a calculation

Appearance

The range type renders as a slider by default. No additional appearance values are required for basic usage. You can combine it with horizontal for a wider layout on web forms:

Best Practices

1. Always set meaningful start, end, and step values — do not rely on defaults.
2. Label the ends of your scale in the hint column (e.g., hint: 0 = Very dissatisfied, 10 = Very satisfied) to give respondents context.
3. For 5-point Likert scales, use start=1 end=5 step=1 rather than 0–4, since respondents expect "1" to mean the lowest.
4. Use range instead of integer + constraint when the bounded nature of the input is part of the question design (slider communicates the scale visually).

Limitations

• The slider widget may not be ideal for very wide ranges (e.g., 0–10000) — a text integer with constraints is more user-friendly in those cases.
• On mobile devices, fine step values (e.g., step=0.1) can be difficult to control precisely with a touch slider.