Auto-suggest for open text questions
Implement an auto-suggest type-ahead for open text questions in SurveyEngine.
A step-by-step interactive tutorial on auto-suggest for open text questions in SurveyEngine. Preview the live tutorial, then download and upload it to your account to examine the construction.
Ben White, 08.07.2026
What this tutorial covers
Implement an auto-suggest type-ahead for open text questions in SurveyEngine.
Each page of the tutorial demonstrates a specific technique. Work through it as a respondent first, then open the editor to see how it was built.
What you will learn
After completing this tutorial you will be able to implement auto-suggest for open text questions in your own SurveyEngine surveys.
Download the tutorial ZIP and upload it to your account to use it as a starting point or template for your own work.
TLDR Quick links
Step-by-step walkthrough
Step 1: Add an open text question. Create the text input question that will have auto-suggest enabled.
Step 2: Prepare the suggestion list. Create a list of suggested values as a JSON array or load them from a URL.
Step 3: Configure auto-suggest. Link the suggestion list to the text question and set the minimum characters before suggestions appear.
Step 4: Set matching behaviour. Configure whether to match from the start of the string or anywhere within it.
Step 5: Test with partial inputs. Preview the survey and type partial values to confirm suggestions appear correctly.
Try the live tutorial
The live tutorial is a working SurveyEngine survey. Click through it as a respondent to see the finished result.
Then download the tutorial ZIP file and upload it to your SurveyEngine account to examine how it was built.
Preview the live tutorial or download the ZIP file to load it into your account.
References
Ready to try it? Open a free SurveyEngine account, download the tutorial ZIP and upload it to your account.
Or Contact us at support@surveyengine.com — we're glad to help.