Search the knowledge base, browse our resources, and visit our forum for more detailed information
Last updated: 16 Dec 2025
This glossary defines terms specific to KoboToolbox, covering form design, data collection, and project management. Each entry includes relevant synonyms, related terms, and links to support articles for more information.
A user profile that provides access to KoboToolbox, including the ability to create projects, manage data, and configure personal settings.
For more information, see Creating an account on KoboToolbox.
Account access logs record all sign-ins for your KoboToolbox account. They help monitor account security by showing when and where an account was accessed.
For more information, see Monitoring project and account activity.
Related term(s): Account, Project history logs
A set of tools that allows different software systems to communicate with KoboToolbox, enabling automated actions such as sending data, retrieving data, or managing projects programmatically.
For more information, see Getting started with the API.
Related term(s): Synchronous exports
Setting that changes how a question or group is displayed in a form, such as showing multiple questions on one screen or modifying how response options are presented.
For more information, see Using the Formbuilder support articles and Question appearances in XLSForm.
Projects that have been removed from the active project list and no longer accept new submissions, but are retained for reference or record-keeping.
Related term(s): Deployed projects, Draft projects
A record that tracks specific actions taken during data collection or form completion, such as question timing or location, when audit settings are enabled in a form.
For more information, see Form Audit Log (ODK).
Related term(s): Metadata
The process of verifying a user’s identity by requiring a valid username and password to control access to KoboToolbox accounts, projects, and submissions.
A feature that continuously records audio during an interview while the form is being completed, capturing spoken responses without requiring separate audio questions.
For more information, see Recording interviews with background audio recording.
An automated expression in a form that generates a value based on other responses or predefined rules, without requiring the respondent to enter the value manually.
For more information, see Calculate question type and Adding calculations in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Functions
A method for narrowing down response options across multiple Select One questions, where each question’s choices are filtered based on the respondent’s previous selection.
For more information, see Adding cascading select questions in the Formbuilder and Adding choice filters in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Choice filter
A condition applied to a select type question in XLSForm that limits the list of available choices based on a previous response or other variable in the form.
For more information, see Adding choice filters in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Cascading select
Automated reports in the DATA > Reports view that display your project data in graphs and tables. Reports can be customized to adjust which questions are shown and how the results are visualized.
For more information, see Visualizing your data with custom reports.
The language that displays by default when a form is opened, usually the language used during form design or the main language intended for data collection.
For more information, see Collecting data in multiple languages.
A preset answer that automatically appears when a form loads, allowing respondents to keep the value as is or replace it with their own response.
For more information, see Using question options in the Formbuilder and Using question options in XLSForm.
To publish a form so it becomes active and ready for data collection.
For more information, see Deploying forms for data collection.
Related term(s): Redeploy
Projects that have been published and are ready for data collection, allowing users to open the form and submit responses.
Related term(s): Archived projects, Draft projects
Projects that are still being developed or edited and are not yet deployed, so they cannot receive submissions.
Related term(s): Archived projects, Deployed projects
A feature that allows a form to access records from another KoboToolbox project, so selected data fields are automatically refreshed and available during data collection.
For more information, see Dynamic data attachments.
A security feature that protects form submissions by encoding the data so it can only be decrypted by someone with the correct private key.
For more information, see Encrypting forms.
Browser-based forms used to collect data online or offline, offering an alternative to the KoboCollect Android app and compatible with all major devices.
For more information, see Data collection using Enketo web forms.
Related term(s): KoboCollect
A person who collects data by completing a form during an interview or field visit, either on a mobile device or through a web form.
Related term(s): KoboCollect, Enketo web forms
The KoboToolbox server hosted in the European Union, which users can select for storing and managing their projects and data.
For more information, see Creating an account on KoboToolbox.
Related term(s): Global KoboToolbox Server
The set of rules and conditions that control how a form behaves, including skip logic, validation criteria, calculations, and other automated actions that respond to user input.
For more information, see Introduction to form logic in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Skip logic, Validation criteria, Choice filter, Calculation
A user-friendly tool within the KoboToolbox platform that allows you to create, edit, and organize form questions through a visual interface, without requiring any technical expertise.
For more information, see Getting started with the KoboToolbox Formbuilder.
Related term(s): XLSForm
Operations used in form calculations or expressions to process data, such as performing math, working with dates, or modifying text values.
For more information, see Using functions in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Calculation, Form logic
The European Union’s data protection regulation that sets rules for how personal data must be collected, stored, and processed, including requirements for privacy, security, and user consent when handling data in KoboToolbox.
For more information, see General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The KoboToolbox server hosted in the United States, which users can select for storing and managing their projects and data.
For more information, see Creating an account on KoboToolbox.
Related term(s): European Union KoboToolbox Server
Additional instructions for a question that are hidden behind an expandable section and can be opened by the respondent to view extra guidance during data collection.
For more information, see Using question options in the Formbuilder and Using question options in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Regular hint
Standardized hashtags added to datasets to improve interoperability, allowing data to be easily understood, merged, and analyzed across different humanitarian organizations and tools.
For more information, see Using HXL tags.
The nonprofit organization that develops and maintains KoboToolbox, supporting global research, humanitarian response, and other social good efforts through open, accessible data collection tools.
For more information, see Kobo.ngo.
Related term(s): KoboToolbox
The KoboToolbox Android app used for mobile data collection, allowing enumerators to download forms, complete them offline, and submit data when connected. It is one of two ways that you can collect data with KoboToolbox, alongside Enketo web forms.
For more information, see Getting started with KoboCollect.
Related term(s): Enketo web forms
A set of tools for designing forms, collecting data, and managing projects used globally for research, humanitarian work, and other social good initiatives.
For more information, see About KoboToolbox: Accessible data collection for everyone.
Related term(s): Kobo
The text shown to respondents for a question or response option during data collection. Labels can be translated into multiple languages.
A collection of reusable questions or forms that can be added to new projects, helping you design forms more efficiently. Libraries can also be shared with other users for collaborative use.
For more information, see Using the question library.
Related term(s): Public Collections, Library locking
A feature that controls how templates from the Library can be edited after they are used to create new projects.
For more information, see Library locking with XLSForm.
Related term(s): Library
Information automatically added to a submission that provides context about how or when the data was collected, such as device ID, start and end time, or location.
For more information, see Form settings and metadata in the Formbuilder and Form metadata in XLSForm.
The user who has full control over a KoboToolbox project, including managing its data and settings, editing the form, and assigning or modifying sharing permissions for other users.
In the KoboCollect app, a project refers to a KoboToolbox account that the app is connected to. Each connected account appears as its own project and can contain multiple forms for data collection.
For more information, see Getting started with KoboCollect.
Related term(s): KoboCollect
A project in KoboToolbox contains a form, its settings, and all data submitted to that form, including any project media.
Related term(s): KoboToolbox
Settings that control who can access a project and its data at the project level, including options such as allowing submissions without authentication, making a project public, transferring ownership, and removing shared projects.
For more information, see Sharing projects with project-level settings.
Related term(s): User-level permissions
Project history logs provide a detailed record of project activity, including form updates, data edits, and changes to project settings.
For more information, see Monitoring project and account activity.
Related term(s): Project (KoboToolbox), Account access logs
The Projects home page is the main dashboard you see by default when you sign in to your KoboToolbox account. It lists all your projects and key details such as status, ownership, last modified dates, and submission counts, with quick access to project actions.
A feature that allows users to share selected form templates or questions from their Library publicly, making them available for anyone to browse and reuse.
For more information, see Using public collections.
Related term(s): Library
A feature that allows a form to retrieve values from an external CSV file during data collection, automatically filling in specific fields based on a matching value.
For more information, see Pulling data from an external CSV.
A set of related questions grouped together in a form to improve structure and organization. Question groups can be displayed on the same screen, skipped as a unit using skip logic, or repeated to collect multiple sets of responses.
For more information, see Grouping questions and repeating groups and Grouping questions in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Repeat group
Using answers from one question elsewhere in the form, such as displaying a previous response in later question text or using it in calculations, skip logic, or validation criteria.
For more information, see Introduction to form logic in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Form logic
The kind of question used in a form, which determines how respondents provide their answers, such as text, number, select one, or rating.
For more information, see Introduction to question types and Question types in XLSForm.
To update an already deployed form after changes have been made, replacing the previous deployed version so the updated form can be used for ongoing data collection.
For more information, see Deploying forms for data collection.
Related term(s): Deploy
Additional information displayed directly below a question label to help respondents or enumerators understand how to answer. Regular hints are always visible in the form.
For more information, see Using question options in the Formbuilder and Using question options in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Guidance hint
A set of questions that can be answered multiple times within a form, allowing respondents to enter repeated information such as household members, items, or events.
For more information, see Grouping questions and repeating groups and Repeat groups in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Question group
A feature that allows KoboToolbox to automatically send data to external systems by pushing new submissions to a specified REST endpoint whenever they are received.
For more information, see Using the REST services.
Rules that control whether a question or group appears in the form, based on previous answers or other conditions. Skip logic is also called relevance conditions.
For more information, see Adding skip logic in the Formbuilder and Adding skip logic in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Form logic
A completed form entry sent to a project, containing all answers and any associated media. A submission is also called a record.
A data export method that updates automatically as new submissions arrive, allowing external tools like Power BI, Excel, or Google Sheets to always access the most current data without manual downloads.
For more information, see Using the API for synchronous exports.
Related term(s): API
Settings that control what specific users can do within a project, such as viewing the form, adding submissions, editing data, validating submissions, or managing project settings.
For more information, see Sharing projects with user-level permissions.
Related term(s): Project-level permissions
Rules that define what counts as an acceptable answer for a question, such as requiring a number to be within a certain range. Validation criteria are also called constraints.
For more information, see Adding validation criteria in the Formbuilder and Adding constraints in XLSForm.
Related term(s): Form logic
A form design standard that uses Excel spreadsheets to define questions, choices, and form logic, providing a structured way to build complex or advanced forms for KoboToolbox.
For more information, see Introduction to XLSForm.
Related term(s): Formbuilder
The XML version of a form generated when a project is deployed, used by data collection tools to run the form and apply its structure, logic, and settings. An XML Form is also called an XForm.
Related term(s): XLSForm
The internal short names assigned to questions and choices that are used to store and reference data in a form. These are also called Data Column Names in the Formbuilder, and question names or choice names in XLSForm. Exporting your data using XML values can facilitate data management and analysis.
Related term(s): Label
Did you find what you were looking for? Was the information clear? Was anything missing?
Share your feedback to help us improve this article!
KoboToolbox is maintained by Kobo Inc.