Grouping questions in XLSForm

Last updated: 25 Nov 2025

Grouping questions in XLSForm helps organize related content into clear, structured sections, improving form layout and navigation. For example, you can group all demographic questions into one section.

XLSForm makes it easy to create groups and nested groups, and to apply skip logic to entire question groups. Group-level skip logic streamlines the respondent’s experience by showing only relevant sections based on previous answers.

This article covers the following topics:

• Creating question groups and nested groups in XLSForm

• Displaying all grouped questions on a single page

• Adding skip logic to question groups

Note: This article focuses on grouping questions in XLSForm. To learn about grouping questions in the KoboToolbox Formbuilder, see Grouping questions and repeating groups.

Creating a question group

To create a question group in XLSForm:

1. In the type column of the survey worksheet, enter begin_group to indicate the start of the group.

2. In the name column of the begin_group row, enter the unique identifier for the group.

3. In the label column, enter the title of the group as you want it displayed in the form. The label is optional and can be left blank.

4. Enter each question of the group in its own row, as you normally would.

5. In a new row after the grouped questions, enter end_group in the type column to indicate the end of the group.

   • In the end_group row, leave the name and label columns blank.

survey worksheet

type	name	label
begin_group	personal_info	Section A: Personal Information
text	name	What is your name?
integer	age	How old are you?
select_one yn	married	Are you married?
end_group
survey

Nested groups

Nested groups are groups of questions inside another group of questions. Nested groups can be used to create a hierarchical structure within your XLSForm. For example, you can include a group of questions about a child inside a larger group of questions about the household.

When creating multiple groups, ensure that each begin_group row has a corresponding end_group row. If the number of begin_group rows does not match the number of end_group rows, the form will generate an error, preventing it from functioning properly during preview or deployment.

survey worksheet

type	name	label
begin_group	personal_info	Section A: Personal Information
text	name	What is your name?
integer	age	How old are you?
select_one yn	married	Are you married?
begin_group	education	Education
select_one yn	student	Are you currently a student?
select_one edu	education_level	What is the highest level of education you have completed?
end_group
end_group
survey

Repeat groups

In XLSForm, question groups can be repeated to collect the same set of responses multiple times within a form. This is useful when gathering similar information about multiple people, items, or events. Repeated groups are called repeat groups.

To learn more about setting up repeating groups of questions in XLSForm, see Repeat groups in XLSForm.

Appearance settings for question groups

A common reason to group questions is to display them together on a single page. You can adjust the group’s appearance settings to control how grouped questions are shown during data collection. The steps vary depending on whether you are using KoboCollect or Enketo.

Note: Appearance settings to display groups on a single page work both for question groups and repeat groups.

Using KoboCollect to collect data

By default, KoboCollect displays each question on a separate screen. Users must move manually from one question to the next.

To display all grouped questions on the same screen in KoboCollect:

1. In the survey worksheet, add an appearance column.

2. In the appearance column, enter field-list in the begin_group row.

   • Each question group will now appear on its own page.

survey worksheet

type	name	label	appearance
begin_group	personal_info	Section A: Personal Information	field-list
text	name	What is your name?
integer	age	How old are you?
select_one yn	married	Are you married?
end_group
survey

Using Enketo web forms to collect data

By default, Enketo web forms display all questions on a single page.

To display each group of questions on its own page in Enketo web forms:

1. In the settings worksheet, add a style column.

2. In the second cell of the style column, enter pages.

   • This applies the pages theme to your Enketo web form, dividing it into separate pages similar to KoboCollect.

settings worksheet

style
pages
settings

3. In the survey worksheet, add an appearance column.

4. In the appearance column, enter field-list in the begin_group row.

   • Each question group will now appear on its own page.

survey worksheet

type	name	label	appearance
begin_group	personal_info	Section A: Personal Information	field-list
text	name	What is your name?
integer	age	How old are you?
select_one yn	married	Are you married?
end_group
survey

Applying skip logic to question groups

Applying skip logic to question groups ensures that only relevant sections appear based on earlier responses. For example, in a household survey, you can use skip logic to show a group of questions for the head of household only when a previous question identifies the respondent as such. This makes the form easier to navigate and more responsive to user input.

To apply skip logic to question groups in XLSForm, use the same approach as you would for individual questions:

1. Add a relevant column to your survey worksheet.

2. In the relevant column for the begin_group row, enter the condition that determines when the group should be shown.

3. If the condition is met, the entire group will be displayed. If not, the group will be hidden.

This helps control the flow of your form so that only relevant sections appear based on earlier responses, making the form more streamlined and responsive to user input.

Note: Skip logic can be applied both for question groups and repeat groups. To learn more about skip logic in XLSForm, see Adding skip logic in XLSForm.