Overview
When you build a Dropdown question in the Form Builder by typing its options by hand, you can drag those options into any order. The order you set in the builder is the order users see when they fill out the form on web and mobile. Form administrators and form builders use this to put the most common answer first, group related answers, or follow a standard sequence such as severity levels.
Accessing the Form Builder
From the navigation, click Forms, then click Manage.
Open the Builder tab.
Open an existing form template, or click Create to start a new one.
On the Dropdown question you want to change, click Edit to open its settings.
How to Add Options to a Dropdown Question
Options you type yourself are called manually entered options. They're used when Use Existing Items is left blank.
Steps:
Open the Dropdown question for editing.
Leave Use Existing Items blank.
Under Options, click the Add Option row at the bottom of the list. An option is created at the end of the list.
Type the option's text.
Repeat for each option you need.
NOTE: Options you create always go to the bottom of the list, and options are never sorted automatically. Use the drag handle to move an option to a different position.
How to Reorder Dropdown Options
Each manually entered option has a drag handle (three horizontal lines) on its left side. Hover over the handle to see the Drag to reorder tooltip.
Steps:
Open the Dropdown question for editing.
Under Options, find the option you want to move.
Click and hold the drag handle to the left of the option.
Drag the option to its new position and release. The other options keep their order relative to each other.
Repeat for any other options you want to move.
Save the form using Save Draft, Save Revision, or Save and Publish, depending on the form's state.
NOTE: Only the drag handle starts a drag. Clicking into an option's text box still lets you edit or select its text as usual.
The Add Option row always stays at the bottom and can't be dragged. If you drop an option below it, the option becomes the last option in the list.
How to Reorder Options in a Long List
Once a Dropdown question has 15 or more options, a search box appears above the list. You can reorder options while a search term is entered.
Steps:
Type in the search box to narrow the list to the options you want to work with.
Drag an option by its handle to a new position among the options shown.
Clear the search box to see the full list in its new order.
NOTE: While a search is active, the dragged option moves relative to the options the search is showing. Options hidden by the search keep their positions relative to each other.
If you remove options until the search box disappears, the search term is cleared automatically so the full list is shown.
Understanding When Options Can Be Reordered
Manually entered options only: The drag handle appears only on Dropdown questions where Use Existing Items is blank.
Existing Items lists keep their own order: When Use Existing Items is set (for example, Assets, Asset Groups, or Employees), the options come from Redlist records, no drag handle appears, and the list can't be reordered.
Dropdown questions only: Radio Button and Select Button questions use a similar options list but don't have drag handles.
One question at a time: If more than one Dropdown question is open in the builder, an option can only be moved within its own question's list. It can't be dragged into another question.
Order is saved with the form: The order you set is kept when you save or publish, and reopening the template shows the options in that order.
Same order everywhere: Users filling out the form see the options in the builder's order on web, iOS, and Android.
Use Cases
Most common answer first: A safety manager builds a "Condition" Dropdown question with the options Good, Fair, Poor, and Out of Service. After adding Out of Service last, they drag Good to the top so technicians find the most frequent answer first.
Following a standard sequence: A maintenance lead creates a "Severity" question and adds the levels as they come to mind. They drag the options into Low, Medium, High, Critical so the list reads in order of severity.
Adjusting a long list: An admin maintains a 30-option "Defect Type" question. They search for "Hydraulic" to show only the hydraulic defects, drag those into the order they want, then clear the search to check the full list.
Updating a published form: An admin reorders the options on a published inspection form, saves the change as a revision, reviews it, then clicks Save and Publish so technicians see the order on their next submission.
Best Practices
Put frequent answers near the top: Ordering options by how often they're chosen speeds up form completion on mobile devices.
Use a logical sequence: For scales such as severity, condition, or priority, keep the options in a consistent low-to-high or high-to-low order across your forms.
Preview before publishing: Click Preview to confirm the option order looks right from the user's point of view.
Use revisions for live forms: Reorder options on a published form as a revision, then publish when ready, so the live version isn't affected mid-edit.
Search to work on part of a long list: On long lists, filter to a related group of options and reorder them together instead of dragging an option across the whole list.
Troubleshooting
Issue: I don't see a drag handle next to my options.
Solution:
Confirm the question type is Dropdown. Radio Button and Select Button questions don't support reordering.
Check Use Existing Items in the question's settings. The drag handle only appears when it's blank.
Note that the Add Option row never shows a drag handle.
Issue: I can't drag an option into another Dropdown question.
Solution:
This is expected. Options can only be reordered within their own question.
To use an option in another question, add it to that question with Add Option.
Issue: My new option appeared at the bottom of the list instead of where I wanted it.
Solution:
Options you create always go to the bottom of the list.
Drag the option by its handle to the position you want.
Issue: The order I set isn't showing when I reopen the form or fill it out.
Solution:
Confirm the form was saved after you reordered the options.
If the form is published, confirm the change was published with Save and Publish and not only saved as a revision.
Issue: Some options seem to be missing from the list while I'm reordering.
Solution:
Check whether a term is entered in the search box above the options. A search shows only matching options.
Clear the search box to see the full list.
Summary
Manually entered options on a Dropdown question can be reordered by dragging each option's handle in the Form Builder, including while a search narrows a long list. The order is saved with the form and is the order users see on web, iOS, and Android. Dropdown questions that use Use Existing Items, as well as Radio Button and Select Button questions, keep their own ordering and can't be dragged.