1. NetSuite CPQ
  2. NetSuite CPQ Configurator
  3. NetSuite CPQ Configurator Products
  4. Working with the Product User Interface
  5. Gathering Information with Questions and Answers
  6. Working with Specific Question and Answer Types

Working with Specific Question and Answer Types

NetSuite CPQ Configurator provides a variety of question types that you can use depending on the number of answers, how many answers users can select, and how you want to display the answers. For more information about when and why you should use one question type rather than another, see Gathering Information with Questions and Answers.

When creating specific question types and their answers, you may need to complete or enable more fields and options than the basic ones. The following help topics support you in this task:

For more information about the basic steps to create questions and answers, see Working with Questions and Working with Answers.

Checkbox and Radio Button Questions

Checkboxes let users choose multiple answers in response to a question. Radio buttons are more restrictive and let users choose only one answer from multiple choices.

You can add a text field or text box below a checkbox or radio button option to gather additional information from the user, such as comments or feedback. The choice between a text field or a text box depends on the additional information required. A text field is useful for a limited amount of information, while a text box is more suitable for extensive information.

The text field is hidden by default until a user selects an answer, but you can choose to always show the field onscreen.

To create a checkbox or radio button question with answers:

  1. On the Questions subtab, click New CPQC Question.

  2. In the Type field, select Checkbox/Radio Button.

  3. In the Answer Selection Type field, select one of the following options:

    • Single Choice – Creates a radio button question.

    • Multiple Choice – Creates a checkbox question.

  4. In the Sort Answers By field, choose whether to sort the answers by name or by sequence number.

  5. In the UI Columns field, enter a number between 1 and 12 to determine how many columns the question can occupy on the user interface.

  6. Click the Appearance subtab.

  7. In the Answer Layout dropdown list, choose whether to display the answers in one column (vertically) or multiple columns (horizontally). For more information, see Changing the Question Look and Feel.

  8. Click Save.

  9. On the Answers subtab, click Edit.

  10. To add a text field below the checkbox or radio button option, check one of the following boxes:

    • Add text field – Adds a single-line text field.

    • Add text box – Adds a multi-line text area box.

  11. To always show the text field or box even if users have not selected the answer, check the Always show text field or box option.

  12. Click Save.

Dropdown List Questions

Dropdown list questions let users select an answer from a predefined list when they click the arrow. To create dropdown list answers, follow the basic steps to create answers. For more information, see Working with Answers.

To create a dropdown list question:

  1. On the Questions subtab, click New CPQC Question.

  2. In the Type field, select Dropdown List.

  3. In the Sort Answers By field, choose whether to sort the answers by name or by sequence number.

  4. In the UI Columns field, enter a number between 1 and 12 to determine how many columns the question can occupy on the user interface.

  5. Click Save.

Tile and Tile Dropdown List Questions

Tile questions let you assign images to your answers, and tile dropdown questions display an image next to each list option.

Screen readers use the value of the Name field as an alternate text and read it aloud to describe the image.

You can collapse answers in a tile question to reduce the space occupied on the user interface. Users can click the arrow to view the options in a collapsed tile answer.

To create a tile or tile dropdown question with answers:

  1. On the Questions subtab, click New CPQC Question.

  2. In the Type field, select Tiles or Tiles Dropdown List.

  3. In the Answer Selection Type field, select one of the following options:

    • Single Choice – Creates a single-choice tile question.

    • Multiple Choice – Creates a multiple-choice tile question.

  4. In the Sort Answers By field, choose whether to sort the answers by name or by sequence number.

  5. In the UI Columns field, enter a number between 1 and 12 to determine how many columns the question can occupy on the user interface.

  6. Click the Appearance subtab.

  7. In the Answer Layout dropdown list, choose whether to display the answers in one column (vertically) or multiple columns (horizontally). For more information, see Changing the Question Look and Feel.

  8. To collapse the answers in a tile question, check the Collapse tiles box.

  9. Click Save.

  10. On the Answers subtab, click New CPQC Answer.

  11. On the Appearance subtab, two options are available to add an image:

    • In the Image field, select an image from the File Cabinet.

    • In the Image URL field, enter the URL of the image.

    If you select an image and provide a URL, only the image from the URL is displayed on the user interface.

  12. Click Save.

Custom HTML Questions

NetSuite CPQ Configurator provides a question type where you can use HTML code. You can enter the HTML code in the Label field of the answers. For example, you can add an image or a link. Script tags are not supported.

To create a Custom HTML question:

  1. On the Questions subtab, click New CPQC Question.

  2. In the Type field, select Custom HTML HTML.

  3. In the Sort Answers By field, choose whether to sort the answers by name or by sequence number.

  4. In the UI Columns field , enter a number between 1 and 12 to determine how many columns the question can occupy on the user interface.

  5. Click the Appearance subtab.

  6. In the Answer Layout dropdown list, choose whether to display the answers in one column (vertically) or multiple columns (horizontally). For more information, see Changing the Question Look and Feel.

  7. Click Save.

Input Box Questions

Input box questions let you create different fields where users can enter data directly or select options from a popup table or a popup list (called a picklist and picklist dropbox).

You can create the following types of input box answers:

  • Text field (formerly called a free-form text) – Lets users enter text. You can choose this answer type when you want users to provide an open-ended response.

  • Text box (formerly called a text area) – Lets users enter text in a large free-form field to provide an extensive open-ended response.

  • Date and time field – Lets users select date and time. Users can also enter the date and time directly in the field.

  • Input group – Lets you create a text field with a label on the side of your choice to provide additional information.

  • Popup table and popup list (formerly called a picklist and a picklist dropbox) – Let you create answer options for popup tables or lists with data retrieved from product tables. Users can select one or multiple options from the popup table or list when they click the input box arrow. For more information, see Working with Popup Table and Popup List Answers and Storing Answer Options in Tables.

You can show placeholder text in an input box answer before users enter text or click the input button or arrow. The placeholder text is the same as the one entered as a label.

To create an input box question with answers:

  1. On the Questions subtab, click New CPQC Question.

  2. In the Type field, select Input box.

  3. In the Sort Answers By field, choose whether to sort the answers by name or by sequence number.

  4. In the UI Columns field, enter a number between 1 and 12 to determine how many columns the question can occupy on the user interface.

  5. Click the Appearance subtab.

  6. In the Answer Layout dropdown list, choose whether to display the answers in one column (vertically) or multiple columns (horizontally). For more information, see Changing the Question Look and Feel.

  7. Click Save.

  8. On the Answers subtab, click New CPQC Answer.

  9. In the Input Box Answer Type field, select the type of the input box answer.

  10. To create date and time fields, enter the date and time formats.

  11. To create an input group, enter the label you want to display on the side of the input box in the Input Group Label field.

    To make the label appear on the right, check the Show input group label on the right box.

  12. To display the content of the Label field as placeholder text in the input box answer, check the Show label as placeholder box on the Appearance subtab.

  13. Click Save.

QTable Questions

A qTable is a question presented as a table with columns corresponding to the answers. You can assign an answer type to each column. A column can only host cells with answers of the same type.

You can use this question type to save time when your product requires a considerable amount of question and answer combinations. Instead of having to create and remember thousands of codes for rules, NetSuite CPQ Configurator automatically assigns a number preceded by an underscore to each answer code. For example, if you have a qTable with question code QTABLE and an answer with code CHECKBOX, the rules will be QTABLE/CHEKBOX_1, QTABLE/CHEKBOX_2, and so on.

The following answer types are available for qTable questions:

  • Text field (formerly called text input) – The answer is presented as a field where users can enter text.

  • Checkbox – Lets users check a box.

  • Dropdown list – Lets users select a single option from a list when they click the arrow.

  • Date and time field – Lets users select date and time.

  • Custom HTML – Lets you enter HTML and display the result on the user interface. For example, you can add an image or a link. This answer type is read-only and script tags are not supported.

  • Popup list (formerly called a picklist dropbox) – Lets you create answer options for popup lists with data retrieved from product tables. Users can select one or multiple options from the popup list when they click the input box arrow. For more information, see Working with Popup Table and Popup List Answers and Storing Answer Options in Tables.

In addition to fields common to all questions and answers, complete the fields specific to this question type and its answers.

To create a qTable question:

  1. On the Questions subtab, click New CPQC Question.

  2. In the Type field, select QTable.

  3. In the Sort Answers By field, choose whether to sort the answers by name or by sequence number.

  4. In the UI Columns field, enter a number between 1 and 12 to determine how many columns the question can occupy on the user interface.

  5. Click the QTable subtab.

  6. In the Initial Rows field, enter the initial number of rows for the qTable.

  7. In the Maximum Visible Rows field, enter the maximum number of rows for the qTable.

    If the number of rows exceeds this limit, a scroll bar appears to view the rest of the qTable on the product user interface.

  8. To allow users to insert or delete rows, check the Allow row number editing box.

    If checked, users can right-click the qTable numbered column on the user interface, and a menu with the Insert and Delete options appears.

    When users click Insert, NetSuite CPQ Configurator adds the row at the bottom of the table. When users click Delete, NetSuite CPQ Configurator deletes the last row of the table.

  9. To allow users to edit the data in the qTable manually, check the Allow cell editing box.

    Clear this box to make the entire qTable read-only.

    If you want only specific columns to be read-only, you can check the Allow cell editing box and set a read-only rule for the non-editable answers. If those answers should always be read-only, you can enter the syntax */* in the read-only rule. For more information, see Activating Building Blocks with Rules.

  10. Click Save.

  11. On the Answers subtab, click New CPQC Answer.

  12. In the QTable Column Type dropdown list, select the qTable answer type.

  13. To create a date and time field, enter the date and time formats.

  14. To create an Custom HTML answer, enter the HTML code in the QTable Custom HTML Content field on the QTable Cells subtab.

  15. To create a qTable dropdown list answer, click the QTable Cells subtab and click the open icon next to the QTable Dropdown List Options field.

    On the List popup window:

    • Double-click the text field and enter the first option.

    • Click the plus icon and create as many options as required.

    • To save the options, click OK.

    NetSuite CPQ Configurator automatically copies these options to the QTable Dropdown List Options field in JSON format. This is an example of syntax:

                      ["option 1","option 2","option 3"]

  16. Click Save.

Related Topics

General Notices