What Is XLSForm? Format, Sheets & Example Explained

XLSForm is a form standard that lets you build complex survey forms in a simple Excel spreadsheet. You define each question as a row and control its behavior with columns, then convert the spreadsheet into a digital form for ODK, KoboToolbox, or SurveyCTO.

Already have a workbook? Check an XLSForm in your browser for common structure and logic issues before field testing.

XLSForm exists because building digital survey logic by hand is hard. Instead of writing XML, you fill in a spreadsheet — and the XLSForm tooling turns it into a working mobile form with skip logic, validation, and multiple languages.

How does XLSForm work?

An XLSForm is an Excel workbook (.xlsx) with up to three sheets. Each sheet has a specific job:

Sheet	What it defines
survey	Every question, its type, and its logic (the form itself)
choices	The answer options for multiple-choice questions
settings	Form-level options like the title, form ID, and default language

The survey sheet is the core. Each row is one question; each column controls one property of that question.

A minimal XLSForm example

survey sheet:
type              name      label
text              name      What is your name?
integer           age       How old are you?
select_one yesno  consent   Do you consent to this interview?

choices sheet:
list_name   name   label
yesno       yes    Yes
yesno       no     No

This tiny spreadsheet becomes a three-question mobile form that runs on any XLSForm-compatible app.

What can you build with XLSForm?

XLSForm covers far more than simple questions. The standard supports:

• Many question types — text, integer, decimal, date, GPS, photo, audio, barcode, and signature.
• Skip logic — show or hide questions based on earlier answers using the relevant column.
• Validation — restrict answers to valid ranges with the constraint column.
• Calculations — compute values automatically with the calculate type.
• Multiple languages — add label::English, label::French, and more for translated forms.
• Repeats — collect repeating data, like a row per household member.

Which platforms use XLSForm?

XLSForm is a shared standard, so one spreadsheet works across the ecosystem:

• ODK (Collect + Central)
• KoboToolbox
• SurveyCTO
• Ona and Enketo

Because they all read the same format, you can move an XLSForm between platforms with little or no rework. To compare the two most popular, see ODK vs KoboToolbox. If you plan to publish through ODK Central, the ODK hosting guide explains the server side of that workflow.

XLSForm reference by topic

Each column and question type has its own rules. These guides cover the ones that generate the most errors, with working examples you can paste into a workbook:

Topic	Guide
Question types and when to use each	XLSForm question types
Showing and hiding questions (relevant)	XLSForm skip logic
Restricting answers (constraint)	XLSForm constraint examples
Computed values (calculate)	XLSForm calculations
Repeating sections, e.g. household rosters	XLSForm repeat groups
Region → district → village dropdowns	XLSForm cascading selects
Controlling how questions display	XLSForm appearance
Capturing location	XLSForm GPS and geopoint
Translating a form	Add languages in ODK
Fixing errors before deployment	Common XLSForm errors

Before any form goes to the field, run it through the XLSForm validation checklist and the browser-based quick check.

Do you have to write XLSForm by hand?

No. You can describe a survey in plain English and let AI generate the XLSForm. LooprAI builds the full workbook — including skip logic, constraints, and translations — then validates it against ODK rules before you publish. See How to Build an XLSForm with AI.

If you also need a printable paper backup or ethics-review copy, see How to Convert XLSForm to PDF.

"XLSForm made advanced survey logic accessible to non-programmers. AI form building is the next step — now you don't even need to learn the spreadsheet."

— Mehrab Ali, SurveyLoopr

Build my first form free

Next: How to Build an XLSForm with AI →