Lua Scripting Resources

Important Update to Custom Scripting

SurveyGizmo's CustomScript Action now supports the LUA programming language.


Legacy Custom Scripting Language Deprecation Plans 

  1. New accounts (created after October 29, 2018) will only have the option to use Lua in scripts.
  2. As of October 29, 2018 Custom Scripting Actions will default to Lua as the scripting type in the Custom Scripting Action for accounts created before this date. You will be able to switch to the Legacy Custom Scripting; though we highly encourage using Lua.
  3. In the long term, Legacy Custom Scripting Actions will be switched to read-only. Read-only scripts will continue to function; you will just be prevented from editing. The exact date on this is to be determined; we will send notifications well ahead of time.


 Go to our Legacy Scripting Documentation.

While SurveyGizmo is one of the most flexible survey tools around, we get requests for customizations that are not available out of the box. This is where JavaScript and Custom Scripting can save the day. If you have scripting chops you can use the JavaScript action or the Custom Scripting action to achieve the survey of your dreams.


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Placeholder text in text fields is helpful when asking open-text questions that require a specific format e.g., phone number, email address, zip codes, etc.

Alchemer has a built-in feature to add placeholder text to Textbox, Number, Email, Percent, Date, Essay, Custom Group, and Contact Form questions. However, this feature is not available for the following question types and textfields. This script will add placeholder text to these question types and text fields:

See this script in action in an example survey.

OR

Add a survey with this script and setup to your account.

The Script and Setup

Copy and paste the code below JavaScript code into a JavaScript Action. Customize the highlighted text with your desired placeholder text. 

$(document).ready(function() {

    var placeholder = 'Placeholder';

    $('.textbox input[type=text]').val(placeholder).addClass('placeholder');

    $('.textbox input[type=text]').blur(function() {
        if ($(this).val().length == 0) {
            $(this).val(placeholder).addClass('placeholder');
        }
    });

    $('.textbox input[type=text]').focus(function() {
        if ($(this).val() == placeholder) {
            $(this).val('').removeClass('placeholder');
        }
    });
});

Add textbox in the CSS Class Name field of the question you wish to affect. 

Optional Customization

By default, the placeholder text you enter will be the same color as the font in your survey style. You may want to change this to light gray so the respondent will be encouraged to interact with and update the answer. 

To do so, go to the Style tab of your survey. Scroll down to the bottom of your survey preview and click the link to access the HTML/CSS Editor. On the Custom CSS tab copy and paste the below CSS code.  You can customize the color of the font by changing the highlighted hex code. 

.placeholder {color: #a9a9a9 !important;}