Checkbox

How to add and configure a Checkbox field in the Notebook Editor.

What This Field Does

A Checkbox Field provides a toggle that stores a boolean value — checked (true) or unchecked (false). Use it for presence/absence indicators, consent acknowledgements, procedural confirmations, or data quality flags. Unlike other choice fields (e.g., Select Field, Select Multiple), a Checkbox captures a single yes/no state rather than a selection from a list.

Adding the Field

To add this field, open the ADD A FIELD dialog, navigate to the CHOICE tab, and click the Checkbox card. Then click the ADD FIELD button in the lower right.

Note: The CHOICE tab may not be visible in the tab bar initially — click the › arrow button on the right side of the tab bar to scroll until it appears.

Adding a Checkbox — the CHOICE tab in the ADD A FIELD dialog

Configuring the Field

Click the field’s grey header bar to expand it and see its settings. For an overview of the settings shared by all fields — including Label, Helper Text, Field ID, and the field toolbar — see Field Identity and Field Toolbar.

Give the field a meaningful Label, review the auto-populated Field ID, and add any desired Helper Text.

Checkbox configuration in the {{Notebook}} Editor

Shared Field Options

Configure any of the shared field options as needed.

For settings shared across all field types — including Required, Annotation, Uncertainty, Conditions, Copy value to new records, and Display in child records — see Field Options.

Tips

  • “Required” does not mean “must be checked.” Marking a Checkbox as Required prevents a null (unanswered) state but still allows the collector to leave it unchecked (false). If you need to force a checked state (e.g., for consent forms), this must be configured via JSON validation rules.

  • For questions with more than two states (e.g., “yes / no / unknown”), use a Select Field or a ‘Select one option’ field instead of a Checkbox.

  • Checkbox is ideal for quick binary flags during rapid data collection — presence/absence of charcoal, bioturbation observed, safety check completed.

  • Enable Annotation and Uncertainty if collectors might need to qualify their answer, such as noting “could not confirm — poor visibility”.