Regex
The Regex (regular expressions) field allows you to collect input that must match a specific pattern. Use this field to enforce strict formatting for specialized data such as national ID, tax identifiers, or custom alphanumeric sequences ensuring that data entered is in a specific, structured format.
Adding a Regex field to your form
- In your form builder, locate the Regex under Textbox section and drag and drop it on to your form.
- The field appears with a default label and regex pattern. Click the properties to edit it.
Configuring Regex Pattern
Click the edit icon in the Configured Regex card within the Properties panel to open the configuration popup.
Regex Configuration
The Regex Validation popup lets you build a multi-segment validation rule. Each segment is a row that can either be a Pattern or Text.
- Pattern: Here you can configure your own regex pattern that the respondent's input must match.
For example, to collect a Social Security Number (SSN), you would add three Pattern rows with ^[0-9]{3}$, ^[0-9]{2}$, and ^[0-9]{4}$, each separated by a Hyphen, producing the format 123-45-6789. Learn more about the structure and common errors that occur in regex patterns. - Text: Here you can enter a static text to be displayed in the live form. This will be a fixed, read-only text that can be added as a prefix or sufix to the pattern.
For example, to collect a Zylker Employee ID, you would add a Text row with ZYL and a Pattern row with ^[A-Z]{2}[0-9]{4}$, separated by a Hyphen, producing the format ZYL-HR1042.
Note:
- Up to 4 rows can be added in total.
- At least one Pattern row is required.
- A maximum of 2 Text rows are allowed.
Separator
A Separator sits between rows and defines the character that connects the segments in the live form. For example, if you have a Text row "EMP" and a Pattern row for digits, a hyphen separator will display them as EMP-001 in the live form.
Available separators are Space (\s), Hyphen ( - ), Colon ( : ), Comma ( , ), Slash ( / ), Underscore ( _ ).
Note: Ensure the separator character is not used within the regex pattern or text. Using the same character in both may cause validation conflicts for respondents.
Preset Patterns
Click the preset icon 
(lines icon) in any Pattern row to choose from a list of built-in regex patterns. Each preset shows its name and the corresponding pattern.
Field Properties
After configuring the regex rules, you can further customize the field from the Properties panel.
- Field Label: The name displayed above the field in the live form.
- Placeholder Text: Configure individual placeholder text for each input segment. Click Configure Placeholders to set them.
- Configured Regex: Displays the configured validation rule. Click the edit icon to modify.
- Initial Value: A pre-filled default value for the field. Must match the configured pattern.
Tip: If you're new to regex, you can use online tools to generate patterns based on sample input. Regex Generator is one such tool that builds patterns from examples. Note that this is a third-party tool and Zoho Forms is not responsible for its accuracy, or content.
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