The Dropdown element is the right choice when you have a long list of options that would look overwhelming as Checkboxes or Radio buttons. Countries, industries, product categories, job titles — anywhere you'd want a compact menu that opens to reveal many choices.

It can work as single-select (like a Radio) or multi-select (like a Checkbox) depending on the Multi-select toggle, which makes it one of the most flexible Collect elements in the tool.

You can set different font colours for when the dropdown text is, or is not, selected.

Fill out the Dropdown name at the top of the Design panel. The name is internal and will name the Row or Column in the Structure panel to the left. The name of the Dropdown is also used in the form submit event on the profile.

Toggle between Line and Box to choose whether you want your Dropdown element to be styled as text with a line underneath, or text inside a box.
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Set colour for the various states of the element with hex code, RGB or colour picker. Click the X icon next to the colour code to make it transparent.

This is one of the single most-misunderstood parts of the Dropdown element (and it applies equally to Checkbox and Radio). Two separate things control what happens when a visitor picks an option:

The two are set independently. They can — and often should — be different. A friendly, descriptive label for the visitor, and a clean, short, structured value for your data.

Visitors see clear country names; the data is saved as clean ISO country codes — perfect for Segments, integrations, and anywhere else that expects a standard code.

You can add options from either side of the split, and the editor keeps both sides in sync:

For long lists — 20 countries, 50 cities, all your product categories — activate Add multiple in the Mapping section to paste all the values in one go rather than creating options one by one. This is the fastest way to build a Dropdown with many entries. You'll still need to set the visitor-facing labels in the Canvas.

Design-first people tend to start in the Canvas; data-first people tend to start in Mapping. For long lists of structured values (like country codes), start in Mapping with Add multiple — it's dramatically faster.

If you try to proceed to the next step without filling in the Option values in Mapping, Apsis One will block the activation and prompt you to go back and make the required changes before trying again. You can't publish a Form with unmapped options.

This is the system protecting your data quality.

Open the Mapping section on the right. This is where you set the values stored on the Profile of whoever fills out the Form.

Activate the Add multiple feature to paste in many options at once — a huge time-saver when your dropdown needs, say, a list of 50 countries.

For visitors to choose multiple options from your Element, activate Multi-select.

If the visitor chooses more than one option, multiple values will be added to the Attribute, separated by commas. For example: Sports equals "Tennis", "Gymnastics", "Basketball".
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You can change the colour of the options that are multi-selected — use hex code, RGB or the colour picker.
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When to use Multi-select vs Checkbox. Both let visitors pick multiple options. Multi-select Dropdown is better for long lists (10+ options) where space is tight; Checkbox is better for short lists (3–7 options) where visibility helps decision-making.

When the Dropdown element is mapped to an Attribute (for example, Workshop), the selected value appears directly on the Profile — usable in Segments, for personalisation, and for branching Marketing Automation flows.

If Multi-select is on, multiple values are stored separated by commas.

If the Dropdown element is mapped to Form response only, the value is saved as Event data. Find it in Profile view under Form & Page Interactions — click the Submit activity in the timeline.

For a multi-market brand, Country and Language are often the two most important segmentation fields. Use a Dropdown for each — the list is too long for Radio. With Add multiple, you can paste in all your target countries in one go. Map to Country and Language Attributes and you're ready for localised automation flows.

Preference centres often include lists that would be unwieldy as Checkboxes — for example, "your city" or "your favourite product category (out of 15)". Dropdown keeps the Form visually manageable while still collecting rich data.

For an event Form, a Dropdown can let visitors choose which workshop or breakout session they want to attend. If Multi-select is on, they can pick several; otherwise one. Map to a Workshop Attribute and trigger session-specific reminder emails via Marketing Automation.

For a loyalty programme spanning many locations, "your preferred store" is a natural Dropdown field. Same for preferred language of communication in a multi-market programme. These are the fields that make every future email feel personal.

Cause. Multi-select isn't activated.

Fix. Turn Multi-select on in the Mapping section.

Cause. The visible text in the Canvas and the Option value in Mapping are set separately.

Fix. Make sure each option's visible label and its Mapping value match up — otherwise segmentation will look puzzling later.

Fix. Activate Add multiple in the Mapping section and paste the full list in at once.

Fix. In Style, switch from Fixed width to Fit, or reduce the pixel width. Use the Mobile preview toggle in Forms: Settings to verify.

Cause. Data type is Form response only, not Attribute.

Fix. In Mapping, switch Data type to Attribute and pick the right Attribute.

For a wider set of Form issues, see Forms & Pages: Troubleshooting.