This has been confusing survey authors for years. Since 2019 the same kind of report keeps coming back: a mandatory question can't be completed, or the minimum/maximum answers setting seems to be ignored (15363 in 2019, 17330 in 2021, 20622 in 2026). Each time only the reported case was patched, and only for ranking. The underlying inconsistency was never addressed, so every other question type with more than one answer still has the same problem.

The "Mandatory" setting is one On/Soft/Off switch, but what it requires depends on the question type, and the question editor doesn't show which rule applies:

• Single-answer types (list, text, numerical, date, ...): an answer must be given.
• Multiple choice (with and without comments): at least one option must be checked.
• All array types, multiple short text, multiple numerical: every row must be answered.
• Array (Numbers) with checkbox layout: at least one box per row.
• Ranking: all items must be ranked, unless a minimum or maximum number of answers is set. Then one ranked item is enough.

The "Minimum answers" and "Maximum answers" settings work separately from mandatory, which causes three problems:

1. Questions that can't be completed. If a mandatory array, multiple short text or multiple numerical question has a maximum number of answers below its number of rows, it can never be completed. Mandatory requires all rows, and the maximum allows fewer. Ranking had the same problem (15363, 17330); it was fixed with a special case for ranking only.
2. A minimum that has no effect. On a mandatory array, "Minimum answers = 3" does nothing, because all rows are required anyway.
3. A hidden mandatory. A question that isn't mandatory but has a minimum number of answers can't be left empty. The sum settings of multiple numerical behave differently: they only apply once the question has been answered.