The ZoomGrants character counter that you see on some text boxes counts anything that takes up space in that text box, including:
- Letters
- Numbers
- Symbols
- Spaces
- Carriage Returns (may be counted as 2 characters)
If you are copying and pasting from another location, keep in mind that some online and text editor character counters differ. If you are getting close to the limit, try copying and pasting your answer into the ZoomGrants text box to verify that it will fit within the system limits, according to the system’s character counter.
As part of the application setup, program admins get to set each paragraph question to have a unique character limit. If you feel you need additional space, contact the program admin with the administering organization.
Troubleshooting
Because of the way that the character counter works, carriage returns may be counted as 1 character when typed, but 2 characters when saved. If you are very close to the character limit, try removing extra carriage returns.
Remember that the program admin specifically chooses how much space to give applicants to respond to paragraph-style questions, so if you feel you are unable to answer a paragraph question in the space allotted, the program administrator may be able to assist you.
If you are pasting an answer into the system, any characters in excess of the limit will be cut off. Character counters in text editing software count characters differently, so be sure that your text is under the character limit according to the character counter in ZoomGrants. If you are working outside of ZoomGrants and you are getting close to the limit, you may want to copy and paste your answer into the text box periodically to ensure that you are still below the limit.
Remember that carriage returns may count as 2 characters. If you are close to the limit, you may want to reduce the number of carriage returns that you are using.
In applications, character limits are selected by the program administrator and depend on the question type.
In paragraph-style questions, custom character limits are set by the admin. If you need additional characters, contact the program admin with the administering organization to ask that the limit be increased.
In single-line questions, the limit is 255 characters, by default. The admin has chosen to use this question type, and the character limit cannot be increased.
In table-style questions, the limit is 10 characters per cell, by default. The admin has chosen to use this question type, and the character limit cannot be increased.