Forms - Colab

Forms in Colab allow for easy parameterization of code. To add form fields:

Navigate to: Insert → Add form field

Changing a form's value updates the code, making your notebook interactive and user-friendly.

String Fields

text = 'value'  # @param {type:"string"}
dropdown = '1st option'  # @param ["1st option", "2nd option", "3rd option"]
text_and_dropdown = 'value'  # @param ["1st option", "2nd option", "3rd option"] {allow-input: true}
text_with_placeholder = ''  # @param {type:"string", placeholder:"enter a value"}

print(text)
print(dropdown)
print(text_and_dropdown)
print(text_with_placeholder)

Raw Fields

raw_input = None  # @param {type:"raw"}
raw_dropdown = raw_input  # @param [1, "raw_input", "False", "'string'"] {type:"raw"}
raw_with_placeholder = None  # @param {type:"raw", placeholder:"enter a value"}

print(raw_input)
print(raw_dropdown)
print(raw_with_placeholder)

Date Fields

date_input = '2018-03-22'  # @param {type:"date"}
print(date_input)

Number Fields

number_input = 10.0  # @param {type:"number"}
number_slider = 0  # @param {type:"slider", min:-1, max:1, step:0.1}
integer_input = 10  # @param {type:"integer"}
integer_slider = 1  # @param {type:"slider", min:0, max:100, step:1}

print(number_input)
print(number_slider)
print(integer_input)
print(integer_slider)

Boolean Fields

boolean_checkbox = True  # @param {type:"boolean"}
boolean_dropdown = True  # @param ["False", "True"] {type:"raw"}

print(boolean_checkbox)
print(boolean_dropdown)

Markdown in Forms

You can include Markdown directly in forms to provide context or instructions:

# @title ## Markdown
# @markdown You can also include Markdown in forms.
file_path = ""  # @param {type:"string"}

Hiding Code

Toggle the visibility of form fields and code using:

View → Show/hide code
Toolbar options above code cells

You can show only the form, only the code, or both.

Auto-Run Behavior

Cells marked with { run: "auto" } will auto-run when their form value changes, but only if they were manually executed first.

Interactivity with Jupyter Widgets

Colab supports Jupyter Widgets for Python-browser interactivity, enhancing user experience.

Example: Button

import ipywidgets as widgets
from IPython.display import display

button = widgets.Button(description="Click Me!")
output = widgets.Output()

def on_button_clicked(b):
    with output:
        print("Button clicked.")

button.on_click(on_button_clicked)
display(button, output)

Example: Slider

import ipywidgets as widgets
slider = widgets.IntSlider(value=5, max=10)
display(slider)

# Access the slider's value
slider.value

For more, visit the Jupyter Widgets Documentation.

Running Code

Run all cells: Runtime → Run all
Run selected cell: Click the cell and press Run
Restart and run all cells: Runtime → Restart and run all

wyattowalsh/colab-forms.md