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Protobi's "Transform to Compact" feature simplifies the way you work with compact groups. It turns a group of elements into a single, multi-response element which can help with analysis and reporting. This feature is especially useful when you want to consolidate a group of questions into a single element to use as a crosstab banner.

In this tutorial, we'll walk you through how to use Transform to Compact, step by step.

## What does Transform to Compact do?
Transform to Compact takes a group of elements—such as checkbox questions or rankings—and merges them into a single element with multiple response values.

This is especially useful for:

* Turn checkbox groups into a single element.
* Turn ranking and rating scales into a single element to highlight top-box items.

The compacted element can then be used for various purposes, such as:

* Crosstabs banners.
* Applying "Or" filters for more flexible queries.
* Customizing sort orders or formats for responses.

## Transform to Compact Example
Let’s walk through an example where we have a group of checkbox questions. The goal is to transform this group into a single element where we can easily view percent of respondents that selected the items.
<img src="/uploads/images/image-transform-to-compact-squash-2025-04-08-21-49-20.png" alt="" style="max-width: 1000px"/>

Take for example, **Q8** a group of checkbox questions where each option is represented by a column in the data.

A value of "1" indicates that the respondent selected the option, and "0" means they did not.

While this setup works well for many analyses, it can be cumbersome when you want to treat these options as a single, combined element for further analysis, such as in a crosstab.

**Steps**:
1. Choose the group in your survey that contains the child elements you want to aggregate.

Note: To preserve the original view of the group, it's recommended that you [clone](https://help.protobi.com/tracking-studies/move-mirror-clone) the group first and then apply the transform to the clone.

2. Press the square context menu icon for the group to bring up the transform options.

3. Choose the "Transform..." option to open the transform dialog.
<img src="/uploads/images/image-transform-to-compact-squash-2025-04-09-11-44-20.png" alt="" style="max-width: 400px"/>

4. Select **Compact (squash)** and press "Ok".

Note: You can also hide the distributions of each individual child of Q2 by checking the "Hide children" option in the transform dialog.
<img src="/uploads/images/image-transform-to-compact-squash-2025-04-09-11-47-59.png" alt="" style="max-width: 350px"/>

5. Once the group is transformed, it will appear as a single distribution, where each option becomes a separate response value.

Keep in mind that because respondents can select multiple options, the percentages may add up to more than 100%.

## Using the transformed element
### Use as a crosstab banner
In its original state, **Q8** (the checkbox group) cannot be used as a banner in a crosstab. However, after transforming the group to compact, **Q8** can be dragged into another variable (e.g., Q10) to create a crosstab.

### Use for "Or" queries
Before transforming the group, applying filters would result in an "AND" query. For example, if you filter for respondents who selected both "Easy to Use Daily" and "Easy to Switch", Protobi will only show respondents who selected both.

However, after transforming the group to compact, you can filter for respondents who selected either "Easy to Use Daily" or "Easy to Switch" (an "OR" query). This gives you more flexibility in filtering your data.

Note: When you select any item as a filter, the bars for each variable will turn yellow. This is normal behavior, especially in groups of checkbox questions, where respondents can select multiple options.

### Customize sort orders
Another advantage of transforming to compact is that it allows you to customize the sort order and format for each response value. After transforming, you can edit each option (e.g., change labels or order) to match your reporting needs.

For instance, you can anchor specific responses to the bottom of the list, even if the element is [sorted by frequency](https://help.protobi.com/content/help/new-to-protobi/sorting-responses).

Note: You can also enter a numeric value in the "Sort as" column create a specific chronological order of values.

Result:

### Revert the Transformation
If you want to go back to the original state, you can easily remove the compact transformation:

1. Press the context menu icon again and select "Transform...".
<img src="/uploads/images/image-transform-to-compact-squash-2025-04-09-11-44-20.png" alt="" style="max-width: 400px"/>

2. Choose "None" from the transform options.

This will restore the original layout.

### Related Topics
* [Aggregating and summarizing group data using Transform](https://help.protobi.com/content/help/new-to-protobi/transform).

* [Transform to condense](https://help.protobi.com/intermediate-editor/transform-to-condense).

* [Condense text open-ends](https://help.protobi.com/text-open-end-questions/condense-text-open-ends).

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