This series of help articles will lead you step-by step through the process of creating a brand new webform.
Contents:
This is the core part of Web Form Builder. Here you create the form by dragging fields from the left to the right, and define exactly how each section of the form should look.
With every change, the form will auto-save. However, you can force a manual save by clicking the circular arrows in the top right of the builder.
Each field has settings which can be accessed by clicking the edit pencil. These allow you to change the field label, placeholder, and "required" message texts; as well as any conditions, drop-down options, and hidden values.
Please note: If you are using a "Submit" button, some fields, such as Student or Contact Email Address, are required. This is because the system requires these to match against existing students.
Settings on a field
The different types of fields can offer different settings, but generally every block and field will have these options:
"Hidden?" to create a hidden value
"Display in the form" to have it always visible, or show conditionally.
"Label" is the name of the field displayed to submitters, eg PRQ - Enquiry Source may have a label of "How did you hear about us?"
"Placeholder" displays some help text inside the field, such as "Please select an option"
"Help message" is help text under the field, such as "Please use no more than 250 characters"
"Required" allows you to specify that this field must be completed.
"Required message" shows alert text when a "required" field has not been filled out, such as "Please complete this question".
Many of these settings bring in default text, to provide an example of what to write or help build your form quickly.
Types of building blocks
In addition to regular fields, there are three sets of special building blocks for your forms:
Custom Fields
You may notice some fields that begin with the word "custom", eg "cutsom_text_1". These are special fields which you can use to collect customised data, such as a Student's food allergies. See this article to understand more about how and why these fields are used.
You may note that after one of these fields has been used, the details are locked in - for more information about why this happens, see this article.
Please check with the Customer Support team if you're unsure how to use these.
Items
These allow you to add basic formatting to your form, such as images or horizontal spacer lines.
Blocks
These are predefined sections, such as the Address Block, that add in everything needed for a common part of a form.
Not sure which block to use? Check out this list of Common Form Elements for help.
The Settings Cog
You can also change some global settings on the form such as page title, favicon, and custom "required" messages.
The Eye Symbol
You may notice on most building blocks is an eye symbol:
❗ Please note: Changing an eye to closed does not mean it will pass a hidden field!
This can be used to quickly toggle items on and off, allowing you to hide them from the Form Builder engine. This means that you can test how your form will look without a certain element, without having to remove the block and lose its settings. Once you are done testing your form, we recommend removing any items you've decided not to use.
FAQs
Q. How do I pass data into the platform without the student having to select it?
A. These are called 'Hidden fields'. At the top of many fields is the "Hidden?" option. Clicking "yes" on this allows you to pass a value into the platform without the student having to select it.
Q. How do I format the values on a dropdown field?
A. By putting - in front of the option you want to add. If you need to seperate the options with headings, add * instead. For example, to get your drop down option to look like this:
You'd format it like this:
* Online
* Offline
- From a friend
- UCAS Fair
Q. Why might I not want to have a "submit" button?
A. In cases where you're using a "Signpost" item to forward a submitter to a different form or webpage. This is automatic and doesn't require the submitter to enter any data, so the "submit" button isn't required.
Q. For a Mobile Event Capture form, how can I add the "Admin Notes" field?
A. To add the hidden "Admin Notes" field, you must select one of the "MEC - custom_text" fields and name it "Admin Notes".
Q. I want to use XYZ field, but I can't see it. How can I add this to my form?
A. We're sorry you can find the specific field you're looking for. Please either raise a feature request in the Roadmap or get in touch with Customer Support.