Add fields to a web form adding-fields-to-a-web-form

In a Web form, fields enable users to enter information and select options. Web forms can offer input fields, selection fields, static and advanced content (captchas, subscriptions, etc.).

When you use the wizard to add fields, the field type is detected automatically based on the selected field or storage variable. You can edit it using the Type drop-down box in the General tab.

When using the buttons in the toolbar, select the type of field you want to add.

The following types of field are available:

Please specify the response storage mode: update a field in the database (stores only the last value saved) or store in a variable (the answer is not stored). For more on this, refer to Response storage fields.

Field creation wizard field-creation-wizard

For each page of the form, you can add a field via the first button in the toolbar. To do this, go to the Add using the wizard menu.

Select the type of field you want to create: you can choose to add a field in the database, a variable or to import a group of fields created in another form and collected in a container.

Click Next and select the storage field or variable, or the container you want to import.

Click Finish to insert the selected field into the page.

Adding input fields adding-input-fields

To add an input field, click the Input control button and choose the type of field you want to add.

Types of input fields types-of-input-fields

Five different types of text fields can be inserted into a form page:

Configure input fields configure-input-fields

Input fields are all configured based on the same mode, using the following options:

The General tab lets you enter the name of the field and attribute a default value to it if necessary.

The answer storage mode can be altered via the Edit storage… link. Values can be stored in an existing field of the database; or you can choose not to save information in the database (use a local variable).

The Advanced tab lets you define display parameters for the field (position of labels, alignment, etc.). See Defining web forms layout.

Adding drop-down lists adding-drop-down-lists

You can insert a drop-down list into a survey page. This lets the user select a value from those on offer in a drop-down menu.

To add a drop-down box to a form page, click the Selection controls > Drop-down list button in the toolbar of the page editor.

Select the answer storage mode and confirm your choice.

Define the labels and values of the list in the lower section of the General tab. If the information is stored in an existing field of the database and it is an enumeration field, you can fill in the values automatically by clicking Initialize the list of values from the database , as shown below:

If the data is stored in a linked table, you can select the field where the values to be suggested in the list are saved. For example, if you select the table of countries, click Initialize the list of values from the database… and select the desired field.

Next, click the Load link to retrieve the values:

Adding checkboxes adding-checkboxes

In order for the user to select an option, you need to use a checkbox.

To add a checkbox to a form, click the Selection controls > Checkbox… icon in the toolbar of the page editor.

Select the answer storage mode and confirm your choice.

Enter the label of the box in the Label field of the General tab.

A checkbox lets you assign a value to the storage field (or value) depending on whether or not the box is checked. The Values section lets you enter the value to assign if the box is checked (in the Value field), and the value to assign if it is not checked (in the Empty value field). These values depend on the data storage format.

If the storage field (or variable) is boolean, the value to assign if the box is not checked will be deduced automatically. In this case, only the Value if checked field is offered, as shown below:

Example: Assign a value to a field if a box is checked example--assign-a-value-to-a-field-if-a-box-is-checked

We want to insert a checkbox into a form to send a maintenance request, as shown below:

The information will be uploaded to the database and into an existing field (in this case, the Comment field):

If the “Maintenance required” box is checked, the Comment column will contain “Maintenance required”. If the box isn’t checked, the column will show “Maintenance not required”. To obtain this result, apply the following configuration to the checkbox on the form page:

Adding radio buttons adding-radio-buttons

Radio buttons let you offer the user a series of exclusive options to choose from. These are different values for the same field.

You can create radio buttons individually (unitary buttons) or via a multiple-choice list, but since the point of the radio buttons is to select one option or another, we will always create at least a pair of radio buttons, never just a single button.

Add single buttons add-single-buttons

To add a radio button to a form page, go to the Selection controls > Radio button menu in the toolbar of the page editor and choose a storage mode.

Radio buttons are configured in a similar way to checkboxes (see Adding checkboxes). However, no value is assigned if the option is not selected. In order for several buttons to be interdependent, i.e. selecting one automatically deselects the others, they must be stored in the same field. If they are not stored in the database, the same local variable must be used for temporary storage. See Response storage fields.

Add a list of buttons add-a-list-of-buttons

To add radio buttons via a list, go to the Selection controls>Multiple choice menu in the toolbar of the page editor.

Add as many radio buttons as there are labels. The advantage of this feature is that you can import values from an existing field (in case of an itemized field) and make it for the user to choose one option. However, the layout of buttons is less flexible.

Adding grids adding-grids

Grids are used to design voting pages in Web applications. This lets you offer lists of radio buttons for answering survey or assessment type Web forms, as shown below:

To use this type of element in a form, create a simple grid and add a line for each element to be assessed.

The number of radio buttons in each line of the grid matches the number of values defined in the simple grid.

Only one option can be selected per grid line.

Adding dates and numbers adding-dates-and-numbers

The content of the form fields can be formatted to match the data stored in the database or to satisfy a particular requirement. You can create suitable fields for the entry of numbers and dates.

Adding dates adding-dates

To allow the user to enter a date in a form page, add an input field and select the type Date….

Enter a label for the field and configure the data storage mode.

The lower section of the window lets you select the date and time formats for the values stored in this field.

You can also choose not to display the date (or time).

Dates can be selected via a calendar or drop-down boxes. You can also enter them directly in the field, but they need to match the format specified in the screen above.

However in some cases, (for entering dates of birth, for instance) it may be easier to use drop-down lists.

To do this, click the Advanced tab and choose the input mode using Drop-down lists.

You can then set limits to the values offered in the list.

Adding numbers adding-numbers

You can create suitable fields for the entry of numbers.

In a numeric field, the user can enter numbers only. Entry control is applied automatically when the page is approved.

Depending on the field in which data is stored in the database, special formatting or certain restrictions may be applied. You can also specify maximum and minimum values. This type of field is configured as follows:

The default value is the value displayed in the field when the form is published. It can be corrected by the user.

You can add a prefix and/or suffix to the numeric field via the Advanced tab, as shown below:

In the form, the rendering will be as follows:

Subscription checkboxes subscription-checkboxes

You can add controls to allow users to subscribe to or unsubscribe from one or more information services (newsletters, warnings, real-time notifications, etc.). To subscribe, the user checks the corresponding service.

To create a subscription checkbox, click Advanced controls>Subscription.

Indicate the label for the checkbox and select the information service concerned using the Service drop-down box.

The user subscribes to the service by checking the relevant option.

Inserting a captcha inserting-a-captcha

The purpose of captcha tests is to prevent fraudulent use of your Web forms.

To insert a Captcha into a form, click the first button on the toolbar and Select Advanced controls>Captcha.

Enter the label of the field. This label will be displayed in front of the Captcha display area. You can change the position of this label in the Advanced tab.

The Captcha is inserted into the page with an input field placed under the visual. These two elements are inseparable and are considered as a single item for the purpose of page layout (they occupy a single cell).

When the page is confirmed, the input field is displayed in red if the content of the Captcha was not entered correctly.

You can create an error message to display. To do that, use the Personalize the message link in the General tab.

Uploading a file uploading-a-file

You can add an upload field to a page. This functionality can be useful for intranet file sharing, for instance.

To insert an upload field to a form page, select the Advanced controls > File… menu in the toolbar of the page editor.

By default, the uploaded files are stored in resource files accessible via the Resources > Online > Public resources menu. You can use a script to change this behavior. This script can use the functions defined in Campaign JSAPI documentation, including those that concern file manipulation.

You can store the link to these files in a local variable or in a database field. For example, you can extend the recipient schema to add a link to file-based resources.

Inserting a hidden constant inserting-a-hidden-constant

When the user validates one of the pages of the form, you can set a specific value to a field of their profile or to a variable.

This field is not visible to the user, but can be used to enrich the data in the user profile.

To do this, place a constant in the page and specify the value and the storage location.

In the following example, the origin field of the recipient profile is filled in automatically whenever a user approves this page. The constant is not displayed on the page.