While the process of building an easy for is fairly straightforward, consideration must be taken in terms of the look, layout and content that will comprise the form itself. This article will cover the basics for building a form, by looking:
- Creating the form shell
- Adding elements
- Adding pages
Subsequent articles will also look at some of the more advanced functionality that can also be utilized such as field requirements, conditions, and more.
To create an easy form
- From the Dashboard, click Easy Forms
- Click +Add Easy Form, complete the fields in the window that opens
- Title, this is visible to users and will appear at the top of the form
- Administrative description, this identifies the form in the dashboard area, users will not see this information
- Category, select an available taxonomy term that best represents the form's category; or select Other to add a term
- Status, this option sets whether the form will allow submissions (Open), or disable submissions (Closed)
- Click Save
You should then be taken to the form's Build page where you can begin to add elements, additional pages and adjust the form's layout.
Adding Elements
Elements are the components or fields that make up your form, and are available in several different formats, including:
- Text fields
- Numeric fields
- Selection lists
- HTML
- Containers
- Buttons
- Captcha
To add an element
- Click +Add Element
- Scroll through all available element types; hover over the ? icon to display a short description for each element type
- If you know the name of the element, type the name into the Filter by Element name text field
- Once the element has been found, click Add element
- A window will open on the right, ensure you complete the necessary fields under the General tab
- If conditional rules are required for the fields, set the rules on the Conditions tab, for more information see the Advanced Features for Elements article
- Once all element configuration is complete, save your work by clicking one of 2 buttons
- Save, to save and return the edit form page
- Save +Add Element, to save and add another element
- Alternatively, click the X in the top right corner of the Element Configuration box to cancel the creation of the element
- A window will open on the right, ensure you complete the necessary fields under the General tab
- To change the order of appearance of added elements
- Click the arrow icon to the left of the element name, then drag it up/down the list of elements as needed
- To change the location of an element to a different page
- Click and drag the arrow icon to the left of the element name, then drag it under the desired page, AND drag the element to the right so there is an indentation
Adding Pages
The flexibility of Easy Forms allows your configure the form to appear as 1 or more pages. Organizing your form into multiple pages can help prevent users from becoming overwhelmed by having too many fields on a single page. Pages are similar to other elements on your forms but have the unique function of organizing where the other elements of your form are placed.
To add a new page
- Click +Add Page
- The page wizard will open on the right, at a minimum, complete the fields on the General tab
- Title, this is the title users will see at the top of the page
- Previous page button label, the button label indicating the user can go back one page
- Next page button label, the button label indicating the user can go forward one page
- Open checkbox, when checked indicates the content will be visible to the user
- If conditional rules need to be setup for the page, click the Conditions tab at the top of the window
- Once all page configuration is done, there are 2 options to save your work
- Save, to save and return the edit form page
- Save +Add Element, to save and add an element
- Alternatively, click the X in the top right corner of the Page Configuration box to cancel the creation of the element
- To change the order of appearance of added pages or elements
- Click the arrow icon to the left of the element name, then drag it up/down the list as needed
- To change the location of an element to a different page
- Click and drag the arrow icon to the left of the element name, then drag it under the desired page, AND drag the element to the right so there is an indentation
See the article Adding Content to Landing Pages to see how to add your easy form to your Stacks site.