Forms are a way to collect extra information from a customer. Forms can be created, named, and used with one or more products or website pages.

In this chapter:

Three areas a form can be used

Forms can be used in three areas:

  • On your product page (to gather additional information needed about the product being ordered)
  • On an internal page in your site (file upload, quote, about us, Q&A, etc.)
  • On the checkout page (to gather more information from the person ordering)

Locate forms by going to Admin > Preferences > Forms. An example of a file upload form is shown below.

  • A - The name of the page
  • B - The Title of the form
  • C - The Form Instructions
  • D - The individual form field prompts. This particular form uses a 2-column setup.
  • E - Optional CAPTCHA prompt. CAPTCHA is used to protect your site from spam by requiring that the user type the characters they see displayed. It is highly suggested for any website or B2C retail sites that you include a CAPTCHA prompt to avoid abuse of your form. (Note: CAPTCHA is enabled at the Pages level (Site > Pages > Forms). 

Creating a New Form

To create a new form, click the "+Add New" button.

The first step is to set the basic information about the form. After you do this, additional questions will display for the actual form field prompts.

Name - Give the form a name you will easily identify. The customer does not see this name; it will be in the drop-down when you assign it to an area of your site. This is a required field.

Title - This is optional and will be shown as the header for the form.

Instructions - This is optional and will be shown immediately above your form prompts.

When you have completed those three prompts, click the "Save Form" button.

Adding the form field prompts

You will now need to add the form field prompts. To do that, click the "+Add New" Form Fields button just below the basic form information entries.

The window opens to display the individual options you have for each of the prompts in your form. You will create each prompt individually.

Prompt - This is the label for the form prompt your customer will see. Example: "Enter your Name."

Prompt Number - Enter the position you want to display this particular prompt. This is helpful if you decide to add another prompt after the form is completed. Even though you add a particular prompt at the very end, you can change the order in which it is displayed to the user.

Integration ID - Tag that will identify the field in the target system.

Prompt Type - Choose what type of prompt you want to display. See image below for your choices.

  • Calendar - Used to collect a date. The User can enter a date, or select it from a month-based Calendar. Use the Default Information to set a default date, measured in days from now. The user can override the default and select any date.
  • Check Boxes - Enter one or more items in the Default Information area. Each item must be on its own, separate line. Each item will have a check box ☐ displayed next to it. The User chooses an item by clicking its check box ☑. More than one item can be selected (checked).
  • Drop Down List - Also known as a “pick list,” or a “menu.” Enter a list with a minimum of two items in the Default Information area. Each item in the list must be on its own, separate line. For a list of numbers, start the list with zero “0”. Otherwise, start the list with “None” or “Not Applicable.” The User chooses an item in the list by selecting it. Only one item can be selected.
  • File Upload - Use this option to enable the upload of a single file. Total file transfer limit per upload session is 1 GB or 2 hours. Note: a Form's File Upload field cannot be used when adding a Form to a Product or as a Checkout Form. Use the Product's Upload Field instead. See [Select Site] > Catalog > Products > General: Upload Fields.
  • Multi File Upload - Use this option to enable upload multiple files simultaneously (up to 25). Total file transfer limit per upload session is 1 GB or 2 hours. Note: a Form's File Upload field cannot be used when adding a Form to a Product or as a Checkout Form. Use the Product's Upload Field instead. See [Select Site] > Catalog > Products > General: Upload Fields. Total file transfer limit per upload session is 1 GB or 2 hours.
  • Radio Buttons - Enter a list with a minimum of two items in the Default Information area. Each item in the list must be on its own, separate line. Each item in the list will have a radio button ◎ displayed next to it. To allow a User to select “nothing,” start the list with “0”, “None”, or “Not Applicable”. The User chooses an item in the group by clicking its radio button ◉. Only one item can be selected.
  • Rating - Used to collect a star rating. The User can select from 1-5 stars ★ in half-star increments. Use the Default Information to set a “suggested” star rating.
  • Rich Text Box - Same as Text Box (below), but the User can format the text font size, color, style, alignment, and insert symbols.
  • Small Text Box - Same as Text Box (below), but the displayed box length is shorter.
  • Text Area - Used for allowing notes, lengthy messages, or descriptions to be entered by the user. The Default Information area should be left empty.
  • Text Box - Used for collecting a name, address, short description, quantity, etc. from the user. The Default Information area should be left empty. This option has a maximum of 150 characters allowed.
Column - Your choices are either 1- or 2-column forms. Please note that some skins do not have the room to display a 2-column form and in those cases, your form will display in 1 column. The example above shows a 2-column form. To use a 2-column approach, number the fields top to bottom, setting the Prompt Numbers sequentially starting with 1. Assign a column number of "1" to the fields you want to appear in the left-hand column, and assign "2" to those you want to appear in the right-hand column. 

This is required - This is an optional check box. If one of your form field prompts is a required field, select this.

Note: if you enter default text into the prompts that require text entry, that default text will satisfy the required information, so it is best to leave the default text off.

Default Information - Depending on the choice you made for the Prompt Type, the information entered in here will be different. For any of the prompts that give choices, you will need to enter each of their choices in the box provided and put each one on a separate line.

Editing and Deleting Forms and Form Fields

  • To edit the basic information about the form, select the pencil icon.
  • To edit the individual form field prompts, select the individual pencil icons beside each prompt row.
  • To delete a form, select the arrow beside the form row and click on the "Delete" button.
  • To delete an individual form prompt, click the garbage can at the end of the row. If editing the prompt, select the pencil beside the individual prompt and click the "Delete" button.
  • To un-delete a form you previously deleted, click the "Include Deleted" check box on the top-right of the page. Then click on the pencil icon beside the form and hit "Save Form." It will be active again.
  • You cannot un-delete individual form field prompts once they have been deleted, only the form itself.

Reporting Capabilities with Forms

Information that a user provides in a form assigned to a product or to the checkout area can be accessed in the Report Writer (Tools > Report Writer). There are Product and Checkout Form Field options in the Columns list of the Report Writer. Including these in your report will allow you to access the information your users provide in these forms.

Common Questions and Answers

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