Form Types

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Create a New Form
• Creating a Survey
• Workflow Forms
• Workflow Form FAQ

Create a New Form

In this article we will take you through a step-by-step guide on how to create, customize, and share your form. We have a few quick links below if there's a section that you're more interested in. 

Step 1: Create a New Form

To begin creating a form,  click the "Create" button on the Forms tab. This will always appear at the top right of the Forms tab but will also appear in the middle of the page if no forms have been created yet. There is also the option to import a form from a form URL or HTML. For more details, click here.  

Note: If you do not see this button you may not have permission to create forms. Please contact your account admin so he or she can adjust your permissions settings .

When selecting Create New Form, you will then have the option to add the Form Name, URL, and Language. The form URL will automatically populate with the form name. If the form URL is already taken, you will be prompt to use another URL. At any point, you can click 'Start with blank form instead' at the bottom of the window to go directly into the Builder. For this example we're going through all the steps of creating a regular Form, but if you're looking for more information on creating a multi-step Workflow Form for something like an approval process, you can check out this article. 

Optionally, you can choose a template from the options we have available by selecting "Start with a template" on the bottom right corner. Using a Template will give the option to select a Category such as Sales, HR/Workflow, IT, etc. Based on the Category selected, a list of popular templates will appear. 

When selecting a template, there will also be the option to select the Theme of the form. The options will include the Default theme, Light, or Dark stocked themes. If there is another Theme that you wish to use or create, you can select it in the Builder on the left hand side. For more information on creating your own theme, check out this article. 

Step 2: Build/Add Fields

Drag a field from the Form Fields menu on the left of the form builder to add the fields you want to your form.  

When you click on a field, you'll see a window slide out from the left where you have options to edit the field you're on(the example below is our Name field). See our support doc titled Add, Edit, Delete, Copy, Move Fields for more information.

Step 3: Form Settings

Click the Settings tab to set the name of a form, the language, the theme, emails & redirects, 3rd party integrations, and plugins. You may also enable security features and add user access to the form.

Step 4: Share/Use Your Form

Click the Share tab to find the link to your form (the Hosted URL) and the embed code needed to place the form on your website. The Quick Start menu provides the link to your Form and also the JavaScript Embed Code, which can both be quickly and easily copied by clicking the 'COPY' buttons. You can also access Lightbox and iFrame embed codes by clicking the 'Embed Form' option along the left. Click on "Social Media" to find directions on how to embed your form in Wordpress, Joomla, and TypePad.

See it in action below!

Creating a Survey

Looking to gather information in the form of a questionnaire? Then the Survey form is the best for you! A Survey form allows you to display one question to submitters at a time without having to go through the trouble of adding a separate section for each question to make a standard form be multiple pages. 

Step 1 - Create a Survey

To create a new survey, click the "Create" button in the Form tab. A page will pop up that asks you what type of form you're creating, select "Survey" then hit "Next Step". 

On the next page, you'll be required to add a Survey Name, Survey URL and which Folder you'd like to save your Survey form (If you don't have an existing folder, Save to Folder option will be greyed out. You should be able to create a new folder here). You will also be asked to either "Start with a Template" which allows you to choose one of our created Templates or "Start with blank Survey instead" which allows you to add your own fields. Choosing "Start with blank Survey instead" defaults to the mobile version and one question being displayed at a time as a setting, but these can be changed manually once the survey is created, allowing you for more customization.

Step 2 - Adding your Fields

Drag and drop the fields you'd like to be included in your survey form. 

You should be able to make changes to the fields added to your Survey form by clicking on the field you'd like to modify. 

Step 3 - Previewing your Survey Form

You have three options when previewing your survey: View live form, Preview on smartphone and Preview on tablet.

View live form: This view will display your survey on a web browser.

Preview on a smartphone: This view will display your survey in portrait orientation.

Preview on tablet: This view will display the survey in landscape orientation.

Survey is a popular feature Formstack customers use often but some may prefer to create a Standard Form for their data-gathering purposes.

Note: Factors like browsers, screen sizes, operating systems, and version updates will affect how forms appear across devices. It is recommended to always test forms on any device you need to support.

Form Portals

Form Portals allows users to bundle forms together and easily distribute them to a list of end users by email. Let's say your Human Resource team needs to send several forms to new employees, monitor progress towards completion, and send reminders to those who have not completed the forms. This article takes you through how to make this possible through Form Portals, you can continue reading to see how to set this up below or you can skip to the video at the bottom if you prefer that format. 
 

When users log in, they will have the option to select Form Portals on the top header. On this screen, click to 'Create Your First Form Portal' to begin grouping the forms together that you wish to share with your end users.
 

Note: It's also possible to copy an existing portal by selecting the Portal and clicking 'Copy Portal' at the top left of the page. 

For each Group, you can add an image, group name (required), and description. This will be seen by the end user when they open the Form Portal Group.
 

To add users, click on Add Participants on the left, and then begin typing emails in the User box separated by commas. Also, you can import a CSV file of emails or select to send the Group to all Formstack Usernames. If you forget to add a user, you will still have the option later.

To add your first form, select the name from the Form Link drop-down. You will then need to set the Display Name (required) that the end user will see within the Portal Group as well as a Description.

Next, there is the option to add a Deadline Frequency based on Daily (once a day, specified hour), Weekly (once a week, specified day), Monthly (1st, 15th, or end of the month), or Date. The Deadline Frequency will give the option to turn on an Email reminder that will send at the interval you choose before the deadline selected.

After saving the first form, you will return to Group settings where you can add as many forms as needed.

When the end user has been added to the group, they will receive the invite email like the one shown above.
 

After clicking on 'Get Started,' the end user will see a list of all the needed forms to fill out along with their Description and Deadline Frequency. When clicking on 'View form,' the form will appear ready to fill out. The Save and Resume feature will also work within the Portal.
 

Form Settings
 

Once an end-user fills out a form, the owner of the Portal will be able to see who has completed the form and when. For end users that did not complete the form, there is an option to send a reminder.

To add additional end users to the Portal, click on the plus sign in the top right corner. You can add as many end-users as you need. Also, end-users can be deleted. If a deleted end-user tries to access a form from the Portal they will receive an error.

External Portal Users

An External Portal User is a user a Portal has been shared with that does not have a Formstack Username. Each account has a limit on the number of External Portal Users. If you have reached your External Portal User limit, reach out to Support for more information on adding more.

See it in action below!

Workflow Forms

You are viewing documentation on our legacy Workflow Forms Feature. Click here for help with our Workflows Product instead.


Workflow Forms allow you to create a single form where multiple submitters can participate in filling it out.

When building out a workflow form, you get to customize what sections each person assigned can edit and even view. Workflow forms are a great tool to use for employee and manager feedback loops. For example, a workflow form can enable an employee to complete the first section, upon submitting their section is viewable by their manager who completes the second section, and then passed to People Ops for final approval. All the submitted data from each participant are combined into a single record and saved within the workflow's Submissions section.

Note: Workflow Forms are only available as an Add-on. When using our Formstack GO app to collect offline submissions, it's only possible to complete the first step of your workflow form, while any subsequent steps would not be supported and would need to be complete online. 

Build a Workflow Form

Step 1: Begin a Workflow form. Within Forms, you have two options. You can copy a form or already created workflow form by selecting the form from the list. Hover over Copy, and select "Copy as a Workflow Form" from the dropdown:

Note: Workflow forms and standard (non-workflow) forms can be copied into a new Workflow form. Existing workflows forms may not be copied into a standard form.

Or create a new workflow form by selecting Create and select Workflow from the given options:

 Then follow the prompts to name your workflow form, create the URL, and save the workflow form, and its submissions, to a certain folder. 

Step 2: Build your Workflow form. Workflow forms are built like non-workflow forms by dragging and dropping the desired form elements. Sections are used to map out the steps in the Workflow Form Editor.

Customize the Workflow

Once you have finished building the form and appropriate sections; next, create the workflow form steps.

Step 1: Navigate to Workflow. When you have finished building out the form including the sections, select Workflow within the Build tab.  

Step 2: Create the Entry Step. The Entry Step initiates the workflow flow and will be editable by the first person who fills out the form to set the workflow form into motion.

Under Settings, choose whether this person needs to be authenticated (has a Formstack account) or non-authenticated.

In Sections, assign the Section(s) by dragging and dropping from the created sections or using the dropdown.

 Tip: Open the Logic tab after you have created the following steps to customize where the workflow form should go next. ie: The employee may select a specific manager from the dropdown. When logic is applied, Step 2 will go to only that specific manager. 

 Step 3: Create the remaining steps. Once the Entry Step is complete, move to the next section by selecting the plus (+) icon. Each of the steps requires you to:

• Under the Settings tab:
• Name the step.
• Toggle on or off Authentication (must be a Formstack user).
• Select the participant who is filling out the form. This could be any Formstack User or an individual assigned from a field on the previous step (all persons assigned to Step 2 and forward, must be a Formstack Participant user). 
• Under the Sections tab:
• Drag and drop section(s) from the Workflow Form Editor box or select the section(s) from the Sections to Include dropdown.
• Choose whether the assigned step can view or edit the section(s) selected. 
• Under the Logic tab (optional): 
• Check the box that allows the participant to 'send step back' to the previous step with an optional comment.
• Add if this/then that logic to steps. 

• Note: Logic can only be added when there is a step created after the one you are currently working on. ie: Logic for Step 2 can only be created when Step 3 has been added. 

Delete a step

Select the trashcan icon to delete a section. 

Publish Your Workflow Form

Once you have added your workflow form steps, you can publish the workflow form.

Step 1: Select Save Settings. You will receive a prompt that the workflow form steps are saved or prompted to review a section for incompleteness.

Step 2: Select Publish Workflow to finalize workflow.

Note: Once a workflow form is published, you may not be able to edit the form or workflow without first un-publishing the workflow form. 

Share Workflow Form Submissions 

Submissions can be shared in multiple ways.

1. Shared Link or RSS Feed. Formstack users, with permission to view the Workflow form's submission information, may share completed submissions. From the Submissions tab of the Workflow form, navigate to the "Completed Workflow" tab. Here you can share via Shared Link or RSS Feed.

Note: In-Progress submissions may not be shared. 

2. Export Submissions. Alternatively, Formstack users with permission to view the Workflow form's submission information may export all or some submission entries by selecting them and choosing an option under the Export dropdown. 

3. Notification and confirmation emails and integrations. These will trigger like a non-workflow form once the form has gone through the entire workflow form and is submitted as a completed workflow Form. 
 

Workflow Form FAQ

Do approvals work? The Approvals add-on does not currently work with Workflow Forms. 

Are there certain fields I cannot use on a Workflow form? The Event and Credit Card fields are not available. This also includes the inability to use 'on-form' payment processors.

Are there certain features I cannot use on a Workflow form? Yes, you cannot use the multi-page, Save & Resume, Progress Indicator, or Skip Validation on a Workflow form. 

What happens if I move an in-progress submission to Complete status? Integrations are not run for submissions manually moved to the Completed tab. Select an individual submission to force-run the integration. 

If Data Encryption is turned on, is this enabled on the first step or all steps? When Data Encryption is enabled on the Workflow form, a workflow form step containing viewable data from a previous step will require the participant to enter the encryption password.