Create a New Custom Form or Survey

To set up a form so you can request or require your members’ input, you first must create the form.

1. Click on the “Forms” tab on the vertical Dashboard menu at the left side of the screen.
2. Click on the “Custom Forms” tab to create a custom form, or the “Voting/Surveys” tab to create a poll or survey. (NOTE: You can create either type of form from either tab in the “Forms” section of the vertical dashboard menu.)
3. In the “CUSTOM FORMS” or “SURVEYS” window that opens, click on the “+Add New Form” or “+Add New Survey” button.
4. In the “ADD NEW FORM” or “ADD NEW SURVEY FORM” window that opens, enter a name for your form in the “Form Name” box. The name of your form can be different from the name of the page on which it appears.
5. In the “Submission Response” box, type or paste a message to display after a member submits the form.
6. In the “Form Recipient 1” box, type or paste the e-mail address of a person who should receive notification each time a member fills out this form. To add more than one recipient, click on the “+Add Another Recipient” link. To remove a recipient, click on the red “Remove” link that appears above the “Form Recipient” box. (Note that every form must have at least one recipient.)
7. Activate the “Make Survey/Poll” checkbox to create a form that’s designed to assess member input in survey/poll/voting format.
• When you activate the “Make Survey/Poll” checkbox, you reveal the “Make Submissions Anonymous” checkbox, along with the “Survey End Date” box.
• The “Make Submissions Anonymous” option prevents members from seeing the results during the voting process. This provide anonymized voting.
• Click in the “Survey End Date” box to display a date picker so you can establish when a survey or poll ends.
• Note that if you add an end data to a survey, you will not be able to view survey results until after the survey ends.
• Activate the “Enable Ticketing” checkbox to create a form you can use in the Ticketing System (for example, to accept and track ARC requests).
• Note that when you activate the “Enable Ticketing” checkbox, the “Members Only” checkbox also activates. These forms automatically are set to be members-only. Only members can see and use any forms created for the Ticketing System.
• Activate the “Members Only” checkbox to make a form visible only to members who have logged in to your website.
• Activate both the “Make Survey/Poll” and the “Members Only” checkboxes to reveal the “Household Voting (Limit One Per Address)” checkbox. Activate this checkbox to limit voting to one vote per Household.
• Note that you must have the Households feature set up to create Household-based voting..
• Activate the “Make Form Uneditable” checkbox to block anyone from changing the form once it receives at least one submission.
• Activate the “Member Dashboard/Portal Accessible” checkbox to make the form accessible through the Member Dashboard’s “Forms/Polls” card and the Member Portal’s “Forms” button..
• When you have set up your form with the options you want, click on the “Save” button to create your form. To cancel creation of the form, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
• After you save a new form, the “FORM MANAGEMENT” window opens so you can add form-input features.

Custom forms display their requests for input in individual sections.

1. In the “FORM MANAGEMENT” window, click on the “+Add New Section” button in the box below the name of the form to create the first section of the form.
2. In the “ADD SECTION” window that opens, activate the “Show Title” checkbox to make the name of the section visible when the form loads. Type the name of the section in the “Section Name” box. Click on the “Save Section” button to create your section and return to the “FORM MANAGEMENT” window. To cancel creation of the form section and return to the “FORM MANAGEMENT” window, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
3. After you create a section, set up its content. Sections can contain full-width input, which covers the full width of the section area, or half-width input, which occupies half the width. Two half-width sections can set side by side on a form. A section can contain as many inputs as you need for the purpose you want your form to fulfill.
4. Click on the “+Add Half-Width Input” button to create a half-width field, or the “+Add Full-Width Input” button to create a full-width field.
5. To remove a section, click on the red trashcan icon to the right of the “Edit” icon (blue pencil) next to the section name.

To edit a section of an existing custom form, first create and save the form, and then add the structure you need to obtain the required information from your membership.

1. Click on the “Forms” tab on the vertical Dashboard menu at the left side of the screen.
2. Click on the “Custom Forms” tab.
3. In the “CUSTOM FORMS” window that opens, locate your form in the list.
4. Click on the three-dots menu in the “ACTIONS” column and choose “Form Builder” to open the “FORM MANAGEMENT” window.
5. Click on the “+Add Half-Width Input” button to create a half-width field in the section you want to edit.
6. In the “ADD CUSTOM FIELD” window that opens, click on one of the eight types of fields on the list to select it. (Note that Full-Width Input fields are reserved for the Spacer, Paragraph, Upload, and Date Picker field types as described below.)
7. Select “Short Text Input” as your field type if you want members to enter brief alphanumeric input, from a house number to a quick answer to a question.
   • In the “ADD TEXT INPUT FIELD” window that opens, enter a title in the “Title” box. Enter placeholder text in the “Placeholder” box to show an example of the type of input you expect.
   • To require completion of this field, activate the “Required” checkbox.
   • Click on the “Save Text Input Field” button to create your Text field, or to close the “ADD TEXT INPUT FIELD” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
   • Select “Long Text Input” as your field type if you want members to enter a paragraph of alphanumeric input, such as a description or long-form answer.
   • In the “ADD PARAGRAPH TEXT FIELD” window that opens, enter a title in the “Title” box. Enter placeholder text in the “Placeholder” box to show an example of the type of input you expect.
   • To require completion of this field, activate the “Required” checkbox.
   • Click on the “Save Paragraph Text Field” button to create your Text field, or to close the “ADD PARAGRAPH TEXT FIELD” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
8. Select “Dropdown Menu” as your field type if you want members to choose a value from a list of alphanumeric options that drops open when members click on it.
   • In the “ADD DROPDOWN MENU” window that opens, enter a title in the “Title” field.
   • Type values into the “Option” boxes to set up your dropdown menu items in the order you want them to appear.
   • By default, the “ADD DROPDOWN MENU” window contains two “Option” boxes. To add more options to your menu, click on the “Add Another Option” link. To remove a menu option, click on the “remove” link to the right of the name of the option.
   • To require completion of this field, activate the “Required” checkbox.
   • Click on the “Save Dropdown Menu” button to create your Dropdown field, or to close the “ADD DROPDOWN MENU” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
9. Select “Checkbox” as your field type if you want members to choose one or more options from several pre-specified options.
   • In the “ADD CHECKBOXES” window that opens, enter a title that describes the type of input you expect.
   • Type values into the “Option” boxes to set up your checkboxes in the order you want them to appear.
   • By default, the “ADD CHECKBOXES” window contains two “Option” boxes. To add more options, click on the “Add Another Option” link. To remove a checkbox option, click on the “remove” link to the right of the name of the option.
   • To require completion of this field, activate the “Required” checkbox. Note that the “Required” checkbox must be active to set a minimum number of items that members must select.
   • To specify minimum and maximum numbers of items that members can select from a set of checkboxes, activate the “Set minimum and maximum number of selections” checkbox.
   • Click in the “Minimum:” box and enter a number that represents the fewest number of options a member can select in this field.
   • Click in the “Maximum:” box and enter a number that represents the greatest number of options a member can select in this field. This number must be fewer than the total number of options.
   • Click on the “Save Checkboxes” button to create your Checkbox field, or to close the “ADD CHECKBOXES” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
10. Select “Radio Buttons” as your field type if you want members to choose only one of several pre-specified options.
    • In the “ADD RADIO BUTTONS” window that opens, enter a title that describes the type of input you expect.
    • Type values into the “Option” boxes to set up your radio buttons in the order you want them to appear.
    • By default, the “ADD RADIO BUTTONS” window contains two “Option” boxes. To add more options, click on the “Add Another Option” link. To remove a radio-button option, click on the “remove” link to the right of the name of the option.
    • To require completion of this field, activate the “Required” checkbox.
    • Click on the “Save Radio Buttons” button to create your Radio Buttons field, or to close the “ADD RADIO BUTTONS” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
11. Select “Spacer” as your field type to leave an area of your form blank as a divider among the elements in a section. The Spacer field type does not include any options or settings.
12. Select “Paragraph” as your field type to add static text that provides instructions for using the form.
    • In the “ADD PARAGRAPH TEXT” window that opens, enter your text in the “Title” box.
    • Click on the “Save Paragraph Text” button to create your Paragraph field, or to close the “ADD PARAGRAPH TEXT” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
13. Select “Upload Field” as your field type so the person who completes this form can upload a document as an attachment.
    • In the “ADD UPLOAD FIELD” window that opens, enter an identifying title in the “Title” box.
    • To require completion of this field, activate the “Required” checkbox.
    • Click on the “Save Upload Field” button to create your Upload field, or to close the “ADD UPLOAD FIELD” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
14. Select “Date Picker Field” as your field type so the person who completes this form can enter a calendar date using picker. (Note that unlike a regular text field, the Date Picker only enters dates, so you can limit input to the type of information you want.)
    • In the “ADD DATE PICKER FIELD” window that opens, enter an identifying title in the “Title” box.
    • Enter placeholder text in the “Placeholder” box to show an example of the type of input you expect.
    • To require completion of this field, activate the “Required” checkbox.
    • Click on the “Save Date Picker Field” button to create your Date Picker field, or to close the “ADD DATE PICKER FIELD” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
15. To edit a field, click on the “edit” link to the right of its name. To remove a field, click on the “remove” link to the right of the “edit” link. Because Spacers have no content to edit, they include only a “remove” button.
16. To move a field within a section, click and drag the four-headed arrow to the left of the name of the field.
17. When you are happy with your overall form, click on the “Save Form” button, and then click on the “back to custom forms” link under the title of the “FORM MANAGEMENT” window to return to the “CUSTOM FORMS” window.
18. To close the “FORM MANAGEMENT” window without saving, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.
19. To switch to editing another form, choose the name of the form from the “Select Form to Edit” dropdown menu, and click on the “Select” button. If you have unsaved changes in the form you’re currently editing, the “LEAVE PAGE?” window appears, and asks if you want to leave the page and abandon your changes. Click on the “Continue” button to switch to the second form and abandon your changes to the first form. To close the “LEAVE PAGE” window without switching to another form, click on the “Cancel” button, press the “Esc” key, or click on the “X” in the top right corner of the window.