Along with the custom forms you create, you also can add custom fields to your Member Form and Household Form. It’s easier to work with these assets when you understand how they function and to which types of tasks they’re best suited.
Note that not all field types are available in all situations in which you can add fields.
Field types
Text Inputs
These come in two sizes:
Short and
Long.
The only difference between these two versions is indicated in their names.
The Short Text Input field is best suited to single-line answers.
If the information in the field takes up more space than the field dimensions can display, the Short Text Input Field scrolls to display the response.
When you know the information is short—a phone number, for example—then the Short Text Input Field is ideal.
(If the user needs to enter a date, see the Date Picker field type, described further below.)
The minute the answer requires multi-line text input, switch to the Long Text Input field.
It includes a sizing grip in the lower right corner, a triangular area with parallel lines on it to resemble knurling. Click and drag this corner to make the field wider and/or deeper. These changes don’t last when you reload the page, but they’re useful for longer content.
Dropdown Menus: Choose one option from more than one
This field type creates a dropdown menu from which you can make a single selection.
This field type is ideal for situations in which you present multiple choices and want the user to select only one.
Each answer must be entered as a separate entity. By default, the Dropdown Menu field includes two option boxes when you first create it. The “Add Another Option” link enables you to keep adding more answer choices. We’ve tested this field type with as many as 64 choices—not that anyone really wants to enter that many.
Checkboxes: Choose more than one option
This field type is ideal for multiple-choice scenarios in which you want the user to be able to make more than one choice.
The option setup process is identical to that for Dropdown Menus: Two boxes when you first create the field, plus an “Add Another Option” link to add more.
Set up a minimum and/or a maximum number of selections for a Checkbox field to accommodate situations in which—for example—members must choose no more than three out of five options, or to require that members select at least two options out of a set of five.
Radio Buttons: Choose one option from more than one
This field type often is used for binary choices. Vote “Yes” or “No”; choose “Accept” or “Reject.”
You also can use Radio Buttons for voting purposes when you want users to make one selection from two or more options, but you want all the options visible at once—unlike the way Dropdown Menus work.
The setup process is identical to that for Dropdown Menus and Checkboxes: Two option boxes when you first create the field, plus an “Add Another Option” link to add more.
Spacers: Organize your fields
When you want a field to appear without another field beside it, use a Spacer to occupy the adjacent slot.
When you want a vertical gap between two rows of fields, add a Spacer.
Spacers possess no data-input capabilities and do absolutely nothing except add space.
Paragraph Text: Provide instructions
When you need static text to provide instructions on your form, use the Paragraph Text field type.
Note that although you cannot apply style attributes to your Paragraph Text, you can use carriage returns to break it up into multiple individual paragraphs.
Uploads: Accept files from users
When you need the user to upload documentation (for example, to support an application for membership or an ARC request), use the Upload field type.
It provides the user with a standard dialog box from which to navigate to a folder on their device and select a file to upload. To add multiple files, the user simply reopens the Upload field.
Date Picker: Enter valid dates
If you try to use a text field type to elicit date information from a user, you can’t rely on them to enter the date completely—month, day, and year—unless you use a Date Picker field.
This field type presents a calendar-style date picker from which the user clicks on the appropriate date to enter the information with the correct formatting.
Member Form and Household Form fields vs. Custom form fields
The Member Form accepts the following field types:
Short Text Input
Long Text Input
Dropdown Menu
Checkbox
Radio Buttons
File Upload
Date Picker
The Household Form accepts the all the fields you can add to the Member Form, except for the File Upload field type. That’s because the Household Form only is accessible to Admins, not to Members.
Full-Width vs. Half-Width Fields
Custom fields come in two widths.
Full-Width fields span the entire width of a form section.
Half-Width fields take up half the width, minus enough space to put a gap between two adjacent fields.
Not all field types are available in both widths.
Only the Spacer, Paragraph, Upload, and Date Picker field types are available as Full-Width fields.
The Short Text Input, Long Text Input, Dropdown Menu, Checkbox, and Radio Button fields must be Half-Width fields.