Templates #
Seamlss also has an array of form templates for you to add to your organisation’s forms.
You can also edit any forms in your list, regardless of whether they are form templates or ones you have created yourself.
Create New Form #
If none of the template forms meet your requirements, you can create your own forms.
To create a new form, click the + Add Form tab.
Fill out the name and form description which the client will see.
Adding Questions #
To add a question, click the grey Add New Field box.
A sidebar will appear showing the options for the field.
From the Type drop-down menu, select the type of question you would like to add. The next section will go through the different types of question fields.
You can use the Description field to give the client additional information related to the question. The toolbar at the top of the description box contains formatting options.
Select the Is Required tickbox if the question MUST be answered to submit the form.
Click the blue Add button to save the question and return to the form, or Add and add another to keep adding more questions.
It is a good idea to save your form as you go because the form will not auto-save. There is a blue Save button at the bottom left of the form.
Editing buttons will appear on the right-hand side of each question.
Clicking on the pencil icon will allow you to edit the question — you can change the wording of the question, and the question type (See our help page on creating forms for more information about question types.)
To delete a question, click the red x.
Click the up and down arrows to reorder the questions.
The six dots on the right will allow you to click and drag to reorder the questions.
Field Types #
Text Fields #
For single-line text fields or large text fields, type your question in the Title box, and a text field will be added to the form for the client to type their answer into. The size of the field you choose will depend on how much you expect the client to write. Single-line text boxes are a fixed size. Large text boxes can be expanded.
On the form they will look like this:
Option Fields #
Type your question in the Title box, then type the first option in Options, then click Add option. You can repeat this to add as many options as you need.
Multiple options – select any will allow the client to tick multiple boxes.
Multiple options – select one will only allow the client to select one option.
Drop-down menu options – select one creates a drop-down menu for clients to select from. They can choose one option only.
Options can be deleted by clicking the blue minus button beside the option. The options can be re-ordered by clicking on the grey squares and dragging the option into its new spot.
On the form the questions will look like this:
Special Fields #
Special fields can be File upload, Multiple File upload, Email address, or Date. All you need to do is fill in the Title field and tick whether or not the question is required.
File Upload #
On the form, the fields will look like this:
To upload a file, the client can click anywhere in the light blue box to choose the file, or click and drag the file into the light blue box.
Email Address #
Simply select Email address as the field type, and write your question in the Title section.
It will appear on the form like this:
Date #
Simply select Date as the field type, and write your question in the Title section.
It will look like this on the form:
The client will be able to click on the calendar icon to select the date or type it out using the dd / mm / yyyy format.
Display Fields #
The Display Field allows you to add additional content to your form, such as a Heading, Plain text description, Hyperlink, or File download.
Headings #
Select Heading as the type of field.
Type the heading in the Heading Text field. Next, select the heading size from the Heading Type drop-down menu.
Headings will look like this:
You can edit, delete, or move the questions by clicking the blue icons on the right-hand side.
Plain Text Description #
Select Plain text description to add other text that doesn’t require a response, for example, to give further information.
The formatting tools at the top of the content box will help you customise your text. Text can be bold, italic, or underlined. There are bullet-point and numbered list options, as well as the ability to indent text. You can also add links and tables.
Plain text will look like this to the client:
Hyperlink #
If you want to add a link to your form, select Hyperlink.
Paste the URL address into the Link box, and write a name for the link in Link Text (this text will appear on the form instead of the link itself). Add a description if you would like.
You can also select whether or not the link will automatically open in another tab.
The link will appear as blue underlined text with a link icon next to it, like this:
File Download #
You can add files for your clients to download using the File download field type. Give your file a tile and add a description if needed.
Click anywhere in the light blue box to choose the file you want to add to the form, or click and drag the file into the light blue box from your file explorer.
You can add multiple documents to this field.
Once uploaded, the file will appear as a grey square that shows the file size.
Click the blue add button to save the file download field.
If you want to check the file you have uploaded after adding it to the form, click the blue View File button.
It will appear like this on the form:
The client will click on the blue View File button to download the file.
Conditional Questions #
To make forms less bulky and easier to read, you can use Conditions to hide questions until the client gives an answer that triggers them to appear. The easiest way to use this feature is with yes/no questions.
Click the grey Add New Field button to start a new question —
–or click the blue edit button to make an existing question conditional.
Go to the Conditions tab.
To make the question hidden until the trigger answer is given, tick Hide field by default.
Go to the first drop-down menu under When. Choose one of your existing questions from the list.
Go to the next drop-down menu to select the condition.
Choose Equals if you want the question to appear when the client chooses a specific answer from given options.
For questions that require a numerical answer, for example, How many cars do you own? you could select Greater Than or Less Than from the conditions menu.
You might use Contains as the condition where a keyword is used in a text field.
Next, enter the value that triggers the question to appear.
If you have an optional text field and want to ask another question if ANY answer is given, put an asterisk (*) in the value box.
Go to the drop-down menu under Then, to choose what happens when the trigger answer is given. In most cases, you will select Show This Field.
If you want to show a question by default and only hide it when a certain answer is given, untick Hide by default and select Hide This Field.
Finally, return to the Fields tab and write your question as explained earlier in this help document.
Once you have written the question, click the blue Add button.
The question will be marked as Hidden in the form builder.
You may add multiple conditions for the same question, eg. one question if the client answers Yes and a different question if they answer No. Create each one separately by clicking Add New Field or Add and add another each time.
Once you have created a question using conditions, you can stack as many hidden questions as you like by clicking Add New Field and selecting the hidden question under the drop-down menu in the Conditions tab. Make sure these questions are sequential in the form builder or they won’t appear directly below the initial question. You can re-order the questions by clicking on the grey boxes on the right-hand side and dragging them to their new position.
Finishing up #
When you have finished building your template, click the blue Save Form button.
You will get a confirmation message to let you know the form has been created, and you can return to the forms list.
Sending forms #
To send a form, go the the client’s details page and click the blue + New Request button. For more details on how to send a fetch request, click here.
