Public forms let you collect data from external or internal users through a publicly accessible link. Examples include application forms, registration forms and intake forms. This article explains how to create and configure a public form.
Requirements
- You need administrator rights to create and manage forms.
Open the forms overview
Go to Management > Forms to open the forms overview. This page shows a list of all available forms. A green icon next to the name indicates that the form is published.
Create a new form
- Click New in the bottom right of the overview.
- Enter the name of the form.
- The form is added to the list.
Configure form settings
Select a form in the overview and open its settings to configure the following options:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the form (required). |
| Code | A unique code that makes the form available through the public link (required). |
| Favicon | An optional favicon displayed in the browser tab of the public form. |
| Language | The default language of the form. |
| Allow overwriting | Determines whether existing data may be overwritten when a user completes the form again. |
| Automatic login | When enabled, users are logged in automatically based on a login macro. |
| Login macro | The macro used for automatic login, such as {email} or {firstName}{lastName}{birthDate}. |
| Lowercase login | When enabled, the login name is always converted to lowercase. |
Thank-you screen after submission
After a successful submission, you can show a thank-you pop-up. The default title is Thank you! and the default text is Successfully submitted. You can set the title and text for each form. If you disable the thank-you pop-up, a confirmation message is shown instead.
Self-registration for a training
You can configure a public form so that a user registers directly for a training. When the form is opened, the system checks whether the user is authorised to register. If not, the system shows a message stating that the user is not authorised to register for this training instead of showing the form.
After a successful registration, the user is redirected to the training overview after a few seconds unless Automatic login is active.
Manage access restrictions
Through Settings in the forms module, you determine which trainings, departments and functions are visible in public forms. These restrictions apply at application level to all public forms within the portal.
Open the settings
- Open the forms overview through Management > Forms.
- Click Settings in the top menu.
The settings screen contains three tabs: Trainings, Departments and Functions. Each tab shows a badge with the number of selected items. If no restrictions have been configured for a category, the tab shows a warning icon instead of a number.
Set restrictions per category
On each tab, select which items are publicly available using a dual list:
- The left side contains all available items.
- The right side contains the items that are publicly available in public forms.
- Move items to the right to make them available, or to the left to hide them.
If no restrictions have been configured for a category, a warning appears stating that all items are publicly accessible. Click Restrict access now to set restrictions.
Note: As long as no restrictions have been configured for a category, all items of that type are visible in public forms.
IP allowlist
In addition to category restrictions, you can configure an IP allowlist to limit access to public forms to specific IP addresses.
Note: The IP allowlist applies to all public forms within the portal.
Edit a form in the editor
- Select the form in the overview.
- Click Edit to open the form editor.
- In the editor, you can:
- Add fields by dragging widgets from the toolbar to the canvas.
- Configure steps to divide the form into multiple pages.
- Adjust field settings, such as labels, required status, visibility conditions and whether a field is disabled.
- Preview the form through the preview.
When you leave the editor with unsaved changes, a confirmation window appears. Choose Save to keep your changes or Do not save to discard them.
Validation and automatic repair
The editor automatically validates the form for common configuration errors. When validation errors are detected, the Repair button appears in the validation bar. Click this button to resolve all repairable errors at once.
After applying the repairs, an overview of all repair actions appears. You can undo or reapply each repair individually. Undo all reverts all changes to the original state.
The following errors are repaired automatically:
| Error | Repair action |
|---|---|
| Missing control widget (submit button) | Adds a control widget to the form. |
| Missing required field (for example, name or e-mail) | Adds the corresponding widget to the first step. |
| Required field not marked as required | Sets the field as required. |
| Field hidden in all languages | Makes the field visible. |
| Field inactive in all languages | Activates the field. |
Available field types
| Field type | Description |
|---|---|
| Text field | A single-line or multi-line text field. |
| A field for entering an e-mail address. | |
| Full name | Fields for first name, insertion, and surname. |
| Department | A drop-down list of departments from the portal. |
| Function | A drop-down list of functions from the portal. |
| Date of birth | A date field for the date of birth. |
| Gender | A drop-down list for selecting gender. |
| Language | A drop-down list of available languages. |
| Address | Fields for entering address details. |
| Drop-down list | A customisable drop-down list with your own options. |
| Checkbox | A field with one or more checkboxes. |
| Switch | An on/off switch that lets a user enable or disable an option. |
| Training | A combined field for selecting a training and its session. For digital trainings, the session field is hidden automatically. When no sessions are available, a message is shown. You can optionally use the Location filter and Month filter to limit the available sessions; changing the training resets the filters and selected session. |
| Heading | A heading used to separate sections. |
| Text | A block of text for instructions or explanation. |
| Video | An embedded video. |
| E-learning | A link to an e-learning module. |
Publish a form
- Select the form in the overview.
- Click Publish to make the form available through the public link.
- After publication, the form is available at:
https://{portal-url}/scripts/external/public.aspx#/public/{code}
Note: A published form is accessible through the public link unless an IP allowlist has been configured. Check the content and settings before publishing the form.
Other actions
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| View | Open the published form in a new tab. |
| Duplicate | Create a copy of the form, including all fields and settings. |
| Unpublish | Make the form inaccessible through the public link. |
| Delete | Permanently delete the form. |
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit a form after it has been published?
Yes, you can edit a published form at any time. Changes are applied immediately. Keep in mind that users completing the form at that moment see the updated version.
How do I restrict access to a public form?
Through Settings in the forms module, you can determine which items are visible in public forms per category (trainings, departments and functions). You can also configure an IP allowlist to limit access to specific IP addresses.
Can I offer a form in multiple languages?
Yes, you can configure the language settings of the form. The available languages depend on the languages configured in the portal.