Core Concepts¶

Understanding the core entities in Advanced Forms is essential for building effective solutions. The hierarchy is Form Packs > Forms (Form Types) > Sections > Elements.

Forms (Form Types)¶

A Form Type (often just called a "Form") is the basic unit of data collection. It represents a single document or questionnaire.

Structure¶

• Sections: Logical groupings of questions. Sections can be shown or hidden based on conditional logic.
• Elements: The actual questions or content blocks (fields, HTML instructions) within a section.

Form Settings¶

• Active: Determines if the form is available for use.
• Valid For Days: Defines how long a draft or entry remains valid. Useful for annual applications.
• Shared by Families: If enabled, members of the same family can view and edit drafts created by other family members.
• Instructions & Confirmation: Custom text displayed before starting and after submitting the form. Supports Lava.

Form Lifecycle¶

1. Draft: The user has started the form but hasn't finished. Data is saved, but the form is not considered "complete".
2. Submitted: The user has completed all required fields and clicked "Submit". Workflow actions typically trigger here.

Form Packs¶

A Form Pack is a collection of one or more Form Types grouped together into a single process. This is powerful for complex applications (e.g., "Volunteer Application Packet" containing "Personal Info", "Spiritual History", and "Reference Request").

Key Features¶

• Multi-Form Workflows: Users can complete multiple forms in sequence or out of order.
• Pack Options: A pre-selection screen where users can answer initial questions that might determine which forms they need to see later (via conditional logic).
• Progress Tracking: Shows a progress bar indicating how many forms in the pack have been completed.
• Shared Context: All forms in a pack are linked to a single FormPackEntry, allowing you to report on the entire application as one unit.

When to Use Form Packs vs. Single Forms¶

• Use a Single Form for simple surveys, feedback forms, or single-page requests.
• Use a Form Pack when you have a long process that should be broken up (save & return), requires different sections to be completed by different people (future feature), or needs to trigger a single workflow only after multiple documents are gathered.

Entries¶

An Entry is the actual record of a user's submission.

Form Entries¶

• Stores the answers for a specific Form Type.
• Contains validation status (_IsValid).
• Linked to a Person Alias (the submitter).

Form Pack Entries¶

• The parent record for a Form Pack submission.
• Contains multiple child Form Entries.
• Status Values:
  • Options (0): User is selecting initial options.
  • Draft (1): User is working on the forms.
  • Submitted (2): User has completed the entire pack.

Draft Saving and Resumption¶

Advanced Forms automatically supports saving progress. * Auto-Save: Forms save periodically as users type (depending on block configuration). * Save & Exit: Users can explicitly save their draft and return later. * Resumption: If a user returns to a form they started, the system tries to find their existing draft (based on authentication or tokens) so they don't have to start over.

Conditional Logic¶

Advanced Forms includes a powerful conditional logic engine that controls the visibility of Form Sections and Form Elements based on the answers to other questions.

Logic Structure¶

• Condition Group: A container for conditions.
  • Expression Types:
    • All: True if ALL conditions in the group are met (AND).
    • Any: True if AT LEAST ONE condition is met (OR).
    • AllFalse: True if ALL conditions are false (NOR).
    • AnyFalse: True if AT LEAST ONE condition is false (NAND).
• Condition: A single rule checking a field's value.
  • Subject: The field to check (e.g., "Marital Status").
  • Verb: The operator (e.g., "Equal To").
  • Predicate: The value to compare against (e.g., "Married").

Operators¶

There are 17 operators available to cover almost any scenario:

Usage¶

• Field Visibility: Hide the "Spouse Name" text field unless "Marital Status" is "Married".
• Section Visibility: Hide the entire "Medical History" section unless "Do you have medical conditions?" is checked.