Overview

The nFORM system supports the ability to design custom forms for submission by the regulated community. These forms are highly configurable and the system provides much flexibility for form designers. 

Effectively representing an agency’s forms electronically will often result in a much different presentation than on paper. There are many different approaches and techniques for implementing form elements in nFORM. Designing these forms can sometimes be an artistic expression, requiring implementation, trial, feedback, and refinement based on real-world use.

As with any system, the more flexible the capabilities of a system, the more sophisticated the system will be to support the dynamic nature of the system. With this in mind, Windsor established this Advanced Form Design Guide to provide information and guidance on the more advanced design topics and advanced form elements. 

Form Level Design

Document Generation

nFORM supports the ability to define a Document Template for staff to generate documents in support of form processing. A template can be designed for the system as a whole as well as for specific forms. The content in the template can be static or dynamically driven based on the data provided in the submission. This capability allows agencies and form designers to provide a highly formatted document generation capability to their staff.

This functionality is sometimes referred to as “Instant Permit” because the main use for this new capability will be to generate a permit, based on information provided in the application after an application has been approved. However, this feature can be used for other official documents such as certificates, licenses, ID cards, etc.

For additional details on this document generation feature as well as the details of how to configure and implement the feature, please reference the Document Generation Design Guide document.

Payment Voucher

The nFORM system supports the ability to define custom Payment Vouchers for submitters to download in support of the payment remittance process. 

A Payment Voucher can be designed for the system as a whole as well as for specific forms. The content in the Payment Voucher can be static or dynamically driven based on the data provided in the submission. This capability allows agencies and form designers to provide a highly formatted payment voucher to online submitters.

For additional details on this payment voucher customization feature as well as the details of how to configure and implement the feature, please reference the Payment Voucher Design Guide document.

Hardcopy Signature Form

The nFORM system supports the ability to define custom Hard Copy Signature Forms for submitters to download in support of the form submission signature process. 

A Hard Copy Signature Form can be designed for the system as a whole as well as for specific forms. The content in the Hard Copy Signature Form can be static or dynamically driven based on data provided in the submission. This capability allows agencies and form designers to provide a highly formatted Hard Copy Signature Form to online submitters.

Electronic Signature Authorization Form

The nFORM system supports the ability to define custom Electronic Signature Authorization Forms for submitters to download in support of the electronic signature authorization process. 

An Electronic Signature Authorization Form can be designed for the system as a whole. The content in the Electronic Signature Authorization Form can be static or dynamically driven based on data in the user’s account profile. This capability allows agencies to provide a highly formatted Electronic Signature Authorization Form to online users to authorize online signing.

Email Output

The nFORM system supports the ability to define custom content to be delivered via automated emails sent from the nFORM system.

Individual emails can be customized to include custom content. The content in the emails can be static or dynamically driven based on data provided in the submission. This capability allows agencies to provide highly formatted and targeted emails to online submitters.

For additional details on this email output customization feature as well as the details of how to configure the emails, please reference the Email Template Design Guide document.

Alternative Identifier

The nFORM system supports the ability to define an alternative identifier for a form submission (e.g., Permit ID, Application ID, etc.). Alternate Identifier allows the form designer to collect data from the submitter, which will then be displayed on the Processing Dashboard, and submission headers as a way to associate a meaningful name that the application can remember and search on.

Use the following steps to configure an alternative identifier:

• Click on the Forms link at the top of the page to open the Forms Manager.

• Click on the Edit icon for the form in question to open the Forms Designer.

• Ensure the current version of the form is in a Draft status to ensure the form configuration can be edited.

• Click on the Form Details tab.

• Scroll to the Alternative Identifier section of the form.
  
  

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• Check the Activate Display of Alternative Submission Identifier checkbox to enable this feature and display additional relevant settings.
  
  

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• Display Label: By default, “Alternative Identifier” is displayed as the label for references to this value. When utilized, the default label (i.e. "Alternative Identifier") will be changed to another value (e.g., Permit Number, Document Number, etc.).

  • To override this display label to a custom value, check the Override Display Label checkbox. This will enable the Custom Display Label field for entry. 

  • Enter the desired display label value in the Custom Display Label field. 
    
    

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• Alternative ID Control: The Alternative ID Control field is used to specify the control that will be used to house and manage the alternative identifier. From this field, select the Tag value for the control that is considered the Alternative ID Control on the form.
  Note: Only the following controls, when assigned a Tag value, can be referenced as an Alternative Identifier: short text, calculated, single select, phone, email, date, time, number and URL controls.

Form Revision Notes

Form revision notes can be added to a form via the From Revision Notes section in the form design overview tab. Revision notes are helpful when form designers want to communicate the changes that they have made on specific versions. 

To add a note simply click on the add note… button. This will give you a prompt to enter the pertinent data. Once a revision note has been created you can edit or delete your note. The revision notes automatically indicate what version they were added to in the list of revision notes.

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Fee Configuration

Fees can be assessed by a submitter at the time of form submission. These fees can be a standard flat fee or a calculated value based on information provided within the submission. These fee calculations can be built directly in the Fee tab of the Form Builder in the Formula field. In addition, the form designer can mark forms to have no fees using the no-fee selection.

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Calculated fees allow form designers to define Minimum and Maximum threshold values that will be used if the calculation formula yields a value above or below the defined threshold(s). These threshold values are not required.

The following sections describe the different types of calculation formulas that can be utilized from within the Formula field of the fee configuration settings. The fee formulas utilize the C# arithmetic functions. More complex calculations may be handled on a case-by-case basis and may require assistance.

Fee Types

A form designer will be presented with choosing the type of fee at the top of the Fees tab in the form designer. Form designers can configure this fee to be online, offline, both, or no fee. Online payments need an account number and payment address to continue. If the form designer doesn’t want a fee tied to the form they can simply choose the No Fee option.

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Simple Arithmetic Formula

Numeric controls can be used in the most simple form fee calculations, and simple arithmetic is sufficient in most cases.

An example of a basic arithmetic calculation would be a simple per-unit calculation. If there is a control on the form for the total number of gallons in a tank and we want to base the calculated fee off that total volume multiplied by $0.06, this can be written as:

where the Tag for the control that the user reports the total volume in gallons of their tank is Gallons.

Considerations:

• When referencing a control in the form, the control Tag must be enclosed in backticks (`). A backtick (`) is a different character from a single quote (‘). 

• When referencing a choice within a single or multiple selection control list, a .description is required after the closing backtick of the tag. See the scenarios below for examples.

• The available mathematical operators include, but are not limited to + (add), - (subtract), / (divide), and * (multiply). Parentheses can also be used where appropriate.

• An M character needs to be appended to the end of constant numbers used in arithmetic formulas to ensure the system casts the number as the correct data type.

Aggregate Functions

Aggregate functions can be used to calculate aggregations for values in repeatable (tabbed) sections. These functions are appended to the end of the tag name on which the calculation is to be done.

For example, if we are trying to add together numeric values provided from a control in a repeatable form section, such as all the capacities of all the tanks in a repeating tank section we can write the calculation as:

where the Tag for the tank capacity volume control is Tank_Capacity.

These aggregate functions can also utilize conditional logic for the aggregate function. This is written by establishing a variable and then comparing the variable to a value.  

For example, if we are trying to count the number of all the tanks with capacities greater than 1000 we can write the calculation as:

where the Tag for the tank capacity volume control is Tank_Capacity and c is the variable name chosen to represent capacity. This will count the number of times the `Tank_Capacity` field has a value greater than 1000.

Considerations:

• The variable name is irrelevant to the function as long as it is consistent across the function, however, data type names (e.g., date, string, integer, etc.) should be avoided to ensure the system knows how to handle the variable.

• The application utilizes Enumerable methods for these aggregate functions and a more comprehensive list of applicable operators can be found on the Microsoft website. Methods that have been used in nFORM calculated fee formulas in the past include.Count(), .Max(), .Min(), .Sum(), and .Where()

Conditional If/Then Logic

Conditional operators can be used to support If/Then type logic for conditional logic in complex fee calculations.

The conditional operator ? returns one of two values depending on the value of a Boolean conditional statement. The syntax for using this conditional logic is [condition] ? [first_expression] : [second_expression] with the question mark following the condition and the colon separating the two different expressions. The first expression is evaluated if the condition is True, and the second is evaluated if the condition is False. 

For example, if there is a calculated fee requirement that the fee be $0 if the submitter has a fee status of Exempt, but $125 if the fee status is anything else, this can be written as:

where the Tag for the fee status control is Fee_Status.

Considerations:

• Constant string values should be enclosed in quotation marks to ensure the system casts the value as the string data type.

• Other Boolean operators can also be used in place of the == (equal to) operator, such as != (not equal), < (less than), > (greater than), <= (less than or equal to), >= (greater than or equal to), etc.

While this list of complex calculation types is not extensive, it covers those types of calculations which have been built in nFORM in the past and allows for a wide variety of complex fee calculations to be created that suit most form requirements.

Internal Data Controls

Forms can be configured with internal-only data controls to allow additional internal-only data points to be added to a form to support the submission process. These attributes are accessible, viewable, and editable by internal users of the system only. The attributes are initially configured for a form during form design and are available for data entry during the submission processing phase. Additional attributes can also be added during submission processing if needed.

This section of the document will describe how to configure the default Internal Data Controls for a form, how to add/adjust Internal Data Controls for a submission, and how to use Internal Data Controls on a submission.

Configure Default Internal Data Controls for a Form 

This section of the document describes the setup/configuration of the default set of internal data controls (for collecting additional information, by internal staff) for the form.

To configure the default Internal Data Controls for a form, follow these steps:

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• Click on the Forms link at the top of the page to open the Forms Manager.

• Click on the Edit icon for the form in question to open the Forms Designer.

• Ensure the current version of the form is in a Draft status to ensure the form configuration can be edited.

• Navigate to the Internal Data tab in the Form Details step of the Form Designer.

• Click the Edit Internal Controls button to open the list of internal data controls that have been configured.
  
  

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• Click the Add Control link to add a new internal data control. To edit an existing internal data control, click the Edit button to the right of the control in question.

• Add/Edit Internal Data Controls – When adding/editing an Internal Control, the following attributes are available:
   

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  • A Label will describe the internal control. This will be the value that is presented to a user when working with internal controls.

  • The Type specifies the type of internal control. Internal Controls can be of the following Types:

    • Checkbox

    • Date

    • Dropdown

    • Paragraph

    • Text

    • Time

  • The Show After value is used to specify a custom sort order for the list of values.

  • The Tag value is a unique name assigned to an internal control to allow the control to be identified. This attribute is essential for facilitating the data importing and exporting processes.

  • The Read-Only attribute is used to make an internal data control read-only and locked. This is useful when populating the internal data control value based on a value entered on the submission.

  • If Required is checked, this attribute must be provided before "finalizing" (moving the submission to a "final" status) a submission.

  • The Automated assigning of value(s) is used to configure the population of the internal data control during the submission process based on a value from the submission or a default value. The following options are available.

    • None disables the population of data during the submission process.

    • The Populate with submission data is used to configure the population of the internal data control based on a value from the submission. If checked, the Source Section, Source Control, and Update linked data on submission revision? fields will be displayed. These values will be used to link the internal data control to a field within the submission.
       

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      • The Source Section field is used to select and identify the section that houses the field that will be copied to the internal data control field.

      • The Source Control field is used to select and identify the control (within the selected Source Section) which represents the field that will be copied to the internal data control field.

      • Check the Update linked data on the submission revision field to configure the internal data control to be updated to the latest value following each submission. If this value should remain untouched following the initial submission (and any changes by internal staff), leave this attribute unchecked.

    • The Set default value is used to configure the population of an internal data control during the submission process based on the value entered in the Default DROPDOWN value, Default PARAGRAPH value, or Default TEXT value, respectively. Note: This option is only available for the Dropdown, Paragraph, and Text types.

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• The Usage section allows an internal data control to be marked for intent.  The current options for this feature are File Transfer and payment processing. Both options allow the user to configure internal data controls with a third-party integration. An override tag can be used if the integration will look for a specific tag when retrieving the control value.

• Click the Save button to save internal data control.

• Repeat the above steps for each desired Internal Data Control.

Connecting Internal Data Controls to Form Processing Steps 

First, ensure your internal data controls have been properly added to your form according to the directions above.

1. Proceed to step 3 of the form design process.

2. Navigate to the step you want to add internal data validation to (or create a new step) and click on the wrench icon.

3. This will open a dialog representing the step actions.

4. Click the Add new step action... - this will allow you to add a new step action to your processing step.

5. Under 'Action to perform' select Validate internal data and choose which internal controls you want required.

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Populate Internal Data Controls for a Submission 

This section of the document describes how Internal Data Controls can be populated for a submission.

To populate the Internal Data Controls for a specific submission, follow these steps:

• Open the Submission View page for the submission in question from the Processing Dashboard.
   

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• Hover over the Internal Data attribute and click on the field. The attribute will now be editable.
  
  

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• Enter the appropriate values in this field.

• Click out of the field to save the entered values.

Monitoring Internal Data Control and Event Status’

After a form is submitted there is usually a large amount of activity regarding workflow events and internal data controls. Utilizing the event log is an efficient way to monitor your form for any workflow event-related actions. Once on the submission overview, a summary of the event log can be found on the right column of the overview page. Action, user, date, and time are all details available in this section.

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Providing a Direct Link to a Form from Another Website

Hyperlinks can be provided to open a form in nFORM. How the links are structured will determine how the user is brought to a form. 

Form Landing Page

The most basic link will bring the user to the form landing page, where they can read form instructions and initiate form entry. In this case, we only need to send the Form Tag, which is located in the Form Designer.

Structure:

Example:

Skip Form Landing Page

If we want to bring the user to the first section of the form, bypassing the form landing page, then we use the skipLandingPage parameter.

Structure:

Example:

Prepopulation Links

For existing permits and reports, where the permit number is required to begin form entry and where we may have pre-population, we will want to pass in the permit number/registration number as the prepopulateContext. Combining this with the skipLandingPage parameter will bring the user directly to the first section of the form with their form prepopulated using the permit number passed in.  

Structure:

Example:

Data Inheritance Links

For forms that allow the user to enter a previous submission number to populate data from that submission, the submission number can be added by using the subnum: construct:

Structure:

Example:

Note: Forms must be published, and externally available (i.e., the Form for Internal Use Only attribute is unchecked) and a Form Tag value must be assigned to enable this feature to work.

Configuring Submission Exit Behavior

After a form has been submitted, the user is presented with a "Return to..." button. This button can be configured to take the user back to an unsecured page (outside of the system). Typically, the page that hosted the link originally directed them to the anonymous form. Configure the return URL setting in the varEnvironmentOverrides.config files app.submission.confirmation.buttonUrl setting.

Data Integration

The nFORM system supports the ability to import (e.g., Auto-Fill and Pre-Fill), export, and/or change data in the system based on external sources/destinations. See the Data Integration section of the nFORM Data Integration Guide for additional details on these features.

Submission Data Upload

The nFORM system supports the ability to upload/pre-populate data from a form-compliant XML document. See the XML Upload Guide for additional details on this feature.

Staff Assignments

nFORM provides Form Designers with the ability to establish staff processing assignments based on the designation of roles, workgroups, and workgroup route maps. These processing assignments are used to assign individuals to Submissions and Submission Processing Steps, either automatically based on a value in a submission or based on explicit assignment by a Submission Processor. 

Roles define the staffing functions (e.g., Administrative Staff, Engineer, or Supervisor) that individuals assume in performing their work within the organization.

Workgroups define each group within the organization that assembles to perform submission processing (e.g., region, office, or team).

Workgroup Route Maps define each association (or mapping) used to assign workgroups based on a value in a submission (e.g., Region by County, Team by Permit Type, etc.).

The base Roles, Workgroups, and Workgroup Route Maps must be first configured for the organization. To configure the Organization, perform the following:

• Select the Parent Organization.

• If not in Draft mode, enable Draft mode for the Organization.

• Navigate to the Staff Assignments tab.
  
  

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Role Management

To add a new Role:

• Select the Edit button next to Roles on the Staff Assignments tab of the Organization Designer.

• If the screen is not in an add state, select the Add New Role button. A dialog will be presented where the Name attribute can be entered to define the name of the role.

• Enter the Name attribute to define the name of the Role.

• Once the Role is defined, select the Add Row button in the Role area to assign an individual staff member to the Role for each defined Workgroup. For each mapping, select a When Workgroup matches... value to represent the relevant Workgroup and select a User to represent the User that will be assigned to the current Role when a Submission's Workgroup is assigned to the selected ‘When Workgroup matches...’ value. Repeat this step for each user workgroup assignment for the Role.

To edit a Role:

• Select the Edit button next to Roles on the Staff Assignments tab of the Organization Designer.

  • Select the Role to edit by clicking on the Role row.

  • Adjust the Role settings as needed.

Workgroup and Role Assignments

To add a new Workgroup:

• Select the Edit button next to Workgroups on the Staff Assignments tab of the Organization Designer.

• If the screen is not in an add state, select the Add New Workgroup button. A dialog will be presented where the Name attribute can be entered to define the name of the Workgroup. Enter the Name attribute to define the name of the Workgroup.

• Once the Workgroup is defined, select the Add Row button in the Workgroup area to assign an individual staff member to each defined Role. For each mapping, select a Role value to represent the relevant Role and select a User to represent the user that will be assigned to the current Workgroup when a Submission's Workgroup is assigned to the current Workgroup value.
  
  

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• Repeat these steps for each user role assignment for the workgroup.

To edit a Workgroup:

• Select the Edit button next to Workgroup on the Staff Assignments tab of the Organization Designer.

• Select the Workgroup to edit by clicking on the Workgroup row.

• Adjust the Workgroup settings as needed.

Workgroup Route Maps

To add a new Workgroup Route Map:

• Select the Edit button next to Workgroup Route Maps on the Staff Assignments tab of the Organization Designer.
   

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• If the screen is not in an add state, select the Add New Workgroup Route Map button. A dialog will be presented where the Name attribute can be entered to define the name of the Workgroup Route Map.

• Click on the new Workgroup Route Map.

• Select the Add Row button.

• Enter the When input matches… value which represents the value entered/selected on a submission that will be used to match to/assign a Workgroup.

• Select the Assign Workgroup value which represents the Workgroup that will be assigned to a submission when the Submission includes the When input matches… value.

• Repeat these three steps for each Workgroup Assignment for the Workgroup Route Map.

• Repeat all these steps for each Workgroup Route Map.

To edit a Workgroup Route Map:

• Select the Edit button next to Workgroup Route Maps on the Staff Assignments tab of the Organization Designer.
  
  

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  • Select the Workgroup Route Map to edit by clicking upon the Workgroup Route Map row.

  • Adjust the Workgroup Route Map settings as desired. 

Once the Organization’s base Roles, Workgroups, and Workgroup Route Maps are defined, the Form can be configured to utilize the Organization settings for@ staff members.

To manage staff assignments for a form:

• Navigate to Step 3 (Processing Steps) of the Form Designer for a form.

• Click Edit staff assignments in the top right hand of Step 3 of the Form Designer wizard. The Edit Staff Assignment dialog box will be displayed. 

• Select the Assignments link in the top left, if not selected.
  
  

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Assign Roles/Persons:

Option 1: Assign Individually:

• Select the Role or specific Person that will be assigned by default, if appropriate, as the Responsible Person for new submissions.

• For each step, select the Role or specific Person that will be assigned by default, if appropriate, as the Step assignment for new submissions.
  
  

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Option 2: Bulk Assignments:

• Select the Assign Multiple button.

  • Select the Responsible Person and Steps to reassign.
    
    

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  • Select the Assign Selected button to open the Bulk Assign dialog.

  • Select the specific Role or Person for which the selected steps will be assigned by default.

Option 3: Assignment from Processing Step Editor:

• See the Configure Processing Steps section

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Assign Workgroup Route Map:

• Select the Workgroup Routing link in the top left, if not selected.
  
  

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  • Select the relevant Workgroup Route Map to be used to route submissions to a specific Workgroup.

  • Select the Field (Input Data for Workgroup Route Map) that will map to the Workgroup Route Map. Once selected, a secondary selection may be presented (e.g., if the selected field is an address, etc.). Select the secondary selection, if presented.
    
    

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Section and Control Design

Display a Dynamically Assigned Name to a Section Repeater

The system supports the ability for a section to be repeated. For example, the form may have a section describing the numerous Tanks in a process. The system supports the ability for the same set of questions to each answered for each tank, and for the details of these tanks to be contained in the same section. 

In addition, the system supports the ability to display a dynamically assigned name to each repeating item in a section based on the content held in the section repeater. For example, using the Tanks example previously used, each tank may have a Tank Name and the item in the repeater can display the Tank Name in the title.

To assign a dynamically assigned name to a repeating section, perform the following:

• Click on the Forms link at the top of the page to open the Forms Manager.

• Click on the Edit icon for the form in question to open the Forms Designer.

• Ensure the current version of the form is in a Draft status to ensure the form configuration can be edited.

• Navigate to the Sections and Controls (Step 2) section of the Form Designer.

• Click on the Edit icon for the section in question.

• From the Section dialog, click the Enable Repeater for this Section checkbox to enable the repeater configuration settings.
  
  

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• Click the Dynamically Name Repeater Items checkbox to enable the dynamic name configuration settings.
  
  

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• Enter the formula for deriving the repeating section name in the Repeater-Item Name Formula field. This formula field allows for specifying the text to display for each item in the list. For example: 

• A great deal of flexibility has been provided with this formula which supports very simple and very complex derivations. See the Formula Builder Examples section of this document for details on the format of formulas used in this area.

Sort Section Repeaters Based on Configured Criteria

The system also allows the form designer to configure the sorting of repeating sections based on selected controls or control attributes. For example, the form may have many projects listed, each with its own dynamic title. The sorting feature, if configured, will properly sort these projects based on the title or any control within those repeaters. 

To configure repeating sections on a form to sort based on specified criteria perform the following: 

• Click on the Forms link at the top of the page to open the Forms Manager.

• Click on the Edit icon for the form in question to open the Forms Designer.

• Ensure the current version of the form is in a Draft status to ensure the form configuration can be edited.

• Navigate to the Sections and Controls (Step 2) section of the Form Designer.

• Click on the Edit icon for the section in question.

• From the Section dialog, click the Enable Repeater for this Section checkbox and the Sort checkbox to enable the repeater configuration settings.
  
  

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• You will then be presented with two fields to set up your sort criteria with. The control dropdown menu will already be populated with eligible control names. This will be the control that the sorting will be based on. 

• Control sorting automatically changes between alphanumeric and numeric sorting. The form designer then dictates whether the sorting is ascending or descending by utilizing the second field Asc/Desc.

Advanced Controls

Control types are classified into one of three types: Simple, Formatted, and Advanced. The advanced controls include:

• Name

• Location

• Address

• Attachment

• Table

• Advanced Table

• Datagrid

• Contact

• Hidden Text

• Calculated

• Message

These controls are specifically designed to serve key tasks with specific capabilities, configurations, and looks.

Advanced Table Control 

The Advanced Table control provides a means for presenting a data entry table to a user within a form.

The Advanced Table provides the ability to utilize many of the existing control types within a dynamic table. Form designers can configure the control type utilized in each column of a table. A user can add as many rows as needed to a table or a developer can configure a set number of rows. This flexibility allows for a wide variety of combinations and scenarios to support an agency’s needs.

Form Design

When an Advanced Table control is added to a section of a form, the Advanced Table control editor is presented. 

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Below is a description of each attribute available for the Advanced Table control.

Label: The label text will display as the header of the table. 

Error/Help Tip: The text to display when the user hovers over the table or when an error is found in the table.

Hidden?: If checked, the system will hide the display of this control from the submitter.

Disable Ability to Add Rows: Selecting this option will disable the “add rows” option for the table from the form. At least one default row must be added during configuration to enable the table for use.

Disable Ability to Delete Rows: Selecting this option removes the “delete row” option from the form. This prevents a user from removing a necessary row.

Enable Unique ID: Selecting this option will prevent users from entering duplicate values within the specified column of the table or datagrid. If a duplicate value is entered, an error message will be displayed, and the form cannot be submitted until the issue is resolved.

Require at Least One Row: Selecting this option requires the user to complete at least one row of the table. This is similar to marking other controls “required” but limits that requirement to a single row of the table.

Conditionally Display Control: Advanced Tables can be conditionally displayed just like any other control. 

Conceal/Purge Value: For sensitive information, control value selection can set the conceal, conceal and purge, or none. If "None" is selected, data will display in standard ways. If "Conceal" is selected, data entered in this control will be concealed from most users. If "Conceal and Purge" is selected, data entered in this control will be concealed from most users and will be purged from the submission, once the submission is finalized. See the Conceal and Purge section of this document for additional details on this feature.

Tag: The unique name assigned to the control to allow the table control to be uniquely identified. This attribute is essential for facilitating the data importing and exporting processes. This “Tag” field assigns a Tag value to the table. Tags are assigned to the table as well as each column/control contained within the table allowing reference to the table and/or an individual column in the table. 

Columns: This area will define the columns presented in the table.

Controls are selected from the “Available Controls” box and added to the “Columns” area of the editor. Once a control is added to the columns section, the edit window for that control type appears. The control is then configured in the same way that it would be outside of an advanced table – except for some control attributes being unavailable within a table. The display order of controls within the table is determined by the sequence in which they are listed in the column section. The first control listed in the columns section will be the far left or first column. The control at the bottom of the list will be the far right or last column in the table.

Note: Not all controls are available for advanced table configuration. For example, a contact control cannot be placed within a table due to space limitations. Likewise, an advanced table cannot be placed within another advanced table.

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Advanced Table Default Values

Default row(s) can be added once there is at least one control in the columns. Default rows are displayed in the “Advanced Table Default Values” section of the editor. These rows will display in the form, defaulting the column values as selected/entered.

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Submission Wizard Presentation

Below is an example of how an advanced table may appear on a form. Advanced tables are highly flexible and allow for a variety of control options, the number of columns and rows, and control types. The final look of the table is dependent on the configuration selected.

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DataGrid Control

The DataGrid control allows for the capture and/or display of data in a highly formatted table structure like the advanced table. However, the Datagrid control is much more powerful. Users can import hundreds of rows of data, download the control values, and more. A user can interact with the table (e.g., adding/removing rows), if appropriate, and entered data can be controlled using several control types. The DataGrid’s form-side validation allows users to see where there are errors in their dataset. A next error button allows the user to cycle through these errors, as well as a full-screen mode to view more of the table at once.

Form Design

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The following properties are available for display/data entry with this control in the Form designer:

Label: The label that will be presented to the submitter for the control.

Error/Help Tip: The help tip will be presented to the submitter when hovering their mouse over the help tip icon () for the control. This attribute will also be utilized to provide additional information to the submitter when an invalid value is available for the control.

Hidden?: If checked, the system will hide the display of this control from the submitter.

Disable Ability to Add / Delete Rows: If checked, the Add Row button will be hidden from the submitter to prevent rows from being added to the table. This can help lock down the table in situations where the table's data is prepopulated or defaulted with data.

Enable Unique ID: Selecting this option will prevent users from entering duplicate values within the specified column of the table or datagrid. If a duplicate value is entered, an error message will be displayed, and the form cannot be submitted until the issue is resolved.

Require at Least One Row: If checked, the submitter will be required to provide at least one row of data in the table.

Conditionally Display Control?: If the control will be allowed to display conditionally, during the submission process, check the Conditionally Display Control checkbox.  When checked, the Display Formula text field will be enabled for configuration. See the Conditional Display section of the Advanced Form Design Guide for details on this feature.

Conceal/Purge Value: For sensitive information, control value selection can be set the conceal, conceal and purge, or none. If "None" is selected, data will display in standard ways. If "Conceal" is selected, data entered in this control will be concealed from most users. If "Conceal and Purge" is selected, data entered in this control will be concealed from most users and will be purged from the submission, once the submission is finalized. See the Conceal and Purge Data Point topic in the Advanced Form Design Guide for additional details on this feature.

Tag: The unique name assigned to the control to allow the control to be uniquely identified. This attribute is essential for facilitating the data importing and exporting processes. See the TAGging Fundamentals topic in the Integration Guide for additional details on tagging.

Columns: This area will define the columns presented in the table. To add a column, click on one of the available controls from the left column control pane. This will activate the control design dialog for the relevant control. The available controls are limited to those that are considered most appropriate for use in a table.

Datagrid Default Values

This area allows a designer to establish a default dataset in the table when desired. This can be handy if a finite set of data will be captured where the table data will be fairly static.

To add a new default row, click on the Add Default Row button. A row will be added and the values in this row can be adjusted as desired. Many rows can be added if desired.

To reorder columns, move a column up or down one position, and click on the Move Up or Move Down icons for the desired column.

Submission Wizard Presentation

Below is an example of how a DataGrid may appear on a form. The final look of the table is dependent on the configuration selected.

Open

The following properties are available for display/data entry with this control in the Submission Wizard:

• Label: The label for the control will be displayed to the submitter. Note: this field can be omitted to suppress the table header label (i.e. if stacking tables).

• Error/Help Tip: The help tip will be presented to the submitter when hovering their mouse over the help tip icon for the control.

• Data Entry: The data entry area for the control. Note: if the Read-Only attribute is enabled, the fields will be locked and data entry will not be allowed. (read-only fields will be displayed with a lock icon in the field’s bottom corner.

• Column Label: The label for the column of data. A hamburger icon is present next to all column labels to allow the user to manipulate the column sizing.

• Column Values: The values for entry in a column. Each column’s control type and available values will be dependent upon the configuration of the table.

• Next Error: When available, clicking this button will take the user to the next column containing an error.

• Download: Allows the user to download the Datagrid and all of its values in an xlsx format. Downloading the grid also allows the user to manipulate the data and add to it in Excel if desired and then re-upload the new data to the form.

• Upload: Allows the user to upload a matching dataset to the Datagrid, overlapping all existing data in that control. For a dataset to match the column headers must match the grid control tags. Only Excel file formats are accepted.

• Add: When available, clicking the Add button will create a new row on the table consisting of the selected controls.

• Delete: This button is available when a row is selected and will delete the entire row. Users can also right-click on a row and select Remove row to delete the entire row.

• Full Screen: This allows users to view and manipulate their data in a full-screen mode. Users can do all standard grid functions except for uploading.

• Control Display: Control may not display depending on the Display Formula value configuration.

Contact Control

The Contact control allows for the capture of detailed information for a contact person, including attributes such as a name, title, company, phone number, email, address, etc.

Form Design

When a Contact control is added to a section of a form, the control editor is presented. Below is a description of each attribute available for the Contact control.

Label: The label for the control will be displayed to the submitter.

Error/Help Tip: The help tip will be presented to a submitter when hovering their mouse over the help tip icon () for the control.

Data Entry: The data entry area for the control. Note: if the Read-Only attribute is enabled, the fields will be locked and data entry will not be allowed.

Contact

Prefix: The prefix for the contact name (e.g., Dr., Ms., etc.).

First Name: The first name of the contact.

Last Name: The last name of the contact.

Title: The title of the contact.

Company Name: The company which the contact represents.

Email: The email address for the contact.

Phone: The phone number for the contact.

Ext.: The extension for the phone number for the contact.

Fax: The fax number for the contact.

Address

Address Line 1: The street address line for the address.

Address Line 2: The secondary address line for the address (e.g., BLDG #, APT #, STE #).

Location Description: A supplementary description for the address (e.g., 1/4 mile past milepost 214).

City: The city for the address.

State/Area: The state for the address.

County: The county for the address, if applicable.

Postal Code: The postal code for the address.

Country: The country for the address.

Validate Address: When clicked, the address entered will be verified against a domestic address service.

Control Display: Control may not display depending on the Display Formula value configuration.

Control Properties in Form Design

The following configuration properties are available for the control:

Header: The label that will be presented to the submitter in the header of the control.

Error/Help Tip: The help tip will be presented to a submitter when hovering their mouse over the help tip icon () for the control. This attribute will also be utilized to provide additional information to the submitter when an invalid value is available for the control.

Read-Only?: If set to "Yes", the control will be displayed in a read-only mode. If set to "No", the control will be editable. If set to "If Prepopulated", the control will be displayed in read-only mode, if the control is pre-filled with data.

Autopopulate Contact and Address?: If checked, the contact and address fields will automatically be populated in the control based on the information found in the submitter’s user profile.

Conditionally Display Control?: If checked, the Display Formula will be enabled for configuration.

Display Formula: The formula used to determine if this control will be displayed in the form. See Formula Builder (Section 11.6) topic for additional details on the use of this field.

Conceal/Purge Value: For sensitive information, control value selection can be set the conceal, conceal and purge, or none. If "None" is selected, data will display in standard ways. If "Conceal" is selected, data entered in this control will be concealed from most users. If "Conceal and Purge" is selected, data entered in this control will be concealed from most users and will be purged from the submission, once the submission is finalized.

Tag: The unique name assigned to the control to allow the control to be uniquely identified. This attribute is essential for facilitating the data importing and exporting processes.

Contact Group Label: The label displayed above the Contact information area in the control. If left blank, no label will be displayed in this area.

Individual:

• Display Individual Name: If checked, the individual First Name and Last Name fields will be displayed.

• Individual Name Required: If checked, the individual First Name and Last Name fields will be required to be entered by the submitter.

• Prefix: If checked, the Prefix field will be displayed.

• Prefix Required: If checked, the Prefix field will be required to be entered by the submitter.

• Middle Name: If checked, the Middle Name field will be displayed.

• Middle Name Required: If checked, the Middle Name field will be required to be entered by the submitter.

Title:

• Display Title: If checked, the Title field will be displayed.

• Title Required: If checked, the Title field will be required to be entered by the submitter.

• Organization/Company Name:

• Display Organization/Company Name: If checked, the Organization/Company Name field will be displayed.

• Organization/Company Name Required: If checked, the Organization/Company Name field will be required to be entered by the submitter.

• Organization/Company Name Custom Label: If a value is entered in this field, this will be the label presented for the Organization/Company Name field. If no value is provided, Organization Name will be displayed.

Phone:

• Display Phone: If checked, the Phone fields will be displayed.

• At Least 1 Required: If checked, at least one phone number will be required to be provided by the submitter. 

• Phone Number Group Label: The label is displayed above the Phones area in the control. If left blank, no label will be displayed in this area.

• Multiple phone numbers allowed: If checked, multiple phone numbers can be provided by the submitter.

• Allowed phone number types:

• Main: If checked, the user will be allowed to enter a main phone number.

• Business: If checked, the user will be allowed to enter a business phone number.

• Home: If checked, the user will be allowed to enter a home phone number.

• Mobile: If checked, the user will be allowed to enter a mobile phone number.

• Other: If checked, the user will be allowed to enter another type of phone number.

• Note: Selecting more than one phone type changes the appearance of the control and position of the phone number data entry fields.

Email Address:

• Display Email Address: If checked, the Email field will be displayed.

• Email Address Required: If checked, the Email field will be required to be entered by the submitter.

Address:

• Display Address: If checked, the address fields (e.g., Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City, State/Area, Postal Code) will be displayed.

• Address Required: If checked, an address will be required to be entered by the submitter.

• Address Group Label: The label is displayed above the address information area in the control. If left blank, no label will be displayed in this area.

• Location Description: If checked, the Location Description field will be enabled, allowing for entry of a location description (e.g., 1/4 beyond milepost 214)

• Country: If checked, the Country field will be enabled.

• Country Required: If checked, the Country field will be required.

• County: If checked, the County field will be enabled.

• County Required: If checked, the County field will be required.

• Require County if Country is provided (US Only): If checked, the County field will be required if the Country field is populated (and equal to United States).

Validation:

• Allow partial addresses: If checked, partial addresses will be accepted (e.g., city, state, and zip code with no street address are accepted, etc.).

Calculated Control

The Calculated Control is an advanced read-only control that can be used to display the result of a calculation as a read-only field on a form. Returned values can be evaluated to a string, Boolean, or numeric value. To add a calculated control to a form section, the calculated control can be found on the Advanced tab when selecting from available controls.

Form Design

When a Calculated control is added to a section of a form, the control editor is presented. 

Open

Below is a description of each attribute available for the Calculated control.

Label: The label that will be presented to the submitter for the control.

Help Tip: The help tip will be presented to a submitter when hovering their mouse over the help tip icon () for the control. This attribute will also be utilized to provide additional information to the submitter when an invalid value is available for the control.

Hidden?: If checked, the system will hide the display of this control from the submitter. The calculated control can be hidden if the intent is to use the control for exporting calculated data only or as the dynamic display name for a repeating section.

Calculated Value Formula:  The formula used to determine the value(s) that will be displayed in the form. 

Note: The user can utilize the buttons for Tags, Operators, and Functions to develop their formula. Alternatively, the formula can be hand-keyed into the Display Formula textbox. 

Enforced Format:

• Decimal Places: Specify the number of decimal places with will be enterable/displayed for the value.

• Use 1000 Separator (,)?: If checked, a comma will be displayed to separate 1000’s (e.g., 1,343,200).

Tag: The unique name assigned to the control to allow the control to be uniquely identified. This attribute is essential for facilitating the data importing and exporting processes.

Tags

Tags in the Display Formula window are the tags for controls within the form that are available for reference. When a tag is referenced in the formula it must be surrounded by backticks (` `).  Tags added to the questions from the Tags button will already have these backticks. 

A control within the same section as the one configured to conditionally display will be referenced as simply the control tag name in the syntax of `CONTROL_TAG`. 

A control in a different section than the one configured to be conditionally displayed will be referenced as `SECTION_TAG:CONTROL_TAG`.

Controls available for reference will display when the ‘TAGS’ button is selected. 

Operators

Operators indicate how the formula will evaluate the value within a control and the criteria that the control is evaluated against. Available operators include, but are not limited to:

Note: Some values may be returned as a string concatenation. In these cases, the value may need to be converted to the desired format using num(), str(), or val() functions.

Functions

The Functions button lists predefined procedures that have been configured into nFORM for use in evaluating tag values. These functions include, but are not limited to: