The Builder is a fresh look & improved builder experience to help you build a form & get to value faster.

Table of Contents

Accessing the Builder

Form Building Basics in the Builder

Configuring Screens & Tables

Configuring Fields

Calculations, Conditions, & Reference Data in the Builder

New Features in the Builder

Saving & Publishing a Form in the Builder

Leaving the Builder

The Builder

Accessing the Builder

When you select Create New in the upper right corner of the Forms page, you will be given the option to start a blank canvas in the Legacy Builder by selecting Start or select GIVE IT A TRY on the right side of the screen. This will launch the Builder. The Builder will always be available when starting a new form from scratch.

Form Building Basics in the Builder

The Builder is both fresh and familiar at the same time. Build a form fast with these new and existing functionalities.

Name Your Form

The name of the form will automatically populate with '[User's Name] New Form.' Hover over the area to reveal the title box, highlight the placeholder title and either immediately start typing the new title or type backspace/delete.

Configuring Screens & Tables

Screens and Tables are the "sections" of your forms that group together relevant fields for data collection.

Adding Screens & Tables

Screens are sections in a form like Customer Information, Employee Information, Work Completed, etc.

With tables, users can enter the same row of information multiple times. For example, an inspection checklist may have multiple rows for rooms and within each row, a set of inspection values. For a time card, an employee may need to enter start time, end time, and lunch for every day they worked that week. A table is a great solution for these and many other use cases.

From the Workspace

Select Add Screen or Add Table located directly under a screen on the workspace.

From the Preview Panel

Select Add Screen or Add Table located in the Screen preview panel on the right.

Between Fields

A unique feature of the Builder is the ability to create a new screen in the middle of an existing screen. Hover slightly to the right between two existing fields and + sign will appear for you to select Screen Break. You can create a screen break and the next field(s) will be moved to a new screen.

Between Screens

Hover slightly to the right of the space between screens and a + sign will appear for you to select Add Screen or Add Table.

Naming Screens & Tables

From the Workspace

Within a screen in the workspace, move your cursor to the Type screen name or Type table name placeholder text and click to add a screen or table name and press enter or remove your cursor from the screen name text box.

From the Preview Panel

Within the Screens preview panel, move your cursor to the Type screen name or Type table name placeholder text and click to add a screen or table name and press enter or remove your cursor from the screen name text box.               

From the Screen Settings Modal

Within the Screen Settings modal, accessible through the gear icon in the upper right corner of each screen, click Type screen name or Type table name and start typing. Move your mouse away from the screen name text box or hit enter to update the name.

Editing Screen & Table Settings

Screen Settings Modal Screen Ellipsis

To adjust screen settings, select the gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

GoCanvas Tip

Press ESC to close the settings modal.

In the upper right hand corner of a screen, select the Ellipsis icon to open the menu with the options to Duplicate Screen and Delete Screen.                         

Table Functionality

After adding a table, the column title Untitled col 1 appears with a lock icon on the left hand side. The lock icon indicates this column is the Key Field within the table, which cannot be moved or deleted. Key Fields can be the following field types: Text, Number, Date, Time, Barcode, and Single Choice in the style of Drop Down.

Primary Differences Between Screens and Tables

• Tables have a column tag attached to the column/field.
• A table appears as a grid in the Preview panel.
• Users can add as many rows as they need when completing a submission.

Configuring Fields

Adding and editing fields in the Builder is a fundamental step to building your form.

Adding Fields

A field is at the core of building a form so we made it as easy and smart as possible. Field types allow you to quickly capture information in the format that makes the most sense for the information being collected or completing an action during the submission process. For example, date fields make adding a date easy and calculation fields can add, subtract, multiply, or divide values captured in the form or constants.

Field Types

The field types you are familiar with are not missing, but simply in another location. Field types like Long Text, Drop Down, and Slider are now Styles in their respective Field Settings located on the General tab within the settings modal, accessible through the gear icon. Below are all current field types in the Builder and a list of Legacy Builder field types are now styles in the Builder.

Text Styles

Short Text and Long Text are not Single and Multiple Lines.

Number Styles

Number, Increment, Slider, and Currency.

Single Choice Styles

Drop Down, Radio Buttons, and Boxes.

Multiple Choice Styles

Checkboxes and Buttons.

Calculation Styles

Summary is now Table Calculation.

Unique Field Interactions

When a single choice, multiple choice, calculation, or payment field is added to a screen, users are asked to enter options for single choice and multiple choice or a calculation for a calculation field.

Editing and Reordering Fields

Field Settings

Field Settings are found in the third icon, the gear, when you hover over a field. Field settings will vary for each field type, however there are a few settings in the General tab that will be consistent across most, if not all, field types.

Calculations, Conditions, & Reference Data in the Builder

Calculations

One of the fields that help automate your form completion process is calculations. This field type is configured in the form building process and will run automatically when completing a submission, so the submitter can rely on the form to do the math for them.

Calculations in the Builder are located within the gear icon on calculation field types. Form builders will also get a reminder to the add calculation with a unique pop up detailed above in Unique Field Interactions. The layout of the calculation is now stacked. Calculations can draw upon other field values or use constants in the format of a number with up to six decimals or US currency.

Table Calculations

Table Calculation is the new verbiage for the Summary Field and is located within the Calculation field settings modal as a radio button. When selected, you will be directed to select the Table and the Column you wish to Sum automatically. Average and Count are greyed out as these functions are not available yet but are Coming Soon!

Conditions

Conditions allow users to skip or reveal screens and fields in the normal workflow if certain user defined conditions are met.

Field Conditions

Access to Field Conditions is now located in the Field Settings modal. The modal is accessible through the third icon, the gear, on each field.

Screen Conditions

Screen Conditions are located within the gear icon on each screen.

Conditions are written in an "If - Then" statement. For example, if the projected costs of a project are over $1,000, the form requires an approval signature. Conditions can be based on a value, like the example below, or on a checkbox. Fields will have a branch icon to indicate a condition is attached.

Reference Data

Reference Data is available in the Builder. Now located in the settings gear of relevant fields, you can add reference data by importing comma separated value (also called CSV) files or using the Google Sheets integration. Fields will have a lightning bolt icon to indicate that it has reference data attached.

Additionally, all field types that support reference data are available to test in the interactive preview.

New Features in the Builder

Undo/Redo Buttons

User's can Undo and Redo an action in the Builder when they make a mistake or want to retrieve a recent change.

• To undo the last action, users can select the Undo button or hold CTRL + Z (or CMD + Z on MacOS). Users can undo every action until the last publish.
• To redo the last action, users can select the Redo button or hold CTRL + Y (or CMD + Y on MacOS).

Preview Panel

As you create your form in the workspace area, watch in the Preview on the right hand side to see how your form appears on a mobile device. If you have a long form with many screens, toggle to the Screens tab to see all of the screens within your form at a higher level.

It is important to keep in mind that the only interaction available in the Preview panel is moving from one screen to another.

Testing in Browser

It's easy to build forms and test them directly from your browser! Create your form in the workspace and select Test to try out your form in a browser. Go fill it in to see if everything is working correctly.

Please note this is a simulation of filling out a form on a mobile device and no data is being captured. If your form is complete, go ahead and Publish to send the form to your users to fill out on their mobile devices in the field.

Saving & Publishing a Form in the Builder

Saving a Form

Users can save their work at any time during the form building process. To save a form, select Save on the top right.

Important notes:

• Saving a form does NOT create a new version.
• A form must be saved before publishing the form.
• A form can be tested without saving a form first.

Publishing a Form

After a user has saved their progress in a form, they can select Publish to share it with their users.

To publish a form:

• First, select Save to activate the Publish button.
• Select Publish on the top right. In the Publish modal, select the users that will receive the form.
• Select the toggle to send users a notification that the newest version of the form is available.
• Save.

Important notes:

• A new version of the form will be created every time you select Publish.
• A form must be saved before publishing the form.
• The Publish button is disabled until the form is saved.
• A form can be tested without publishing first.
• The form can be shared with select users or all users.

Leaving the Builder

If you would like to return to your comfort zone, or need access to features not yet available in the Builder, simply press the link to the Legacy Builder in the banner across the top of the screen. Everything you have built will be in your form still and you will not have lost any of your progress so you can switch back with confidence. Once you switch back to the current Builder, you cannot return to the Builder in this form so please be sure before you proceed.