What are Forms?
Forms are a feature for Successware Mobile that allow you to create customized forms to gather information and present it to your customers.
The forms are created on the Successware Mobile Admin site and then filled out while technicians are on the job. These forms can then be emailed to your customers and stored in Dropbox for future access.
These forms could be used to create several different forms and checklists for your technicians to use. Examples of what types of forms you could create include signup forms, system performance checklists, and satisfaction surveys.
Note: The Forms feature does require a Dropbox account to be able to use many features including:
• Being able to generate PDFs that can be emailed to customers.
• Storing a copy of the filled-out form in Dropbox.
• Storing files collected out in the field.
Forms cannot be created within the tutorial mode.
Accessing the Forms from the Admin Site
Before your technicians will be able to use the custom forms out in the field, you will need to make them. To setup and manage the forms, you will need to open the Successware Mobile Admin site.
1. Open the Main Menu from the toolbar in Successware.
2. Click on the Successware Mobile link.
3. Enter your Successware username and password.
• You will need your Successware username to have permission to do this. If you do not have permission, please talk to your administrator or call support.
4. Click the Log in button.
5. When you get into the Successware Mobile Admin site, click on the Forms option on the left-hand side of the screen.
6. IMPORTANT: The Forms feature does require a Dropbox account to be able to save forms and be able to email forms to customers.
This is setup under Master Account.
Form Creation
From the Form page, you can start to create your custom form.
1. Click on the Create button in the top right-hand portion of the screen.
Adding Form Components
To start adding Form Components:
1. Find the Form Component that you wish to add to the form.
2. Click and drag the Form Component from the Component List into the form where you it to be placed.
3. Release once it is in the correct place. You may change its position later if you wish.
4. A screen will appear that allows you to change the properties of the specific Form Component.
Each Form Component will have slightly different settings. We encourage you to experiment with the settings.
We cannot cover every setting here, but we encourage you to play around with the settings.
5. Click Save once you are ready to save the properties.
Form Component Types – Basic
Text Field
The Text Field is a simple text box to record text answers from your technicians and customers.
Text Area
The Text Area component is like the Text Field except that it shows text in multiple rows. This works best for longer response answers such as potentially lengthy notes.
Number
The Number component is similar to the Text Field except it only allows the entry of numbers.
Checkbox
The Checkbox component is a simple check that records if it is checked or not.
Select Boxes
The Select Boxes component is a group of checkboxes and allows you to select multiple options at once.
Select
The Select Component allows the user to select from a dropdown list. Use this component when you want to restrict possible options.
Radio
The Radio Component is similar to the select boxes except that only one option may be selected at a time within each component.
Button
The button allows you to click on the button to perform an action. At the current time, the only function of button that we support is the Submit Action.
If you delete the Submit button, simply add a new Button, and make sure that the Action field is set to Submit.
Form Component Types – Advanced
Email
The Email component is like the Text Field except this is designed to accept email addresses and verify that it is an email address.
Note: Kickbox validation is currently not supported and is going to be turned off.
Phone Number
The Phone Number component is similar to the Text Field except this is designed to accept only phone numbers.
Currency
The Currency component is a field that formats numbers to be currency.
Date / Time
Date / Time is a component that records the date and time. Clicking the calendar button at the end will bring up a calendar picker tool.
You can choose to format the date in a format you chose by customizing the Format Field under display. The format code explanations can be found here: DateParser Codes.
Time
The Time component allows you to record just a specific time.
Day
The Day component allows you to record just the specific month, day, and/or year. Under the Day tab, there is an option to switch the Day to be before the Month.
Nested Forms
The Nest Forms component allows you to reuse other Forms previously made and add them to your new form. This is a good way to have information needed on multiple forms created once and then reused.
Only 1 nested form layer is supported meaning that you cannot nest a form within a nested form within a form.
File
The File component allows external pictures and videos to be added to the form. A Dropbox is required to use this feature. This component currently can only accept images and videos through the mobile app. Only pictures can currently be previewed once uploaded; videos cannot.
Survey
They Survey component is a series of questions that share the same set of Radio button answers. With this, you can quickly enter questions that have the same set of options as answers.
Signature
The Signature component allows you to collect a signature from the tablet such as from your technician or customer.
Form Component Types – Layout
Content
The Content component allows you to include descriptive text and images to your form. If you need to add your logo or your company address to the form you can use this to include formatted text.
Columns
Columns allow you to have elements organized side by side. Once you place the Columns component, you can add sub components to it by dragging and dropping them into one of the columns.
Form Properties
Each Form Component has different properties that could be changed to customize how it looks and behaves to varying degrees.
Each component will have different properties. We cannot list every property for every component, but we will discuss the common and most notable fields. We encourage you to play around with the settings.
There are a few Advanced Properties that we will mention. These are useful, but we do not fully support these fields.
There are also a few components that may not be relevant to you. We will list those properties that you can ignore and we do not support as well.
Display Properties
Display properties affect how the component looks. This includes labels, label placements, and descriptions.
Notable Properties
• Label, Label Position, Option Label Position
• Description – This can provide extra information about the type of information you are trying to collect.
• Tooltip – This will show a "?" next to the component. Use this to give your techs a tip.
• Table View – This makes this field show up on the View Data table. We recommend using this sparingly to prevent the table from becoming too crowded.
Advanced Properties
• Input Masks – This can help you control what information is put into the form.
Properties to Disregard
• Custom CSS Class
• Tab Index
• Hidden
• Shortcut • Initial Focus
• Disabled
• Modal Edit
Data Properties
Data properties affect what data can be put into the component. If you are using components such as Select or Survey, this tab is where you will add options to selection. You can also put in default values on this tab.
Notable Properties
• Default Value – This allows you to determine values your component has by default.
• Values – This is how you will enter values to be selected from.
Properties to Disregard
• Persistent
• Input Format
• Protected
• Database Index
• Encrypted
• Redraw On
• Enable Static Search
• Choices.js options
• ID Path
• Item Template • Data Source Type
• Storage Type
• Search threshold
• Clear value when hidden
• Custom default value
• Calculated value
• Calculated on server
• Allow manual override of calculated value
Validation Properties
Validation properties control if the data is valid that is being entered. This includes marking if the component is required or not, maximum, or minimum length, and error messages that are displayed if the values are not correct.
Notable Properties
• Required – This allows you to require that the field be entered before submitting.
• Maximum / Minimum Length
• Error Label / Custom Error Message – This allows you to state why the information entered was not valid.
Advanced Properties
• Regular Expression (Text Field related components) – This allows you to require specific criteria from the text fields by using a regular expression. If you wish to use this you must look how to use it online.
Properties to Disregard
• Unique
• Validate On
• Custom Validation
• JSONLogic Validation
Auto-Fill Components
Successware Mobile has a feature that will allow your forms to be automatically filled out with specific information on specific components based on which customer the technician is working on.
You can find a list of Auto-Fill fields and the components that they can be used with on the next page.
IMPORTANT: Auto-Fill does not work on fields that are contained within a Nested Form or within the Column component.
To utilize the Auto-Fill feature:
1. Open up a Form in Edit mode to make changes.
2. Add one of the components that can contain the information that you wish to auto-fill.
3. In the Label field, enter the Field Name that you would like the field to auto-fill from the list of accepted fields.
4. Click Save on the component and the Form.
5. When the technician creates the form, the fields will be filled out.
Auto-Fill Options
Below is a list of all the information types that can be filled out by the Auto-Fill feature. Simply type the Field Name in the Label field. If the field has multiple Component Types, you can type the field name into those labels to have the field be brought in. If the field has characters that are not accepted as part of the component type such as characters in the Number Component, the field will remain empty and your technicians will need to fill them out.
You may add extra text after or before the field name and have the Auto-Fill feature work, but text at middle will cause this feature to not work. With “Phone” as an example, “Phone Number” and "Home Phone" will work, “Pho#1ne” would not have the information automatically be pulled in.
Editing Form Components
Once you place a Form Component in the form, you can change the properties of the component.
1. Hover over the component until you see these symbols in the upper right-hand corner of the component.
2. Click on the settings button.
3. The Properties window will appear. Make the changes that you need.
4. Click Save.
Moving Form Components
Once you place a Form Component in the form, you can move it.
1. Click and hold on the component.
2. Drag it to where you want on your form.
3. Release the mouse button.
Remove Form Components
To remove a component:
1. Hover over the component until you see these symbols in the upper right-hand corner of the component.
2. Click on the remove button.
3. If you are working with Columns, removing the Columns component will remove any component within the columns. You will receive a message asking you to confirm that you want to delete both the Columns and any nested components.
Form Creation Tips and Tricks
These are some tips and tricks that you can use to make your forms easier to use and better.
Use Nested Forms
Nested forms are a very powerful tool. If you have elements that are going to be used on multiple forms, it is advisable to make them a form then use the Nested Form component to add it to the form.
IMPORTANT: You can have multiple nested forms in one form, but you cannot have a nested form within a nested form within a form.
For example, you can have your company header information, logo, and customer name fields saved as a “Form Header” form. Then you can nest that form in other forms.
Make Fields Required
If you would like to make a field required, open the Validation properties tab, and click on the Required checkbox. The form will note be able to be submitted until the field is filled out. A red asterisk will be present next to any required field.
Use Survey to save time entering
The Survey component allows you to create a component that allows you to reuse multiple answers for multiple questions provided that the questions needed a Radio answer type.
Use Content to present Logos and Text
There are instances where you will want to include information like your company address, license numbers, company logos, or description text. You can use Content to accomplish this. It is under the Layout tab.
Add a picture by clicking on the add image icon.
If you click on the picture you can resize the picture and realign the picture to be in-line with the image or have it off to the left, center, or right of the text.
Radio buttons – In line
If you want the Radio options in a horizontal line, use the “In line” option on the Display tab.
Add Emoji to your Form
Adding emoji in your Forms in the right spots can emphasize what you are trying to communicate to your users especially for a system performance checklist where you want to communicate what status the user’s equipment is in.
For example:
• ✅ Good / Not Applicable
• ⚠️ Attention Needed
• ❌ Immediate Attention
Use Table View to get a summary of the responses
Under the Display properties tab there is a Table View property.
This allows you to see the field on the view data form without needing to open the form. We recommend keeping this only to a few minimum items to prevent over-crowding.
How to use Columns
The Columns component by default shows 2 columns. You can increase the number of columns. To have the columns to appear in a singular row, the width of the columns must add to 12. If there are multiple columns such that the columns width was more than 12, the form will move the column to the text row.
Important Limitations
There are a few limitations that you should be aware of with working with the Forms.
- Component Labels need to be Unique. You should not have labels with duplicate names such as two components labeled “Name”. This can result in issues with data retrieval.
- Numbers do not make a label unique. Labels with nearly identical with only numbers differentiating them (i.e., “Equipment 1” and “Equipment 2”) are not considered unique behind the scenes and may cause issues.
- Having components labeled only with numbers can also cause issues. Do not call your components just numbers.
- You cannot have multiple nested form levels is not supported meaning that you should not nest a form within another nested form.
- Dropbox is required to upload files.
- If you have the ability to upload files, currently you can only use pictures and video and these should be kept to 10MB and limited to no more than 30 images per form upload. At this point each File component is only able to upload one picture at a time.
- Technicians cannot preview uploaded videos, only pictures.
- Some emoji do not appear in the PDF that is generated currently, they do show on the tablet when the technician is presenting the form to the customer.
- Some form components appear faint when presented through the PDF. Particularly the Radio buttons appear faint and a bit hard to read.
Form Management
Once you have forms, you can start to manage them.
There are 4 different ways to interact with your forms.
• View Form
• View Data
• Edit
• Archive
Viewing the Form
To view a form:
1. Have the forms tab open.
2. Click on View Form.
From here you can view the form as it would be presented to the customer and edit the form. You may also view the data by clicking on the View Data option.
You can change the form from this view by clicking the Edit Button.
Viewing the Data
To view the data:
1. Have the Forms tab open.
2. Click on View Data.
From here you can see a summary of the data entered by the customer. The fields presented will be determined based on if the Table View property (on the Display tab) is checked or not. Note that nested forms or other component types like Survey may not show up here.
You may click on View to be able to see the data for that form entry.
At the bottom of the page there are navigation controls to move between pages of form responses and control the number of responses per page.
How do responses appear in the Data Table
There is a property for each component that has a display called “Table View” under the Design tab. If this is checked, the field will try to be displayed in the view data table.
There are some fields that cannot be included such as signatures or nested fields as they will display as [Complex Data], or select boxes which will display as [Object].
It is recommended to not make every field this way. If your labels are too long, it can make this unsightly. We recommend using the Description field to move some of that text away from the label.
Where do Form Responses Save to
Form responses will save to the Forms tab on the Successware Mobile. These could be accessed by clicking “View Data” on the Forms View and finding each user.
The form responses can also be emailed to the customer, and if you have the Copy To email address setup, you will receive a copy of the email response. If you have Dropbox enabled, a copy of the response will be saved in the job specific folder for that customer as a PDF.
If your technician collects a file such as a picture, it will only be stored through the Dropbox account tied to that job.
If you enter a response to a form using the Successware Mobile Admin site, it will not store a PDF version of the report and any files uploaded will also not be saved.
Publishing a form
Before a form can be used after it is created or reactivated, the form must be published. Until the form is published, the form will not be able to be seen by your technicians.
You will see the unpublished indicator by the report name while the form is unpublished.
To publish the forms:
1. Make sure that you are on the View Form screen.
2. Click Publish.
3. You will be presented with a prompt. Click Publish to publish the form.
Archiving a Form
When you no longer want to use a form or wish to make a form temporarily unavailable, you will archive it so that it cannot be used the techs. You can reactivate the form later.
1. Find the form that you wish to archive.
2. Click on Archive.
3. You will be presented with a prompt. Click Archive to archive the form.
4. The form will appear in the Archived form list. Tap on the Archived tab to see the archived form.
• You may also choose to tap Archive from the View Form screen.
Reactivating an Archived Form
You can reactivate an archived form that you want to use again.
1. Find the form on the Archived tab that you wish to reactivate.
• You may also re-activate from the View Form screen.
2. Click on Activate.
3. You will be presented with a prompt. Click Activate to activate the form.
4. The form will appear in the forms list as Unpublished. You will need to republish the form for it to be available to the technicians.
5. Find the form in the forms list.
6. View the form.
7. Click Publish.
Sharing / Importing a Form
You may wish to create a copy of the form or copy the form to another database. By sharing the form ID and importing that form ID, a copy of the form will be made.
3.4.7.1. Getting the Form ID to Share
1. Find the form that you wish to share or copy.
2. Click on Share.
3. You will be presented with a prompt. Click Copy to the string. This string will be used on the import prompt to copy the form.
4. The form ID will be copied to you clipboard. You may now either paste it into a document or email for later use or open the company you would like to import it into to start the import process.
• You may also choose to tap Share from the View Form screen.
Importing a Form
Once you have a form ID to import, you can get a copy of a form that is already created. Once the form is copied, it is independent of the other form, and changes made to one, will not affect the other.
1. Click on the Import Button.
2. You will be presented with a prompt. Copy the share ID of the form.
3. Click Import.
4. The form will appear in the forms list as Unpublished. You will need to publish the form for it to be available to the technicians.
5. You can make any changes to the shared form as necessary.
Using the Form in Successware Mobile
Accessing the Forms in the App
To access the Forms, you will need to be on a job. You will see two tabs underneath the customer record button: Invoice and Forms.
When you first appear on a job, you will be on the Invoice Tab. This allows you to build an invoice for the current job.
Switch to Forms by tapping on the Forms tab.
To switch back to the Invoice, simply tap on the Invoice tab.
Adding a New Form
When you want to add a new form
1. Tap on the add form button.
2. Find the form that you wish to use.
3. Tap on the form.
4. Fill out the form or have the customer fill out the form with the appropriate information.
5. When you need to close the form:
• Tap Save to save a draft that you can return to. If you close the form without tapping save, your progress will be lost.
• Tap Submit when done. If you do not tap Submit before closing the job, the form will not be saved or able to be accessed again.
6. After submitting the form, you may choose to email the form to the customer. Simply tap on email to start filling out the email address.
- Your office may receive a copy of the email to the customer if they have the Copy-to address enabled.
7. Tap on the arrow in the upper left-hand corner to return to form list.
Viewing Saved Forms
If you need to close a form that you are still in the middle of entering information, you can save a draft of the form. You may Then return to the form later as long as the job is not closed. To return to a saved form:
1. Navigate to the Forms tab.
2. Tap on Saved Forms.
3. Find the form that you wish to continue editing.
4. Tap on the form to continue editing it.
View Submitted Forms
Once you complete and submit a form, you can review the form. You may not change the details of the completed forms; this is just to review the responses and possibly email a copy of the form to the customer.
1. Navigate to the Forms tab.
2. Tap on Submitted Forms.
3. Find the form that you wish to review.
4. Tap on the form to review it.
Emailing Forms
With the form open (either after hitting submit or by reviewing the form), you may choose to email the form to the customer.
1. Tap on the Email button.
2. Fill out the email that you will send the form response to or use the location default email address.
3. Tap on Send.
Looking for a more interactive course on Forms? Check out our Learning Management System (LMS)! Our courses are available to all Successware users. If you don't have a sign-in for our LMS, contact us at training@successware.com for a free account.