Forms Designer

This is the step where you draft the Web Form. Double-click on the form field on the left to insert it in the view. Or drag it to the middle.

Form fields can be freely positioned and their length and width easily adjusted with the mouse. The fields can also be arranged horizontally. The stored grid makes it easy to coordinate the fields in height and width. Adjacently arranged fields are arranged one on top of the other on a smartphone.

The preview shows what the form looks like in the browser or on a mobile device. Files cannot be attached to the form in the preview.

You can adjust the individual fields using the field settings on the right.

Name

The form is displayed on the Overview page of the configurations with this name. However, you define the title that the user sees using the corresponding form field.

Form fields

You can choose from the following form fields.

  • Single line text

  • Multiple line text: The number of lines is limited by the field height in the field settings.

  • Number field

  • Date: As in the Web Client, the user sets the date with a date selector.

  • Checkbox: The user can select multiple options.

  • Multiple choice: The user can select one of the options.

  • Drop Down: A list opens from which the user can select an option.

  • Table: You can add several tables in a form, each with a maximum of 12 columns. Single line text, numeric, date and drop down are supported as the format of the individual columns. Tables are currently not supported for form templates.

  • File attachment: The user can attach one or several files to the form. The file types and the number of files can be set in the field settings.

  • Signature: In this field, the user can sign using the mouse or on a touchscreen, e.g. in order to confirm that they have filled out the form personally.

Fixed elements: These fields cannot be changed by the user filling out the form.

  • Title

  • Fixed text: A field like this can be used, for example, as a header for several fields.

  • Image: The maximum image size is 5 MB. Use an image format that can be displayed by standard web browsers such as PNG or JPG. If you add a Merge Form to a Web Form with image element, the image element is no longer displayed.

  • Automatic number: Forms are stored in the file cabinet with an automatically unique and consecutive number so they can be clearly identified.

  • Space: inserts an empty field (not for mobile form view)

Field settings

Click on a field in the middle to open the respective field settings.

General notes:

  • The Field ID is generated using the field name and a number and serves to differentiate similar form fields, among other things. The user does not have to enter anything here. The ID refers to the Web Form field, not to a DocuWare database field.

  • The DocuWare default font Tahoma is used as the Web Form font.

  • A mandatory field in the form is marked with an asterisk *.

Text fields

  • Field masks are available for single-line text fields. Masks help the user fill out forms correctly. The form will not be submitted until the inputs match the mask definition. All field masks of an organization are available for the forms. You can create new field masks in DocuWare Configuration under Indexing assistance.

Fields with lists

  • The select options of multiple choice, checkboxes or dropdown lists are not limited. They can be sorted: either ascending by numbers and then alphabetically, or descending alphabetically and then by numbers. If a form field has multiple selection options, then you can arrange them horizontally. This lets the user see all options in the Web Form at a glance without having to scroll down to read them.

  • Use the entries from single-column select lists as selection options for a dropdown list. This reduces the time spent inputting information.

Tables

  • Columns: Use the four field types Single line text, Numeric, Date and Drop-down to insert up to 12 columns in a table. Each column is automatically assigned the same width based on the total number of columns in the table. People who fill out the form can drag columns to make them larger or smaller, but these changes aren't reflected when the form is submitted. Also, users who fill out the form cannot delete columns.

    A table fills the entire width of the form. The dimensions are not configurable. If you work with a table with more than eight columns, set the form's width to 1200 pixels or more.

    The first leftmost column in a column is automatically inserted and displays sequential numbers by default, which is not configurable. Use the numbers to easily select a row for actions such as inserting, duplicating, deleting, or deleting entries.

    Show total (for columns with numeric fields only): If you check this box, all entered numbers in this column will be automatically totaled. Empty cells are displayed as "0". This total number will also be visible in the PDF output.

  • Rows: A maximum of 200 rows are possible per table. The table field displays a specified number of rows with the Fixed number option. When filling in this case, no rows can be added or deleted. With the Maximum number, the user can add rows up to the entered value when filling out.

    Blank lines are displayed in the dropped PDF of the form.

  • Drop-down list: You enter the options manually or via a selection list. However, the Filter by Fields and Autofill Single Value features are not yet available for drop downs in tables.

  • Operations: Behaviors, validations, and calculations will soon be available for table fields.

File attachment

  • Attach the following file types to a form by default: .pdf, .doc, .docx, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .tif, .psd, .xls, .xlsx, .txt, .mp3, .mp4, .aac, .wav, .wmv, .avi, .mpg, .mpeg, .zip). If the user is only permitted to upload PDFs, delete all entries apart from ".pdf" from the file list in the field settings. There are the following limitations for the file upload:

    1. The size of all file attachments may not exceed 20 MB.

    2. An individual attachment may be a maximum of 10 MB.

    3. A maximum of 10 files can be added to a File attachment field.

Fixed elements

  • An image as fixed element is displayed as standard in the original size. If you modify the display size, the image retains its proportions.

  • To store forms with a unique number, select a number range. The number ranges of all file cabinets to which you have access are available. The form automatically gets a number from the selected number range during the transmission.

  • A line is always inserted at the lower edge of the space field.

Form operations

Use the following form operations to capture data more precisely:

  • Calculations: In the calculation editor, you can combine number fields and given values for a formula. The following operators are available for this purpose.

    • Add / subtract

    • Multiply / divide

    • Fixed value

    • Left bracket / right bracket

    • with DocuWare version 7.11: % automatic calculations of percentage values

    The result of a calculation is inserted into a separate number field. The behavior of a calculation can be checked before publishing using the Preview function of the Form Designer.
    The calculation is not visible to the user when filling out the form. The user enters values into the number fields that are part of a calculation. The result is automatically inserted in a grayed out "read only" field.

  • Field behavior: A form may display fields or change field properties such as Write-protected and Required, depending on user input. The behavior of a form field is matched to the input in one or more fields. To define a field behavior, click Field Behavior > New. Select one or more fields on whose content the behavior should depend, and configure the conditions under which the field is hidden, or is required, or write-protected.

  • Predefined field entries: To simplify filling out a form, you can predefine form entries. When you access the form, the fields are duly filled out, for example with the current date and the name and email address of the logged on user. If necessary, the entries can be customized while filling out the form.

  • Field validation: The entries in form fields can be checked for consistency before sending. The form is submitted only if the entries match your defined specifications or—in the case of text, date, and number fields—the entries in other fields. This form of validation complements validation with an external data source, which is done via a linked web service.

Form properties

The minimum width of the form in the browser is 600 pixels. If the entered value is larger than the user's display, scroll bars will be inserted in the web form. You can also select a color for the background where the form will be displayed in the browser using the color picker or a hexadecimal value. Orientation, width, and color of the form are applied to the designer area of the form.

A single-column view is generated for the form view on mobile devices and the form properties are not applied.

The form description is displayed on the Overview page of DocuWare Forms.