Contact Fields
When editing a form, you could open [Contact Fields] tab and you will see a list of form contact fields, their status and action options represented by icons. If you just created a new form, we have added a set of contact fields as an example to help you get started.
Columns
Enabled
Indicates whether the question field is displayed on the form. You may click on the toggle to quickly
switch its status.
Field Label
Contact field label to display above the field input.
Type
Format of the answer you are expecting from users, or in some cases which don't
represent inputtable fields such as "Section" or "Spacer", indicates the type this item will be rendered into the form.
Required
Whether an answer is required for this field.
Lookup
Indicates a field that will be used to lookup for existing contacts on Act!.
For example, if an [Email] field is marked for lookup, Link2Forms will check for any contacts
which matches the email address filled in by the submitter. If a matching contact is found,
their form submission will be inserted as History entry linked to this contact.
Otherwise a new contact will be created on Act!.
Act! Field Mapping
In case a new contact needs to be created (please see [Lookup] column above),
inputs which are mapped will be inputted to that new contact information on Act!.
Update On
Condition when the submitted answer will be inputted to the mapped Act! contact field.
This feature is useful to determine what happens when a matching contact is found in Act! database.
Answer will always be included in the submission history regardless of this setting.
| Option | New Contact | Existing Contact |
|---|---|---|
| New Contact | Always | Never |
| Empty Field | Always | Only if field on Act! is empty |
| Overwrite if Answered | Always | Only if an answer is given (existing field data will be overwritten) |
| Always overwrite | Always | Always (in case of blank answer, existing data will be cleared) |
Column Span
Shows how many columns the field takes. For example, if you set [Column Count] to "2"
in the [General] tab, a field with 2 column span takes the entire
page width while those with 1 column span take half the page width.
Action Options
On the left of each field entry you will see a set of clickable icons to perform actions to the corresponding field.
- You could click and drag this handle to reorder the item.
- Allows you to edit this field.
- Allows you to remove this item.
Adding/Editing Field
When you click [Edit Field] or [Add Field], a field editor popup appears where you could configure the field.
Status
Indicates whether the contact field is displayed on the form.
Do NOT change this value after you have started to receive response as this will effect the accuracy of the reporting.
Type
Determine the type of item to be rendered into the form, for example a section heading, spacer, or input field.
There are different types of answer input type you could choose for this contact field.
Field type is important as it speaks to both the format of the answer you're looking to support.
| Field Type | Inputtable | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Spacer | Inserts a blank space. | |
| Text | One line of free form text where the responses have no structured format and can include any combination of alphanumeric characters. | |
| Dropdown | Drop Downs limit the answers to what you include in the dropdown options. Multi-select option can be enabled during the question configuration stage. | |
| Checkbox | Checkbox should be used for True/False questions generally. For example "I am a returning customer" with a checked state indicating true. This field can be mapped to a Yes/No field. Possible default values are "True" or "False". | |
| Internal | Internal field can be used to populate Act! Contact field with a static value for every submission. This field is hidden and thus cannot be modified by users. |
Field Label
Enter the field label for this input.
Answer Hint
Useful for providing context for the answer. For instance, field hints for slider ratings can be used to explain whether a grade of "1" means strongly agree or strongly disagree.
Default Value
Useful when you want a certain field to be pre-filled with an answer.
Act! Field Mapping
This mapping is used to perform contact lookup as well as populating contact details when creating a new contact.
In case of existing contacts, this field is included in submissions (History) but no changes are made to the existing contact details.
Available fields depend on compatibility of the Field Type you selected above.
Act! Field Update Instruction
Condition when the submitted answer will be written to the mapped Act! contact field.
Answer will always be included in the submission history regardless of this setting.
- Write on new contact field only - Only write value when creating new contact. If an existing contact is found, no update is made to the field.
- Write if contact field is empty - For both new and existing contact, write value if the field value on Act! Contact is empty.
- Overwrite if an answer is given - If an answer is given, always update field value on both new and existing contact, regardless if the field already contains data.
Please note that selecting this option may result in existing contact data on the mapped field being replaced by user-submitted answer.
- Always overwrite and clear any existing field data - Always update field value on both new and existing contact, and in case of a blank answer is submitted, any existing field data will get cleared.
Please note that selecting this option may result in existing contact data on the mapped field being replaced by user-submitted answer.
Input Required
This validation should be used for all fields you expect to be inputted by participants.
Use this field to lookup existing contact
When checked, answers to this field
will be used to lookup for existing contacts in Act!. If a matching contact is found,
the form submission will be inserted as History entry under that contact.
Otherwise a new contact will be created. If there are multiple fields marked for lookup,
contact must match all fields. In contrast if no field is marked for lookup,
a new contact will always be created whenever there is a new submission.
Max Length
This field allows you to limit the maximum number of characters
allowed for free form text fields.
Options
For drop down field type, you can easily type in all possible
answers here, one item per line.
Column Span
Shows how many columns the field takes. For example, if you set [Column Count] to "2" in the [General] tab, a field with 2 column span takes the entire page width while those with 1 column span take half the page width.
On supported templates, you may also assign a different column span for "Tablet" and "Phone" screens so the field fits nicely on smaller screens. If not set, it will take the column span of the nearest bigger screen.
^^ Last Revised: 2023.02.15