Creating Forms

Forms are typically created by users in a Business Analyst or other business role who are tasked with designing simple forms for Mobileforce FSM. Typically, such users are not software developers nor have an IT role, so the process of creation, modification, and publication of Simple Forms is kept simple, making use of a wysiwyg tool with a browser-based UI.

Actions that might otherwise require coding are made simple in this interface. These simple forms are implicitly laid out, as there is no user ability to specify the layout of the forms.

Each simple form is defined by two elements:

• Form elements: A single form which contains a list of input elements.
• Input elements: An element describing a single field in the form.

During form creation, users can specify details of each individual form fields:

• Field Type
• Any default or initial values for the field
• Whether the form is static or dynamically generated
• The UI label for the form
• Access control
• Actions to initiate when a field is created, updated or read.
• Data validation: Please note that data is validated in a field only if the field is editable. Hidden, disabled, or readonly input fields are not validated.
• Advanced constraints on form fields

Using the Forms Publisher

To access the form creation UI, select Forms Publisher from the Admin page.

The Forms Publisher page is displayed, showing the forms that have previously been created.

From here you can:

• Click the button to create a new form.
• Click the Edit hyperlink to review an existing form and edit it if necessary.

Additionally, cach form supports the following actions:

Create Copy

Create Copy offers a simple way to duplicate a form which you can use as the basis for creating a different form, without having to go through the entire form creation process. Create Copy only duplicates the struture of the form, it does not copy the data collected in the field.

This action is useful for creating two or more similar forms, or for starting all forms from a single template form.

Copy Into

Copy Into copies the data of the form into a form with a similar database structure.

Export

The Export action provides a simple way to copy a form from the Mobileforce system to an external file system, where you can manipulate its structure outside of the Mobileforce form creator, and then import the form back into Mobileforce.

Mobileforce exports the form as an XML file, which you can open, and then mofidy, using a simple text editor or as an XML table in a spreadsheet application, such as Excel.

Release

Mobileforce provides basic version control through its Release action, which allows you to continue to edit and develop a form without affecting the use of the form in the field.

Once you release a fom, any subsequent changes made to the form go into a newer version. Each time you are ready to promote a new version of the form, replacing the current version, you will release it again, and the latest version will become the new release, replacing the previously released version.

Import Simple Forms

The Import button allows you to import simple forms from an external file system. Typically, most users import forms that were previously exported and modified using a text editor or spreadsheet application.

Click Choose File to select the XML form from your external file system. Once selected, Mobileforce FSM automatically generates an application name and database table name, which you can override, if desired.

When finished, click Import.

Import from Spreadsheet

The Create from Spreadsheet button allows you to create forms from data in an existing .xlsx spreadsheet.

Click Choose File to select the .xlsx spreadsheet file from your external file system. Once selected, Mobileforce FSM automatically generates an application name and database table name, which you can override, if desired.

When finished, click Import.

Create a Simple Form

Clicking opens the Create New Form App window, where you specify the form name and its corresponding (backend) database name.

When finished, click Create. Mobileforce creates the form and adds it to the Forms Publisher page. To modify the form, click Edit.