As a convenience and form data security feature, we now offer a data retention setting to delete results after a period of time. Many organizations have policies controlling how long results data stay available. They can subscribe to security standards that define retention periods, or they're enforced for convenience. Formsite’s data retention service enables automated results deleting for security or convenience.

Some popular regulations and security protocols include

• HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation
• PCI DSS - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
• CCPA - California Consumer Privacy Act
• SOC 1 & SOC 2

Recently, online data security has gained public attention and users demand transparency. As a result, more online services offer data control settings. See how Formsite’s data retention settings work.

Formsite has added the ability to send form results to Google Drive in addition to copies of attached files. The previous integration allowed form owners to send copies of files attached to a form submission to a Drive folder. Many customers use the integration as a team collaboration tool and backup for uploaded files. This newly-added feature now lets form owners send results to Google Drive, too.

Adding the results data to a Drive folder lets form owners create processes using the cloud storage features of Google Drive. These features include:

• Shared files and folders
• Notifications from Google
• Advanced permissions
• Scalable file storage

Build an application form fast using Formsite’s online form templates. Application form templates let form owners create a new online application form with sample items. With the variety of form types possible, application forms contain many standard fields compared to others. Some example application forms include:

• Employment application forms
• Proposal request forms
• Nomination forms
• Membership applications
• License application forms

Application Form Templates

Forms used for collecting applications share some common elements that set them apart from other forms. For example, job applications often collect contact information, employment history, and education history. They also may allow for uploading any supporting files, like a resume or cover letter.

Applications for training or job advancements share many features with registration forms, too. Both collect contact information and similar data, but applications may also have other requirements. In other words, a registration form lets anyone sign up, but an application form may have extra conditions.

Features of Application Forms

Forms asking for a history usually contain ways to add a variable number of entries. Depending on the range of numbers needed and the amount of information for each repetition, Formsite has solutions.

For collecting one or more answers containing a few input fields, the most user-friendly way adds an ‘add another’ choice. Here’s how:

1. Add the items for a single response and include a Checkbox containing a choice ‘add another’
2. Hover over the first item in the group and click the Multi-Select link to begin the selection
3. Hover over the last item in the group (the Checkbox) and click the End Selection link, then click Copy
4. Repeat until there are enough copies needed
5. Go to the Rules page and set rules on each item to show when the previous Checkbox contains the answer

For collecting one or more answers containing many input fields, the most convenient way uses the Repeating Page Rule:

• Create a form with at least 3 pages
  • Page 1 contains a Dropdown item asking how many times to repeat the next page
  • Page 2 contains the items for a single response
  • Page 3 and the rest of the form shows after the repeating is complete
• The key is to go to the Rules page and create a page rule after page 2 that says to repeat the number of times given in the Dropdown on page 1.

Also common with application forms is a limited number of available seats. Many classes or courses have a limited number of seats available, so application forms use Formsite’s Inventory settings.

The Inventory feature helps to prevent too many registrants by setting the number of answers allowed for a specific form item. Once the Results Table contains the number of results with that answer, the form prevents collecting more.

Build an Application Form

• Find the templates at formsite.com/templates, then click the button to Get This Form.
• Another way: Log in to a Formsite account, click the Create New Form button, then review the Application Form templates.
• Choose the template to start with and click the button to create a copy in the account.
• Using the form editor, add, delete, and edit the form items to customize the form. See the Getting Started video to see how the form editor works.
• When the form is complete, find its link on the form’s Share page or use the embed code to display on another site.

Great news! We've recently added more form and survey templates for educators to the template collection. These templates let account owners create new forms using existing questions and/or designs as a fast way to get started. The education form templates contain examples of forms designed with classes in mind, such as:

• Course signup forms
• Class registrations
• Scholarship application forms
• K12 course evaluation forms
• Campus safety survey

Occasionally form owners ask how to add a print button on the form or Success Page. The typical scenario for printing begins with organizations wanting an offline way to collect results. For example, if the organization has customers at an event or gathering where offline completion is easier.

Order forms, registration forms, surveys, etc. are all possible to print and complete. Once the form owner receives the completed printed forms, they can input the results through the form or in bulk using the Results -> Import function.

The form owner can print the blank form or save as a PDF file, or provide instructions for the visitor to print. See how a little custom code can display a print button or replace the submit button entirely.

A consistently popular feature for Formsite form owners is the ability to create PDF documents from form results. Form owners connect the form to an uploaded PDF template file to receive custom-formatted results. As an evolution of this popular feature, form owners now have the ability to create Word documents, too.

Custom documents from form results make many tasks easy, like:

• Personalized documents, contracts, etc.
• Easily shared and printed results
• Requests and receipts on letterhead
• Lots more!

Formsite’s Google Drive and Sheets integrations recently received an upgrade! Google’s G Suite helps organizations with collaboration and productivity tools. Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Drive among others let organizations share cloud storage. The G Suite Shared Drive lets members view and edit files in the drive without the need to share each file separately.

What's the difference? With individual Google accounts, users create and share Google Docs, Sheets, and Drive files with specific people. Other sharing options include an entire domain or even public.

Individuals belonging to a G Suite organization, however, can create and contribute to the shared drives. Instead of each person setting each file’s permissions, this lets a group of people access a common area with permissions set by the owner.

Some online forms need a signature, such as contracts, application forms, and approvals. The form captures the signature through a mouse or touch-enabled device and saves it as an image. Formsite’s Signature item allows forms at all account levels to collect signatures on their online forms and surveys.

Signatures appear as links in the form's Results Table like other images. Clicking the link to the image in the Results Table opens the image for viewing. Signature images share some similarities and differences with files uploaded to the form:

Same:

• Both appear as links in the Results Table
• Images and Signatures display as inline images in the Table format. This is the default format for viewing individual results, Notifications, and PDFs.
• Mapped and displayed with custom PDFs and Workflows

Different:

• Cannot delete them from the Results Table like uploaded files
• Signatures do not get sent through the file integrations

Formsite order forms allow form owners to collect payments for products or services. The payment integrations enable PayPal payments, credit cards, or paying by check for convenience. Sending receipts commonly occurs after successful payments using the form’s Notifications settings. Form owners can set the form to send email after successful payments or before, depending on the need.

Some examples of Notifications with order forms are:

• Order receipts (after the successful payment)
• Donation Thank-you (before the payment)
• Recurring subscription (before and after the payment)

Formsite forms are popular with website building services like WordPress, in part due to the easy embedding. Form owners can copy and paste the embed code provided with every form to display the form on the website. Viewing the form as part of the site itself makes for a seamless and convenient user experience. The WordPress plugin makes it even easier for WordPress sites to display Formsite forms.

Most website building sites have ways to add HTML and/or Javascript code. Some examples are:

• Raw HTML or script plugins
• Iframe widgets
• Text editors
• Template files

WordPress provides a way to use plugins to include content with their own code, called shortcodes. Formsite’s WordPress plugin lets site builders embed their forms anywhere using a shortcode.