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Title

Using forms with Vuture standalone (Contacts Module)

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360020697758-Using-forms-with-Vuture-standalone-Contacts-Module

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Overview

This article shows instructions for how to use Vuture forms with Vuture's Contacts Module.

* Requires Version 2 of the Form Editor. If you are not on the latest version, please ask your Account Manager to enable:

Admin > System > Versions > FormEditor Version > 2

Admin > System > Forms > Force validation script

Admin > System > Forms > Enable Date of Form Processing

Admin > Roles > Forms > Hide Form Fields

To see instructions for the old version of Forms please click here.

What are forms?
Where exactly does the form data write back to?
Creating a form
Editing forms
Field settings
Form settings

What are forms?

As part of Vuture’s landing page functionality, you can create forms either in a Vuture landing page or embed a form on your website. These forms can synchronize directly with Vuture's Contacts Module. You can use forms for:

Event RSVPs
Subscription forms
Additional data capture or data enrichment
Surveys or feedback

Where exactly does the form data write back to?

Once a contact submits a form, the data will write back to Vuture's Contacts Module (i.e. contact fields & RSVPs). See step by step instructions for setting up your RSVP forms here.

Please note: For Blank Forms, make sure the 'Add contacts to folder' and 'Update Standalone list?' settings are setup to write back form submission data for new contacts to the Contacts Module.

It will also be visible in the View Stats area which provides an audit trail of each form submission. This means every time a form is submitted, the View Stats report will log each form submission with the date/time. The View Stats area is available for each form you build.

To navigate to View Stats, follow the below steps (please see animated GIF below):

Navigate to the form you wish to use View Stats for
Click on the View Stats icon
Select your start and end dates to return all form submission data
Select "Detailed form submissions" from the drop-down
Click on Generate Report
This will download a CSV file of all data for this form during the dates you selected.

Please note: If using the View Stats area to track event registrations, keep in mind that you'll need to use View Stats for both the RSVP Prefilled form and the RSVP Blank form. Alternatively, you can use the Contacts Module to see all up-to-date RSVP data.

Creating a form

As part of your Vuture Master Template, we will create default RSVP forms for your events. Located in your Landing Pages folder, you'll find 'Prefilled' and 'Blank' RSVP Forms (see screenshot below). You can use these default forms as a starting point to help speed up the overall set up of your event process.

For more detailed instructions on how to successfully setup your RSVP Prefilled and Blank forms for an event campaign, please click here.

Alternatively, you can also create your own forms, starting from a new page.

To create a new form, click into the campaign where you wish to create your form.
Click on Landing Pages from the menu on the left
Click on new page to create a new form

Enter a name for your page.
Select the layout you wish to use. As part of your Vuture setup we will include default page layouts you can use.

Editing forms

To get to the Form Editor screen to edit your form, click into the form itself on your Landing Page

Adding contact fields that sync with the Contacts Module

When you add any contact field into your form, if a contact completes the form and either adds new data or changes existing data, Vuture will write back that change to that list in the Contacts Module.

As part of the RSVP forms (Prefilled and Blank) in your template, you may see that a few contact fields have been added for you. For example the First Name, Last Name, Company, and Email fields.

Please note: All forms must have the following fields as a bare minimum: First Name, Last Name, and Email Address.

If you wish to add more contact fields to your form, you must create these fields using the Single line text Vx field. For these fields to write back correctly to the Contacts Module, please use the below table for the correct Field Label and Field Name for each type of contact field.

Important: While the "Field Label" can change, the "Field Name" must be typed exactly as it appears below, or the Contacts Module will not be able to read the responses. (Please see below for more instructions)

Field Label	Field Name
First Name	FirstName
Last Name	LastName
Salutation	Salutation
Email Address	Email
Company	Company
Title	Title
Job Title	JobTitle
City	City
Country	Country
Sponsor Email	FromEmail
Sponsor Name	FromName

If you wish to add more contact fields that will sync with the Contacts Module, please follow the below instructions (see animated GIF below which highlights these steps):

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Make sure you are on the "Add a field" tab.
Click on the "Single line text" field under Vx Fields. This will add a new field to the bottom of your form.
Click into the newly added field.
Update the Field label (e.g. Job Title)
Add a Field Name - Important, the field name should be typed in exactly as it displays in the above table. For example, if this is for the Job Title field, the Field Name must be typed in as "JobTitle". This is important for it to map back correctly to the Job Title column in the Contacts Module.
Decide if this contact field should be "required", "read only" (making the field uneditable), or "half width" (meaning it takes up 50% of the form, so that another field can sit beside it).Best practice tips on read-only fields for prefilled forms.
You may then click to drag and drop it higher up on your form if desired.
Click Save in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".
Repeat these steps for the Blank RSVP Form, too.

Please note: If you'd like to have additional contact fields (i.e. Address) that populate on a pre-filled form, you will need to add these fields to your uploaded CSV File. For example, if you wanted to add an Address field, you would add "Address" as a header to the column of your CSV File. Then populate this column for each contact on your list and upload the CSV File. On your Pre-filled Form, you will add a "single line text" field and name the "Field Name" exactly as the Address header of your CSV file.

Adding RSVP and other fields to your form

You may add any other fields to your form in addition to a RSVP field (i.e. Dietary requirements, T-shirt size, etc). Once a contact submits the form with these fields filled out, the data will write back to Vuture's Contacts Module.

Please note: All RSVP forms must have the following fields as a bare minimum: First Name, Last Name, Email Address and RSVP.

If you wish to add a RSVP Field to your form that will write back to Vuture's Contacts Module, please follow the below instructions (see animated GIF below which highlights these steps):

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Make sure you are on the "Add a field" tab.
Under Vx Fields, select the "Accept/decline" option.
You should now see a newly added field named "Accept or decline" at the bottom of your form.
Click into the "Accept or decline" field to get to the field settings.
Here, you may change the "Field label" for "Accept or decline" to "RSVP" or "Will you join us for this event?"
You may also change the "Field Name" to "RSVP". Each new Field you add should have its own unique Field Name with no spaces in it.
Mark this field as required
You may also click to drag and drop it higher up on your form if desired.
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".
Repeat these steps for the Blank RSVP Form, too. Please note: For Blank Forms, make sure the 'Add contacts to folder' and 'Update Standalone list?' settings are setup to write back form submission data for new contacts to the Contacts Module.

*** For full step by step instructions on how to create an event invitation with RSVP forms, please click here.

If you wish to add other fields to your form that will write back to Vuture's Contacts Module, please follow the below instructions (see animated GIF below which highlights these steps):

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Make sure you are on the "Add a field" tab.
Under Vx Fields, select either "Paragraph text", "Radio Buttons", "Checkboxes" or "Drop down".
You should now see a newly added field at the bottom of your form.
Click into the field to get to the field settings.
Here, you may change the "Field label" (e.g. Dietary Requirements) which is what the clients will see.
You will also need to add a Field Name with no spaces. Please note: This is required to write back to the Contacts Module. Important - in the animated gif below, you will see the Field Label being changed to "Dietary Requirements". You will also see the Field Name being changed from Radio to "dietary-requirements". It is necessary to enter the new Field Name - overwrite the name Radio - because each new field you create as Radio button will overwrite the previous one called Radio unless you rename the field each time.
Decide whether you should mark this field as required or half width
If you selected "Radio Button", "Checkboxes" or "Drop down", be sure to type in the choices under "Options".
You may also click to drag and drop it higher up on your form if desired.
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".
Repeat these steps for the Blank RSVP Form, too.

Below, you'll find more detailed explanations for the following field types: Paragraph text, Radio buttons, Checkboxes, and Drop down.

Paragraph text

This type of field is a free-form text field. It differs from a single line text in that it allows your contact to type more information on multiple lines.

Radio Buttons

This type of field has predefined options. Your contacts can only select one answer from the options given, so A or B for example. The radio buttons are round. If you click on the field you can specify the options you want to display, as well as the order of the different choices. Ensure that you rename each new field in the Field Name box. You cannot have the same Field Name anywhere on the form.

You can also pre-check one of the options. If you press the x button it will delete the option. If you press the + you can add an additional option directly underneath the one you selected. The up and down arrows move the items up and down the list.

Checkboxes

This type of field has predefined options. Your contacts can select multiple options from those given, so A and B for example. The checkboxes are square. Ensure that you enter a new Field Name as well as the Field Label. Each Field Name must be unique on the form.

If you click on the field, you can specify the options you want to display as well as the order of the different choices. You can also pre-check one of the options. If you press the x button it will delete the option. If you press the + you can add an additional option directly underneath the one you selected. Use the up and down arrows to move the items up and down in the list.

Drop down

This type of field has predefined options. Your contacts can only select one from the options in the drop down.

Ensure that you enter a new Field Name as well as the Field Label. Each Field Name must be unique on the form.

If you click on the field, you can specify the options you want to display as well as the order of the different choices. If you press the x button it will delete the option. If you press the + you can add an additional option directly underneath the one you selected. Use the up and down arrows to move the items up and down in the list.

Add a hidden field

* Requires Admin > Roles > Forms > Hide Form Fields to be switched on for your role.

You can add hidden fields in your Vuture forms. These hidden fields will not be visible to the person completing the form but will write back the information to that specific list in Vuture's Contacts Module. When you hide a field, both the field and the label will be hidden.

For example, you may have two separate forms for RSVP Accept and RSVP Decline. For the RSVP Accept form, you may wish to make the RSVP field hidden with Accept as pre-checked. Please see animated GIF below to highlight this example.

To add a hidden field to your form, please follow the below instructions:

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Make sure you are on the "Add a field" tab.
Under Vx Fields, select the "Accept/decline" option.
You should now see a newly added field named "Accept or decline" at the bottom of your form.
Click into the "Accept or decline" field to get to the field settings.
Here, you may change the "Field label" for "Accept or decline" to "RSVP" or "Will you join us for this event?"
You may also change the "Field Name" to "RSVP".
Mark this field as Make hidden and required
Precheck the check box for your "Accept" option
You may then click to drag and drop it higher up on your form if desired.
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".
To test, click on the View Page icon to view this page in your browser. Clear your cache (press CTRL F5). You should see that your RSVP field is hidden. However, since the accept is pre-checked, anyone who submits the form will have a the RSVP as Accept in the Contacts Module.

Removing fields from your form

To remove fields from your form, please follow the below instructions:

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Navigate to the field you wish to delete.
Click on the red "X" icon in the top right corner of the field.
Your field should now be removed from the form.
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".

Adding section breaks and instructional text to your form

When editing your form, you may wish to add sectional breaks to highlight each section of a form, especially if there are many fields. You may also wish to add instructional text to provide guidance to those who are submitting the form.

Below, you'll find instructions on how to add section breaks and instructions to your forms.

Section break

When editing a long form, you may wish to break apart the form into different sections (e.g. Contact information, Event details, etc.). You can do this by adding a "section break" to your form under Vx Fields.

To add a section break, please follow the below instructions (please see animated GIF below):

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Make sure you are on the "Add a field" tab.
Scroll down to the "Vx Fields" section.
Click on "Section break".
Your Section break field should be added to the bottom of the form.
Click on the "New Section" field to drag and drop it higher up on your form.
You should then be able to rename "New Section" to the title of your choice by editing the "Section label". Otherwise, click into the new field to edit this text.
If you wish to add more information, you may add this under "Instructions for user".
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".

Instructions

You may wish to add instructional text to different areas of your form to help provide guidance to those completing the form.

To add instructional text, please follow the below instructions (please see animated GIF below):

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Make sure you are on the "Add a field" tab.
Scroll down to the "Vx Fields" section.
Click on "Instructions".
Your Instructions field should be added to the bottom of the form.
Click on the "Section instructions" field to drag and drop it higher up on your form.
You should then be able to rename "Section instructions" to your desired text by editing the "Instructions for user".
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".

Add a file upload button

* Please note, this is a premium feature. Please contact your Account Manager for more information. They will need to enable Admin > System > Forms > Display file upload.

You can give your contacts the option to upload a file alongside the rest of the data they submit in a form (i.e. CV or Resume).

There is a 10MB limit to the attachments and a 30MB total file size limit if you are using multiple file upload buttons. If you are expecting a large file attachment, please test with a large file before launching the form to make sure we can deliver those to you via the form submission email.

To add the file upload button, please follow the below instructions (please see animated GIF below):

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Make sure you are on the "Add a field" tab.
Scroll down to the "Vx Fields" section.
Click on "File Upload".
You should now see that the Upload button has been added to the bottom of your form.
To edit the title of the field, click into the file upload field and change the field label (e.g. Upload your resume).
You may also choose to make this field required.
Next, click on the Form settings tab.
Enter in an email address for "Email form to". This email address will receive a copy of every form submission along with the uploaded file. (For more information on this, click here)
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".

Important: We will only send these files as attachments via email. We will not save them in the Vuture System. We do not scan any attachments for Viruses so make sure that you have the necessary checks in place.

Changing the wording of a submit button

You may wish to change the wording of the submit button for your form. For example, if you are connecting this form to a Payments page, it would make sense to change "Submit" to "Continue".

To change the wording of your submit button, please follow the below instructions (please see animated GIF):

Click into the form fields to get to the Form Editor (if you're not there already).
Scroll down until you see the "Submit" button.
Click on the "Submit" button.
You may then update the "Button text".
Click on "Save" in the top right corner.
To publish the form, click on the "Publish page" icon > "Publish now".

Field settings

For each of the fields you may have added on your form, you can alter each field's settings. To do so, click on any field and it will bring up further options for you to complete.

Below are some of the most common field settings you will see:

Field Label: This is the text that we display next to the form field.
Field Name: The field name is what writes back this information to the Contacts Module. For contact fields, please make sure the field names are written exactly as they appear in this table. For new fields (i.e. Dietary requirements, Session, T-Shirt size, etc), be sure to fill out the field name with something that is unique to that field. For example, if the Field label is "Dietary Requirements", the Field Name could be "Dietary-Requirements".
Options: This shows you the options you set on this field when you first added it to the form. You will see check marks against the relevant options. If you need to make changes you can change the options for this field.
- Required? - The contact has to complete this field before they can submit the form.
- Read only - This field is visible, but the contact can’t change the details. This is useful, if your using a Prefilled form to prevent someone who is different from the original contact to submit this form and overwrite the original contact's data on your list in the Contacts Module. Best practice tips on using read-only fields for Prefilled forms.
- Half width? - If you select this, the field will take up half the width of the screen. It allows you to fit two fields on one row. If not selected, the field will display full width and will be the only field displayed in that row.
- Make hidden - These hidden fields will not be visible to the person completing the form but will submit data for that contact to the specified list in Vuture's Contacts Module. When you hide a field, both the field and the label will be hidden. For instructions on how to add a hidden field, please click here.
Predefined Value: You can specify a predefined value for a field. We will automatically display this when your contact loads the form.
Instructions for user: If you add some instructions for this field, we will display them directly under the field.
Conditional Field Name: This relates to form logic. Please click here to read more about form Logic.

Form settings

While the Field Settings tab covers the options for each field individually, the Form Settings tab covers options for the Form as a whole.

Click into the form on your landing page to get to the Form Editor screen. Then switch from the "Add a field" tab to the "Form settings" tab.

Form Name

If you fill in the Form name, we will use this as the subject line if we email you that someone has submitted the form (see "Email form to" setting below).

By default, the Form Name will either be "RSVP (Blank)" or "RSVP (Prefill)". It is best practice to change this to a unique name for your event.

Email form to (optional)

When a contact submits this form you can have the completed form details emailed to the email address you put in this field. If you want to add multiple emails, simply separate them with a semi-colon e.g. info@vuture.co.uk; news@vuture.co.uk. This is also the address that any uploaded file will be sent to. Important: If you put your email address in this field you will receive a copy of every form submission.

If you'd like to change the FROM Address for the form submission notification from the default of auto@the-vx.com, please ask your Account Manager to update 'Admin.System.Forms.Form Submission Notifications From Address'.

Thank you page

Be sure to set a landing page as your "Thank you page". This is the landing page the contact will be redirected to once submitting your form. Unless, you've set redirects on the RSVP form (see instructions here).

Important: If you do not set a "Thank you page", your contact will receive an error page when submitting the form.

Form data options

The "Form data options" setting specifies whether this form should be prefilled with the contacts details from a specific list within the Contacts Module or should be blank for new contacts to submit.

Below is a more detailed definition for each of the Form data options settings:

Pre-fill contact details

Selecting the "Form data options" to "pre-fill contact details" will display the contact details that are held in a specific list of the Contacts Module on the Vuture form. For example, the First Name field will be pre-filled with the contact's first name from the list in the Contacts Module. This is true for any contact fields you've added to this form, where there is data recorded for that list in the Contacts Module.

Please note: For this to prefill correctly, a contact must best sent a live email from your Vuture platform and click through to the prefilled form from this email. The form will not prefill for any "Send Test" emails, only live email sends and "Send Sample".

This helps to save your contact time to submit a RSVP form.

Examples of pre-filled forms include:

RSVP forms - where the contact has been emailed an invitation from Vuture, using Vuture's Contacts Module as the data source, and the form is set to prefill with their details. Their RSVP information will write back to that list in the Contact's Module.
Preferences form - where the contact can see what contact information you have held against them and can freely make edits to update this information.
Unsubscribe form - where the contact can request to unsubscribe from your communications.

Blank form, disconnect from contact

Selecting the "Form data options" to "Blank form, disconnect from contact" will display all contact fields on the form as blank fields and it is not tied to any specific contact in the Contacts Module.

A blank form is meant for new contacts or those who did not receive an email from your Vuture platform with a link to the prefilled version of the form.

Because a blank form is not tied to any contact in the Contacts Module, these types of forms can be shared as a URL or embedded on a website.

Once a contact submits a blank form (and the 'Add contacts to folder' and 'Update Standalone list?' are setup), the contact and their form submission data will be added to this list in the Contacts Module.

Examples of blank forms include:

RSVP forms - where the contact has not received an invitation from Vuture, but wants to register to the event. They were either forwarded the invitation and clicked through to the blank RSVP form, were given the URL to the blank form, or completed the blank RSVP form on your website (if embedded).
Subscription form - where the contact can subscribe to receive your marketing mailings and add themselves to lists based on their interests.
Gated forms on websites - where the contact provides their contact details on your website in return for a piece of downloadable content (i.e. white papers).

Blank version

This setting is directly related to your Forward to a Friend Form. This setting allows you to choose a blank version of a form for when an email is forwarded via the Forward to a Friend Form. This way, if someone were forwarded an email (via the Forward to a Friend Form) and they click through to register, they can be taken to the RSVP Blank Form, instead of the RSVP Prefilled Form (meant for the original contact).

You can read more about this setting here. As best practice, we recommend using option #2, when using any personalized fields.

Add contacts to folder (optional)

If a contact completes the blank form who is not on your original list, this option adds them to the selected list in the Contacts Module.

Important: For Blank forms, a list must be chosen for the contact to be added to the list, along with their form submission data (i.e. RSVP), in Vuture's Contacts Module. You should choose the same list your invitation was sent to.

Update Standalone List?

Important: This setting must always be checked for Prefilled and Blank forms to write back to Vuture's Contacts Module with all new or updated data. Best practice is to make sure this checked in the forms of your Master Template and Sub-Templates. That way, this setting is always checked and it is not dependent on the user to check it.

Friendly reminder - Click the save button (top right of the screen) when you have finished editing the form.