Forms are an integral part of Slate and can be used for many tasks. A well-developed form can be crucial in marketing efforts, record management, reader review, events, interviews, and more. They enable you to quickly and easily collect data from prospective students and applicants, administratively update existing data points for person records, and more. Forms are designed to make the data entry process simpler, faster, and more efficient.

An effective way to begin learning about forms is to build an Inquiry Form (sometimes called a “Request for Information” form). An inquiry form is often linked to from your admissions website to enable prospective students to easily convey important information about themselves to your institution. The information a prospective student provides will create and update their record in Slate and will also set the stage for more effectual outreach efforts using Deliver.

Build the Form

1. Click Forms on the main navigation bar.

2. Click New Form. 

3. Enter the following Form configurations:

   • Page Title: The title of the page that appears for the student.

   • Folder: Using folders will keep forms organized. Select an existing folder or select Other to create a new folder.

   • Status: Set to Confirmed/Active.

4. Click Save.

*Click here for a complete listing of all setting descriptions.

Does a Form need to be active to test?

Yes, even when a form is active, it is not accessible to the public until linked on a website or URL is published.

Form Management

After saving form configurations, the Form Management screen appears. This page provides administrative tools to manage the form, such as editing the configurations, changing the items on the form, and using advanced reporting tools to view and summarize form responses.

URL - By default, a hyperlink to reach the public-facing version of the form that includes a GUID (Globally Unique Identifier - a 128-bit value consisting of numbers and letters used to identify the form). You can modify the URL by clicking the "Edit URL" link. This would remove the GUID from the default link and replace it with a more user-friendly link. For instance, you can change the link from "https://yourdatabase.net/register/?id=d48023c9-r0g0-fc03-38ab-e3dcb8d589e7" to "https://yourdatabase/register/info" 

Documents: Like notes in the previous screen - This is for internal use only and can be used to attach a document to a specific form. For example, if a form is associated with an event, you could attach a FAQ enabling your staff to see the form and the notes or talking points related to that particular event or form.

Registrants: Registration information appears in this area when a form is submitted. Additionally, a Slate user may add a registrant administratively by clicking the New Registration link. 

The next step in building an inquiry form is to determine the information that needs to be collected on the form.

Click Edit Form on the right to begin adding questions.

Edit the Form

The Form

Some standard Slate fields appear by default when form content is edited for the first time. It is best practice to include these standard fields on most forms.

• Fields may be reordered by dragging to the desired position.

• Edit a field by double-clicking the field or hovering the cursor over the field and selecting the pencil icon.

• Delete a field by hovering over the field and clicking the X icon.

Form Building Tools

There are many form design tools available on the Edit Form page. Some of these are crucial to building an inquiry form, while some are more nuanced. 

⭐ Best Practice

Make a User-Friendly Form! Before building an inquiry form, plan the questions that should be included on paper. Make sure the inquiry form is easy to complete and does not preclude prospective students from submitting their contact information by presenting an overly complex inquiry form with many required fields. It is a best practice to collect basic, general information about the student now to establish their record in Slate and then send targeted communications to request more detailed information later.

Form Fields Palette

When building a form, use the Form Builder Palette to drag in the type of content to be added.

Items that might be used on a basic inquiry form are described below. The other items will be explained in more detail in other Knowledge Base articles.

• Instructions: Use the HTML editor to add descriptive or instructional information to the form.

• Text Box: This is generally used for capturing free-text data in a short sentence or phrase, such as First Name.

• Option Buttons: Captures a single-option response to a field with visible prompt options (such as “What is your gender?”).

• Check Boxes: Captures multiple responses to a field with visible prompt options (such as “How did you hear about this institution?”).

• Select List: Captures a single response to a field with prompt options (such as “What is your primary academic interest?”). The prompt options appear in a dropdown list, so this is the preferred type of field when offering a long list of prompt options. 

• Multi-select: Captures multiple responses to a field with prompt options (such as “What are your academic interests?”). The prompt options appear in a scrollable list, so this is the preferred type of field when offering a long list of prompt options that may need more than one option selected. 

• Street Address: Captures an address such as Mailing Address.

• Date: Captures a date such as a Birthdate.