Form Pages and Sections

A well-structured form gives your field technicians the context they need to complete their work quickly, correctly, and efficiently. Design your form to enhance the field user experience and make it simpler to implement your business logic, workflows, and integrations.

Tip:Take the time to plan your forms. Remember that the overall structure can make it easier to apply Conditional Logic and integrate with your back office systems.

Key Concepts

  • A form consists of virtual pages, organized in a page index.

    Diagram that shows five pages on the Page index, from which the field user can select. This takes the user directly to the selected page in the form.

  • Each page contains sections, and each section contains questions. You can set up the form to show or hide the section header (title). You can also make the section collapsible to save screen space.

    Form that shows a page with two sections. Field users can collapse and expand each section by selecting the arrows next to the section header (title).

Video Demo

Learn from an expert! This video describes the structure of a form, including both Regular and Repeatable Sections.

Comparison of section types and layouts

The following table describes each section type and layout.

Section type Layout Example Works best for…
Regular Full-width, over-under (“stacked”) Regular section titled "Failure Details" with the question text "Photos of problematic inspection items" displayed full-width "over" (above) the answer field, which also displays full-width

  • Long question text or answers

  • Question types that display best as full-width

Regular with Multicolumn Layout

(Enterprise tier only)

 Flexible, questions flow from one column to the next macOS view of a Regular section with a Multicolumn Layout that spans six columns. The image shows how you can set up questions to span a specific number of columns, expand to fill empty space, and always start the next question on a new line.

  • Fitting a lot of information into a single, concise view

  • Giving form designers precise control over how questions are presented to field users

Side-by-Side

(Enterprise tier only)

 Two-column, with configurable ratio Side-by-Side section titled "Job Details" with question text "Job name" displayed next to a dropdown answer field

  • Short question text

  • Short answer text

  • Short option descriptions

Template-Based

(Enterprise tier only)

 Full-width, over-under (same as a Regular SectionClosed A Regular Section is a set of related questions grouped together for easy reference. The data captured is “non-repeating”. That is, field users enter a single instance of each answer.) Template-based section titled "Health and Safety Checks" with the question text "Floor Number" displayed "over" (above) the answer field, which also displays full-width

  • Reusable groups (blocks) of questions to help the Admin build forms more quickly and consistently, such as audit-based forms
Repeatable

Summary Table for quick reference and editing

 Repeatable section titled "List Materials" with the Summary Table view that shows column 1 "Material type" and column 2 "Quantity", with two rows (entries) completed

Note:Use a Repeatable SectionClosed A Repeatable Section is a subform that contains a set of related questions. The data captured is “repeating”, because the field user can complete the same subform more than once, which creates multiple entries. only for its intended purpose of adding information in a repeating subform. Do not use a Repeatable Section to achieve a particular layout. If you need additional layout options for questions in a Regular Section, consider upgrading to the Enterprise tier, which includes a Multicolumn Layout.
Summary Table Enterprise tier options

Compact viewClosed The term "compact view" refers to a Summary Table in a Repeatable Section. The compact view displays the Summary Table "inline" with the rest of the form. The "full view", by contrast, displays only the Summary Table. options include:

  • Wrap rows to new line
  • Hide headers

This example shows rows wrapped and headers hidden:

HVAC System Inspection summary table compact view that shows the third column wrapped to a new line and the column headings "Unit Type", "Part Wear or Damage" and "Inspection Result" inset in the cells. It's obvious from the user's answers ("Furnace, No Wear or Damage", "No Repairs Required") that the headers aren't needed to provide context.

The Full viewClosed The term "full view" refers to a Summary Table in a Repeatable Section. When a field user selects the "View All" option, the table opens in full view, and no other part of the form is visible. The "compact view", by contrast, displays the Summary Table "inline" with the rest of the form. (View All) options that help field users to show only relevant information include:

  • Allow users to sort by columns
  • Allow users to filter by one column

This example shows the filter option:
When the subform opens, the layout can be over-under, Multicolumn, or Side-by-Side Repeatable section "Materials Used" with an entry (sub-form) open that displays the Side-by-Side two column layout, with question text on the left and answer fields on the right

Info:The topic Form Layout Options provides more details about the different layouts.

Best practices

Items to consider Guidelines TrueContext features you can use
User devices

  • Design your pages and sections to display clearly on the device and to minimize scrolling.

  • Organize your pages so that the page index makes the form easy to navigate.
User experience

  • Group relevant items into sections to provide your users with context.

  • Organize the form in the order of tasks to be completed.

  • Use a condensed layout for easier scanning and less scrolling.

  • In each Repeatable Section, optimize the Summary Table display and enable row copying, row wrapping, and inline editing.
Documents used as reports

  • By default, a document created when the user submits the form is based on the page and section structure of the form. Make sure the form structure works with your document requirements.

Information from:

  • For a large number of data points in a Repeatable Section, enable row copying and inline editing of the Summary Table.

  • Use a custom column setup to combine different data points in a single display column.

  • You can route or push data from a question to subsequent questions in the form. Place the source question before the target questions.
Workflows and Business Logic
IntegrationsClosed Integration refers to secure communication and data sharing between TrueContext and a third-party system, such as Salesforce or ServiceMax. Connections, Data Sources, Data Destinations, and App-to-App calls and callbacks can be used as part of an integration solution.

  • You can send data from a submitted form directly to your system of record. Structure the sections in your form to align with your third-party system requirements.

    For example, you might use SharePoint to store data for downstream processing by reporting or analytics platforms. You can map data from a Regular or Repeatable Section into one or more SharePoint columns as required by your third-party system.

  • Use a Repeatable DestinationClosed A Repeatable Destination is a TrueContext Data Destination that sends data from a Repeatable Section to a field-based, third-party system. to send data from a Repeatable Section to Salesforce or SharePoint (Advanced and Enterprise tiers only).

  • Set up the structure of your form so that it’s easy to map to the hierarchical structure of your third-party system. For example, use Regular and Repeatable Destinations to map data from different sections in your form to parent-child objects in Salesforce. Parent-child relationships could include Account and Contacts objects, or Work Order and Work Order Tasks objects.

Form Building Cookbook

Get “recipes” for best practices in setting up pages, sections, and questions in your forms.

 

 

Troubleshooting