Formsite online forms collect answers in form submissions in the forms’ Results Table. Every new submission is a new result and every result gets a status. The built-in Status column shows complete, incomplete, alerts and more. Form owners can create custom status columns for results using Admin items, too.

The built-in Status icons are:

• Complete: The result contains sufficient answers in all required items and the visitor submitted the form.
• Incomplete: The result is not yet submitted. It can be unfinished, or it could be an in-progress result due to Save & Return.
• Failed: These results show an error with an integration. See how to troubleshoot and correct errors with integrations.
• Uploaded: Indicates results uploaded to the Results Table and not submitted by a form visitor.

Custom Status

Sometimes form owners want to use the Status column to track internal progress or make custom levels. The built-in status levels communicate specific attributes for each result. We strongly recommend not using the built-in Status settings for manual updates. For example, an incomplete status means the result did not trigger integrations or Notifications. Having an accurate status helps track down issues.

Instead of using the built-in Status column, we recommend creating a custom one with Admin items. Most form items have Admin settings and the most popular way to add a custom status column is using a Dropdown item. Setting the item’s Admin setting hides it from the visitor and displays only in the Results Table. The Admin setting lets anyone with access edit the results and update the custom status item.

Here’s how it works:

1. In the form editor, add a Radio Button, Dropdown, or Checkbox item to the top of the form
2. Enter the status levels like New, In progress, Label created, Pending, Canceled, etc.
3. Click the Advanced Settings link and check the setting next to Admin
4. Set the default value if needed (New, for example)
5. Save and test the form

If the default value is set with New or some other default status, that status shows for all new results. Anyone with access to the results can edit and update the result to reflect the new status.

What about the Payment column?

If the form is an order form, the Results Table shows a Payment column with the same status icons. The payment status shows the transaction result and cannot be edited. See more about collecting payments and managing online orders.

Using the Status

A benefit for using a custom status is the ability to use Results Filters based on the status setting. For example, the form owner can create a Results Report that shows only those results with a specific status. Creating the report for a specific department or step in the process shows only those results in the Report.

Also, use Results Filters with exporting results, triggering integrations and Notifications, and many other places.

As part of our Sub-users enhancement, the Results Search now accommodates Limited Sub-users. Sub-user permissions are set to either Admin or Limited, and Limited Sub-users have specific forms they can access. This new enhancement gives all Sub-users the ability to access the Results Search page.

What is Results Search?

Found under the User menu, the Results Search page provides a way to search for text across all results in the entire account. The search term collects the text to search for and all form input items with text get searched.

Short answer, Long answer, Email addresses, and “other” fields in multiple choice items collect text in the results. The Results Search searches for that text in each available place and returns with a link leading to that result. Also available are the results’ Reference numbers, so searching for the result number returns the link to that result.

Since Limited Sub-users have access controls to only allow specific forms, they used to have no access to search. The search function now cross-references each Limited Sub-user and only searches the allowed forms.

Limited Sub-users

Sub-users with limited permissions to forms have either read/write, read-only, or no access. All forms with either read/write or read-only permissions appear in the search reply. Forms with no access get skipped when searching to protect their results from unauthorized access.

Other tips

Keep in mind that Sub-users have access to the form editor and form settings, too. If the need is to provide access to results only, using a Results Report is a better option. Results Reports can use Results Filters, which show only those results that meet conditions. Results Reports have the option for a password to help protect the data, also.

Note that Results Search may display an option to receive the search response as an email. This occurs when the total amount of data exceeds the threshold for the search volume and the risk for time-out exists. Limited Sub-users also see the email field if the account has passed that threshold.

Formsite developers have recently added several enhancements to make working with Sub-users easier. Creating Sub-users, assigning permissions, and managing access becomes difficult with more forms. The most recent enhancement is the ability to see Sub-user access for each form in the My Forms list.

Creating and maintaining Sub-users occurs through the User menu -> Sub-users page. An earlier upgrade added the way to invite Sub-users, creating the email record and verifying the accurate email address.

Our Save & Return enhancement project continues with another login option for form visitors. Now available for form users is the ability to create accounts and save using their Microsoft account. Along with Google accounts, this new account feature helps make Save & Return more useful.

Formsite’s Sub-user features give account owners a way to share access to the account, forms, and results. The previous method included manually creating each account then sending their account details. As part of our ongoing Sub-user optimization project, the process now lets account admins invite Sub-users through email.

Form owners use Formsite in many different ways like collecting results for a period of time, then exporting and deleting the results. Another method uses an integration like Google Sheets to record a copy of every result, then periodically deleting them to make room for more. A third method keeps the results in Formsite and lets form visitors update results with Save & Return.

Formsite forms give form builders ways to customize the functionality to suit their needs. Functions like sending results to Google or Microsoft OneDrive, collecting payments, and receiving uploaded files. Over time, managing what forms connect to which services becomes more important and harder to remember. The My Forms list shows form stats and makes sorting the list of forms much easier.

We constantly work on improving our service and providing modern methods for building online forms. The design of the software and ways for customers to navigate and interact with the tools is an ongoing project. The most recent usability enhancements make the form builder easier to learn and easier for form owners to use.

Formsite’s Calculation item lets form owners calculate values on online forms. These calculations use scores, prices, or entered numbers as parts of equations defined by the form owner. Many times the calculations are only part of the equation, however, and need further processing later in the form. An example would be calculating subtotals for a multi-step equation.

Formsite online form builder gives form owners a fast and secure way to collect responses from visitors. From signup forms and order forms to complex inventory and tax forms, Formsite’s tools make it easy. Starting with a premade form, owners can customize the fields and appearance to suit their needs.

The Create New Form pages allow form owners to browse the most popular categories and review the premade form templates. These templates show example forms with sample questions and choices for quickly making new forms.