Publish a form

Create an open request with a form anyone with the link can fill in, brand it, share the submission URL and process the submissions with your group.

Do you want to receive information or documents from people outside your organisation? Think of an intake, a registration form, an application or a questionnaire. With an open request in Databeamer you can create a form that anyone with the link can fill in. So you do not have to create a separate request for every submitter.

You can put the link on your website, include it in an email or share it another way. That gives people one recognisable place to supply information, while the submissions end up safely with the right group or people.

1. Create a request #

Open the group in which you want to receive the submissions and choose New request under Exchange › Requests.

If you create the request in a group, all group members can view the submissions. That is useful when several colleagues process the incoming information together.

For open requests, your plan (through the organisation) must support this feature. You can check this under Settings › Plan & Usage › Feature Access.

2. Build your form #

Choose Use a form instead and add the fields you need. Depending on your purpose, you could ask for example for:

Text – for example a name or subject.
Date – for example a preferred appointment date.
Email – to be able to get in touch.
Select – to let someone make a choice.
File – to have a document sent along.
Text Area – for an explanation.

Think in advance about which information you really need. A short, clear form is more pleasant to fill in and prevents people from sharing more personal data than necessary. Even when the information is sent encrypted, that remains an important principle.

Give the form a recognisable title and briefly explain what the information is requested for and what the person filling it in can expect.

3. Open up the request #

Under Fulfillment (bottom left) choose Open. Anyone with the link can then submit, even without a Databeamer account. The link can be used by several people.

Choose a Retention period that fits the way you process the submissions. The retention period applies to the submitted data.

Do not set a Deadline if you want the form to stay available for as long as you use it. A deadline is the date on which the form closes. After that date no more submissions can be made.

Then choose Create.

4. Make the form match your organisation #

Through Guest page you can add a logo and a wallpaper. That way people recognise the organisation they are giving their information to.

A recognisable page and a short, clear explanation help to inspire trust and make it easier for the person filling it in to understand they are in the right place.

If you set no logo or wallpaper within the request, the form automatically takes the logo and wallpaper set within the group (Settings › Guest pages). If those are not set either, the form takes the guest settings set at organisation level.

Copy the Submission URL and share it wherever fits your process. You can put the link on your website, include it in an email or use it in communication with clients, residents, patients or partners.

Because you use one fixed link, you do not have to create a separate request for every new submitter.

What does the person filling it in see? #

They open the page, read the explanation and fill in the requested details. Where needed, they can add files too. After choosing Submit, the confirmation Submitted! appears.

They do not need a Databeamer account for this. More about the experience on the other side is in Answer a request.

6. View and process the submissions #

The group members receive a New submission notification. In the Submissions tab you can view the incoming answers.

With the Table view you see the submissions side by side.
With By question you can compare answers to a particular question.
With Download file you fetch an individual file.
With Export to Databeamer Drive you can keep files in the group's Drive.

Think in advance about who needs to be able to view the submissions and how long you need them. That way the set-up of the form matches how you actually process the information.

If you want to change the form #

Changes to an open request apply to new submissions only. If you need a different form, create a new request and replace the link on your website or wherever else you have shared it. You can set a Deadline on the old request so it no longer accepts new submissions.

Security detailsWhat is this?

The information is processed encrypted. When building the form, keep in mind that the chosen recipients get access to the submissions. So do not make the form more extensive than necessary and use a group in which only the right people have access.