Forms collect information and save it in your Slate database. A well-developed form can support marketing, record management, review, events, interviews, advising, giving, and other processes. Use forms to collect data from respondents, update existing records, display custom data to staff, and trigger follow-up work.
A useful way to begin learning about forms is to build a simple person-scoped form. The form you build depends on the process you support.
Build a Request for Information form to collect contact information, academic interests, visit preferences, or other outreach details from prospective students.
Build an Early Alert or Advising Intake form to collect concern details, advising notes, recommended follow-up, or other information about a current student.
Try a Slate example 💼
Copy this Suitcase ID and paste it in Database → Suitcase Import to import an early alert form:
42a0ea8c-0e35-4e24-af91-cd1c550dce76:slate-success-showcaseBuild a Contact Report, Alumni Update, or Giving form to record engagement, update profile information, collect gift details, or support donor follow-up.
Build the form
Go to Forms.
Select New Form.
Enter the following form configurations:
Page Title: The title that appears at the top of the form.
Folder: Select an existing folder, or select Other to create a folder.
Status: Set the form to Confirmed/Active when you are ready to test or share it.
Select Save.
📖 Further reading: See Form Settings - Edit Form for a complete settings list.
Does a form need to be active to test?
Yes. A form can be active without being public. Respondents cannot open the form unless you share its URL or link to it from another page.
Manage the form
After you save the form, use the form management page to edit settings, build the form, and review submitted responses.
URL: By default, a form URL includes a GUID. Select the Edit URL link to replace the default URL with a shorter, readable path, such as
/register/info.Documents: Attach internal documents to the form. For example, if a form is associated with an event, attach an FAQ or talking points for staff.
Registrants: Review submitted responses. Select New Registration to add a form response administratively.
Next, decide what information the form should collect.
Select Edit Form to begin adding questions and content.
Editing the form
Some standard Slate fields appear by default when form content is edited for the first time. Include these standard fields on most person-scoped forms.
Drag fields to reorder them.
Double-click a field, or hover over the field and select the pencil icon, to edit it.
Hover over a field and select the X icon to delete it.
The Edit Form page includes many form design tools. Choose each tool based on the information you need to collect and how Slate should store it.
⭐ Best Practice
Before building a form, plan the questions on paper. Keep the form easy to complete, and require only the fields that are essential for the process. You can collect basic information first and request more detail later through targeted follow-up.
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 form include:
Instructions: Adds descriptive or instructional information to the form.
Text Box: Captures free-text data in a short sentence or phrase, such as first name.
Option Buttons: Captures a single response from visible prompt options.
Check Boxes: Captures multiple responses from visible prompt options.
Select List: Captures a single response from a dropdown list. Use a select list when the respondent needs to choose one value from many options.
Multi-select: Captures multiple responses from a scrollable list of prompt options.
Street Address: Captures address information, such as mailing address.
Date: Captures date information, such as birthdate, appointment date, or activity date.
📖 Further reading: The form palette
Examples and testing
Before you make a form, create any fields and prompts the form needs. When a form should save data to a record, map the form field to the appropriate standard or custom field. Not every field needs a system field mapping; use unmapped fields when the response only needs to remain with the form submission.
After the form is complete, test it before sharing the URL. Select New Registration, enter the name of a test record, complete the form, and submit it. The test response appears in the registrant list. Select the registration to review the submitted details and confirm that the response is attached to the expected record.