Form Assets

Create and manage forms, surveys, and polls with form assets. Form assets require a database (Server-Side Module; SSM) to store form submissions. 

How forms appear on your website depends on your site design and styling. Form assets are not compatible with pages created from layouts (also known as Layout Control Files [LCFs]).

Registering the SSMLink to this section

To store form responses, Modern Campus will install the SSM on your production server (not the CMS server) as part of your implementation.

If not completed at implementation, activate form assets in account settings. You can also add reCAPTCHA to your forms. Then, register and test the SSM connection in site settings to add the site name, UUID, and public key to the SSM database.

The SSM is written in Python and includes a MySQL database. As part of the configuration, a server-side connector script is also installed on the same server as your website, with the language determined by the needs of your website. This script acts a bridge between the website where the data is submitted and the SSM.

You can always add more sites to the SSM. Full steps for registering your SSM are available in our helpdesk.

Create NewLink to this section

Create a form asset, as follows:

1. Navigate to Content > Assets.
2. Click +New.
3. Click Form.
4. Type an asset name.
   • Description and tags are optional, but tags can make it easier to find when searching for an asset to place on a page.
   • Forms are automatically locked to the site. To use a form on a different site, create and activate a new form asset on that site.
5. Set access settings for the asset, if applicable.
6. In the Form Elements toolbar, drag elements to the main window to build your form. 
   
   • Single-Line Text Field
   • Multi-Line Text Field
   • Radio Buttons
   • Checkboxes
   • Drop-Down
   • Multi-Select
   • Date/Time Picker
   • Instructional Text
   • File Upload

   Provides web visitors with one line to answer a question. You can set validation for it, such as for a minimum answer length, or to validate an email address. If you set this element to "Required," you also have to set a failure message telling the user why they didn't answer properly.

   Provides web visitors with a multi-line field to answer a question. You can set validation for it, such as for a minimum answer length, or to validate an email address. If you set this element to "Required," you also have to set a failure message telling the user why they didn't answer properly.

   Makes a multiple choice question where only one answer can be selected. Click +Add next to "Items" to make the answer options. The answer items can be reordered and deleted, and click the circle to the left of the item for it to be pre-selected on the form.

   Makes a multiple choice question where none, some, or all of the choices can be selected. Click +Add next to "Items" to make the answer options. The answer items can be reordered and deleted, and click the square to the left of the item for it to be pre-selected on the form.

   Provides web visitors a list from which they can select an answer. Click +Add next to "Items" to make the answer options. The answer items can be reordered and deleted, and click the circle to the left of the item for it to be pre-selected on the form.

   Provides web visitors a list from which they can select one or more answers using Ctrl+Click. Click +Add next to "Items" to make the answer options. The answer items can be reordered and deleted, and click the square to the left of the item for it to be pre-selected on the form.

   Creates a pop-up where web visitors can choose a date and/or time.

   Instead of making a question, the Instructional Text element gives you a mini-WYSIWYG where you can format text to display in the form.

   Allows web visitors to upload a file that can then be downloaded from the form submissions. Set a file size limit; the maximum allowed by the system is 25 MB. You can also set whether certain file extensions are allowed or disallowed. A failure message for if the file upload fails is required, separate from the failure message for the entire form submission.

   Using the File Upload element requires version 2.0 of the SSM, updated connector scripts and XSL, and S3-compatible object storage. Without these items, the element will not be available.

   The File Upload element will not work for web visitors using Internet Explorer versions 10 or under. 

   • Each element needs a label, or the question to be answered, and a name. The name is automatically created from the label and used to record any answers to that question. Element names can only be edited before you save the form, and are limited to thirty-two characters. Elements cannot have identical names.
   • All elements can have helper text, which instructs users how to answer the question.
   • All elements can be marked as required, so that users have to fill them out to submit their form answers.
   • All elements have an Advanced field where you can add attributes, if desired.
7. Configure one or more optional email messages. When a form is completed, it can email the submission results to one or more people.
   • More than one addressee can be added to an email by separating each address with a semicolon.
   • The "From" and "To" fields must both be properly formatted email addresses, or the form won't send emails.
   • Insert the value of a form submission into any of the fields by using the name of that element surrounded by double braces {{ }}. For example, you might want to send an email to the person who submitted the form with follow-up information. In the form, you would ask for their email address, and the element name would be email. Then in the email message, you would put {{email}} in the "To" field, and the email would send to whatever address a form submitter put as their email.
   • Check "Include all submitted values" for every question answer to be added to the "Body" text when the email is sent. Uploaded files will be included in the email as download links; these links expire after seven days from form submission (but you can still access the file from form submissions). 
8. Configure success and failure messages for form submissions. While you can format the text using the mini-WYSIWYG editors, the appearance of the messages is also defined by your site styling.
9. Check "Save Results in Database" to record form submissions.
   Note: If the "File Upload" element has been added to the form, this box is automatically checked and cannot be unchecked.
10. If CAPTCHA was enabled for your site in site settings, the "Include CAPTCHA" box is available. Check this to place a CAPTCHA item that form submitters must fill out.
11. Use "Submission Button Text" to customize the submission button text.
12. Click Create to make the asset.

Your asset is now available for use on pages, but must be published before it appears on any live web pages.

When viewing a form asset, you can also see a preview of the form XML.

UseLink to this section

Forms are designed to allow users to easily create surveys, volunteer sign ups, appointment forms, and other types of questionnaires. It is not recommended to use Forms to collect sensitive information such as credit card or social security numbers.

EditLink to this section

Edit an existing forms asset, as follows:

1. Navigate to Content > Assets.
2. Click on the name of the asset you want to edit.
3. Check out the asset. 
4. Click Edit in the page actions toolbar.
5. Edit the asset content.
   • In the Form Elements toolbar, drag elements to the main window to edit your form. 
6. Click Save.
7. Publish the asset for your changes to appear on the live website.

Form Submissions

If form results are saved in a database, you can view them in Modern Campus CMS, as follows:

1. Navigate to Content > Assets.
2. Click to open the More Actions menu  for a form asset.
3. Click Review > Form Submissions.

or

1. While viewing a form asset, click Form Submissions in the page actions toolbar.

The submissions list shows columns for submission date, ID number, and unless disabled, the IP address of the submitter. It also shows a column for each element and the submitted answer (if any), labeled with the Name of each element. Any files uploaded via the form display as a link; click the link to download the file. The file is accessible to anyone who has that download URL.

Click "Export CSV" in the top-right corner to download a CSV form with all the form submission data. Clicking "Delete All" permanently clears the submissions, and cannot be undone. It will also delete any files uploaded via that form from S3 storage.

Note: If the form submission includes files uploaded to the form, the download link will expire after seven days from CSV export.