Form Building Best Practices

The following are best practices to keep in mind throughout the form building and management process.

Workflow

  • Understand the workflow and what forms are needed and in which order
  • Determine if any forms can be grouped together and signed as part of a package
  • Determine if any forms be made into Resource forms, which do not require a signature
    • To include a Resource form as part of a package, do not add any custom fields in the Form ManagerClosed The tool for building digital Forms. Just name the form, upload the PDF, then place a Signature or Initials field on the PDF. You can then include the form in a package, and the candidate does not need to actually sign the form
  • Test forms prior to sending to candidates
  • Ensure every form has at least one Signature or Initials field

Fields

  • Ensure any text fields are lines and are not broken up with dashes, slashes or boxes (-, /, ☐)
  • Ensure there are no more than 250 fields on a form
  • When naming custom fields for a form, add a prefix to the field name, such as “dd” for direct deposit, which will group the fields in the drop-down list, making them easier to find

PDF

  • Ensure PDFs are in portrait layout (not landscape/horizontal)
  • Ensure all PDFs are legible (i.e., any PDFs that are photocopies will need new PDFs)
  • Have the PDF for the form on hand to upload when creating a new form; the form will not save without a PDF
  • While you can upload the PDF at any time prior to publishing the form, it may be helpful to immediately upload it and add a Signature or Initials field as soon as you name the form.
  • Ensure PDFs are less than 10 MB in size
  • Turn off your browser’s pop-up blocker when adding fields to the PDF

Completing Forms

  • Applicants will interact with the form by being presented a series of questions. The answers to those question are plugged into the correct locations on the PDF that the applicant signs.

  • The preview will show the applicant the PDF without the completed information entered. These will show on the form when they click Finish and Sign.