Contents x
    Airtable interface layout: Form
    • 31 Oct 2024
    • 9 Minutes to read
    • Print
    • Dark
      Light
    • PDF
    Contents

    Airtable interface layout: Form

    • Updated on 31 Oct 2024
    • 9 Minutes to read
    • Print
    • Dark
      Light
    • PDF
    Article summary

    Plan availability

    All plan types

    Permissions

    Please consult this support article for a breakdown of Interface Designer permissions.

    • Owner or Creator permissions are needed to create interfaces as described in the article below

    • Interface-only collaborators need editor-level permissions or higher to fill-in/edit form details

    Platform(s)

    Web/Browser, Mac app, and Windows app

    Related reading

    Interface Designer overview - A general overview of the Interface Designer feature

    Learn how to create forms that will appear as an interface page that is only accessible to base or interface-only collaborators with editor permissions.

    Choosing which form creation process to utilize

    In general, a form layout helps key stakeholders quickly create new records. You may consider adding a button element to another page that will link users to the interface page where the interface form is. Airtable offers several form experiences that might be a better fit than interface form pages depending on your use case. Using the form builder is our recommended way to build and share forms.

    • Form builder - A more creative and options-rich way to build standalone forms that can be shared with a variety of audiences. Over time, Airtable will continue adding sophistication. Form builder already offers enhanced functionality such as default values and warning messages that the form view does not offer.

      • Use cases: External-facing feedback, internal-facing feedback, complex data entry, condition-dependent forms

    • Form view - Airtable’s original form creation experience. Still powerful, but won’t receive the newest features that Airtable builds out in the form builder.

      • Use cases: External-facing feedback, internal-facing feedback, complex data entry, condition-dependent forms

    • Interface Designer form layout page - A form that appears as an interface page only to logged-in users with edit access to that particular interface. If you want to duplicate an existing form layout page in the form builder, then learn more here.

      • Use cases: Internal-facing feedback, record creation from an interface

    • Record creation form buttons - Templated record creation forms that allow interface users with editor permissions to create new records without having to navigate the full complexity of the base on the backend. If you want to duplicate an existing record creation form button in the form builder, then learn more here.

      • Use case: Quick, simple record creation within an interface workflow

    Creating a new form layout

    The steps below assume that you have already created an interface. If you haven’t yet created an interface, then consult the documentation here and then return to complete the steps below.

    1. From an interface in edit mode click the Pages button near the upper left corner of the page if the panel isn’t already opened.

    2. Next to “Interface,” click the + button.

    3. From here, click the + Add page option.

    4. This will open a popover menu. In the “More” section, click the Form option and then click Next.

    5. Now you’ll need to choose a source table where form entries will be submitted as Airtable records. Click the dropdown and choose the appropriate table for your use case. Then, click Next.

    6. On this screen, you’ll want to toggle on fields that you want to show on the form and toggle off fields that you want to hide. You can always change this later, but once you have selected the appropriate fields for your use case, click Next.

    7. Lastly, give your form a name and a description (recommended). Then, click Finish.

    8. You will now see a new page appear on the left as well as a canvas to further configure the form which is covered in the next section below.

    Configuring a form layout

    There are plenty of options to consider now that you have a form page. As a builder, you can come back to this form page later, adjust it, and re-publish whenever updates are needed. Click the Preview toggle at any point to take a look at what the form will look like to an end user.

    Form page options

    Click on the Pages button on the upper left corner of the screen if the form page isn’t already visible. Then, hover over the form page and click the eye icon to show or hide the form from interface end-users. Additionally, click the … icon to open the following menu of options:

    • Rename - Rename the form page being configured.

    • Delete - Delete the form page from the interface. Recently deleted interface pages can be restored from the trash bin.

    • Duplicate - Duplicate the form page. This is a great option when you need to create multiple forms that will vary slightly based on your use case.

    • Duplicate to form builder - Duplicate this form as a standalone, externally shareable form that can be further configured in the form builder.

    • Clear unpublished changes - This button will appear grayed out until changes have been made to the form that differ from the last time it was published.

    • Keep as draft - Toggling this option on allows you to let other interface builders know that there are drafted changes on the form page. A “Draft” message will appear next to the name of the form page.

    • Publishing status - This will appear as a message that either states “Not published yet“ or “Last published {x amount of time} ago.“

    Form page canvas options

    The page canvas is a clickable space where you can cause additional options to appear in the properties panel on the right side of the page. More on that in the next section. From the canvas, you can:

    • Rename the form page - Just double-click on the large heading at the top of the form page.

    • Add or adjust the description - Double-click into the box just below the title.

    • Add group - Hovering over a line break on the canvas will reveal the option to + Add group. Groups allow you to section out the various fields that make up the form.

    • Add field - Hovering in between fields on the canvas will reveal a + button. Click this to add an existing field from the source table or click + Create field to add a new field to the form page. This will also add the new field in the underlying source table.

    • Remove a field - Clicking on an individual field will reveal a … icon. Click this icon to reveal a menu where you can Remove the field from the form page. This does not delete the field in the source base.

    You can also move fields around on the canvas by clicking, holding, and dragging those fields around. You can drag and drop fields above or below other fields, into other groups, or next to other fields (4 maximum, but can vary depending on field type and space constraints).

    Form page properties panel

    When clicking on a form page in edit mode (or on the edge of the form page’s canvas) you’ll see the following properties appear on the right side of the screen:

    • Title - Rename the title of the form

    • Data

      • Fields - See how many fields are visible in the form. Click the cogwheel icon to bring up a menu where you can Find a field, see form groups, and Edit, Delete, or Hide fields in the “Group” and “Hidden” sections.

    • Submission options

      • Button label - Choose the text that will appear on the submission button. The default label is “Submit.”

      • Message - Type a custom message that will appear after a form response is submitted.

      • Show a ‘Submit another response’ button - After a form response is submitted, the page will load and show the option to “Submit another response.”

      • Email responses - This option allows builders to choose base collaborators who will receive an email notification each time a form has been submitted. Builders can choose whether to Select all base collaborators, choose individual base collaborators by clicking the toggle next to their name, or click Clear all to remove all base collaborators from notifications. Take note that any changes to the email responses setting will only occur once the interface has been published or re-published.

    Field properties panel

    Clicking on a field on the form builder’s canvas will open different properties in a panel on the right side of the screen. Certain options listed below will only be available depending on the type of field you click on.

    • Title - Change the title of the field in the form. It’s important to note that changing the field’s title in the form will not change the name of the field in the source table.

    • Data

      • Source - Click Edit field to bring up a menu of field editing options. Note that changing a field type here will change the field’s type in the source table as well.

    • Appearance

      • Layout

        • Dropdown or List - Specific to single and multiple select fields.

        • Card or pills - Specific to linked record fields

      • Size - This option modifies font size in the resulting form.

      • Helper text - Type additional context that relates to the specific form field you are configuring.

    • Rules

      • Visibility - Add conditions or conditional groups that will hide the form field from an end user’s view unless the submitter’s entry causes those conditions to be met. Take a deeper dive into these settings here.

      • Selection - This option is only available on linked record fields. This allows you to control the Specific records that form submitters will be able to choose from.

      • Options - This option is only available on single select or multiple select fields. Choose the specific option(s) you will allow form submitters to be able to choose from.

      • Collaborators - This option is only available on user fields. Toggle the specific users you want the form submitters to be able to choose from. Additionally, you can Clear all or Select all users.

      • Default value - In most fields, you can insert a default value that the form submitter will have to manually adjust, otherwise the default value that is set here will return that value with each form submission. This can be especially useful when hiding the field from submitters such as a hidden status field. The formatting of the default value that you enter will depend on the field type.

      • Required field - Toggle whether the field must be filled or selected before the form submission can be entered.

    Form layout considerations

    • Linked record fields included in an interface form will allow users to select existing linked records, but they won't be able to create new linked records. For that, users would need to create the linked record in another interface form first and then reload the interface page to select the newly created linked record.

    • If you need a form page to be accessible to colleagues who do not have access to the underlying base, then utilize the Duplicate to form builder option.

    • Sometimes, certain fields may appear to be “missing” when you are building a form. Keep in mind that computed field types (e.g. formula, lookup, rollup) are not displayed in forms by default because they are automatically populated by the system rather than manually entered by users. If the missing fields are of these types, they will not appear in the form for direct input.

    FAQs

    How do I decide when to use the form layout option versus other form creation options in Airtable?

    Consult this section for more information that can help you decide.

    Was this article helpful?
    What's Next