General input fields are fields that you can use to capture data on your form that does not map directly to Salesforce object records in your submissions. The data is visible in the submission dashboard on each submission. It can also be merged in PDFs, emails or sent to Formstack Documents integration directly.
Note: The ability to send general input fields directly to Formstack Documents is not available on the Native Cloud version of Forms for Salesforce.
Use Cases
- Form Conditional Logic
Ask questions on a form to route the user using conditional logic based on their answers without adding a Salesforce field. For example, ask if they are an existing or new customer to customize the subsequent form questions. - Short-term Data in PDF or Emails
Data can be collected for a specific event but does not need to be stored for the long-term in Salesforce. Ideally, this is data that you do not want to report on in Salesforce. This includes business processes that are kicked off by a PDF or merged data in an email or a PDF attached to a record. Examples include survey responses or parental consent forms. - Temporary Fields
You can use these fields to hold temporary state data to drive other form logic, calculations, or reference from JavaScript. These can be hidden or displayed to the user. The default value can be set to load a specific state into the form on load without resorting to more advanced prefill functionality. These fields work with all existing product features and can be targeted by rules, javascript API, style editor, and advanced CSS. For forms that require conditional calculations upfront, you can choose to store just the final value or total of those calculations within Salesforce. - Trigger Rules
A checkbox or picklist field used to confirm purchase information can be setup using General Input Fields so users no longer have to map the checkbox or picklist field to Salesforce.
For example, this is relevant when a payment collection form is collecting both shipping and billing addresses. If both are the same, a user can check the box on the form to confirm, which can trigger rules off different sections of the form without having to collect and store the temporary value back to Salesforce.
💡 General input fields do not map data into the Salesforce objects in your form data model. However, the data is still stored in your Salesforce org within Formstack’s Submission object records in our custom XML format. As always, submission data (mapped or unmapped) is not stored on Formstack servers after submission.
Supported Field Types
The following General Input Fields are supported within the application:
- Description Area (non-input/display-only)
- Short Answer
- Long Answer
- Dropdown List
- Checkbox
- Radio Buttons
- Number
- Star Rating
- NPS
🔺General input fields cannot be prefilled using dynamic prefill. They can be prefilled using prefill-by-URL and by setting default values.
How To Add General Input Fields
Adding general input fields onto your form couldn’t be simpler.
On the right side of the form builder, expand General Fields. All general input fields will be in the Basic or Advanced Fields category below Salesforce Fields.
Select the appropriate field type you would like to add to your form and drag and drop it onto your form.
💡 Pro Tip: You can also double click on the field to add it to the bottom of your form!
Additional Field Configurations
Like normal fields on your form, general input fields have configurations in place that you can use to customize your end user’s experience.
All input fields can be configured to be hidden, read-only, and required by default.
Dropdown lists, radio buttons, checkboxes allow for the configuration of custom options.