How do I configure a Text Field Item on a Form?

A Text Field can be used in instances where information is needed in response to a question or request. They can be populated with Dynamic Fields to automatically fill in certain information (e.g. names, addresses, Service Request reference numbers, etc). 

The Keyboard Type determines what type of input will be accepted:

01. “String” is your standard keyboard input.

02. “Number” is for numerical input only.

03. “Email” is for a valid email address.

04. “Phone” is for a valid phone number.

The “Width” and “Maximum Length” of Items already have default values, but you can alter them if you wish.

The “Default Value” field allows you to pre-populate information, either through simple keyboard input, or through Dynamic Fields. For example, if you input [#FIRST_NAME# #LAST_NAME#] into this area, it will automatically populate with a Registered User’s first and last names. The submitter can type over this if they wish.

The “Calculation Point” is where a number of objects are calculated from the Form, or a certain number of Pages across the Form, either in cost or a number of Items. This is often used with the Payment Plugin, which is detailed in a later chapter.

The 'Placeholder / Hint' will allow text to inputed which will display on the GDS portal between the label and the textfield. On the admin portal this text will appear in the textfield as a placeholder.

Merge fields can be used to extract the value entered by the customer into emails, for example. Please refer to the article on merge fields for details on how to configure this with your email templates.

A prefix and suffix can be added to make sure the values customers are adding are of the same standard. Examples include £ as a prefix and cm as a suffix.

Spellcheck can be used to assist customers in entering information into the fields, and autocomplete can also be enabled to allow the system to suggest values once the users begins typing.

Validation can be used to ensure that a field is completed. By enabling this users will have to enter a value into the field. 

If you select 'valid email' a user will be required to enter a valid email into the field, and failing to do this will display the error message which can be entered below.

Selecting 'regular expression' will allow you to dictate to a more granular level as to what can be entered into the field. This can be used to ensure a valid telephone number is entered, for example. Please refer to the article on regular expression for examples of how this can be configured.