What are Smart Forms?

Smart Forms serve as the basis for many activities within Smart Onboarding. They are highly versatile and powerful, allowing users to create both simple and complex activities. Besides onboarding tasks, Smart Forms can also be used to add supplemental attribute information.

Onboarding Forms

Using Smart Forms, you can add new activities or modify existing activities available in the onboarding process. There are many features available within Smart Forms, such as including bind variables within text, the ability to upload documents or attachments etc.

Supplemental Attribute Data

You can use a Smart Form to add supplemental data for many attributes. Supplemental attribute data can be seen when the associated attribute is prompted, and can be used when specifying criteria for presenting activities to users. For details of how to add, edit, or delete supplemental attribute data, click here.

How do you create a Smart Form?

Click the menu icon in the top left corner of the page, then select "Create Revision" from the Revisions section in the navigation menu.

On the revision page, click "Add a New Value" to create a new Content Revision or search for an existing Content Revision that is in "In Progress" status.

In this example, we are going to create a new Content Revision.

On the revision page, select "Content" as the Type, enter the Revision Date, Description, and Business Process ID, then click "Reserve".

Click "Configure" to add details.

Under Content Metrics, click "Add" in the row for Smart Forms.

Define Smart Form Fields

Enter the Smart Form information.  

Overall Specifications

Refer to the chart below for information on the fields.

Form Fields and Attachments

For more details on creating and inserting form fields to a Smart Form, please click here.

Text Editor

Field	Behavior
Maximize  Source	Makes the whole page into the text editor Turns everything into html, allowing you to edit or expand the form's text and formatting possibilities
Cut, Copy, Paste, Paste from Word	Respectively, left to right: Cuts Copies Pastes Pastes from Word
Undo, Redo	Respectively, left to right: Undo the action last taken Redo the last Undo's action
Insert Horizontal Line  Link, Unlink  Insert Special Character	Inserts a horizontal line in the text Link on a word will allow you to directly refer to a URL (which you can command to pop up, open in another window, the same window, and others through the Target tab), anchor in the text, or an email Unlink any of the previously linked words A 'Select Special Character' box appears like this, so that you can put one in your text:
Paragraph Format Font Name Font Size	How the font will be formatted, in regards to it as a paragraph or line The different font-types Changes the font size
Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Remove Format	Respectively, left to right: Bolds the font Italicizes the font Strikes through (a line through the center) the words Removes all of the formatting from this category (only removes bold, italics, strikethrough)
	Respectively, left to right: Will begin the numbered list/will remove the numbered list Will begin the bulleted list/will remove the bulleted list Will remove the numbered/bulleted list if it is the first number/bullet, or will negate the effects of the 'increase indent' Will indent the already placed number/bullet, but only after the first number/bullet
Insert Binds	Inserts a bind, a user specific reference
Highlight Binds	Highlights the binds that were inserted, for editing reference (won't show up when used)
Highlight Hidden Sections	Highlights the hidden sections of the text
Static Image	Inserts an image from your system Open image properties and customize how it should display. Image Info: width and height of the image, border thickness, vertical and horizontal spacing and left/right alignment.  Link: Provide redirect URL when clicked on the image and specify how the new page should open: in a new window, top most window, same window or parent window.
Insert Form Field (for more specifics on this, see Insert Form Field's Fields)	Inserts a form field in the system Customize how it will be formatted/interacted with using Input Type Choose whether or not it is a mandatory form field Choose what label to use for it
Responsive Table	Spawns options for a table, adjust, then click OK, and the table is created Some points about tables: 175px250 1) Do not create a table with only rows. Columns are required when you use tables. 2) If you don’t need at least 1 column in the table then you don’t have to insert the table. You can directly paste the content in the rich text editor. 3) If you need a table with 2 or more columns with different widths (not the default) and multiple rows of same property, then do not insert all the rows while inserting the table. Insert one row and adjust the column widths and then right click on one if the cell and use option ‘Insert Row Above/Below’. This will insert the rows with the same properties that you have configured already. 4) If you need multiple rows and columns in a table with different widths for few/all the cells, then do not insert them as one table. Insert them as separate tables.
Embed	Inserts the content from the given url
Toggle Guided Borders	Removes the borders around the text
Text Box	Enter information in the Text Box This is where all of the Text Editing applies You can expand or shrink the box by dragging the bottom-right triangle symbol

Once the details are entered, save the Smart Form.

On the Content Revision page, the Smart Form details will be displayed in the revision summary section as illustrated below. Click the "Return to Manage Revision" button to return to the main revision page and apply the changes, 

After applying the revision, the Smart Form must be added to the process through a Process Revision in order to appear in the user's flow.

How do you print a Smart Form?

After completing the activity, the Smart Form can be printed by clicking the "Download Signed Forms" gadget located in the bottom right corner of the page.

When clicked on the gadget, the signed form opens in a new window as shown below. The form will have the electronic signature of the user along with the date and time stamps.

How to insert binds in a Smart Form?

On the Smart Form page, place your cursor where you would like to add the bind, and click "Insert Binds". 

Select Bind Type based on the Input Type of the form field that you are choosing to insert as the bind variable.

If the form field is of "Edit Box" or "Long Edit Box" Input Type, select the Bind Type as "Variable Value". If form field is a Radio Button, select the Bind Type as "Radio Button". For form field of Check Box type, select the Bind Type as "Check Box".

The Lookup variable page open as below. You can select the variable by expanding the tree structure or using "Search Binds" lookup.

When "Search Binds" lookup is clicked, the search fields display to search for the variable.

Select any operator and enter the text that needs to be searched in the search field. You can use Variable ID or Description fields for searching.

In this case, "Description" field is used for searching the variable "First Name Middle Name Last Name". Bind variable matching the search criteria are shown. Click the bind that you would like to include in the text.

Another option is to navigate through the tree structure to find the bind. Click on "Display as Tree" button to navigate back to the tree structure.

Expand the tree structure and search for the variable that you want to insert as a bind. 

Click on the bind to select.

Once the values are added in the pop-up page, click "OK".

The bind will be added to the Smart Form as shown below. To differentiate binds from normal text, you can click the "Highlight Binds" option to view the binds highlighted in yellow. 

Examples of adding different Bind Types are given below:

Bind Type = Radio Button

If form field is a Radio Button, select the Bind Type as "Radio Button". Bind Variable and Value fields are mandatory. The value selected in the "Value" drop down will appear as the Radio Button field label.

If Custom Label is entered, it will override the label from the "Value" field. The text entered in the Custom Label will appear as the Radio Button field label on the Smart Form.

Once it is added to the Smart Form, the bind variable looks like below:

Bind Type = Check Box

If form field is a Check Box, select Bind Type as "Check Box". Bind Variable field is mandatory. The value displayed in the Variable Description will appear as the Check Box label. 

If Custom Label is entered, it will override the label from the "Variable Description" field. The text entered in the Custom Label will appear as the Check Box field label on the Smart Form.

After adding it to the Smart Form, the bind variable looks like below:

Once it added to the Smart Form, the bind looks like below. Save the Smart Form changes.

Apply the Content Revision and include the Smart Form in the process configuration through a Process Revision for it to appear in the process. For details of adding Smart Form in the onboarding process, please click here.

As configured, the Smart Form will appear in the process for the user. 

Note: Form fields added to Smart Forms through previous revisions will also be available as binds in subsequent revisions. For more details on creating and inserting the form fields, please click here.

Here is an example of using form fields with "Check Box/Radio Button" Input Type as binds:

Create form fields with "Check Box/Radio Button" Input Type and add them to a Smart Form. Apply the Content Revision.

Once the Content Revision is applied, these form fields will be available in the bind lookup when accessed from other content types or Smart Forms.

Example: Smart Form with form fields of Input Type = Check Box/Radio Button

Create another Smart Form to display the bind values captured by the form fields in the previous Smart Form.

Note: When configuring Smart Forms in the process, ensure that the Smart Form containing the form fields is added before the one with the binds. Also, appropriately select the participant pool for each Smart Form and include them in the process. For example, you might add the Smart Form with form fields for New Hires and the Smart Form with binds for HR Specialists. This will ensure that the values selected by the New Hire in their Smart Form activity are visible to the HR Specialist when they access their Smart Form in the process.

Select the "Insert Binds" option to insert the bind variables.

For inserting the radio buttons, select Input Type = Radio Button. Click on the "Look Up" to select the bind variable.

Under Custom Attributes, select the variable which was used as a radio button form field in the prior Smart Form. 

The selected bind will appear on popup page as shown below. Click the "Value" drop down. This will display all the values assigned to the variable.

Select the variable value from the drop down, enter the Custom Label if required and click "OK".

Repeat the same steps for inserting other values of the radio button.

For inserting the check boxes, select Input Type = Check Box. Click on "Look Up" to select the bind variable.

Under Custom Attributes, select the variable which was used as a check box form field in the prior Smart Form. 

The bind populates on popup page as shown below. Enter the Custom Label if required and click "OK".

Repeat the same steps for inserting the other check boxes. Save the Smart Form changes and apply the Content Revision.

In this case, the Smart Form with form fields is configured for the New Hires and the Smart Form with binds is configured for the HR Specialists. Also, these Smart Forms are added in the process accordingly.

As configured, the Smart Forms will appear in the process to users.

Smart Form displaying for HR Specialist with binds resolved

How do you modify a Smart Form?

There are two different methods to access/modify a Smart Form:

• Add a new Value
• Use an existing Content Revision in progress 

Method 1:  Add a New Value:

For details on adding a new Content Revision, please follow the steps given below:

Enter the Content Revision data and click "Reserve".

Click "Configure" to add/modify content.

On the Content Revision page, click "Review/Update" in the row for Smart Forms.

Method 2: Search: Instead of adding a new value, click on "Search" to find an existing Content Revision.

Filter out the results to show Content Revisions that are in progress.

Find the revision that you want to modify (it must be a Content Revision and in progress).

On the revision page, click "View/Edit".

On the Content Revision page, click "Review/Update" in the row for Smart Forms.

Select the Smart Form that requires to be modified.

Make desired changes in the content, then click "Save".

Note: Here, you can select multiple Smart Forms and modify them if needed.

Click "Return" to return to the Content Revision page.

The changes made in this Content Revision will be shown in the Current Revision Summary. This makes it easy to manage multiple changes in one revision, and also reassures that the changes actually happened.

The number of Smart Forms created/modified in the revision will appear in the corresponding row.

Scroll back to the top, and click "Return to Manage Revision" to return to the main revision page.

Apply the revision. If your changes are not final, you can still View/Edit before applying the revision, which will return you to the previous page. Alternatively, you can leave the Manage Revision page with the Content Revision in progress to modify, apply, or withdraw it later.

How do you include a Smart Form in the onboarding process?

After creating or changing a Smart Form, it can be added to the onboarding process through a Process Revision.  Create a Process Revision or modify a Process Revision which is in progress.

On the Process Revision page, click the "Configure Business Process" link.

To add the Smart Form to the configuration, select the step which is accessible for the participant pool specified in the Smart Form options during its creation. This ensures that the Smart Form activity is included at the correct step in the process.

Click the "Add" link under the step.

Select the Smart Form to be added. Under Action Type, the Smart Forms are indicated as SMART_FORM.

After your selection, click "OK".

This will take you back to the process configuration page. Click on the Smart Form(s) you have just added.

If you want to restrict the Smart Form's visibility to users associated with a specific Company, Business Unit, Department, Location, etc., set the criteria on this page. Otherwise, leave it set to "Always Route" and click "Save"..

Scroll down and save the Business Process configuration. On the Process Revision page, click "Return to Manage Revision" to return to the main revision page.

Apply the Process Revision.

The Smart Form will appear in the process for the New Hire as configured.

How do you enable bypass option in a Smart Form?

When the "Allow Bypass" option is checked in the Smart Form, users in the designated pool will have the option to bypass this activity. This gives them the choice to either complete the activity or opt for bypassing it.

This option can be enabled when defining a new Smart Form or modifying an existing one. In this example, the bypass option in a Smart Form is selected and saved.

When the above Smart Form appears in the process for the user, they can see the "Bypass Activity" gadget located in the bottom right corner of the page. 

When this gadget is clicked, it will open a page where they can submit a bypass reason.

On this page, enter your comments and click "Submit".

The bypassed activity will be displayed as shown below. Even after the activity is bypassed, the user can still choose to complete it if desired.

How to enable "Save as Draft" option in a Smart Form?

When the "Allow Save as Draft" option is enabled, the "Save as Draft" button will appear in the Smart Form activity when accessed by the user. This allows the user to save their Smart Form details, proceed to next activities, and return later to complete the activity.

The "Allow Save as Draft" option can be enabled while defining a new Smart Form or modifying an existing one. By default, this option will be unchecked in the Smart Form page.

In this example, the "Allow Save as Draft" checkbox is selected and saved. 

When the above Smart Form appears in the process for the user, they can see the "Save as Draft" button along with the signature or Save button at the bottom of the activity. Note: This button is visible only when the activity is not complete and doesn't show up when editing a completed activity (also applicable for process/activity restarts).

When this button is clicked, it saves the data without requiring the "I Agree" checkbox to be selected or any required fields to be filled out (if applicable).

The user can work on or complete other activities that are available to them. The user can choose to revisit the Smart Form again anytime and complete the activity. If the Smart Form is configured for the New Hire, they must completed the saved activity before submitting the process to HR.

In this example, you can see that after completing the activity, in edit mode the "Save as Draft" doesn't show up in the Smart Form.

Completed activity