Types of forms

1. Point: A point form allows you to drop a point on a map which creates a feature/data point on
the map. Creating new forms for the location of new potholes in your city or the location of
animal sightings in your area are examples of use cases of a point form.

2. Polygon: A polygon form allows you to draw a polygon on a map which created a new
feature/data area on a map. This is useful for when you want to draw the area to represent a plot of land,
building, or area on a map.
3. Line: A line form allows you to draw a line on a map that creates a new feature/data on a map.
When you would like to track a line or distance on a map, a line form would be useful in representing
that. Examples of a line form would be when you want to show on a map how long a sandbag barrier is to
prevent flooding.
4. Repeatable Section: Repeatable forms are a type of form that doesn't have it's own geometry, but
can be nested within forms that do have geometries or used on it's own. Repeatable Sections allow users
to create a set of form questions that can be repeated an infinite amount of times within the form that is
being filled out. An example of when a repeatable form might be used is in housing inspection forms. In a
section where it asks how many appliances the house has, there might be multiple types and amounts of
appliances, so inside the form you can add as many entries as necessary that apply to that situation.
5. Data Form: Data forms allow you to input data into Lightship without having it's own geometry.
An example of a data form would be if you want to keep track of your clients information (name, address,
phone number etc.) through Lightship.
6. Form Linked to an Existing Layer: A linked form contains tabular data that has no geometry, but
is instead associated, or linked, to a layer with geometry. One use case for linked tables is inspections and
maintenance on assets. For example, you can create a linked form for your inspections data and attach it
to a unique ID for each individual asset in the dataset. This enables you to attach inspections to assets
without altering the original data.

A form is a document with spaces (also named fields or placeholders) in which to write or

select, for a series of documents with similar contents. The documents usually have the printed
parts in common, except, possibly, for a serial number.
Forms, when completed, may be a statement, a request, an order, etc.; a check may be a form.
Also there are forms for taxes; filling one in is a duty to have determined how much tax one
owes, and/or the form is a request for a refund. See also Tax return.
Forms may be filled out in duplicate (or triplicate, meaning three times) when the information
gathered on the form needs to be distributed to several departments within an organization. This
can be done using carbon paper.

History
Forms have existed for a significant amount of time, with historians of law having discovered
preprinted legal forms from the early 19th century that greatly simplified the task of
drafting complaints and various other legal pleadings.

Advantages[
Advantages of forms include the following:

 One has to write less (while the printing is almost universally done in some automatic
way)
 One is told or reminded what information has to be supplied
 There is uniformity, for convenience in processing
 Information is collected in writing and so can be re-examined later (the form can also
include a signature field to allow someone to take responsibility for the accuracy of the
information provided).
 Simpler tasks, such as collecting or distributing data, can be separated in
the workflow from more skilled processes, such as making decisions. Issuing and processing
the forms may then be done by less skilled staff, or by a computer. The de-skilled task
becomes issuing or completing the appropriate form for the circumstances, and then passing
it on to the next step in the workflow. This might reduce costs and increase the volume of
work that can be handled.
A form on a computer allows for conveniently typing in the variable parts (the input data).

Form structure
A blank form is like a usual document, with some outlined parts with spaces. Blank forms are
generally not copyrightable in the US.
Frame and fixed content
Part of the document that never changes. Usually a frame with title and textual instructions.
Placeholders
Boxes or spaces where the user can write or type to fill in the form.