AorBorC Technologies

UNDERSTANDING DOC
ARUNKUMAR.A 18/11/2021

Understand forms
A form is the component of your Zoho Creator app that enables you to collect and store
data. In other words, it enables your users to enter data into your app. This makes forms
one of the main points of interaction between your users and your app.

If you relate your Zoho Creator app with a database, then a form corresponds to a table in
the database. If you relate your Zoho Creator app with a spreadsheet, then a form
corresponds to a sheet in the spreadsheet.

Forms, as the components through which data is entered, are the central components of
your Zoho Creator app—only when you create a form can you create a report

Creating forms

● Zoho Creator enables you to create forms in the following ways:

● Build from scratch
● Import data from a file that's stored in your computer or any of the following cloud
services:
● Import from computer
● Import from Google Drive, Zoho Docs, OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box
● Use predefined templates
● Duplicate an existing form
Create a form from scratch
1. Click the Add New icon displayed at the top of the Design page:
2. Enter a name for your form, then click Create Form.
3. You will be redirected to the newly created form's builder.

Uploading your file in Zoho Creator

1. Edit your app.
2. Click the Add New (+) button displayed near the top-left of the Design page.
3. Select Form.
4. Select Import with data.
5. Upload your data that's in one of the supported file formats. The file can be
fetched from:
○ Local storage of your device
○ URL - a publicly accessible direct download link
○ Cloud service - Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, Dropbox, Zoho Docs

Preparing your source file

Zoho Creator supports importing data from .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .csv, .tsv, .ods, .accdb, .mdb,
.json and .numbers file formats. However, it's best you prepare your data by referring to the
guidelines below for a smooth import.

Importing data from spreadsheet and tabular formats

Data import guidelines:

● Ensure that the data in your file is UTF-8 encoded.

 ● One or more forms will be created based on the data you import.
● Each sheet or table that you want to import must contain at least two rows of
data in it. The sheet or table won't be detected otherwise.
● Each sheet in your file will be referred to as a table in the import interface, and
will become a form in the application.
● Each row will become a record, and each column will become a field. Therefore
the rows in a sheet and the cells in a column must contain similar data.
● Column headers must be present in a row. It's alright if there are a few blank
rows before it, as the import interface allows you to delete rows.
● Blank rows will be imported. You may delete them before uploading your file, or
manage them using the import interface's capabilities.
● Delete the empty columns in all sheets. However, the import interface will allow
you to deselect the columns you do not want to import.
● Formulas in Excel files can be imported.
● Data validations defined in the spreadsheet file will become Deluge script in the
On Validate workflow block on the corresponding form.
● For importing subform data: Parent and child data must be in separate sheets.
The sheet containing the parent data is referred to as "parent table" or "main
form", and the sheet containing the child data is referred to as its "subform".
● For importing phone numbers: The phone field in Zoho Creator enables you to
capture a valid international phone number. Thus while importing data, you must
ensure that each phone number contains:

The import interface

The import interface sports two tabs - Design and Data.

The Design tab displays your data's physical data model. In other words, it displays the
tables present in your file, the columns present in each table, the field type mapped to each
column, and the relationships between the tables. The Data tab displays your data, and
offers a variety of smart capabilities that enable you to filter, refine, and cleanse the to-be
imported data.

Selecting tables, columns, and date format

By default, all the tables in your file are selected. You can deselect tables if required.
Deselected tables (and consequently the data within them) will not be imported in your app.

Collecting data
● Zoho Creator offers 38 different types of fields—each meant to capture a
specific kind of data—that you can add to your form. Each of these fields comes
with a set of capabilities—some common across most fields, and some specific
to each field—that you can leverage to validate the data your users enter in
them.
● In addition to the data that's submitted through the form, Zoho Creator captures
a few details, such as which user added the record, the date and time when the
record was added, and which user was the last one to update it. These details
are stored in the system fields.

Controlling form entries

You may use the following provisions to control and restrict the entries your users submit
through your form:

● Display a CAPTCHA on your form: This can prevent form submission by

malicious computer bots
● Allow only one entry per user
● Allow only one entry per IP address
● Define a geo-fence: You can define a geo-fence—a virtual fence around a
geographical location, so that your form accepts entries only from within it
● Disable access to your form after a certain number of entries
● Restrict your form's availability: You can define your form's availability—the time
range beyond which your form will not be accessible.

On successful form submission

● You can show your users a message
● You can enable your users to receive an email notification that can include the
data they submitted
● You can redirect your users to a website or a component (form, report, or page)
in your app
 ● You can enable capturing location
● You can enable capturing IP address

Customizing form's appearance

You can customize your form's appearance using the following factors:

● Field layout: You can arrange the fields in your form in a mixture of one-
column, two-column, and three-column layouts.
● Label placement: This lets you define how field labels (or names) are to appear
in relation . You can, from the available set of device-specific layouts, apply the
most suitable one to your form:
○ Understand field label placement in forms for browser
○ Understand field label placement in forms for phone
○ Understand field label placement in forms for tablet
● Label width: This refers to the width that the field names (or labels) occupy
when a user accesses your form from a web browser.
● Field size: This refers to the length of a field's input area.
● Field height: This refers to the height of a field's input area.
● Themes: You can, from the available set of themes, apply the most suitable one
to your form.