Sending a Form

Put a form’s link in a message, skip anyone who has already answered, and read the submissions that come back.

A form does not send itself. It reaches a client because a message you wrote includes its link.

Putting a form in a message

A message names a form by its key, shown on the form’s General tab:

Field	What it inserts
{{ forms.KEY.link }}	The link to the form
{{ forms.KEY.button }}	The same link as a button, for an email

Replace KEY with the form’s own key, for example {{ forms.new_patient_paperwork.link }}.

Both are in the Insert Field menu of the message editor, under Forms, whenever you are writing a text message or an email. If you are not sure of a key, read it off Settings > Forms rather than guessing from the name — a wrong key renders as nothing at all.

Tip

Every recipient gets their own link. Following it identifies them, so the form opens already knowing who they are, arrives pre-filled with what you already hold, and their answers come back attached to that person and that appointment.

Do not build a form’s address by hand. The plain address from the General tab is the same for everybody, so whoever answers it is not identified and their answers arrive attached to nobody.

Previewing

Preview the message the way you would any other. A form link renders as a real short link when there is a real person to mint it for, and as a sample address in a synthetic preview — a preview showing the sample address is working, not broken.

Only asking people who have not answered

Three things can be asked about any form, for the person the message is going to:

Field	What it means
forms.KEY.needed	True when they have not answered it
forms.KEY.submitted	True when they have
forms.KEY.days_since_submitted	How long ago they answered. A very large number if they never have

Because “never” answers as a very large number, forms.KEY.days_since_submitted > 90 catches both “not for months” and “not ever” in one condition. That is usually what people mean by “ask again if it is stale”.

These are asked about the person, not the appointment, so someone who did their paperwork at a previous visit is not asked again.

In an Auto Message, use a rule

Auto Messages support rules, so this belongs in a rule rather than in the message body:

forms.new_patient_paperwork.needed == true

Attach that rule to a reminder whose body contains the link, and the reminder only goes to the people who still owe you the form.

In a booking page message, use a conditional block

A booking page’s own messages have no rules, so wrap the link in a conditional block instead:

{% if forms.new_patient_paperwork.needed %}
Before your visit, please fill this out: {{ forms.new_patient_paperwork.link }}
{% endif %}

Caution

In a booking confirmation the person has only just booked, so needed is true for everyone except someone who filled the form out on an earlier visit. That is exactly the point — a returning client is not asked twice — but if you test it with a brand new contact you will see the block render every time.

Where the answers go

Everything that comes back is listed in your Inbox, on the Forms tab, on the contact, and on the appointment. See Reading Submissions.