Forms in SmartSuite are a powerful way to collect data directly from customers, partners, or colleagues and add it seamlessly into a SmartSuite table. With features like conditional logic and easy sharing options, Form View is a versatile tool for various use cases.

Forms serve a specialized function in the Table - collecting data from users - and therefore do not require the sorting, filtering, and spotlight settings that you’ll see on other view types.

Form View allows you to design user-friendly interfaces for collecting data. Users, including those outside your workspace, can submit information that automatically populates a designated table.

Mobile users benefit from a streamlined experience with intuitive input fields like dropdowns and date pickers, ensuring ease of use on any device.

Configuring a new Form View involves just a few simple steps:

Permissions Required for Form Creation

Currently, only users with the Solution Manager role can create or manage Forms. Although users with Full Access can generally interact with most elements of a solution, they cannot create or manage Forms without being assigned the Solution Manager role.

Next, you’ll create the body of the form, selecting fields from the Table to display. Simply click on the field and it will be added to the form (and simultaneously be removed from the list of available fields - each field can display on the form exactly once).

Note: the field order can be changed. Click on the grabber to the left of a field that has been placed on the form and drag and drop it into the position you would like.

If you change your mind or have selected the wrong field, don’t worry. Hover any field on the form and you’ll see a small X on the right side of the field widget - click it and it will be removed from the form and re-appear in the available fields’ list.

Fields Available in Form View:

Some important fields to include in your forms may include:

If you prefer to use different terminology for your clients or want to add help text to a field, just click on the field name once it's on the body of the form and you're able to customize these options.
​

If there are bits of information that are critical to the process you’re using the form in, you can make individual fields required in order to submit the form. The Submit button will remain inactive until all required fields are filled out by the user.

Be aware that form fields ignore the usual SmartSuite rules for required fields. You can make fields that are usually required be NOT required in a form, and fields that are otherwise not required can be set as “required” in the form - even if a regular user could save the record without that information.

This is meant to empower your workflows, capturing specific data from users and inserting it into a workflow that might require someone in your organization to complete certain information before they can update that new record.

If there are certain fields that you would like to be Read only, you can do so by toggling the button titled “Read only” after clicking on the field name in the form.

If you would like to hide certain fields, you can do so by toggling the button titled “Hide Field from Users” after clicking on the field name in the form.

Pro Tip: This comes in handy with Prefilled forms when you would like Form Submissions to include prefilled information you don’t need the submitter to see, like their company name.

If you notice you are missing any needed fields when you are in the form view, you are able to create new fields directly from the form view. These changes will be reflected in your data when you return to Grid View.

If your form needs additional explanation, background information, details of a complex question or other explanatory information, look to the additional form elements. Click on each button to add the elements to the bottom of the form, or you can also drag and drop them to any position.

Note: With all of these display elements, the 'field name' is not displayed on the published forms like SmartSuite other standard fields. This allows for a more seamless design and form experience.

The following elements available are:

Similar to a Linked Record in any other view type, we now allow you to customize the base filters applied to the record selector on the form view. These selections exist separately from the selections made on any other view because they are specific to your externally shared forms.
​
To use this, all you need to do is expand any linked record and choose "Modify Record selector". This will provide you with a familiar menu where you are able to customize the fields to display, sort order, and the filters that should be applied for this specific form!

This feature helps narrow down the options in one field based on what you’ve selected in another, ensuring you see only the most relevant options.

Dynamic filtering automatically adjusts the choices available in certain fields based on what you’ve already selected. This is particularly useful when you’re working with Linked Record fields, where one choice can influence what options are available in another field.

For example, if you’re choosing a product category in one field, the next field will only show you products that belong to that category. This way, you don’t have to scroll through irrelevant options.

When you’re done, put your form into action by sharing it. Click on the Share Form button and ensure the form shared toggle is on and you will have two options:

NOTE: if you append a header parameter to the end of the embed URL, you can control whether the shared grid will display a header. This value was originally not included in the generated URLs but any older embed can be updated to use it - simply add ?header=false to the embed Widget URL manually.

The data any user inputs and submits through the form will go directly to the Solution's Table you specified.

Note: You can upload up to 25 attachments to a files and images field in Forms.

You can also customize a message to display after someone submits a form or redirect them to a specific URL.

As a solution manager, after submitting a form, you can submit another response by selecting the "Click here" link. This link will redirect you to the original form's URL.

In the settings for forms, you can also choose to let users resume forms they've already started. This will save any progress they've made on the form automatically.

Note: You need to use the same browser to restore your saved progress.

When filling out the form, a confirmation that the progress is auto-saved will display at the top right corner,

Set up automation that occur when a form is submitted. The "When a form is submitted" automation will run each time a response is received from the SmartSuite form you select. Learn more here!

Prefill your fields to automatically fill relevant information that is pertinent to the end-user. For example, if you are sending a form to a specific client and want it to automatically fill in a Linked Record with their information, you are able to do so. Learn more in the article Prefilled Forms in SmartSuite.

​

Scenario: The Marketing team needs to gather feedback from external stakeholders.

Solution: Create a form to collect responses directly into a table, enabling seamless analysis and follow-up.

Scenario: A company launches a new product and needs customer sign-ups.

Solution: Use forms to collect customer details and automatically add them to a tracking table.

Scenario: A compliance officer needs to gather documentation from vendors.

Solution: Create a form with required fields for document uploads and ensure all submissions meet compliance requirements.