Contents

• Introduction
• Create a new form
  • Name your form
  • Add a banner image
  • Add fields
  • Configure form settings
    • Submission Confirmation Settings
    • Form Settings
    • Apply Form Restrictions (Paid Feature)
    • Notify People, or Groups For Each Submission
    • Customize the Form Color
• Edit an existing form
• Delete a form
• Other form options
• Work with form fields
  • Add a new field
  • Edit a field
    • Edit field titles
    • Multiple option fields
      • Add and remove options
      • Manage the order of field options 
    • Conditional Fields (Paid Feature)
    • Hidden fields
  • Remove a field
  • Change Field Order
  • Duplicate a field
• Available form field types
• Tip For Faster Form Creation
  • Add Dropdown List Fields Faster

Introduction

Forms are a great way for your church to collect information from the congregation. You can create your own forms, with the specific fields you need. They are easy for you to share and for people to fill out. Afterwards, the submitted information is easily accessible for you to work with and associate with people’s profiles. 

Your forms are always available within the dedicated Forms module, where you can view and manage existing forms, as well as create new ones.

Create a new form

To create a new form, go to the Forms module and click on Create Form.

The form editor will now open. 

Name your form

Please begin by naming your form. This is the name under which it will be listed throughout ChMeetings. 

Add a banner image

Next, add a banner image to your form. It should be 500 X 130px. We recommend that you use these exact dimensions for the best look.

This will allow you to browse your computer for an image. After having added it, you can click the edit (pencil) icon on the top right to either replace or remove it.

The banner image can be accompanied by Alt Text, for better accessibility for blind users and members. You can add it by clicking the accessibility icon at the top right of the image, then entering the text in the field. Be sure to click OK to save your text when ready. 

Add fields

Now it’s time to add the fields you need within this form. For detailed instructions on how to use each type of field, please see the Working with form fields, below in this guide.

All field types are available within the left-side panel of your form editor. There are two field categories you can use: 

• Custom form fields that you can create yourself - these can be anything you might need. 

• Profile fields will allow you to update people’s profiles with the submitted information. All you need to do is add them to the form, and when you receive someone’s submission, you can easily use these fields to update their profile. Both default and custom profile fields can be added to forms, including the profile picture field. 

All field types from both categories will allow you to edit their headings and choose whether to make them mandatory or not. If a field is mandatory, the form cannot be submitted without filling out that specific field. You can also mark fields as hidden if you don’t want to publish them immediately.

Configure form settings

Click Form Settings to configure exactly how your form is implemented. Here are the configurations you can make:

Submission Confirmation Settings

• Customize the “Thank you” message displayed after someone fills out your form. 

• Choose whether to send a confirmation email to people who submit your form. You can customize the email message using the editor. You can incorporate merge fields using Add to Body so that ChMeetings pulls member-specific information when sending the email. This includes any profile fields you added to the form.

Form Settings

• Set the Expiry Date.

• Limit total responses to will let you limit how many submissions the form will allow.

• Set the Network Name (SSID): Adding a network name to this field will only allow people to access the form if they are located on church premises and connected to the WiFi Network. To access the form, members must turn on location services, allow ChMeetings to access their location; and connect to the network you set here. Please keep in mind the following:

  • The field is case-sensitive, so please enter the network name as it appears on your device when connecting to WiFi.

  • This feature does not work in a browser; only in the app. To make sure it works for everyone, please avoid sharing the form as a link. Use the following methods instead: 

    • Enable “Show on the members’ menu” below. This adds the form to the main app menu and everyone can access it from there.

    • Add the form to your church page using the Form card in the Builder.

  • This feature requires an updated version of the ChMeetings mobile app, released on June 10, 2024 or later.

  • This feature does not work on desktop devices.

  • This is a paid feature.
    
    Below is an Android-based video guide that you can share with your members. See our guide on Accessing Forms Via Church WiFi for the text version.
    
    
     

• Language: If your form is in a language that’s different from your usual one (for example in Spanish rather than English), you can set this language here and people will view your form and corresponding ChMeetings interface elements in your selected language. Note that your fields must be built in the same language as well; this feature does not perform any translation.

• Show on the members' menu - This option adds an icon to the Member’s app menu for this form. They can simply click on it to access the form. Turn the toggle on or off, depending on your preference. If you do not want to show an icon in the menu, the form can always be shared via a direct link.

• Make form submissions anonymous: This option does not link form submissions to member profiles, allowing you to collect data anonymously.

• Disable autofill profile fields: When this option is turned on, the form will not automatically fill profile fields for identified members. People submitting the form will need to fill these fields themselves.

• Limit form to only members if you only want people who are registered within ChMeetings to fill it out. The form cannot be accessed and submitted unless people log in.

  • Limit total responses per member becomes active when you limit the form to members only and allows you to limit how many times a member can fill out the same form. It is possible to allow more than one submission, should you see fit.

• Disable View Submissions: This removes the ability to view form submissions as a church servant/admin. Important: Once disabling “View Submissions”, the feature cannot be re-enabled for the current form.

• Disable Edit Submission: This removes the ability to edit form submissions as a church servant/admin. Important: Once disabling “Edit Submission”, the feature cannot be re-enabled for the current form.

Apply Form Restrictions (Paid Feature)

Restrict form only to members with the below criteria allows you to only restrict the form to people who fulfill specific criteria, which you can configure within this section. People who do not fulfill the chosen criteria will not be able to fill out the form. This feature is only available when the form is limited to members, not when it is open to anyone.

Notify People, or Groups For Each Submission

Select who to notify for each submission of this form - either via email or using a mobile notification. You can send submissions as follows:

• To a user - someone who has access to the ChMeetings backend;

• To any other person who has a profile within your People list.

• To a group of people, regardless of their access permissions. .

People can be selected under Send Submission To. Groups can be selected from the Groups field. You can select multiple items in both fields.

Customize the Form Color

Customize the color used throughout the form, using the color picker or by entering the HEX color code.

Please make sure to save your settings and your form when you are ready.

Edit an existing form

To edit a form, go to the Forms module and find the one you want to edit. Click the options button next to it, then click Edit. 

Delete a form

To edit a form, go to the Forms module and find the one you want to edit. Click the options button next to it, then click Delete. You will be asked to confirm your choice, so If you are sure that you want to remove the form, click Delete in the confirmation window, too. 

Please note that when you delete a form, all of its submissions and related information will also be deleted. Deleted forms (and submissions) cannot be restored. If all you want to do is make the form inaccessible so it’s no longer available to submit, then you can use Disable Form. 

Other form options

Each form comes with a series of useful options: 

• View Submissions allows you to see the list of submissions for the form.

• Export lets you download the form as an Excel sheet or as a letter.

• Share is where you can copy a direct, shareable link or an embed code.

• Send Push Notification allows you to send a form to members via mobile push notification. Members must have the ChMeetings mobile app installed to receive these notifications. 
  
  Note that if your church is subscribed to the Branded App, you can also send notifications to guests, provided that they have your church app installed. 
  
   

• View Form allows you to see the form as it displays live to respondents.

• Copy Form allows you to duplicate the selected form, with the purpose of making changes to it and creating a new form. This saves you time because you do not have to create the form from scratch.

• Disable Form will make the form inaccessible, regardless of whether it has reached its expiry date or not. Disabled forms remain in your forms list and you can check the Status column to see if a form is disabled or active. When a form is already disabled, this option becomes Enable Form, which will fully reinstate it.

• Copy to Ministry and Move to Ministry lets you copy or move the form to a different ministry within your church account. This makes it accessible to people who, for example, have restricted access to that particular ministry. 

  • Copying a form will not copy existing submissions, or the list of people to notify included in the form settings (if applicable). It only copies the form structure and fields.

  • Moving a form will change its URL and QR code, and you will lose access to its previous submissions. This can cause confusion if the old QR code or link was already shared or printed. Important: If you have already shared the form link/QR code publicly, especially if you already have submissions, we recommend avoiding moving the form.

Work with form fields

Add a new field

All field types can be added from the form editor, by following the steps below:

• Find the field type you want to add.
• Drag and drop the field onto the Form Editing area.

Edit a field

To edit an existing field, simply click on it. You will immediately be shown all available editing options. 

Edit field titles

All fields have a default title that you can edit. Just click into it and start typing.

Multiple option fields

Multiple option fields include those fields within which people can choose from several answer options. These are:

• Multiple choice: Uses radio buttons to select one answer from a list of available options. 
• Checkbox: Uses checkboxes to select one or multiple answers.
• Dropdown list: Uses a dropdown list to select one answer from a list of options. 

Add and remove options

To add a new option to a multiple option field, click Add Option, right under the options list.

To remove an option, click the ⊖ icon next to it.

Manage the order of field options 

The options within a multiple option field can be ordered in any way you prefer, using the buttons next to the name of the field to drag and drop it into the desired position.

Conditional Fields (Paid Feature)

You can make any field conditional, so that it will only display when a specific field is answered or a certain answer is selected for another field. By selecting the Show only if option, you will be able to select which criteria the field should fulfill in order to display. For fields with multiple options, you can make multiple selections and they will all be considered as criteria to show a specific field. 

Hidden fields

Form fields can be hidden, so that they are stored within the form without being displayed to members. 

Remove a field

To remove an existing field, please follow the steps below:

• Click the field to edit it. 
• Click the red bin icon to delete it.

Please note that fields cannot be restored once removed.

Change Field Order

To move a field up or down your list, simply click on it, drag then drop it to the desired location. 

Duplicate a field

This feature lets you create a duplicate of a particular field. This can save you time in those occasions when you need to create another field that contains some data that already exists in the one you are duplicating.  

To duplicate, simply click your field to edit it, then click the blue duplication button. 

Available form field types

• Text entry supports one line text and number data. This field lets you edit its title.
• Numbers supports numbers, integers and two-decimal. They also support a minimum and maximum limit, which sets the number interval that may be submitted. So, if you want respondents to only submit numbers between 1 and 10, you can set the minimum to 1 and the maximum to 10.
• Multiple line text allows respondents to enter multiple lines of text and number data.
• Checkbox allows checking one or more boxes to select a particular option. Additionally, you can choose the minimum and maximum number of choices people can mark when submitting the field.

• Dropdown provides a dropdown list of several options that respondents can choose from. Only one option can be selected.
• Multiple choice lets respondents choose one option from several provided.
• Date - allows respondents to enter or select a date, using a calendar tool.
• Star Rating: This field type allows respondents to provide a star-based rating. You can choose how many stars to use; and also whether the field is mandatory, hidden, or conditional. This is a paid feature.
  
  
   
• Signature: This field allows respondents to draw and sign forms digitally. This is a paid feature.
  
  
   
• File - allows respondents to attach a file to the form. Please note that this option is only available for paid ChMeetings accounts and the file size limit is 10MB.
  
  

Tip For Faster Form Creation

Add Dropdown List Fields Faster

If you want to add a long dropdown list, you can do it faster by following these steps:

• Type your list into a spreadsheet, one item per cell. 

• Add the dropdown field to your form into ChMeetings.

• Enter the first list item.

• Copy your list from the spreadsheet, starting with the second item, and paste it in the first list item in ChMeetings. This will keep the first item you created in ChMeetings and automatically create the rest of the list items for you without needing to enter them manually.