Catch-up quick
Database fields reference your DataSources, and present them to Form Users as a list of options. When you provide a reference to information that you regularly manage, you help avoid Form User errors, and ensure cleaner data collection.
A database field mapped to your Template can filter available options elsewhere on a Form, or auto-populate other data.
When a Form User interacts with your Template’s database field, they could select a customer’s name, and customer information (like their account details or contact information) will automatically populate elsewhere on the Form.
Database fields directly reference your DataSources within your Templates. This provides opportunity to. . .
Filter the options available to your Form User to ensure that they’re providing relevant responses.
Auto-fill multiple field values based on a Form User’s selection.
Reference DataSources within your calculations.
To use database fields, you’ll first need to create a DataSource. This’ll require you to upload a CSV (comma-separated value) copy of the dataset you want to reference.
🗒️ Note: If you set your DataSource as available for offline reference, your Form Users can perform a “contains” search. This means that their search will check for all references that contain the text they enter.
But, if a DataSource is unavailable for offline reference, your Form Users can only perform a “starts with” search. This means that their search will only check for references that start with the text they enter.
Offline DataSources are only available on mobile, so Forms filled out in the Web Form Editor will always use the “starts with” search.
The appearance and functionality of your database fields depends on the properties you assign.
Properties
After you’ve entered a name and description for your field, you’ll configure your field’s properties.
In addition to common properties like required, author only, and identifier, database fields offer unique properties to offer dynamic solutions.
Two database-specific field properties include DataSource and display column.
DataSource determines which of your account’s DataSources you’ll reference.
Display column determines whether you’ll reference the DataSource’s key column, or one of the index columns.
The DataSource and display column options are required for your database field. Two optional properties are filter and allow other.
Filter provides the option to narrow the display column values available to your Form User.
The filter property offers a way to limit the options for a Form User when you reference a large database.
Allow other is an optional binary choice property. By default, this options is set to No.
By default, this option is set to No. When this option is set to No, your Form Users can only select their response from the available DataSource options.
If you want to allow your Form Users to provide options other than just those available through your DataSource, select Yes.
Properties like filter, default value, and formatting rely on calculations.
Calculations with database fields
While calculations are a tool that offer innumerable solutions, their potential can also be intimidating at times. To help aid your consideration as to how calculations might help you with your unique account, consider the following database field calculations.
Filter your Form User’s available option based on their Group. The linked example references your account’s included Account User List.
Auto-populate multiple field values based on a Form User’s selection. To set up this use case, you’ll use a combination of database and text fields. Your Account User List is referenced in the linked example.
The filtering and auto-fill offer examples of how you can leverage calculations with a database field. But, the available options are as varied as the types of data you can manage with your account.
Explore formatting and operators further to learn how you might enhance your data collection processes.
Related topics
Database fields are useful for referencing large datasets, and drop-down fields are useful for referencing limited options. But, if you just need a binary “yes or no” response, consider checkboxes.
Explore Workflows to learn how you might automate even more of your manual tasks.
If you’re interested in using database fields, but you’re new to DataSources, learn how to create a DataSource in your account.