Fill in and submit a form

Some apps have forms for jobs like a field visit, a survey or a monitoring round. Each form you submit adds one record, for example a new record in Trees. Not every app has forms: if you don't see Forms in Settings, ask us.

To submit a form, you need to be signed in with a role that can add that type of record: editors and admins, and in some apps viewers too.

Find a form

In Settings

Editors and admins see every form of the app in one list.

1. Click your app's logo in the top-left corner, then Settings.
2. Editors land on Forms. Admins click Forms in the sidebar. On a phone, tap the sidebar button next to the page title to open the sidebar.
3. Next to a form, click View Form to open it in a new tab, or Copy URL to copy its link and send it to your team.

In an app without forms, an editor who opens Settings sees No access to this settings section. It means the app has no forms, not that your role is missing. On a computer, the sidebar on the left still takes you to the other sections.

From a link

Open the link someone on your team sent you, on a computer or in your phone's browser. Sign in if the app asks. The form opens on its own page, with its name at the top.

From the map

Some apps add a form to the map's buttons, for people who can add records. On a computer, the form opens in a window; on a phone, it slides up from the bottom of the screen.

From a record

On some records, a button opens the next part of a survey, for example a follow-up visit to a site. Only people who can edit that record see it. Answer the questions and click Save: the answers are saved on that record, not as a new one.

Fill it in

1. Answer each question. A red * next to a question means it's required.
2. Some questions appear only after certain answers. If you change an answer and a question disappears, its answer isn't saved.
3. For photo and location questions, see Take photos and GPS points in the field.
4. Click Submit at the bottom of the form.

After you submit

The form shows "Thanks for filling this form!" and "Your submission has been received and will be processed soon." Some apps take you to another page instead.

Your submission is a new record of that type, with you as the person who added it.

If the app can't take it, the error shows next to Submit and your answers stay in the form, so you can try again.

Some forms take one answer per person. If you open one again after submitting, it says "You've already submitted". Where your app lets you edit what you added, it also shows Open Your Submission.

Change a submission

A submission is a record like any other: open it from its list and edit it as in Add, edit and delete records. Editors and admins can edit it; some apps also let you edit the records you added yourself.

With no connection

In apps with offline turned on, a form you open from the map or a record works like adding any record: with no connection, your answers are saved on your phone and sync when you're back online. A form you open from a link needs a connection to load.

See Collect data offline in the field and Check that your changes synced.