FORMS
About Forms and Fields
Simply put, Forms allow Users to generate SwitchBase Records.
Create all the Forms you wish. They are built by combining a variety of Fields — like those in this Issue entry Form.
Each Field captures specific Values — which you can filter, analyze, and display in customizable Dashboards and Reports. For deeper insights, values from multiple Records can be summarized with our Switchbase AI . . .
. . . which can instantly populate AI generated Event Summaries in your Dashboards.
View your Organization's Active Forms
If you have the Role-based Access needed to view your Organization's forms:
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Click open the Admin menu → and pick Forms
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View the usage statistics → ex. Event
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Tap Edit > → to make changes to a Form → ex. Issue
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Pick Create Form to add a new Form → using the 11 Form Building Fields introduced next
11 Form Building Fields
There are 11 Field Types that can be added to any Form. Working in combination, they provide near-unlimited flexibility to your Forms. Jump to our Create/Delete Forms article to learn more.
The Form Builder Page
Forms are built in the Form Builder page! Forms are compiled throuch the careful selection and configuring of the many Fields described above.
Click Add Fields to insert any new field you wish in the form. Change the order Of your Fields by dragging them up and down.
The Form Builder consists of four parts
- A. The Form Name field
- B. Data collection Fields (See above)
- C. Deleted Fields section for quick Recovery
- D. The Edit Field configuration panel
- Jump to our Create/Delete Forms article to learn all about building, editing, updating your Forms
- Alternatively Forms can be generated using Templates — which have the added benefit of creating the matching Dashboards to go with them
Create Forms (& Dashboards) from Templates
Templates provide best-practice starting points for new Forms and Dashboards. (That said, you'll want to mold and adapt these Templates to your specific needs. We'll show you how in later articles.)
To jumpstart Form creation with a Template:
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Pick Forms
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Select Create Form
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Choose a Template → ex. Issue
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Click Confirm & Create
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SwitchBase will take it from here. Wait a second and see the result in your Issue Form and Issues Dashboard Resources
Common Templates
From this section we’ll link to instructions on how to create the most commonly used Forms. Some conveniently generate a related Dashboard in one go!
Click the links to learn more:
1. Issue Form & Dashboard
Make it easy to enter and record incidents, take action, filter, and track progress within your Dashboards. Use Shortcuts for the most repeated issues → ex. Wet Spills
2. Event Form & Event Controller
Add upcoming events (and filter prior events for analysis). Consider breaking out Shortcut forms to Add Event Markers quickly → ex. Hockey, Basketball, and Concert
3. Lost and Found Forms & Dashboards
In this Template we split Forms and the related Dashboards into Found Items and Missing Items to facilitate returns
4. Person of Interest Form & Dashboard
Track people of interest, including persons that have presented a risk to themselves or others and may have been suspended from the venue for a period of time
5. Work Order Form & Dashboard
Generate, assign, and track Work Orders → ex. maintenance, repairs, grounds, and event changeovers
6. Blank: Create a Patrol Form from scratch
Explore how to create unique forms all your own — from scratch! This is for the truly adventurous. Learn the secrets of Form building here!
Shortcuts – Splitting Forms into Sub-Forms
Shortcuts are customized versions of primary Forms → ex. an Event form can have specific Basketball, Concert, and Hockey options
Access Shortcuts via the menu by clicking the parent Form → ex. Event
To learn more, jump to our Make Shortcuts article
Sample Lists of Event Types for Shortcuts
Here are three options for Shortcuts for an Indoor Arena. Find many more common lists in Add Event Markers
| Long | Medium | Short |
|---|---|---|
| Basketball | Basketball | Basketball |
| Car/Truck Show | Car/Truck Show | Concert |
| Concert | Concert | Hockey |
| Convention | Family Show | Other |
| Comedy Show | Hockey | |
| Family Show | Other | |
| Fight | ||
| Hockey | ||
| Other |
About the Data Page
The Data page lets you see all the Records associated with a Form.
Scroll down and click open any Record to Edit or to Delete it altogether.
About the Settings Page
The Settings page has two key functions:
- Set your Archive Data settings → to ensure your Dashboards bring up the necessary data Records quickly
- Delete a Form → For details and troubleshooting tips, see our Del ete Forms article
Archived Data & the Date Range Filter
First of all, your Records are never lost. Older records that don't need to be displayed in your Dashboards are archived. (After all, some venue datasets go back more than a decade.)
This is where the Date Range filter comes in.
Use the Data Selector to flick between 30-365 Days to eye the changes:
For example, here is a major sports and entertainment venue for 30 days.
Here's the same venue at the other extreme, pulling in All data from several years of Records.
The below image shows your default Archive Data settings. It also has an option to Delete the Form! Tred carefully here.
Talk to your SwitchBase Account Representative if you feel you need to change these settings.
More to come . . .