Form Skills

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.

View your Organization's Active Forms

If you have the proper role-based Permissions, you can view a list of your Organization's forms:

1. Click open the Admin menu → and pick Forms

2. View the Form Page summary

3. Search for a Form

4. Sort your Form columns → ex. Alphabetically, 10-day, Last Updated, etc.

5. Tap any Form to make changes to it → ex. Issue

6. Pick Create Form to add a new Form as explained in the next section

   

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The Form Builder

Forms are built in the Form Builder using any combination of 13 Field Types.

To build a Form:

• A. Fill in the Form Name
• B. Add your data collection Field Types → see the 13 Field Types list
• C. Configure your Fields in the Edit Field panel → select the Pencil icon to update or edit a field
• D. Click Add Field → to include additional field types
• E. Reorder Fields with the Waffle icons → by sliding them up or down
• F. Use the Deleted Fields section → for a quick recovery of lost fields

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13 Form Building Fields

These 13 Field Types can be mixed and matched to give near-unlimited flexibility to your Forms.

Basic Fields

Advanced Fields

Create Forms (& Dashboards) from Templates

Templates provide 'best-practice' starting points for new Forms and Dashboards. (That said, you can mold and adapt these Templates to your specific needs.)

To jumpstart a new Form using a Template:

1. Pick Forms

2. Select Create Form

   

3. Choose a Template → ex. Issue

   

• Learn all about it in Create Forms with Templates

Require Fields

Force a User to complete a Field by clicking on the Required Switch.

A Red Dot lets you know the Field is Required.

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Create Forms from Scratch

To start a Form from Scratch with the Blank option:

1. Pick Forms

2. Select Create Form

   

3. Choose a Template → ex. Blank

   

4. Enter your Form Name → ex. Patrol → and press Create Form

   

   • Note: If you change your mind and want another Template, click the dropdown arrow and make your choice

5. Click Add Field

   

6. Pick a Field Type from the drop-down menu → ex. Select

   

7. Enter a Field Name → ex. Performed by

8. Tap the + Add option → and enter your options → ex. Erik, Astrid, Priya, etc.

   • Tip: Press Enter/Return to add an option and move to the next field

9. Click Save Changes

   • Tip A: The - icon to the right of each option will change to a Trash can after you save
   • Tip B: Colors and Weights are Optinal
   • Tip C: Learn about Required, Display inline & Multiple Values in our complete Select Fields article

   

About Bulk Add

• Tap ^ Bulk add (marked as Step 4 above) to upload a longer list of options or names
• Learn all about it in Bulk Add a List of Options

Status Field Settings

The Status field can be set up with or without warning timers and color options.

To add a Status Field to a Form:

1. Select + Add Field → and choose the Status Field

   

2. Enter a Field Name or title → ex. Status Tracking

3. Click the + Add Stage button

4. Add your first Status and give it a name → ex. Open

   

5. Click + Add Stage and name a second Status → ex. Dispatched

   • An automatic 5 minute warning timer will be added to the first Status

6. Add and name a 3rd Status → ex. Closed

   • Another automatic 5 minute warning timer is set on the second Status
   • No timer will appear on the last Status

   

7. Insert as many Status data points as you need

How Warning Timers Work

• After 5 minutes, a red, flashing warning is triggered

• When the Status is changed, the warning goes away for 5 minutes

• No warning timer is triggered after the last setting has been selected

Adjust or Disable the Warning Timers

Use the Up or Down arrows add or subtract time from the warning timers.

• Set the warning timer to 0 and it will be disabled
• You can also extend the warning timer → ex. 10 minutes

Add Color to your Status Options

Selecting colors will make your Status choices more visible in charts and graphs.

To add color, simply click the Gray dot and make your color selections from the color picker.

Add a Status Tracker

1. Click + Add Field → as marked above

2. Pick Progress Tracker from the drop-down list

3. Name your field in the Field Name box → ex. Status

4. Click + Add Stage

5. Enter your value names, add a Color (optional), and adjust the time in the Timer box

   • A. Enter your first Progress Marker → ex. Reported

   • B. Select a color (optional)

   • C. Notice a time/alarm is automatically added with a default of 5 minutes →

     • The minutes determine when the Record will start flashing
     • Click to add or reduce time the "alarm" goes off to fit your needs

   • D. Enter and name more Progress Markers by clicking + Add Stage → ex. Cleared → the color selection is optional

   

About stages and efficiency timers

• Add as many stages as you like
• For subsequent stages, a timer starts automatically as you Advance to that stage
• No timer is needed for the concluding stage

Add a Select Level/Location Field

Some venues have hundreds of locations. Hundreds of them!

To add a long list of "Select" Field options:

1. Pick Select → for the Field Type

2. Enter a Field Name → ex. Level/Location

3. Click Bulk add

4. Paste your list of options inside the entry box

5. Select Add Options

Add a Description Field

1. Pick Text → for the Field Type

2. Enter a Field Name → ex. Description

3. Toggle over to Multiline → for many lines of text

4. Click Save Changes → and don't forget or all your good work goes away!

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Delete Forms

To Delete a Form:

1. Open the Form's Settings page

   

2. Scroll down → and click Delete Form → as marked above

3. Confirm by picking Delete Form

   

Blocked from Deleting a Form?

• To demonstrate how to resolve the problem, we've created a sample 'Test Form' where we've added two Link Record Fields to the following forms:
  • Event
  • Issue

1. Return to the Form Builder and remove each Link Record Field → by clicking the Trash can as marked above

2. Confirm your decision → by selecting Delete

3. Don't forget to Save Changes

• Voilà . . . Return to the Settings page and Delete the Form

  

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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

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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.

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About the Settings Page

The Settings page has two key functions:

• A. Modify your Notifications message → see the Notifications section below

• B. Configure your Archive Date settings → to ensure your Dashboards bring up the necessary Records quickly

• C. Delete a Form → for details and troubleshooting tips, see our Delete Forms article

  

Archive Date: Control Which Records Show Up in Dashboard Date Ranges

First of all, your Records are never lost. Every form has an Archive Date setting that determines which field SwitchBase uses to decide whether a Record falls within a Dashboard's Date Range selector — Records outside that window aren't deleted, they're simply archived out of view. (After all, some venue datasets go back more than a decade.)

By default, the Archive Date is your Record's Created Date, but it can be changed to fit how your team actually tracks a Record's lifecycle.

Where to find it Admin > Forms > [Form] > Settings > Archive Date

Field options

• Created Date (default) → Records are archived based on when they were created
• Date/Time Field → Choose any date field on the form → ex. Event Date to archive based on that date instead
• Progress Tracker Field → Choose a Progress Tracker field and select which state(s) count as archived → ex. Retired, Done

How it works

• A Dashboard viewing "past 30 days" will only show Records whose Archive Date field falls within that window
• For Progress Tracker fields, Records are treated as in-range until they enter one of the selected archive states — once archived, they'll only show up if the state change itself happened within the selected window

Examples

• Created Date: An Issue form archived by Created Date shows Records created in the last 30 days
• Date/Time Field: An Event form archived by Event Date shows Records whose event falls in the last 30 days (or has no date set)
• Progress Tracker Field: A Work Order form archived by Status > Done shows Records that are still open, or were marked Done within the last 30 days

See It in Action: the Date Range Selector

Use the Date Range selector on any Dashboard to flick between 30–365 Days (or All Data) and watch Records shift in and out of view based on the Archive Date setting above.

For example, here's a major sports and entertainment venue at 30 Days:

And the same venue at the other extreme, pulling in All Data across several years of Records:

Careful — Delete Form Lives Here Too

The Settings page is also where you'll find the Delete Form button. Tread carefully — deleting a Form is permanent. See our Delete Forms article for details and troubleshooting tips.

Change Notification Messages Triggered by a Form

Coming soon

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