FormBuilder Admin
FormBuilder is a University of Illinois web application for creating customizable forms,
surveys, and event registration workflows. The admin interface is at
appserv7.admin.uillinois.edu/FormBuilderAdmin.
Key Concepts
FormBuilder organizes work in a hierarchy: Unit > Form Group > Form. Each form has
periods (time windows when the form is active), phases (workflow steps), sections
(content containers), and questions (data fields). Phases are connected by routing
triggers that move form responses through the workflow when conditions are met.
There are three phase types: Data Collection (where users fill out the form),
Review Approval (where admins review responses), and Archive (final storage).
Only one Data Collection and one Archive phase are allowed per form.
Forms can be Standard or Event Registration (which adds event sessions, guest
questions, and registration management). Event registration has two modes: Standard Mode
(automatic registration on submit) and Advanced Mode (registration controlled by routing
triggers). This choice is irreversible.
Navigation
The admin URL pattern is:
appserv7.admin.uillinois.edu/FormBuilderAdmin/Unit/{unitId}/FormGroup/{groupId}/Form/{formId}/...
Key pages append to the Form URL:
/Contents — Form contents editor (questions, sections)/Contents/PaymentInformation — Payment line items/Lifecycle — Workflow diagram/Phases — Phase list and settings/RoutingTriggers — Routing trigger list/Properties — Form properties (title, authentication, payment details)/Periods — Period management/Periods/EventSessions?periodId={id} — Event sessions for a period/EventSessionCategories — Event session categories (form-level)
Important: Breadcrumb navigation sometimes fails in this application. Prefer direct URL
navigation by constructing the URL from the known base path. Use the sidebar hamburger menu
(☰) for top-level navigation.
Core Workflows
For detailed procedures on each area, see the reference files:
- Questions and Sections: See references/form-contents.md
for adding/editing questions, question types, sections, and question triggers.
- Event Sessions: See references/event-sessions.md for
session categories, creating sessions, and linking sessions to questions and payments.
- Payments: See references/payments.md for enabling payments,
adding payment line items, and CFOAPAL configuration.
- Workflow and Lifecycle: See references/workflow-lifecycle.md
for phases, routing triggers, conditional statements, and routing actions.
- Authentication and Access: See references/authentication-and-access.md
for local user self-registration, security groups, periods, and form access.
- Troubleshooting: See references/gotchas.md for known pitfalls
and hard-to-discover fixes.
Safety Guidelines
- Always confirm destructive actions with the user before executing (deleting triggers,
phases, questions, or responses).
- Edit triggers before deleting phases. If a routing trigger references a phase and you
delete that phase first, the trigger will have a broken reference. Always update or remove
trigger references to a phase before deleting it.
- Work step by step. For multi-step changes (especially workflow modifications), execute
one step at a time and verify with the user before proceeding.
- Maintain a change log. When making multiple changes, keep a running list of what was
changed so the user can audit and revert if needed.
- Archive rather than delete questions when possible. Archiving (setting Is Active to
unchecked) preserves historical data while hiding the question from the form.
- Test in Test Email Mode before going live. When Test Email Mode is on, all emails route
to the form group's testing email address instead of real recipients.
UI Interaction Patterns
The admin interface uses a left-panel/right-preview layout on the Form Contents page. Key
patterns:
- Global Settings panel (left side): Select the active phase, view payment info, and add
phases/sections.
- Form Preview panel (right side): Shows the form as it appears to users. Click a section
or question to select it, then use the Form Contents panel to edit/add.
- Gear icon (⚙): Used on many list pages (Phases, Routing Triggers, Event Sessions) to
access Edit/Delete options via dropdown.
- Blue "EDIT" buttons: Direct edit access on list items.
- "+ ADD NEW..." buttons: Appear in section headers to add new items.
- Save Changes / Save button: Always at the bottom of editing panels. Changes are NOT
auto-saved.
- Sidebar editing panels: When editing questions, triggers, or line items, a panel slides
in from the left or opens inline. Scroll down within this panel to see all fields.
1---2name: formbuilder-admin3description: Create, edit, and manage forms in the University of Illinois ATLAS FormBuilder Admin application (appserv7.admin.uillinois.edu/FormBuilderAdmin). Use when the user needs to work with FormBuilder forms including: creating or editing form questions and sections, configuring event session categories and event sessions, setting up payment line items and CFOAPAL codes, managing workflow phases and routing triggers with conditional statements, configuring authentication and self-registration for local users, editing form periods, managing waitlists and registration limits, setting up question triggers for conditional visibility, working with text merge fields, handling form responses and reports, or troubleshooting form behavior. Keywords: FormBuilder, ATLAS, UIUC, form builder, event registration, survey, form questions, payment configuration, workflow, routing triggers, phases, event sessions, iPay, CFOAPAL.4---5
6# FormBuilder Admin
7
8FormBuilder is a University of Illinois web application for creating customizable forms,
9surveys, and event registration workflows. The admin interface is at
10`appserv7.admin.uillinois.edu/FormBuilderAdmin`.
11
12## Key Concepts
13
14FormBuilder organizes work in a hierarchy: **Unit > Form Group > Form**. Each form has
15**periods** (time windows when the form is active), **phases** (workflow steps), **sections**
16(content containers), and **questions** (data fields). Phases are connected by **routing
17triggers** that move form responses through the workflow when conditions are met.
18
19There are three phase types: **Data Collection** (where users fill out the form),
20**Review Approval** (where admins review responses), and **Archive** (final storage).
21Only one Data Collection and one Archive phase are allowed per form.
22
23Forms can be **Standard** or **Event Registration** (which adds event sessions, guest
24questions, and registration management). Event registration has two modes: **Standard Mode**
25(automatic registration on submit) and **Advanced Mode** (registration controlled by routing
26triggers). This choice is irreversible.
27
28## Navigation
29
30The admin URL pattern is:
31`appserv7.admin.uillinois.edu/FormBuilderAdmin/Unit/{unitId}/FormGroup/{groupId}/Form/{formId}/...`
32
33Key pages append to the Form URL:
34- `/Contents` — Form contents editor (questions, sections)
35- `/Contents/PaymentInformation` — Payment line items
36- `/Lifecycle` — Workflow diagram
37- `/Phases` — Phase list and settings
38- `/RoutingTriggers` — Routing trigger list
39- `/Properties` — Form properties (title, authentication, payment details)
40- `/Periods` — Period management
41- `/Periods/EventSessions?periodId={id}` — Event sessions for a period
42- `/EventSessionCategories` — Event session categories (form-level)
43
44**Important:** Breadcrumb navigation sometimes fails in this application. Prefer direct URL
45navigation by constructing the URL from the known base path. Use the sidebar hamburger menu
46(☰) for top-level navigation.
47
48## Core Workflows
49
50For detailed procedures on each area, see the reference files:
51
52- **Questions and Sections:** See [references/form-contents.md](references/form-contents.md)
53 for adding/editing questions, question types, sections, and question triggers.
54- **Event Sessions:** See [references/event-sessions.md](references/event-sessions.md) for
55 session categories, creating sessions, and linking sessions to questions and payments.
56- **Payments:** See [references/payments.md](references/payments.md) for enabling payments,
57 adding payment line items, and CFOAPAL configuration.
58- **Workflow and Lifecycle:** See [references/workflow-lifecycle.md](references/workflow-lifecycle.md)
59 for phases, routing triggers, conditional statements, and routing actions.
60- **Authentication and Access:** See [references/authentication-and-access.md](references/authentication-and-access.md)
61 for local user self-registration, security groups, periods, and form access.
62- **Troubleshooting:** See [references/gotchas.md](references/gotchas.md) for known pitfalls
63 and hard-to-discover fixes.
64
65## Safety Guidelines
66
67- **Always confirm destructive actions** with the user before executing (deleting triggers,
68 phases, questions, or responses).
69- **Edit triggers before deleting phases.** If a routing trigger references a phase and you
70 delete that phase first, the trigger will have a broken reference. Always update or remove
71 trigger references to a phase before deleting it.
72- **Work step by step.** For multi-step changes (especially workflow modifications), execute
73 one step at a time and verify with the user before proceeding.
74- **Maintain a change log.** When making multiple changes, keep a running list of what was
75 changed so the user can audit and revert if needed.
76- **Archive rather than delete questions** when possible. Archiving (setting Is Active to
77 unchecked) preserves historical data while hiding the question from the form.
78- **Test in Test Email Mode** before going live. When Test Email Mode is on, all emails route
79 to the form group's testing email address instead of real recipients.
80
81## UI Interaction Patterns
82
83The admin interface uses a left-panel/right-preview layout on the Form Contents page. Key
84patterns:
85
86- **Global Settings panel** (left side): Select the active phase, view payment info, and add
87 phases/sections.
88- **Form Preview panel** (right side): Shows the form as it appears to users. Click a section
89 or question to select it, then use the Form Contents panel to edit/add.
90- **Gear icon (⚙):** Used on many list pages (Phases, Routing Triggers, Event Sessions) to
91 access Edit/Delete options via dropdown.
92- **Blue "EDIT" buttons:** Direct edit access on list items.
93- **"+ ADD NEW..." buttons:** Appear in section headers to add new items.
94- **Save Changes / Save button:** Always at the bottom of editing panels. Changes are NOT
95 auto-saved.
96- **Sidebar editing panels:** When editing questions, triggers, or line items, a panel slides
97 in from the left or opens inline. Scroll down within this panel to see all fields.
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