Creating and Editing
To create a new form you must have the correct access permissions assigned to your user account.
Go Create Content > webform.
To edit an existing webform go Adminster > webform > select form to be edited from list.
or
Go directly to the form page and select the edit tab, assuming your user account has the correct access permissions.
The webform consists of several elements that set it apart from other drupal modules. The Title and Description are similar to the Title and Body of a regular book page, the key difference being that the Description serves as an introduction or instructions for the main element of a form- the Components. The Components of a form are described at the bottom of this tutorial.
In order to create a form you will need to know several things, the most important being:
1. What is the purpose of the form?
2. Who will receive the completed and submitted form?
3. What questions will the form ask of the user?
The purpose of the form should be described in the ‘Title’ and ‘Description’ sections mentioned above. The receiver’s email address should be imputed into the ‘Email to address’ space. Additionally, the message that users receive after submitting their form will need to be included in the ‘Confirmation message or Redirect URL’ section.
Aside from ‘Components’ there are two more, simpler elements left on a webform that set it apart from Pages. Firstly, the ‘Email from address’ element allows the form creator to determine the email address that will ‘send’ the submitted form. If the form is to be submitted anonymously then a ‘hidden Component’ will need to be add to the form. See below for details.
The last simple element is the ‘Email subject’. This is the subject of the email that will be sent to the receiver of the submitted form. It can be either the ‘Title’ of the form, or one of the forms ‘Components’.
Components
All Components can be made mandatory or not for submission. All Components are weighted, where heavier items follow lighter ones.
email-
this component allows the user to enter their email address on a form. If the default setting is selected and the user is logged into DOM, then their email address will automatically populate this field.
markup-
this component is for advanced users who are comfortable enough with at least HTML and are cable of writing usable script.
file-
this component allows users to upload files and the form creator can specify which types of documents will be accepted and what size limited will be enforced on uploads, if any.
fieldset-
this is a categorical component that once created allows other components to be filed within a certain set, i.e. field set. For example, if you create a fieldset title Name, you can then file components such as First and Last under this fieldset in order to better group or components. Once components are filed under a Parent Fieldset, then their weight only applies within that fieldset and the Parent Fieldset’s weight determines the order the combined components will be placed within the total Component set.
date-
a simple data field that can be set to either a default or certain date, can be the date the form is submitted, or can be left blank for input of date-of-birth.
time-
a simple field that can be set to either a default or certain time, can be the time the form is submitted, or can be left blank for input of things such as ‘the time you volunteered or the time you took the test’ options. It should be noted that the time a form is submitted is always included in the report data.
hidden-
a simple alpha-numeric field that can be just about anything you would like. It will be hidden from the user’s view and will be included in any report. This element is useful for anonymous submissions. You can input a dummy email address in a hidden field and use it as the Sender address for the form submission.
select-
this is a more complicated component that will create either a drop-down box of choices (listbox) or a radio button selection (multiple) that will allow the user to select one or more of several options from a list.
textarea-
this element allows for alpha-numeric input by the user and is good for large ‘comment’ areas. It can be sized vertically and horizontally.
textfield-
this element allows for alpha-numeric input by the user and is good single line comments or answers. It can only be sized vertically.
Reports and Data Collection
Webform collects information submitted through created and active forms via a central database that can be accessed by permitted users via the Results Tab on any given completed webform page. Under this tab, admins should have access to:
Submissions-
This feature allows the admin to view both the submission date and time of a form. It also provides a direct link to the saved form.
Analysis-
This feature provides very simple analysis of all submitted forms. Please note that this information is always specific to three main elements: Left Blank, User Entered Values, and Average Submission length in words. This elements are not necessarily useful.
Table-
This feature provides a simple, yet complete table of all data collected by submitted forms and is order from oldest to most recent submission. A file download link is provided for all uploaded document.
Download-
This feature allows admin to download a .csv file version of all submitted form information. .csv files are compatible with MS Excel, Word, and Access.