This article explains the various field types available in Formulayt. The field type determines what input will be displayed to the user and the type of data it can accept. It's important that the corresponding field on the receiving form is of an appropriate type. For example, a large text field requires a multi-line input with a high character limit on the receiving form.
Available field types:
Simple text
Simple Text field types are presented as a single line and a character limit can be applied if required.
Large text
Large Text field types are presented as a paragraph block and a character limit can be applied if required.
Checkboxes
Checkboxes field types are presented as a small box a user can tick accompanied by a label. A checked value must be provided e.g. '1', 'yes' or 'true'.
Email address
Email Address fields have built-in validation which checks for proper email formatting (address@domain.com).
Phone number
Phone Number fields only accept numbers and include an international prefix dropdown. If you have a country field present in the form the international prefix will be set to that countries prefix (unless the field is pre-populated from a data source).
Country selector
Country Selector is a dropdown list of countries and their corresponding flags. Using the GeoIP detection built into all Formulayt forms, the selector will attempt to determine the user's country and pre-populate this for them to save time. The dropdown options can be changed by following the guidance in our documentation.
The country field is available with and without a typeahead function. The typeahead function allows a user to start typing and suggested matching countries will appear. This feature is also smart enough to recognise alternative names for countries e.g. typing "England" will present "United Kingdom" as an option.
URL
URL field types have built-in validation which checks for proper URL formatting (www.domain.com).
Picklist
Picklist field types present users with various options in a dropdown menu.
When using picklists, you must provide both the labels to be displayed to the user and the values to be returned in the form submission.
Top tip - You can bulk add picklist options by submitting a list with one option per line in the format:
Value|Label
Value|Label
Value|Label
You will also be shown extra translation options when using picklists:
Translate picklist option labels - Determines whether the picklist option labels (visible to the user) should be made available for translation.
Translate picklist option values - Determines whether the picklist option values (not visible to the user, this is what is sent on form submission) should be made available for translation.
Prevent the picklist option labels from being translated using root language values - Don't use root language values if the gate is using a sub-language (e.g., de-ch cannot inherit from de). This option prevents a picklist from inheriting a translation from a root language when using a subculture language. For example, a business department dropdown might have certain options appearing in German (de) but not Swiss German (de-ch). This option is normally used with the 'Hide any picklist options that don't have a translated label' option.
Hide any picklist options that don't have a translated label - If activated, this option will hide any picklist options without a translation, instead of displaying them in the default language (which is normally English). This may be useful for fields like salutations. In English we have Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr, etc. In German, Herr and Frau is usually sufficient. Activating this functionality would avoid having English options appear unnecessarily in the German picklist.
Sort picklist options in alphabetical order after translation - This option will sort picklists alphabetically after translation, instead of displaying them in the order entered. Activating this field will help users find what they're looking for more quickly once the labels have been translated, such as in a state or province picklist. However, you may choose not to use this feature if the list has a specific meaningful order like products or nature of inquiry.
Multiselect picklists
Multiselect picklists are field types where the user can submit multiple options. If you choose to allow multiple selections, you will also have the option to display the picklist as a Checkbox group.
By default, a multiselect picklist will submit as an input array, which the receiving platform must be able to process. If required, you can submit the selected options as a comma-separated value (CSV) list in a single field.
Radio button group
Radio Button Group field types are similar to checkboxes; however, the user can only select one option in the group.
Custom content
Custom Content field types provide a method of injecting HTML content into a form layout. This is often used to create labels or add extra information to a form. Paste your HTML into the Content field in the field settings. You can also use tokens in your content.
Note: A Custom Content field does not submit it's value in the form. It is purely a container to display HTML content within your form.
Hidden field
Hidden Field types are added to every form type and are never visible to the user. Hidden fields are used to pass additional information on submission, such as Asset Name, Campaign ID, UTMs, and Page URL.