5 Text Field Properties You Should Be Using

Your Text fields can act as so much more than a simple space for text

Within the Template Editor’s Properties panel, there are a variety of features you can leverage to improve the quality and formatting of data input into your fields. Below we’ve outlined the six field properties you should know when leveraging Text fields within your mobile forms: 

1. Required property
   Ensure critical data is input into Text fields prior to form submission, with the Required property. Users who have not completed a Required Text field will be unable to submit their form until they have completed the field. Your Required Text field can even be made dynamic, meaning the field will become Required based on data entered within other fields. For example, if a user were to select a Checkbox signifying they noted a hazard during an inspection, your Text field could then become Required, ensuring the user inputs further details regarding the hazard, prior to submission. 

2. Character Count
   With the Character Count property, you can limit the number of characters a user can enter within a Text field. This property makes it easy to limit submitted data to a concise, predetermined length (perfect for digital assignments, job applications, surveys, and more!). 

3. Author Only
   The Author Only property makes it so your Text field is editable only for the user who initiated the form. For many teams, their forms may require input from several users before it can be completed, making this feature incredibly powerful when managing field permissions and ensuring critical data is not overridden when collaborating with teammates. 

4. Default Value
   With the Default Value property, your Text field can display a value from another form field (using a formula), a value from a database column, or perform a calculation based on one or more other fields. This is especially useful when your form has multiple pages that require the input of redundant information or when a form references information already stored in your existing databases (e.g. a customer’s contact information, address, etc.). 

5. Auto-populate
   Reduce errors and standardized data entry by populating Text fields with highly accurate data, based on a Drop Down selection, scanned Barcode, or other selection. For instance, choosing a customer’s name can automatically fill in fields for the customer’s phone number, address, email, and more. This not only accelerates form completion, but also improves the overall quality of submitted data.

Looking for more ways to elevate your mobile forms and digital data capture? Learn how you can arm your teams with custom form actions and deep links.