Open the form, complete the fields, and click Submit Response. What the page looks like depends on the form's type: a custom form shows questions built in Equip, and a document form shows the original PDF with fillable fields. Both end the same way, as a response on the form and, once it has a subject, a document on that participant's profile.
Participants are labelled Clients, Students, Residents or Explorers depending on the account type. This article calls them participants.
Who can do this, and where
Team members fill forms in the web app. Any team member with Forms access can start a response; you do not need permission to create or edit forms.
People without an Equip login fill forms from a link or an emailed invitation. They see only the form itself.
Participants and external responders can fill forms through browser links or invitations. The new participant app does not expose the team-member Forms hub. Team members with access can fill custom forms in the new app.
Participants cannot start a form from the web app.
Forms is turned on for your account by the Equip team. If you do not see Forms in the left menu, ask us to enable it.
Where to start a form
Any of these gets you to the same fill page:
The Fill a Form card on the Home page.
Forms in the left navigation, then the form, then Fill Form.
The ⋯ menu on a row of the Forms list, then Fill Form.
A participant's profile, then Forms, then Start Form.
A to-do, through Fill Form in its ⋯ menu.
A link or invitation somebody sent you.
Fill a custom form
Under Response Details, choose Single Subject or Multiple Subjects, then pick the person under Subject. This only appears on a new response that does not already have a subject.
Enter a Document Title if you want the resulting document named something other than the form's title.
Check the Completion Date. It defaults to today. If the form tracks expirations you will also see Expiration Date, defaulting to a year out.
Check Full Name and Email Address. They are prefilled with yours, and both read "(Optional)" when the form allows anonymous responses.
Answer the questions. Required ones will not let you submit until they are filled.
Upload anything the form asks for under Attachments, if the form allows attachments.
Sign in the signature box if the form requires a signature.
Click Submit Response. To stop and come back, click Save & Finish Later instead.
Fill a PDF document form
The PDF loads in the browser with its fields ready to type into.
Pick the Subject and check the Completion Date, the same as a custom form.
Fields that are mapped to Equip data arrive already filled in with the participant's and the program's details. Correct them if anything is out of date.
Type into the rest of the fields directly on the page.
Click a signature field to open the signature pad and sign there.
Click Submit Response.
Document forms have no Document Title field and no Attachments section. The finished PDF is stored as a document, so answers are not broken out question by question for reporting.
Fill a form from a link
Open the link. The page shows the organization's name and the form's title, above "Thank you for taking the time to complete this form."
Set the Date, then enter your Full Name and Email Address. Both read "(Optional)" if the form allows anonymous responses.
Click Begin.
Answer the questions and click Submit Response.
You then see "[Form title] Completed!" and "Thank you for completing this form!". No confirmation email is sent to the responder.
Limits and what the errors mean
Question types
A custom form can use Short Answer, Long Answer, Number Answer, Date Answer, Single Choice, Multiple Choice, Likert Scale and Acceptance questions. A question can also allow a comment or a file of its own. An Acceptance question is always required, and never takes a comment or a file.
Errors on submit
"There was an error submitting the response! Please check the form for errors." means something required is missing. The fields in question are marked on the form.
"No subjects were selected." means the form has Require Subject on and you did not pick anyone.
"Response saved. You can finish it later." confirms a Save & Finish Later. The response is In Progress, nothing has been submitted, and no notifications have gone out.
"Response was successfully created." confirms a submission.
Attachments
The Attachments box appears only when the form allows attachments. The page states a limit of 10 files at up to 5MB each, and accepts .docx, .xlsx, .csv, .pdf, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .gif, .tif and .webp.
More than one participant at a time
Multiple Subjects creates a separate response for every participant you select, all with the same answers. It is all or nothing: if any one of them fails validation, none are saved and the page lists the problem for each person by name. On a PDF document form, the Automatically Fill Information toggle re-resolves the participant fields for each person rather than copying the first one's details.
Submit Another Reponse
A signed-in team member filling a new response sees a toggle labelled Submit Another Reponse. Turning it on reopens a blank copy of the same form after you submit, which saves reopening the form for each person.
What happens after you submit
On a form with Require Approval on, the response goes to Awaiting Approval and the approvers are notified. It is locked until an approver acts.
On any other form the response is Completed and the form's response subscribers are notified.
Once a response is completed and has a subject, Equip builds a document from it and files it on that participant's profile.
A completed response on a form that requires a signature cannot be edited afterwards.
Mobile
The new team-member app autosaves custom-form answers locally and offers Resume when the form is reopened. A local draft is not a shared web In Progress response. PDF forms open the web filling page. Subject selection is limited to people the team member can access. Submitting creates a Completed response, or Awaiting Approval when approval is required.
FAQ
Where do I find a form I need to fill out?
Use the Fill a Form card on the Home page, or click Forms in the left navigation and open the form. If the form is about a specific participant, open their profile and click Forms, then Start Form. If someone assigned it to you, it will be in your to-do list with a Fill Form action.
What is the difference between a custom form and a PDF form?
A custom form is built from questions in Equip, so each answer is stored separately and can be reported on. A PDF document form keeps an uploaded PDF in its original layout and stores the filled copy as a document, which is what you want for paperwork an outside agency requires. PDF forms are uploaded by the Equip team.
Do I have to pick a participant?
Only when the form has Require Subject turned on, which is the default for new forms. If it does and you do not choose anyone, submitting gives you "No subjects were selected." Forms used for surveys and intake are usually set up with Require Subject off so a subject can be assigned later.
Can I fill the same form for several participants at once?
Yes. On a new response, switch Response Details to Multiple Subjects, click Select Subjects and choose the people. Equip creates one response per participant with the same answers, and saves none of them if any one is invalid.
Can I stop halfway and finish later?
Yes, if you are signed in to Equip. Click Save & Finish Later and the response is kept as In Progress with your answers in it. Someone filling the form from a link without signing in does not get that button and has to finish in one sitting.
Why can't I edit the response I just submitted?
Awaiting Approval and Approved responses are locked for everyone. An approver may deny a response only while it is Awaiting Approval. For other completed responses, authorized team members can use Edit Response unless the form requires a signature; account owners can edit those signed responses.
Does the responder get a confirmation email?
No. The responder sees a thank-you page on screen and nothing is emailed to them. The form's response subscribers are the ones who get an email when a response arrives.
The form asks for a signature. Can I type my name instead?
Yes. Use Type Signature and type your name, or choose Draw Signature to draw it. When a signature is required, complete the signature control before submitting. On a PDF form, select the PDF’s signature field to open its signature control.
Related
Can I save a form and finish it later?
Add your signature to a form
How do PDF forms pre-fill participant and account information?
Approve or deny a form response
Why can't I find, edit or download a form response?
Request a form after a calendar event
Where do I see the responses to a form?