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Fill out a form

Where to start a form, what each field on the fill page does, and how custom forms and PDF document forms differ when you submit.

Written by MaryGrace Flores

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 can submit a form from the mobile app when the form is one of theirs, which means a form built for them or a form that already has a response about them. The app submits in one pass; there is no draft saving on mobile.

  • 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

  1. 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.

  2. Enter a Document Title if you want the resulting document named something other than the form's title.

  3. Check the Completion Date. It defaults to today. If the form tracks expirations you will also see Expiration Date, defaulting to a year out.

  4. Check Full Name and Email Address. They are prefilled with yours, and both read "(Optional)" when the form allows anonymous responses.

  5. Answer the questions. Required ones will not let you submit until they are filled.

  6. Upload anything the form asks for under Attachments, if the form allows attachments.

  7. Sign in the signature box if the form requires a signature.

  8. 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.

  1. Pick the Subject and check the Completion Date, the same as a custom form.

  2. 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.

  3. Type into the rest of the fields directly on the page.

  4. Click a signature field to open the signature pad and sign there.

  5. 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

  1. 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."

  2. Set the Date, then enter your Full Name and Email Address. Both read "(Optional)" if the form allows anonymous responses.

  3. Click Begin.

  4. 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 mobile app submits a completed response in one call. It cannot save a draft, cannot fill PDF document forms, and cannot pick a subject other than a person the user is allowed to see. A response the app submits is created as Completed, or as Awaiting Approval on a form that requires approval, exactly as on the web.

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?
If the form requires approval, the response is Awaiting Approval and locked for everyone until an approver acts. If the form requires a signature, a completed response cannot be edited either. Otherwise open the response and use Edit Response in its menu.

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?
No. The signature box captures a drawn signature, on a touch screen or with a mouse, and the response will not submit without it when the form requires one. On a PDF document form you click the signature field in the document to open the same pad.

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?

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