Building a Form in Formstack
Formstack empowers departments at KAUST to create professional, user-friendly forms for everything from internal workflows and service requests to event registrations and research submissions. A well-designed form not only makes data collection easier, it also improves accessibility, accuracy, and overall experience.
This guide walks through the full process of building a form in Formstack, including best practices specific to KAUST.
Step 1: Plan Your Form Before You Build
Before opening Formstack, take time to define:
- What is the purpose of this form? (e.g., collect feedback, route a service request, approve an action)
- Who will be completing it? (e.g., KAUST community, external collaborators, students)
- What approvals or notifications are required? (e.g., supervisor approval, finance review)
- What format is best for each input? (e.g., dropdown, file upload, conditional field)
Example: A Travel Authorization Form may require personal details, travel dates, justification, uploaded documents, and a supervisor's approval.
Step 2: Create the Form
Log in to Formstack: https://kaustforms.formstack.com
You can:
- Start from scratch by clicking Create Form
- Use an internal template if your department has a shared format
Tip: Templates ensure consistency across the organization and reduce setup time.
Step 3: Add and Organize Fields
Use the drag-and-drop builder to structure your form clearly. A clean structure improves usability and makes submissions easier to review later.
Recommended Section Order:
- Contact Information (name, KAUST ID, department, email)
- Request Details (service type, description, justification)
- Attachments or Supporting Documents
- Consent or Agreement Section
- Signature and Submit
Use Section Headers to break the form into logical steps. Keep sections short and relevant.
Step 4: Configure Field Settings and Behavior
Once fields are added, refine each one using the settings panel:
- Labels and Instructions: Make field names descriptive and add help text where needed
- Required Fields: Mark only essential inputs as required
- Default Values: Pre-fill commonly selected values
- File Restrictions: File uploads are limited to 25MB
- Field Logic: Use Conditional Logic to show or hide fields based on responses
Example: Show “Account Number” field only if “Bill to Department” is selected under payment options.
Step 5: Apply Conditional Logic Thoughtfully
Conditional logic makes long forms shorter and more user-friendly by only showing relevant sections.
Use cases at KAUST:
- Display shipping address only if delivery is requested
- Show emergency contact details only if the form relates to hazardous lab work
- Reveal a comments box if “Other” is selected in a dropdown
You can apply logic at the field level or section level.
Step 6: Review Styling and Layout
Ensure the form is:
- Clean and professional
- Easy to scan on both desktop and mobile
- Grouped logically and labeled clearly
Use Formstack’s Theme Editor for basic color and font adjustments if needed.
Tip: Avoid multi-column layouts unless fields are closely related (e.g., first and last name).
Step 7: Enable Key Settings
Before finalizing your form, review these important settings:
- Notifications: Set up who receives email alerts after submission
- Confirmation Message: Customize the thank-you screen or redirect to a KAUST page
- Submission Limits: Set start/end dates or max submissions if needed
- SSO Restrictions: Restrict access to KAUST accounts under Settings > Security
- Approvals: Use the Approvals feature to create a review workflow
Step 8: Test and Publish
Before sharing your form:
- Submit a few test entries using different paths
- Validate that all logic, required fields, and emails are working as expected
- Confirm that uploaded files are reaching the correct cloud storage
Once tested, use the Live Form URL for sharing. Do not share the builder URL.
Forms can be embedded on a website, shared via email, or distributed through MS Teams depending on your audience.
KAUST-Specific Reminders
