The Actionstep webform builder allows you to create webforms that connect your public-facing website with your Actionstep system.
Submitted forms are transmitted directly from your website into a web form data queue that allows you to review the data and decide whether to "junk" the form or use it to populate matter and contact info in Actionstep.
In this article, we will take you through how to create a webform so that it can be placed on your company's website.
Creating a Webform
Go to More > Webforms > Form Manager to see a list of any existing webforms. You can click on the name of an existing webform to edit it.
To create a new webform, select "New Webforms" in the top right of the screen to launch the form manager.
The form manager is divided into three easy steps which we will review below.
Form Settings
On the first step of the Webform Manager, you will set some of the basics for how the webform will work. This includes the name and what matter type to use.
Note: You can only link a webform to one matter type. If you want to use a webform across multiple matter types you need to create multiple webforms for each matter type.
Option | Description |
Form Name | Required field. The name of the webform. |
Status | Active/Disabled. |
Create/Update Matter | The purpose of the webform - to create the matter or update the matter. |
Success URL | Once the webform has been submitted successfully the URL where the client is directed (we suggest creating a success URL from your companies website to be displayed). |
Failure URL | If the webform is not submitted successfully the URL where the client is directed to (we suggest creating a success URL from your companies website to be displayed). |
Alert email | The email address that will be alerted when a webform submission has been made. |
Once you have filled in the details you want on this page, click the Save button, then click the green Next button to continue editing your webform.
Note: If you are intending to update a matter please note that you cannot use the webform to show data that already exists on the matter, the intended use is to update only, not review and update.
Field Settings
On the field setting screen, you can define which fields will be included in your webform and how they will be labelled on the customer-facing form.
The screen is broken down into the left part which defines what field will be in the form and the right which will be the field in your form.
Creating a new field for your webform
There are three types of information that you can capture through an Actionstep webform:
- Participant - Details about the contacts on your matter, such as "Client", or "Benefactor".
- Matter Data - the customized fields that appear on your matters
- Marketing - allowing you to capture how this lead came to you
If you have chose to update a matter you will not see the Marketing option as it would be assumed that this information was already captured when creating/opening the matter.
When creating a new field in your webform you choose firstly, the data source from the three options above. Once you select an option, you will be able to select the field that you can display. For example, if you choose Participant from the Data Source, you will be able to choose which participant type on your matter you want to capture, then the field for that participant type, like the first name or email address.
You can choose to customise the label for the field, give a description to help the person filling out your form understand what they should enter and make it required so they need to fill in the form to save it, once you have edited the field hit Save to save it to the webform.
You can create new fields by clicking the Add Field button in the bottom right of the screen.
Fields | Description |
Data Source | The name of the table the data field you are adding to the webform is in. Once a data source is selected you will be prompted for additional details on the field that you would like to include in your form for example, Participant Type and Participant Field. |
Label | This will be the field label that will appear alongside your field in the webform. |
Description | This field allows you to add a description field which offers anyone submitting the webform more information on what is expected in a field. |
Required | Indicate whether a specific field needs to be populated prior to submitting the webform. |
Managing the order of your fields
Once you have created one field, you can choose to create a new field that will appear either before or after the existing field. Hover your cursor over the existing field and you will see a plus icon above the field, between it and the field immediately above. Click on the appropriate one to create a new field.
You are able to drag and drop your fields to change their order.
By clicking on an existing field to change a detail about it.
Generate Form Code
Once you have all the fields click the box with 3 Generate Code in the top right. You then use this code for your webform on your own website.
For more information on publishing your webform please go to article: Adding a Webform to Your Website
Video Tutorials
How to use a webform to create a matter: Use webforms to create matters
How to use a webform to update a matter: Use webforms to update matters
FAQ's
Q. Can I use a webform to update a multi-row data collection?
A. Yes