Forms controls the data-entry experience for adoption, foster, volunteer, surrender, donor, and pet records. Open Settings > Forms & Documents > Forms and choose a record type from the selector.
Templates
Adoption, foster, volunteer, surrender, and donor records can have multiple templates. From the template selector and action menu you can:
- Create a template
- Edit its name and description
- Duplicate it
- Make it the default
- Delete it, from the template's edit dialog
A template can't be deleted while records use it, or while it is the only template of its record type; create another template first. That way every form always has a template to load.
Each template is independent. Editing a field or section changes only the template named at the bottom of the editor. Use distinct names and confirm the selected template before editing when several versions are similar.
Exactly one template per public record type should be the default. The default badge is important: direct public pages, widgets, and new public submissions use that template. A non-default template can be edited and previewed, but it does not receive its own public URL or widget. Make it the default when it is ready to replace the current public form. If no template of a type is marked default, for example after the default was deleted, forms, this page, and the Data Uploader all use the most recently created template of that type.
Pet records use one managed template. It can be customized, previewed, or reset to the standard pet form.
Form Editor
Switch between Edit and Preview while working.
A template is made of sections and fields. You can:
- Add, rename, describe, reorder, and remove sections
- Add, edit, show, hide, reorder, and remove fields
- Move fields between sections
- Mark supported fields required or internal-only
- Configure placeholders, help text, and select options
Protected system fields keep the restrictions needed for valid records.
The builder offers:
| Need | Field type |
|---|---|
| Short or long written answer | Text or Textarea |
| A configured list | Select or Multi-select |
| A true/false answer | Yes/No |
| Contact or typed data | Email, Phone, URL, Number, or Date |
| A US state list | US State |
| An image or video from the applicant | Media Upload |
| Explicit consent | Legal agreements and contracts |
| Organization labels | Tags |
Phone fields collect a phone value but do not force one display format. Use help text when you need a particular format. A US State field provides the supported state choices; use a normal text field for an address or a region outside that list.
Each Media Upload field accepts one JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, MP4, WebM, or QuickTime file up to 25 MB. Add more than one Media Upload field when the applicant must provide multiple images or videos. A form sent while a file is still uploading waits for the upload to finish, on public forms and staff forms alike. The recording location that phones store in MP4 and QuickTime videos is removed in the browser before the upload. PDFs and office documents are not accepted by this field; ask for an image of a license or record, or collect the document through a staff-managed Documents workflow.
Pet templates also include purpose-built fields for name generation, age, weight, images, status, microchip, veterinarian, adoption fee, AI description support, and species-dependent breed and color choices. Those pet-specific fields are not available on application templates.
Internal-only fields are shown to staff but omitted from public forms. Volunteer fields do not offer the internal-only setting. New pet fields start as internal-only, so they stay off public pet pages, widgets, and the public API until you uncheck Internal Only; the field editor warns when a pet field you make public looks like it holds someone's personal details.
Every change is saved and published as it is made. There is no separate Publish button. Preview the selected template before changing its default status.
Hide a Field You No Longer Use
To stop using a field, hide it rather than delete it. In the form editor, open the actions menu at the end of the field's row and choose Hide. The row shows Field hidden, and the field disappears from the form for staff and the public. Answers already saved stay stored but are no longer displayed. Choose Show from the same menu to bring the field and its answers back. A required field cannot be hidden; turn off Required in its settings first. A section's actions menu, next to Add Field, has the same Hide and Show choices plus Edit.
Internal Only is different: it keeps the field on staff forms and only leaves it off public forms, public pet pages, widgets, and the public API. Delete in a field's actions menu permanently removes the field and cannot be undone. When you need a different field type, hide the old field and create a new one instead of deleting it. If you change the type of an existing field anyway, the field editor warns that answers already saved stay stored but may no longer display or pass validation as the new type.
Terms
Adoption, foster, volunteer, and surrender templates can require checkbox acceptance of the matching contract terms. The template's terms setting controls whether this section appears; it does not offer a signature method.
To collect a signature, add or edit a Legal agreements and contracts field. Enable Required and Require signature instead of checkbox, and keep the field visible and not internal-only. Applicants can draw or type their signature. This field is separate from the general terms checkbox and the signature required during adoption checkout.
Edit the wording itself in Settings > Contracts. Donor forms do not use contracts.
The same setting applies to adoption and foster applications a website sends through the API: when the form requires terms, an application without accepted terms is refused, and when terms are off it is accepted without them.
Display Options
Public-form templates can control:
- Single-column layout: place labels and fields in one vertical flow
- Post-submission redirect URL: send the visitor to a safe
httporhttpspage, up to 2,000 characters long, after a successful submission
Adoption and foster forms can show or omit the pet selector and set the maximum pets per submission, up to 5. Surrender forms can also set their maximum pets per submission, up to 25. Leaving Pets per submission blank uses that maximum, and a higher number shows an error instead of being saved.
The Preview view reflects the selected template and display configuration.
Public and Internal Use
Public URLs and widget code are available for the default adoption, foster, volunteer, surrender, and donor templates. Public availability also requires a public organization profile and, except for adopter, the matching organization public feature. The Widgets page shows whether each public surface is currently available.
A public URL is not private or invitation-only. Anyone who receives it can open the form while its prerequisites remain enabled. Use internal record creation for staff-only intake.
Public surrender submissions create surrender records and draft intake information for staff review; they do not automatically turn the submitted animals into normal pet records.
Template and field edits save through the form editor. New submissions use the current default template. Existing records keep the template ID used at submission, but templates remain editable; saved answers are the submission record, not an immutable copy of the old form layout.
External forms use a public-safe projection of the default template. Hidden sections and fields, internal-only fields, tags, record metadata, and protected synced columns are omitted. Empty sections are removed.
Troubleshooting
- The wrong questions appear: Confirm both the record type and selected template, then look for the Default badge. The public form uses the default template, not necessarily the one most recently edited.
- A new template has no share link: Preview it internally or make it the default. Non-default templates do not have independent public routes.
- A field is missing publicly: Confirm the field is visible and is not marked internal-only.
- A form is unavailable: Confirm a default template exists, publish the organization profile, and check the selected surface on Settings > Widgets.
- A required answer is not enforced: Open the field settings and confirm Required is on. Protected fields may keep system-defined restrictions.
- Terms show the wrong wording: Edit the matching contract in Settings > Contracts; the form template controls whether those terms require checkbox acceptance. Signature requirements belong to individual agreement fields.
Permissions
Admins can manage forms.