One of the nice features about the Online Forms module in QuickSchools, is its ability to reduce work by the applicant by prefilling the fields where possible.
For example, if you have a form packet with multiple forms, where several forms make references to the same field (like the students name or address), as long as the fields are mapped correctly, once the applicant fills in the field on ONE of the forms, ALL forms within the packet will be automatically filled with the same information. How convenient is that? And it doesn’t stop there!
We’ve made strides to further improve the experience for applicants. And here we discuss 3 ways where applicants can make use of Pre-Fill functionality within our Online Forms app.
Mapping Fields to System Fields
So for users accessing the Online Forms from the Student or Parent Portal, any fields in the Form Packet that are mapped to a system field are automatically filled when the applicant starts a submission from their portal. This is because when parents / students access the Online Forms from their portal, the system is able to link the form with a student record, and the system can draw information from the linked student record, and pre-populate any fields mapped to system fields.
What this also means is that users accessing the Online Forms through a public URL will not get access to this feature. For that, check out the next section.
Starting a New Application for Public Forms
We have a new feature released recently that allows users to copy information from a previously submitted form into a new form. In order to utilize this feature, applicants simply need to click on the “Start New Application” link after completing a submission:
Once you start a new application, you’ll see a “Copy from Previous Submission” button for each form, allowing the user to pre-fill that form with all information previously submitted:
This feature is particularly useful if you’re a parent who needs to submit the same information for multiple students, each having their own online application. Note that this feature includes all fields, not just the mapped fields.
Copying Form Packets
Although the previous feature helps for parents who submit information for multiple students at the same time, what about when a student / parent returns, and needs to submit similar information year after year. For that, we have the “Copy …” function. More details below:
But in essence, this feature allows you to copy an entire form packet, presumably for a new school year. And when the same user accesses the form packet, the system is able to find the previous submission (from the previous form packet), and transfer data over to the new submission. Users will see an “Auto-Fill” button for each form:
Similar to the “Start New Application” feature, this copy function will also include all fields, not just the mapped fields.
If you need more information about the Online Form app, please check out these articles:
- https://blog.quickschools.com/2020/04/15/collecting-data-via-online-forms/
- https://blog.quickschools.com/2018/11/08/online-forms-cross-browser-compatibility/
- https://blog.quickschools.com/2020/05/14/online-forms-for-districts-groups/
- https://blog.quickschools.com/2018/11/09/online-forms-auto-emails-based-on-status/
- https://blog.quickschools.com/2018/07/12/collecting-fees-via-online-forms/
- https://blog.quickschools.com/2018/11/07/fillable-pdfs-for-online-forms-app/
- https://blog.quickschools.com/2020/09/08/online-forms-electronic-signature/
And we look forward to seeing you online.