One of the most common requirements is to be able to email a copy of the Form entry to various people. For example, if a building inspection is performed, you may want to email a Certificate of Inspection to the building owner. Or, if you are taking a product order from a customer, you might want to send them an order docket or invoice automatically.
This is where the Email Connector for Forms comes in. You can add as many Connectors as you like to a Form via the Connectors page. The Connectors page can be accessed from your Form design or settings page, or the Screens listing page by clicking on the icon that looks like a chain link.
Adding a Connector
Once you are on the Connectors page, setting up an Email Connector is easy:
- Click on the "Add Connector" button to see a list of the available Connectors. The Choose Connector popup window will appear.
- Click the Email option.
- This will refresh the page and display your Email Connector, ready for configuration. (Note that nothing has been saved at this stage: you must click the Save button to save your Connector after setting it up.)
Your first decision is what format you want your Form entry data to be sent in. You have the choice of:
- Body: This will send the Form entry data as plain text in the body of the email. Each field answered is placed on a new line.
- CSV: Sends a Form data as a CSV file attachment on the email. Note that all non-repeat data captured in repeating rows of data will only appear on each row of the CSV if the option "Fill Repeat Rows on Export" is enabled within Organization Settings. Please see this article for more details
- PDF: Sends a PDF file attachment on the email, generated using either a generic PDF output or the Word/Excel template provided.
- Word: Sends a Microsoft Word attachment which is generated using a Word DOCX template you upload.
- Excel: Sends a Microsoft Excel attachment which is generated using an Excel XML template you upload.
- Text
Sends a Form data as a Text File attachment on the email
Next, you need to configure who the email should be sent to. You have the choice of any or all of:
- To Addresses
Input a static list of email addresses, separated by a comma. An email will always be sent to every address in this field. - To Form Field
This allows you to have dynamic behavior based on the email address(es) input into a chosen Form field. For example, in a product order Form, you may be capturing the customer's email address in a field named "customerEmail." You could then have the system automatically email an invoice or order confirmation to the customer by setting the To Form Field to be customerEmail. - To the User that submitted the Entry
This allows you to automatically email the app user that captured and uploaded the Form entry.
At this stage, your Connector is ready to go. Hit the Save button to save your changes and activate the Connector.
Customize The Email
Note: Checking "Anonymize Personal Data" will exclude all data from fields that are marked as Personal Data in the form design.
The email that is triggered on submission of this form will be sent to a combination of the email addresses defined as 'To' addresses. Email connectors must have at least one of the 'To' email address options selected or defined.
| To Address(es) | Enter a single email address or a list of addresses to define the 'To' addresses for the email. Use commas or semicolons to separate the addresses. |
| To Form Field Value | Send emails to dynamic email address(es) by selecting a form field from the list. The user will define the required email address in the selected form field when completing the Form entry. |
| To Submitting User | If checked, an email will be sent to the App user that submitted the Form entry. |
| Email Sent From | When the email is forwarded on ‘Submit’ of this form, the Sender's email address and the displayed name will be one of the addresses selected from the dropdown.
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See this article to learn how to configure emails to send from the platform: Configure Email
Add a Data Template
Customize the output of your Form entry to your heart's desire with our powerful Data Template functionality. This lets you create Word or Excel templates that are injected with the Form answers to create any kind of PDF output you may need. The template is uploaded specifically to the chosen Connector, so you can have multiple Connectors that output different files. For example, you may send a PDF Certificate of Inspection to a building owner in one Email Connector and send an Excel "Inspection Log" to your internal department address on a separate Email Connector.
Body & Attachments
By default, the system will generate a subject, body, and attachment file name for the email it sends.
If you'd like to personalize the email sent where you can add a static or dynamic text/data captured in the form to be displayed in the email's subject, body, and attachment file name, then click Customize Email to display additional options allowing you to do so and more
Subject (Customize Email) | Enter a custom email subject of your choice. Create a dynamic subject using fields from your Form - hit the hammer icon to build your text. |
Body (Customize Email) | Enter a custom email body of your choice. Create a dynamic body using fields from your Form - hit the hammer icon to build your text. HTML can also be used if you want that extra custom feel. NOTE: A limit of 4000 characters applies. |
Attachment Name (Customize Email | Enter a custom email attachment file name of your choice. You can also create a dynamic attachment name using fields from your Form - hit the hammer icon to build it. If you specify a custom file extension that is a valid MIME type it will export the attachment as the type specified. Otherwise, the file extension (.pdf, .xlsx, .docx) will be added to your name automatically. |
Disable Random Code (Customize Email) | Disable the default system behavior of appending a 6-character random code to the attachment file name. e.g. instead of 'FileName-abc123.pdf', the file would be generated as 'FileName.pdf' |
| Send Media Files Separately | If this is checked you will be able to select the individual media files to send/attach. These could be signature images, photos, or other attachments. NOTE: If the "Anonymize Personal Data" option is enabled, media files marked as Personal Data will be excluded. |
| Embed Entry Identifier | By default, the system will not attempt to make media file names unique across form entries. In most cases this is no problem; however if multiple entries upload to the same storage location/folder, files of the same name (but from different entries) may overwrite each other. This option adds each submission's unique identifier as a prefix or suffix to media file names, thereby ensuring uniqueness across entries. |
| Anonymize Personal Data | If enabled, data from fields marked as Personal Data will be converted to a non-human-readable format to aid privacy. |
**Make sure to click the Save button in the top-right corner of your screen to save your settings.**
Adding a Data Template
Craft personalized Word or Excel templates filled with Form inputs to produce tailored outputs. This adapts to your unique requirements, aligning seamlessly with the documents you already utilize.
To add a template, click on the paperclip icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
Click the 'Select New' button.
Once a Data Template has been uploaded, be sure to click Save on the top right corner.
When a user uploads a form, the output will be customized according to your template.
Supported Template file types:
- Word (.DOCX) for PDF or Word file outputs
- Excel (.XLM) for PDF or Excel file outputs.
- Text (.TXT) for all other output types.
Learn more about Output Templates here: Word Templates, and Excel Templates
Add a Run Condition
Sometimes you may have a Connector that you only want to fire if the Form entry has a given answer value. For example, you may have an Audit Form that has a risk rating question with options like "Low," "Medium" and "High." If the user answers the risk rating as "High," then you want an email to be sent to a supervisor for follow-up and action.
This is where a Run Condition comes in. Run Conditions are defined by creating a true/false formula. The Connector will only run if the formula you define in the Run Condition has a true result. So, in the example above, the Run Condition formula would be something like:
{{riskRating}} = 'High'
To create a Run Condition click on the small stop light icon in the top right corner of the connector pane.
When the Run Condition field is activated, you will see a hammer icon appear. Clicking the hammer will take you to the Formula Builder, which helps you to put together the formula you desire. See the Creating a Formula page to learn more about form formulas. 
| Only Perform This Action When | Add a formula that calculates whether or not this Connector should be run when a form entry is submitted. Use the hammer icon to launch the Formula Builder and build and formula with a true/false result. |
| Wait No Longer Than | Specify a maximum time to wait before running this Connector. Generally, the answer values on Form entries are uploaded within a few seconds. If photos or other media are captured, these files can take time to upload. By default, the system waits until all media files are uploaded from the app before running the Connector. Use this option to force the sending of outputs (likely missing some photos) due to business-critical timeframes. |
Once a Run Condition formula has been added, be sure to click Save on the top right corner.
Cloning a Connector
If you need to generate several outputs with similar features (like email content and recipients) upon form submission, you can utilize the 'Clone' function. This feature allows you to replicate your existing connector settings. After cloning, you can modify the necessary elements, such as the data template and run conditions, to suit your specific requirements.