Overview

Formstack is an online product for creating customized web forms, the contents of which can then be consumed by a University data system.   

Features

Formstack forms can request data from a user in several formats, including:

• picklists
• radio buttons
• email formatting
• URL formatting
• telephone formatting
• dates
• free form text

Some conditional content is possible.  For instance, if a user answers a question with "yes", they could then be presented with additional questions, which would not display for the users who did not answer "yes".

If payments need to be collected in combination with webform data, use Quikpay.

Exercise caution when using a webform (via Formstack or any other online data collection tool) to avoid requesting the user to supply Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as social security number, birthdate, drivers' license number, etc. CIS has the capability to launch Formstack forms from Banner Self-Service, which is preferred if the user is a current student or employee as identification is assured. CIS also has the capability to retrieve Formstack submission data automatically although this requires some effort, so a cost/benefit analysis is required. Contact CIS if interested.

Designed For

Web forms are a way to collect data from a group of people in a repeatable, constrained way.  For instance, users could be presented with a calendar when the form prompts for a date, to prevent nonsensical answers from being collected.  Content collected via the web form can be consumed by a database on a regular, recurring basis.  Offices that need to collect a particular set of data from a population on a large or recurring basis may benefit from the creation of a web form in Formstack.

Getting Started

If your department is interested in utilizing Formstack, contact the University Communications Web Team, at ucwebteam2@spu.edu.

Technical Support and Training

For further information about Formstack and ways it could benefit your department, please visit formstack.com or contact the University Communications Web Team at ucwebteam2@spu.edu. 

Administration and Maintenance

Formstack is a third party, software as a service (SAAS) tool.