The Input Fields section of the toolbox holds the everyday entry fields. Drag one onto the canvas to add it, then set its properties in the panel on the right.


Every field in this section shares the settings described in Common Field Settings - the label and name, whether the value is saved to the record, whether it is required, its size and styling, and its conditions. Only the settings that belong to each individual field type are listed below. Where a field can pull its value from somewhere else on the form, it has a Get Value From Other Field setting: pick another field and this field takes its value, which is the simplest way to echo one answer in two places without a calculation.


Text

A single-line text box, and the field used for most entry.


Max Length - The greatest number of characters the user can type. Leave it blank for no limit. Set it to match the record field's own limit so a value is not cut short when it is saved.


Field Placeholder - Grey prompt text shown inside the empty box. Use it for an example of the format wanted, not as a replacement for the label, because it disappears as soon as the user types.


Field Alignment - Whether the text sits to the left, the centre or the right of the box.


Text Area

A multi-line text box for comments, descriptions and anything longer than a line. It has the same Max Length, Field Placeholder and Field Alignment settings as the Text field, and one of its own.


Number of Rows - How many lines of text the box shows before it scrolls. This sets the height of the box; it does not limit how much can be typed.


Number

A text box that accepts only numbers, commas, decimal points and currency symbols.


Minimum Value and Maximum Value - The range the entry must fall within. The Required Message is shown when it does not.


Decimal Places - How many decimal places the value is shown to.


Format as Currency - Displays the value with the site's currency symbol and grouping.


Include in Totals - Adds the field's value into the form's running totals, which are what the form-level total variables report.


Field Value is Taxable - Marks the value as taxable so it is included in the totals that carry tax.


Allow basic math during entry - Lets the user type a simple sum, such as 12.50*3, and have the field work it out. Useful on forms where people are adding figures up on paper today.


Date

A box that accepts only dates, with a calendar that opens when it is clicked. A date field does not pass its value on to the rest of the form until the user leaves the field, so a calculation or a condition based on a date updates when the user moves on rather than as they type.


Minimum Date/Time and Maximum Date/Time - The earliest and latest dates that can be entered, written as yyyy-MM-dd (for example 2025-11-02). Variables can be used, so a field can be limited to today or later.


Time

A box that accepts only times, with selectors that walk the user through choosing one.


Save Format - Whether the value is saved as 12-Hour or 24-Hour. Choose the one the rest of your system expects, because this is the form the value takes when it reaches the record.


Date/Time

A single field combining a date and a time.


Minimum Date/Time and Maximum Date/Time - The earliest and latest values that can be entered, written as yyyy-MM-ddThh:mm (for example 2025-11-02T09:30).


Checkbox

A box the user ticks, with optional text alongside it.


Field Text - The text shown beside the box. This is separate from the field's label, so a checkbox can have a heading on the left and its own sentence next to the box.


Checked Value and Unchecked Value - What is actually saved in each state. The defaults suit most uses; set them when the record needs particular words, such as Yes and No.


Data Handling - How the value reaches the record.

  • Field Saves Normally - The Checked Value or Unchecked Value is saved into a data item named after the field. This is the usual choice.
  • Field is Multi-Option Compatible - The field manages a single data item instead. When it is saved checked, a data item is added with the field's name and the Checked Value; when it is saved unchecked, any data item with that name and value is removed. This lets several checkboxes build up the same multi-valued item that a Multi-Option field would produce, so a set of tick boxes and a Multi-Option list can write to the same record field.


Totals Amount - An amount added into the form's totals while the box is ticked, for a checkbox that represents a chargeable option.


Field Value is Taxable - Includes that amount in the totals that carry tax.


Radio Button

A set of choices of which the user picks one. The choices come from the option list described under Option lists below.


Layout Horizontally - Places the choices side by side on one line instead of one under the other.


Show as Checkboxes - Draws the choices as tick boxes rather than as radio circles. Only one can still be chosen.


Show as Button - Turns the field into a single two-state button rather than a list. Active Button Text, Active Button Color, Inactive Button Text and Inactive Button Color set how each state looks. Use it for a plain on-or-off choice that should look like a control rather than a question.


Option List

A drop-down list from which the user picks one value. Its choices come from the option list described under Option lists below.


Field Placeholder - The prompt shown before anything is chosen, such as "Select a department".


Multi-Option

A list of choices from which the user can pick any number.


Default Value (comma delimited) - The choices selected when the form opens, separated by commas. Because the value is comma-separated, the values in the list itself must not contain commas; the designer marks any that do.


Tight Spacing - Packs the choices closer together.


Display Style - Whether each choice is shown as plain text with a tick box, or as a button with its text on it. When buttons are used, Button Text Color and Button Background Color set their appearance.


Button Action - Normally a choice simply toggles on and off. Point this at a Multi-Action field instead and clicking a choice runs that field, with the choice's value sent to it, which is how a set of options can each do something rather than just record an answer.

Simple List

A list shown open on the form, from which the user picks one value, without a drop-down. It suits short lists that should always be visible and lists shown inside a panel or a column.


Fit to Container - Sizes the list to the space it has been given rather than to its content.


Remove Outer Padding and Borders - Strips the list's own frame so it sits flush inside a panel or a table cell.


Hidden Field

A field the user never sees. It holds a value the form needs but should not show - a value set by a workflow, a value copied from another field, or something a condition depends on. Hidden fields are shown in the designer so they can still be selected and edited, and they are the normal way to carry a value that several conditions test.


Give it a Field Name and a Default Value, and turn Save to Record on if the value should reach the record.


File Upload

Lets the user choose one or more files to be uploaded with the form.


Destination Category, Destination SubCategory and Destination Name - Where the uploaded documents are filed in the record. Setting these keeps uploads sorted without anyone having to move them afterwards.


Allow Multiple Files - Whether more than one file can be chosen at a time.


Drop Container Text - The wording shown in the drop area, for example "Drag your certificate here or click to browse".


Mobile Camera Mode - On a phone or tablet, opens the camera to take a photograph rather than offering the file browser.

Allowed File Types - A comma-separated list of the names and types that may be uploaded, using wildcards. A name beginning with an exclamation mark excludes it. For example, .pdf,.jpg,video/*,!.exe allows PDFs, JPGs and any video, and blocks programs. Set this on any public form so people cannot upload something unexpected.


JPG/JPEG Max Size - The largest height or width, in pixels, a JPG may be. Larger images are scaled down in the browser before they are sent, keeping the aspect ratio. This makes uploads from phone cameras much quicker and is worth setting on any form where people photograph documents.


Option lists

Radio Button, Option List, Multi-Option and Simple List all take their choices from the same option editor. Each entry in the list has a Value, which is what gets saved, and a Text, which is what the user sees. They are often the same, but keeping them apart lets the form show "Accounts Payable" and save "AP". Entries can be copied, deleted and dragged into order, and a button adds several plain entries at once for a long list.


When the field was dragged in from a Record Type in the toolbox, Sync Options With RecordType keeps the list in step with the record type's own list: the choices are refreshed every time the form loads, so a list maintained in one place stays right on every form that uses it. Turn it off, or use a plain field from the Input Fields section instead, when the form needs a list of its own.


Filter Options By - Points at another field on the form and narrows the choices to those whose Filter value matches it. This is how a second list depends on a first, such as choosing a country and then seeing only that country's regions. Turn on the advanced switch above the list to show the Filter column and fill it in on each entry.


"Other" Option Text - Adds a final choice with this wording that lets the user type their own answer.


Show Add New Option - Lets the user add a value to the list as they fill the form in. Custom Value Format is the template used to build the new entry, with [DATAVALUE] standing for what the user typed.


Custom Display Formatting - Changes how each choice is presented in the list without changing what is saved.


Dynamic Source - Fills the list from data rather than from typed entries. This is the setting that makes a list come from records in the system: point it at a [DMGETOPTIONS()] variable and the choices are looked up every time the form loads. A builder button beside the box assembles the variable for you - choose a record type, the field whose value is saved (Value Field), the field the user sees (Display Field), an optional Filter Field for use with Filter Options By, a Sort Field, a Max Results limit, and Search Limits that restrict which records are considered. Unique returns each value only once, which matters when many records share the same value.


A Dynamic Source can also be given data of your own rather than a DMGET variable, either as JSON with Value and Text members, or as plain text split by the Row Delimiter (a semicolon by default) and the Value Delimiter (a caret by default).