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Copying forms and managing version control in InForm
Who is this article for?Administrators who want to learn to copy forms and manage version control.
Administrator permissions are required.
This article explores how to efficiently copy existing forms to create new ones and provides best practices for managing form versions, ensuring your organisation maintains accurate and up-to-date forms while preserving historical data integrity.
1. Copying forms
If a new form is required and it is similar to an existing form, copying may be easier than starting from scratch.
To copy a form, from the Form Admin List page:
- Use filters to locate the form to copy.
- Click Actions on the far right.
- Click Copy Form.
- A copy of the form will be made and can now be edited.
2. Managing version control
When a new version of a form is to be released, several things need to be considered carefully. If a simple spelling error or similar is to be changed, it is recommended to simply edit the existing version and republish.
If new form fields are to be added, old to be changed or removed or any other significant changes are to be made, it is recommended a new form is created.
To create a new version, from the Form Admin List page:
- Copy the form.
- Label the new version V2 or similar, or an Info Form Field can be used to track version numbers and placed at bottom of the form.
- This would need updating each time the form is updated and could include version numbers, dates and internal document reference numbers.
- Archive V1 of the form.
- Edit V2 accordingly and publish.
3. Editing existing forms
Adding new form fields, editing existing or removing form fields from an existing form will have an impact on reporting (although form records themselves will not be affected). Older versions of the edited or deleted form field will not display in future reports and neither will corresponding responses from existing form records once the new version has been published. This is why creating a new form completely as explained above is the recommended approach. This allows for all historical form fields and responses to be available for reporting as required.