Connection Card Pro Help & Documentation

Understanding Custom Form Field Settings

Custom Form fields are the individual questions or inputs that people complete when submitting a form.

Each field has settings that control what type of answer is collected, whether the field is required, how it appears on the form, and whether the response can be used in other parts of Connection Card Pro.

Field types

When adding a field, choose the field type that best matches the answer you need.

Common field types include:

Text

Use a text field for short answers, such as a name, short response, or one-line detail.

Text Area

Use a text area for longer written responses, such as comments, explanations, descriptions, or prayer requests.

Email

Use an email field when collecting an email address.

Date

Use a date field when collecting a date, such as a birthday, availability date, or requested appointment date.

Number

Use a number field when the answer should be numeric.

Checkbox

Use checkboxes when the person may select one or more options.

Rank

Use rank fields when asking someone to rank or prioritize options.

Dropdown

Use dropdown fields when the person should choose from a list of options.

File

Use file fields when the person needs to upload a document or file.

Preset fields

The Preset dropdown allows you to connect a field to a known person-profile field.

Examples of preset fields may include:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email
• Cell Phone
• Home Phone
• Mailing Address
• Birthday
• Company
• Title

Use preset fields when the answer represents standard person information.

For example, if you are asking for someone’s cell phone number, use the Cell Phone preset instead of creating a custom text field.

Custom / No Preset

Choose Custom / No Preset when the field is unique to the form and does not represent a standard person-profile field.

Examples include:

• “Which ministry are you interested in?”
• “Why would you like to serve?”
• “Which workshop are you attending?”
• “Do you have any questions?”
• “What size team do you lead?”

These answers are saved with the form submission.

Question label

The Question field is the label the person will see on the form.

For example, even if a field uses the Cell Phone preset, you can write the question as:

• Your Cell Phone
• or
• Best phone number to reach you

Help text

Help text appears under the field and can be used to give extra instructions.

Use help text when the question may need clarification.

For example:

Please enter the best number to use during the week.

Required fields

Check This field is required when the person must answer the question before submitting the form.

Use required fields carefully. Too many required fields can make a form feel difficult to complete.

Good fields to require may include:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Email or phone
• Required consent or agreement fields
• Questions that are essential for processing the form

Sortable fields

Check This field is sortable when you want to use this field more easily when reviewing submissions.

Sortable fields can be helpful for fields such as:

• Ministry area
• Application status
• Grade
• Requested date
• Interest category

Field size

The field size controls how much space the field takes on the form.

Available sizes may include:

• Small
• Medium
• Large

Use smaller fields for short responses and larger fields for longer responses or fields that should appear on their own line.

Minimum and maximum characters

Text fields can include minimum or maximum character limits.

This can be helpful when you need:

• A minimum-length response
• A short answer
• A response that fits within a certain limit

For most normal fields, these can usually be left blank.

Available for Dynamic Text

Check Available for Dynamic Text when you want the response from that field to be available as a dynamic placeholder in related messages or templates.

When enabled, you can create a dynamic keyword for that field.

For example, a field labeled “That One Cell Phone” might create a dynamic keyword like:

{{THAT_ONE_CELL_PHONE}}

Dynamic keywords should be written in all caps.

Dynamic text is especially helpful when sending confirmation messages, follow-up emails, or internal notifications that should include information submitted on the form.

Hide this field from judges

If a form uses judge scoring, you can choose to hide certain fields from judges.

This is useful for keeping judging or review focused on the relevant information.

For example, you might hide identifying or contact information from judges if they only need to review written answers, uploaded materials, or application responses. When checked, a judge reviewing the submission (based on user permissions) will see a blanked out response with a message that this field is hidden from them.

Allow applicant to edit after submitted

Some forms (when included as an Application Step) may allow the applicant or submitter to edit a response after submitting.

Use this only when it makes sense for the form.

This may be useful for applications where people may need to update information later. It may not be appropriate for forms where the original submission should remain unchanged.

This is only available on forms when they are included as a step in an application, which requires the Applications module to be enabled on your account. User must be logged in to their applications account. Other settings may impact this setting.

Dropdown and checkbox options

Dropdown and checkbox fields allow you to create a list of options.

Options can be entered one at a time, or you can use tools to add multiple options more quickly.

Sort options alphabetically

Check Sort Options Alphabetically if you want the choices to appear in alphabetical order.

This is helpful for longer option lists.

Allow user to choose and enter other option

Check Allow User to Choose and Enter Other Option if the person should be able to choose “Other” and type their own answer.

This is helpful when your list may not include every possible answer.

When enabled, you do not have to add an option for "Other". An option will be automatically rendered when completing the form. Choosing it will display a text field (or allow the user to directly enter their own response in the dropdown box) for a custom response. Custom responses are only visible on that submission and are not added to the form or visible to other users.

Minimum required and maximum allowed

For checkbox-style fields, you may be able to set a minimum required number of selections and a maximum allowed number of selections.

Examples:

• Require at least 1 option.
• Allow up to 3 choices.
• Require exactly 2 choices by setting both the minimum and maximum to 2.

Importing options

When creating a long list of options, you can use the import option to enter a comma-separated or line-separated list.

This can save time when adding options such as:

• Ministry areas
• Classes
• Camp choices
• T-shirt sizes
• Dates
• Volunteer roles

Copying options from another form or dropdown

If another form already has the same list of options, you may be able to copy those options instead of typing them again.

This helps keep option lists consistent across forms.

Best practices for fields

When building a Custom Form:

• Use preset fields for standard person information.
• Use custom fields for form-specific questions.
• Keep question labels clear and direct.
• Use help text when a question may be misunderstood.
• Avoid making every field required.
• Use dropdowns when only one answer should be selected.
• Use checkboxes when multiple answers are allowed.
• Test the form before sharing it publicly.