How to Create a Web Form From a Template

A web form is an online version of the fields one signer has to complete on a document. Instead of typing into boxes positioned over a PDF, that person fills in a web page, and their answers are written into the document before they sign.

Every web form is built from a template, which is what keeps the questions and the paperwork in step with each other. Web forms are included on the Business plan. If you cannot see Web Forms in the sidebar, check what your current plan covers.

Before You Start

The template you build from has to be ready in three ways. Inkfree checks all three the moment you select it, so it is quicker to sort them out first:

• It has at least one signer. A template with no signers assigned cannot carry a form.
• It has fillable fields. Add the fields the signer needs to complete.
• Every field has a Data Label. The Data Label is the field's label, set in the Field Data section of the field properties panel. Inkfree matches each form answer back to the document by that label, so a field without one has nowhere to send its answer.

If you have not built the template yet, start with how to create a reusable template.

Creating the Form

1. Click Web Forms in the sidebar. If you have not made one before, the list shows No web forms yet.
2. Click Create Web Form.
3. On the first step, choose Use Template. The Start from Scratch option is marked Coming Soon and cannot be selected yet.
4. Click Next and pick the template from your template list.
5. On Choose Signers, select the signer who has to complete the form before signing.
6. Click Next, give the form a name, and click Next again.

The form designer opens with the fields already built for you.

Tip: There is a shortcut from the template itself. Open the options menu on any template row and choose Web Form to start at the signer step with that template already selected.

Choosing the Right Signer

A web form belongs to one signer role, not to the whole document. The Choose Signers step lists every signer on the template with their role name, their email address if the template stores one, and their position in the signing order.

Pick the role whose questions you want to ask. If a two-party agreement needs answers from both sides, build one form for the first role, then repeat the process for the second. Only recipients who sign appear here, so CC recipients are not listed.

Naming the Form

The form name is required and can be up to 200 characters. It is what you and your team will see in the Web Forms list and in the dropdown when you send a document, so name it after the job it does rather than the template it came from. "New client intake" is easier to pick from a list than "Copy of MSA v3".

Next Step

With the form created, the designer is open and ready. Continue with how to design and save a web form, or jump ahead to sending a document with a web form. If a template was rejected or something is missing, see troubleshooting web forms.