Activity Messenger Help Center
Build and share your first form
Build a form around one outcome: collect a request, register a participant or obtain information you need before an activity. This guide takes you from a sample or blank form to a checked, shareable link. For checkout and invoicing, follow Payment forms.
Before you begin
TipDecide who will complete the form, whose information you need, and who on your team will review submissions. Prepare any instructions, consent text and required questions. Start with a short form; add optional refinements after the main path works.
1. Create the form
Open Forms > Create. Choose a sample that matches your workflow or select Create from scratch. Select the appropriate type, enter a name and create the form. Samples provide a starting layout; review their questions, recipients and confirmation content before sharing.
2. Build the questions
Open the Form tab. The respondent or account-owner question identifies the person completing the form. Edit that block to select the information to collect. Add a separate participant or child question when someone is registering another person.
To add a block, click + in the form editor. The Add a new block picker opens with available block types organized in tabs. Choose a block type, then configure it in the editor that opens. Available blocks depend on the form type and organization settings. You do not need to choose a separate Create or Save action in the picker: selecting a block opens its configuration. When it is configured, it is added to the form.
You can also use a question’s three-dot menu to choose Add a question > Before or Add a question > After, then select the block type and configure it. Use this to place a new block relative to that question. Reorder blocks so the form follows the respondent’s decisions. Use Required only for answers needed to complete your workflow.
Choose the right question or content block
| Need | Available blocks and uses |
|---|---|
| Short answers and choices | Yes/No, text input, dropdown, radio buttons for one choice, checkboxes for several choices |
| Quantities and calculations | Number with minimum/maximum, administrator-preset number, formula using supported numeric/expense questions and arithmetic operators |
| Comparison and feedback | Star rating, radio grid, checkbox grid, number grid, ranking |
| Layout and instructions | Text, image, spacer, video, page break, several inputs on the same line |
| Conditional paths | Conditional branching shows the relevant follow-up questions |
| People | Participant, additional child, second parent, emergency contact, age category or company |
| Scheduled activities | Class or Multiple Classes, connected to activities you created |
| Dates and staff time | Date/time, time range, time selection, date selection, date ranges, check in/out, time tracking and weekly availability |
| Documents and consent | Image/video uploads, respondent signature, administrator signature and acceptance checkbox |
| Internal processing | Administrator-only hidden questions and notification recipients based on an answer |
| Confidential information | Dedicated encrypted question types; use the correct type and verify staff access |
| Purchases | E-commerce blocks in a payment form; see the payment-form guide |
| Expenses | Expense claim blocks on eligible forms that do not collect payment |
| Reusable questions | Save a frequently used custom question as a sample |
| Mailing subscriptions | A newsletter subscription question linked to the appropriate marketing form |
Time-tracking settings can include rounding and a break deduction. An administrator-preset number is useful for a value the respondent should not change, such as a rate in a contract. An upload question collects a file from the respondent; a content image or video displays material you supplied. Check the upload control for the applicable file limit instead of assuming a video’s duration determines its size.
For branching, follow Using conditional branching. For sensitive data, use the appropriate encrypted field, such as the dedicated U.S. SSN question.
Reuse answers in messages
When editing a question, assign a custom merge field if you need its answer in a message. The field then appears in the form-related fields offered by the message or template editor. Choose a field from the form that supplies the recipient context; preview it with a representative response.
3. Set access and confirmation
Use the form’s access settings when only particular clients, members or lists should be allowed to respond. Configure saving, sign-in, submission limits or opening/closing dates as needed. See Form access for the conditions each rule checks.
On Confirmation, edit the message shown after submission. You can include next steps and links to another form or a document. On Options, configure PDF generation, the confirmation email, the form language and staff notifications. Receiving a PDF or notification depends on these settings; do not assume every form sends both automatically.
If bilingual forms are enabled for your organization, translate questions and confirmation content within the form. Follow Translate a form; creating two separate forms is not a requirement for a bilingual form.
4. Check the respondent experience
Use Visit or Fill to open the form. Review every required answer, conditional branch and confirmation. Administrator entry can expose extra controls; also check the ordinary client experience before launch. A submitted form can create a real response and trigger configured notifications, and a payment form can charge in live mode.
In Respondents, refresh and locate the response. Open it to check the saved answers and the PDF when generated. Confirm the intended staff received their notification and the respondent received the appropriate confirmation.
5. Share the form
Select Share and choose the channel your audience will use:
- Copy the shareable link for an email, SMS, website button or social post.
- Send the form through Activity Messenger.
- Print the QR code for access from a phone camera.
- Copy the iframe or popup-button embed code for your website.
For website embedding, configure the organization’s secure website address and use the generated code. Popup buttons require JavaScript support on the host website; use the iframe option when appropriate. Updating the form changes what the shared link opens.
After launch
Use Manage forms and submitted responses to find responses, correct answers and export results. You can export selected question columns to Excel and download generated PDFs for selected respondents as a ZIP file. For a focused emergency or medical handout, review the available question selection before downloading and printing.