Table of Contents
DeskDirector Forms - Question Types in Detail
Updated
by Niamh Ferns
Question Types in Detail
Here is all the type of questions currently supported in DDForms. You can also embed YouTube or other content into description of any field type. To check out how, head to DeskDirector forms - Embed content
Choice
By default this is a single-choice question (radio buttons). If you want to change it to a checkbox which allows multiple selections, enable the “Multiple answers” option. If you want to convert the field into a dropdown selection, enable the “Dropdown” option. The name given will be displayed to the user.
Text
Simple text input which is single-line by default. Check the “Long answer” box to make this multi-line. Custom Validation – Maximum length of the input.
Email / URL
Looks the same as short text field but with extra HTML5 email input validation.
Statement
The field will be displayed inside as prompt text. The description can also be added as additional info. This field is very useful in explaining something to your users. This field does not serve the purpose of section.
The statement field description also supports Markdown, giving it more flexibility. You can display hyperlinks, bullet pointed lists and more.
Statement field in example below only visible when end user selected yes.
Number
Simple numerical input. Custom Validation – Equality/Inequality conditions
Date / Date Time
A date input. Users will be presented with an easy to use calendar. This is supported by all ever green browsers.
Time
A time input. Users will be presented with an easy to use time input.
Phone
A phone input allow users to enter phone number with correct format. Our system perform heavy lifting to verify phone format according to country code that's been selected.
Address
A standard short text input with Google auto-complete support. You can specify which country google will provide suggestions from.
Dynamic
More information regarding this field is in this separate guide - DeskDirector Dynamic Fields
Field Value Format for Automations
One of DeskDirector's core offerings for forms is the ability to collect accurate data that can be used for automations. Through this, you can extend DeskDirector's forms to work with whatever automation platform you chose and allows you to integrate DeskDirector's forms cleanly and comfortably into your existing systems.
We try to make these work for you, not against you.
Field JSON Data Model
{
"name": "question title",
"description": "Description markdown",
"identifier": "id_of_field",
"type": "field_type",
"choices": [
{
"name": "Name of first choice",
"identifier": "choice_1",
"selected": false,
},
{
"name": "Name of second choice",
"identifier": "choice_2",
"selected": true,
}
],
"value": "Value for text, phone, email, number, date, time, address fields. Or used for additional info of other choice field."
}For choice field and dynamic select field, the field result is easy to understand. Where for field such as phone, date, time and email it requires deeper understanding how systems format the result value. You can find more on this below.
Phone Field
For phone field, we employ the E164 format.
E164 format is also supported by telephone link and all phone related application.
tel:+14155552671 equal to +1 (415) 555-2671
Date Field
For date field, the format is according to ISO 8601 spec. This includes formatting for dates or date times.
- Date: 2022-01-24
- Date Time: 2022-01-24T13:34
Time Field
For time field, the format is also according to ISO 8601 spec. It records the time in 24 hours format. Hours will be displayed as 00 through 23, minutes displayed as 00 through 59, etc.
- Example 1: 01:23
- Example 2: 12:59
- Example 3: 23:59
Multiple Entries
Multiple entries are currently supported by phone, date, time or email fields. Entries are delimited with ;.
- Date Time: 2022-01-24T13:34; 2021-11-02T00:23; 2022-05-21T23:03
- Date: 2022-01-24; 2021-11-02; 2022-05-21
- Phone: +14155552671; +12015550123
- Email: sample_1@test.com; test@deskdirector.com
Frequently Asked Questions
"Can form result contain corrupted or invalid data?"
If form is submitted through client portal, then all value should be validated and correctly formatted.. But, if the result is submitted through other automation, then our server does not perform validation against form result. Which means, it is best for automation to have fallback logic.
"For multi-entries, can one of entry be empty or invalid format?"
No if form has been submitted through client portal. It is still best for automation to apply defensive programming approach. Always assume data could be corrupted.
"Form value can be displayed inside dialog since release in early 2022. Does form result dialog aware of corrupted data?"
Yes. Our interface always assume data is corrupted. If any format is invalid, we will display original corrupted value.
"Can we update form result through API?"
Not at moment, in the future when we introduce update ticket note that's been created by form, you will be able to modify result through our UI and through internal API (It is not recommended to do so).
