When managing multiple forms, you often need to transfer or share data between them.
Formaloo provides several ways to do this, ensuring a seamless flow of information between your forms and databases.
This article will explore four key methods to link forms and databases:
Connect forms and databases with hidden fields
This method is useful when you want to automatically transfer data from one form to another during redirection.
You can capture specific information from Form1 (such as a user’s email) and pass it to Form2.
Steps:
Create your first form (Form 1), which will gather the data.
Set up your second form (Form2) with hidden fields to capture the data from Form1.
Ensure the fields you want to transfer have the same ID in both forms.
Redirect Form1 to Form2 by adding the Form2 URL in Form1’s settings, and enable the option to send data during redirection.
Use case:
You have a survey form, and you want users who finish it to subscribe to a newsletter. Their email is transferred from the survey to the newsletter form automatically upon submission.
Sending data on form redirection and using hidden fields.
Check out this article to learn more about it:
2- Utilize Look-Up fields
Look-up fields allow you to retrieve and display submitted data from another form. Instead of making users fill in the same data again, you can pre-fill fields by pulling existing entries from a related form.
Steps:
Create your primary form (Form 1) and ensure it’s filled with data.
In your secondary form (Form2), add a Look-Up field and link it to Form1.
Configure the look-up to pull the required data, such as names or project titles.
Use case:
A school collects student performance data in one form. Later, when conducting a mental health check survey, you can look up students' names from the previous form instead of asking them to type their names again.
This ensures accuracy and saves time for respondents.
Generate relational forms by retrieving submitted data and allowing your audience to choose from it.
Here you can learn more about it:
3- Use URL Parameters to pre-fill form fields
URL parameters allow you to pass data in a link, automatically filling form fields when users access the form.
This is particularly useful for pre-filling known information or tracking analytics.
Steps:
Add an alias ID to the field you want to pre-fill in your form.
Copy the form’s URL and append the alias with the desired value in the URL.
Share this URL with the pre-filled parameters, or use it in your embedded forms.
Use case:
You want to offer a discount to specific customers. By sharing a custom URL with a pre-filled discount code, the code is automatically applied when the customer opens the form.
See how to use URL parameters in more details:
4- Linked rows for seamless data connection
Linked rows create direct relationships between forms, allowing you to see how records in one form relate to records in another.
This feature helps streamline workflows, enhance data organization, and maintain clear associations across forms.
Steps:
Set up two forms, such as a "Projects" form (Form1) and a "Tasks" form (Form2).
Add a linked row field in Form2 to connect it to Form1. This will allow users to link tasks to specific projects.
Before users fill out Form2, ensure Form1 has some data so that relevant projects can be selected when adding tasks.
Use case:
In project management, you can track which tasks belong to specific projects. The tasks form will show linked data, allowing you to organize and manage all tasks related to a project in one place.
Tip: You can further enhance this connection by using look-up fields to display specific data from the linked rows, such as project titles or deadlines.
learn more about how to utilize this feature:
What are linked rows and how to use them
These four methods offer powerful options to automate and streamline data transfer between your forms, enabling a more efficient workflow.
Whether you're managing surveys, customer data, projects, or events, Formaloo’s linking features help you stay organized and improve your user experience.