Smart Tags

Smart Tags are dynamic placeholders wrapped in curly braces, like {date} or {field.email}, that insert real data into your forms, emails, and notifications. Each time a submission is captured, they pull in details from the submission, the form, the visitor, and even site-wide information.

Form Fields

You’ve captured the submission. Now what? You’ll usually want to feed what people typed back to them: drop their name into a thank-you message, echo their answers in a confirmation email, or pass a value into a hidden field.

That’s what Field Smart Tags are for. The syntax is simple:

{field.NAME}

where NAME is the field name from its settings. A field named Email becomes {field.email}, and on submit it outputs whatever the user entered.

Beyond the plain value, you can also pull the field’s label, an HTML-formatted version, or the raw unescaped content. Each variation is covered below.

Output Field Label

Use this tag when you need to output a field’s label, so you don’t have to retype it manually.

{field.NAME.label_}

Note: The trailing underscore _ is required.

Output Field HTML Version

Some fields provide an HTML-friendly version of their value. Useful when you want clickable links or formatted output.

{field.NAME.html}

Supported fields include:

• Email → Clickable mailto link (<a href="mailto:...">)
• Phone → Clickable tel link (<a href="tel:...">)
• URL → Clickable hyperlink (<a href="/...">)
• File Uploads → List of download links for uploaded files
• Password → Replaced with asterisks for privacy
• Signature → Renders as an <img> tag with the actual signature

Output Field Raw Value

Use this tag if you want the raw submitted value without any modifications. For example, to preserve HTML tags exactly as entered by the user.

{field.NAME.raw}

Output Dropdown, Radio Button and Checkboxes Data

Use these tags with Dropdown, Radio Button or Checkboxes fields when you need the selected option’s label or its calculated value.

To output the label of the selected option, use:

{field.NAME.selected.label}

Note that if you're populating the field's choices using PHP, the above Smart Tag will always output the value of the selected option instead of the label. This happens because the PHP script that populates the choices runs only during form rendering.

If you use Calculations, to output the calculation value of the selected option, use: 

{field.NAME.selected.calcvalue}

A Checkboxes field can have more than one ticked option, so the tags work a bit differently there:

• {field.NAME.selected.label} outputs the labels of all ticked options, separated by commas, like Fuel allowance, Parking.
• {field.NAME.selected.calcvalue} outputs the sum of the calculation values of all ticked options. For options with calculation values 7.50 and 2.50, it outputs 10.00.
• When no option is ticked, the label is empty and the calculation value is 0.

{submission.fields}

Field Smart Tags print one value at a time. That's fine for a field or two, but if your form has numerous fields, adding them one by one isn't clever.

That's where {submission.fields} comes in. With a single Smart Tag you output all the values the visitor submitted. Very handy.

The syntax is simple. Use {submission.fields} and you get a label/value list like the one in the screenshot below:

If that output doesn't fit your needs, this Smart Tag can also render the values in a tabular style, using the --tmpl=table modifier:

{submission.fields --tmpl=table}

Supported options:

Options can be combined. For example, {submission.fields --excludeEmpty=true --excludeTypes=hidden} outputs only the fields that have a value and drops all Hidden fields.

Submission Identity

These tags output the submission's own identity: its ID and status, the dates it was received and last updated, and the form it belongs to. Each value is exposed as a {submission.<name>} Smart Tag.

{submission.identity}

{submission.identity} outputs the submission's identity in one go: its ID, the form it belongs to, its status, and the dates it was submitted and last modified. Internal notes are excluded.

It renders a label/value list by default, or a table when you add --tmpl=table.

Supported options:

Submission Context

These tags output the context Convert Forms captures for each submission: who submitted it, where they came from, the device they used, and the campaign that brought them in. Each value is exposed as a {submission.<name>} Smart Tag, mirroring the details on the Submission Context Tracking screen.

{submission.context}

Convert Forms also auto-captures context about every submission, like the IP, browser, location, and the campaign that brought the visitor in, the same details listed in the table above.

Instead of printing them one by one, {submission.context} outputs the whole context block at once, as a label/value list like the one in the screenshot below:

If that output doesn't fit your needs, this Smart Tag can also render the values in a tabular style, using the --tmpl=table modifier:

Supported options:

Other Smart Tags

Tags that don't belong to the submission's identity or its tracked context: the admin's internal notes, the generated PDF, and a running submission count.

Form Smart Tags

These tags provide access to form metadata and properties. They can be used either during form rendering or form submission.

Because the form is loaded into a Registry object, {form.NAME} can return any property of the form, not just the two above, as long as you know its key. Top-level properties are read directly, e.g. {form.state} or {form.created}. The form's Design settings are stored under params, so reach them with {form.params.KEY}, for example {form.params.bgcolor} for the form background color, {form.params.inputcolor} for the field text color, or {form.params.inputfontsize} for the field font size.

Global Smart Tags

You've seen how submission and form Smart Tags pull in data tied to a specific submission. But there's another group that works no matter what the user submits, or whether a form was submitted at all.

Global Smart Tags add context from outside the form: where the visitor is, what page they're on, their IP, the logged-in user account, the date, and more. Because they apply everywhere on your site (not just inside Convert Forms), they're handy for personalizing content, tracking analytics, or enriching your notifications.

For a full list of what’s available, see the Global Smart Tags documentation guide.

Where You Can Use Smart Tags

Smart Tags work both after a form is submitted and during form rendering, for example to pre-populate a field with a value or to display dynamic content inside an HTML field.

You can use them in many places, including:

• Email Notifications: Insert submission details into subject lines or message bodies.
• Form Field Settings: Set default values, placeholders, or hidden field values dynamically.
• Tasks & Integrations: Pass data to services like MailChimp, HubSpot, Emails, or Webhooks.
• Success Messages: Personalize the confirmation message the user sees after submitting a form.

Here are some practical workflows, with links to relevant guides:

• Auto-Populate Form Fields Using Query String: Capture URL parameters and insert them into form fields with {querystring.NAME}.
• Adding a Unique ID to Each Form Submission: Use {randomid} to generate a unique reference number for every submission.
• Display Submission Count for a Specific Form: Output the total number of submissions for a form with {convertforms ID submissions_total}.
• Create Multilingual Forms in Joomla: Dynamically output the current language with {language.STRING} to build multilingual forms.
• Attach a PDF of the Submission: Use {submission.pdf} to attach the generated PDF to an email or offer it as a download link.

Rules

Values Are Escaped by Default

For security, Field Smart Tags escape their output by default. HTML tags are converted to entities, so user input can't inject markup into your emails or pages.

For example, if you accept user-generated content with a Rich Text Editor and the user submits:

<strong>Hello</strong>

then {field.NAME} outputs:

<strong>Hello</strong>

If you need the raw value with HTML preserved, use the .raw variation, {field.NAME.raw} (see Output Field Raw Value).

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Smart Tag showing up as plain text instead of a value?

Usually one of three things: the field name is wrong (it must match the field's name exactly, not its label), you're using a submission tag somewhere it runs before the form is submitted, or there's a typo in the curly braces. Double-check the field name in its settings.

Where do I find a field's NAME?

Open the field in the form editor and look at its Name setting (not the label). A field named email is used as {field.email}.

My HTML is coming out as <strong> instead of bold text. Why?

Field Smart Tags escape their output by default for security, so HTML turns into entities. If you trust the source and want the raw HTML preserved, use the .raw variation, {field.NAME.raw}.

What's the difference between {field.NAME}, {field.NAME.raw}, and {field.NAME.html}?

{field.NAME} outputs the value as safe, escaped text. {field.NAME.raw} outputs the exact value with no escaping. {field.NAME.html} outputs a formatted version for supported fields (a clickable email, phone, or URL link, a signature image, and so on).

A Smart Tag is coming out empty. What's wrong?

Some tags depend on optional features. Country and location tags need Geolocation enabled, the IP tag needs IP tracking on, and the Joomla account tags are only filled when the visitor was logged in.

Can I use Smart Tags in email notifications?

Yes. Drop them into the subject line or message body, and submission data gets inserted automatically when the email sends.

How do I attach the submission's PDF to an email?

Use {submission.pdf} in the Email Task's Attachments field. It returns the URL of the generated PDF and requires the PDF Form Submissions addon.

How do I output a dropdown's selected label instead of its value?

Use {field.NAME.selected.label}. For the calculation value of the selected option, use {field.NAME.selected.calcvalue}.