Using the form builder

The form builder is where you create and edit a form. The options sit on the left and a live preview on the right, so every change shows up the moment you make it. What you see in the preview is what your visitors get, unless your template restyles forms heavily.

Open the form builder

1. Log into your Joomla backend.
2. Go to Components → Convert Forms → Forms.
3. Click New to create a form, or click a form's name to edit it.

A new form starts with a template picker. See Creating your first form for that part.

The builder at a glance

1. Tabs: the icons switch between the 5 tabs, Fields, Design, Behavior, Tasks and Submission.
2. Options: the settings of the tab you're on.
3. Live preview: your form as visitors will see it. Tick Preview success message above it to see the message shown after a submission.
4. Save: saves the form.
5. More: Embed shows the shortcode to paste into an article or a module, and Submissions opens the form's submissions. Both work once the form is saved. See Displaying forms on your site for every way to show a form.

Fields

This is where you build the form itself:

• Add Field: every field type you can add to the form.
• All Fields: the fields on your form. Drag them to change their order, or click one to edit it.
• Options: the settings of the field you're editing, like its name, label, help text and whether it's required.

Each field type has its own guide in the Fields section.

Design

• Box: the container around your form: max width, background color or image, font, padding, border and radius.
• Fields: how labels and inputs look, from colors and font sizes to the label position and where help text appears.
• Advanced: Custom CSS, Custom JavaScript, a Form Footer shown below the form, and a Class Suffix. See Add custom CSS.

The Image and Form sections are older options that will be removed in a future version, so don't use them on new forms.

Behavior

• Behavior: the form's Status.
• Security & Restrictions: Honeypot Protection and a Minimum Time to Submit, both against spam bots.
• PHP Scripts: run your own PHP code when the form is prepared, displayed, processed, or after it's submitted. See PHP Scripts.
• Email Notifications: send an email to you, to the person who filled out the form, or both. See Email Notifications.
• Conditional Fields: show or hide fields based on what the visitor enters. See Conditional Fields.
• Google Analytics Tracking: send form events to Google Analytics. See Google Analytics.
• PDF Form Submission: create a PDF of every submission. See PDF Generator.

Tasks

Tasks run after someone submits the form, like adding them to your Mailchimp list, creating a Joomla user account or calling a webhook. Click Create Your First Task to add one. See Working with Tasks.

Submission

• Save Submission Data in Database: keeps a copy of every submission on your site. Submission Default State sets the state of each new submission, for example Published.
• Successful Submission Action: what happens after a successful submission.
  • Display message: shows the Message After Success. Use Reset Form and Hide Form to clear or hide the form after it's sent.
  • Redirect to URL: see Redirect user to a URL after form submission.
  • Redirect to Menu Item: see Redirect to a menu item after form submission.
• Pass Submission Data To Redirect URL: when you redirect, sends the submitted values along, using the GET or POST method.