What is a form?
A form is a structured document used to collect and store data in a consistent way. Each form is created from a published form template and inherits its schema — the set of fields, their types, and their layout. You fill in the form's fields, then submit it once the data is complete.
Forms make it easy to capture experimental parameters, sample metadata, observations, or any other structured information in a repeatable format. Because every form follows a template, the data you collect stays uniform and comparable across your data lab.
What is a form template?
A form template is the reusable blueprint that defines the structure of a form. It describes which fields the form contains, their types (text, number, date, table, formula, etc.), and how they are organized. You design a template once, then create as many forms from it as you need.
A template's schema evolves through versions. Each version moves through a lifecycle — Draft while you are still designing it, Published once it is ready to be used to create forms, and Archived when it should no longer be used. Only published versions can be used to create new forms, which guarantees that the schema a form relies on never changes underneath it.
Key concepts
Before working with forms, here are the core building blocks you will encounter:
- Form template — the reusable blueprint that defines a form's schema (fields, types, and layout).
- Version — a specific iteration of a template's schema. Each version has a status (Draft, Published, or Archived). A template can have at most one draft version at a time, and new forms can only be created from a published version. A published version is frozen and can no longer be edited.
- Form — a document created from a published template version. It holds the actual field values and a status (Draft while being filled, Submitted once finalized).
- Field — a single input in the schema. Fields can be simple values (text, number, date, boolean), table fields for repeated rows of data, or formula fields.
- Formula field — a read-only field whose value is automatically calculated from an expression based on other fields, rather than entered by hand.
- Submission — the act of finalizing a form. A submitted form records who submitted it and when, marking its data as complete.
Form templates vs. forms
It is important to distinguish between a form template and a form. The template defines how data should be structured; the form holds the actual data. One template can be the source of many forms, and each of those forms is tied to the exact template version it was created from.
Because forms are bound to a specific published version, changing or archiving a template later does not affect forms already created — their schema stays stable. To roll out schema changes, you publish a new version of the template and use it for future forms.
What's in this section?
This section covers everything you need to know about working with forms and form templates:
- Form templates page — how to browse, search, filter, and create form templates.
- Building and versioning a form template — how to design a template's schema, add fields, formula fields, and table fields, and manage its versions (testing, publishing, archiving).
- Forms page — how to browse, search, and filter forms.
- Creating and filling a form — how to create a form from a published template version, fill in field values, use display modes, fill with AI, and submit.
- Managing a form — how to rename, tag, view the save history, archive, and delete forms.
- Forms in notes — how to embed forms and form templates inside notes and note templates.
- Form FAQ — common questions and troubleshooting.
