> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.holace.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Form Builder
> Build reusable intake forms with the drag-and-drop builder. Add fields, set required rules, and preview the public version before you ship it.
The form builder is where you turn an intake checklist into a public web form. Anyone in your firm with admin access can build, edit, and disable forms. No code required.
\[Screenshot: Forms list page — three cards showing Personal Injury Intake, Auto Accident Quick Form, Workers Comp]
## Create a new form
From the dashboard sidebar, click **Forms**. You'll see all forms your firm has built, plus stats for total forms, active forms, and submissions this month.
Give the form a clear, descriptive name (clients won't see it, but your team will) and an optional internal description. Click **Create Form** to open the builder.
\[Screenshot: Create New Form dialog with Name and Description fields]
The builder has three columns:
* **Field Types** (left) — the palette of available fields. Click any one to drop it onto the form.
* **Form Fields** (middle) — your form's working canvas. Reorder, edit, or delete fields here.
* **Field Properties** (right) — edits the currently selected field's label, placeholder, help text, required flag, and dropdown options.
\[Screenshot: Form builder three-column layout — palette, canvas, properties]
Click **Preview** in the top right at any time. The canvas swaps for a live, disabled rendering of the form exactly the way submitters will encounter it.
Hit **Save Form**. New forms are created as **inactive** by default — toggle them active from the Forms list when you're ready to start collecting submissions.
## Field types
The builder ships with eight field types covering the vast majority of intake use cases:
| Field | Best for | Notes |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| **Text Input** | Single-line answers — names, addresses, claim numbers | Free text |
| **Text Area** | Long-form responses — incident description, injury notes | Multi-line |
| **Email** | Email addresses | Format-validated automatically |
| **Phone** | Phone numbers | Formats as a phone field on mobile |
| **Date** | Dates of incident, birth, treatment | Native date picker |
| **Dropdown** | Single-select from a fixed list — case type, state | Define options |
| **Checkboxes** | Multi-select — injury areas, symptoms, treatments | Multiple selections allowed |
| **Radio Buttons** | Single-select with all options visible — yes/no, severity | One selection only |
Use dropdowns for long lists (states, providers) and radio buttons for short ones (yes/no, three-tier severity). Submitters fill out radio buttons faster because they don't have to open a menu.
## Field properties
Click any field on the canvas to edit it in the right-hand panel.
The question your client sees. Keep it conversational — "What happened?" reads better than "Incident Description."
Greyed-out hint inside the empty input. Use it for examples ("(555) 555-5555"), not for the question itself.
Small text shown below the field. Best for clarification: "Found on your insurance card" or "Approximate is fine."
Required fields show a red asterisk and block the form from being submitted until they're filled.
For dropdowns, checkboxes, and radio buttons, the Properties panel adds an **Options** editor where you can add, label, and remove choices.
\[Screenshot: Field Properties panel showing label, placeholder, help text, required toggle, and options list for a dropdown]
## Reordering and deleting
Each field on the canvas has up/down arrows and a trash icon. Use the arrows to reorder; the trash icon deletes immediately (there's no undo, but the form isn't saved until you hit **Save Form**, so refresh the page to bail out).
## Required-field rules
A form can be submitted only if every required field is filled with a valid value. The validation runs client-side first (so the submitter gets immediate feedback) and is re-checked server-side on submit. Email fields enforce a valid email format; phone fields are length-checked.
Don't make every field required. Long required-field lists are the single biggest reason intake forms are abandoned. Only flag the fields you genuinely cannot move forward without — name, contact info, and the case-defining fact.
## Conditional logic
The current builder does **not** yet support show/hide rules based on previous answers (e.g., "show 'animal control contacted' only if case type is Dog Bite"). For now, build separate forms per case type if you need branching.
The signed-link intake form (sent after a client retains your firm) does support case-type-aware sections — auto, dog bite, slip & fall, workplace, malpractice, etc. That's a different flow from public lead-capture forms. See [Lead → Journey](/intake-forms/lead-to-journey).
## Activating and deactivating
From the Forms list, click the **⋮** menu on any card and choose **Enable** or **Disable**. Disabled forms still exist (and keep their submissions), but the public URL returns a 404. Use this to retire seasonal campaigns or pull a misconfigured form offline without losing data.
Once you've built and tested your form, the next step is sharing it: [Share a Public Form](/intake-forms/sharing-public-forms).