How to Use the Form Designer

Create a New Form
On the Sonia Home page, click the “Forms” module button.
Click the New button on the Ribbon (1), and enter the name of the new form (2)

Field Details

• Description (3) – Appears online for students, explaining the form’s purpose.
• Form Category (4) – Helps with searching; create categories in School Options > Lists.
• Default Font – Sets font family and size for new fields and input boxes.
• Width – Controls form width in Sonia Online; if blank, adjusts to screen size. This setting is often defined when forms are set to convert to PDF upon completion.
• Self-Selection (5) – Allows users to select the form without assignment, useful for optional forms (e.g., incident reports).
• Form Restrictions (6)
  If these check boxes are ticked/checked, the indicated action will be unavailable.
  
  
  • Deleting responses - Prevents deletion of a form that is assigned or already completed.
    
  • Exporting and copying design - Disables the Export Template and Copy buttons on the ribbon to prevent users from exporting the design of the form to a file and prevents copying the design.
  • Exporting responses - Disables the Export button on the ribbon, preventing the user from exporting form responses. 
    • It also disables the “View results” button (checkered flag icon).
      
  • Viewing responses in reports - Prevents access to the form data via the Sonia report module.
  • Viewing responses via impersonation
    • Hides form content from the Placement Officer when impersonating the respondent.
  • Exporting responses unless area owned - Placement officers can be linked to an Area (School Options > Lists).
    • This option allows them to export form responses only for placements in Areas they “own.”
  • Viewing responses in reports unless area owned
    • Only placement officers owning the form’s assigned Area can report on its data.
      
  • Viewing responses via impersonation unless area owned
    • Only placement officers owning the form’s assigned Area can view responses when impersonating the respondent.
  • Exporting responses unless form owned
    • A placement officer owns a form by selecting their name on the Placement Officer button; without ownership, they cannot export responses.
  • Viewing responses in reports unless form owned
    • Only placement officers who own the form may report on the data from the form.
  • Viewing responses via impersonation unless form owned
    • Only placement officers who own the form may see the form responses when impersonating the respondent.
• Settings (7)
  • Show draft content
    • When checked, roles with form access can view draft versions of the form (i.e., before final submission).
    • If unchecked, other roles can see changes only after the form is submitted.

• • Show in Check Manager
    • If the form is connected to a managed Check, the form will be available to view from Check Manager

• • Needs Context
    • Can Have: The form can be assigned with placement context
      Must Have: The form must be assigned with placement context
      Must Not Have: The form cannot be assigned with placement context

• Reviewers (8)

• • Used for Sonia’s student review feature:

    • fields can be shown to Reviewer 1 and Reviewer 2, with visibility set by “Visible to reviewer X after action…”.

    • See Peer Reviews for details.

• PDF Info (9) - Enabling this feature converts the form to a PDF upon completion and attaches it to the assignee’s Documents page with the specified category and visibility.

Mastering the form Design

1. Click the Design button on the ribbon.

2. Click + Add new field to end of form.

3. Select the new field in the middle pane, then go to the Item properties pane at the right:
   a. Name – Internal 1-2 word description; will be visible elsewhere in Sonia, including when needing to export field responses
   b. Type – Choose from the dropdown of field types. (More information here)
   c. Description – What the respondent sees; can include images.
   d. Active – Field is active/visible on the form. If a field is no longer required, deselect this box rather than remove it.
   e. Mandatory – Required response; displays a red asterisk (*).
   f. Exclude from PDF – Excludes the field if the form is converted to PDF.
   g. List – For field types like Dropdown, Horizontal/Vertical List (including multi):

   1. Click the pencil to open the pop-up.

   2. Click the green + to add rows and enter response options.

h. Default – Pre-define the response with a static value or dynamic value from Sonia (e.g., Student First Name).

Default values can depend on the form’s placement context. For example, to pre-populate a student’s placement site, the form must know which placement request is referenced—set when assigning the form to allocated students.

i. Min/Max: Sets character limits for text fields, value ranges for date/time/number fields, or min/max documents for Document fields. 

j. Format: restricts the format to match what is defined here.

• • Used most commonly with single-line text 
  • Example (US Phone numbers): Enter as (###) ###-####
    1. # allows only a single digit in that position.

        4. In Permissions, assign the correct roles with the appropriate access for the field.

• • Permissions Supported:
    • None – The role will not see the field appear on the form
    • Read-Only – The user can see the field but will not be able to edit the response
    • Read/write - The user can edit the response until it has been submitted 
    • Editable - The user can edit the response even after the form has been submitted. 
      • NOTE: If a role (e.g., student) has Editable permission on a form, submits the form, they can then come back into the form and edit that field AS LONG AS they have an action button with editable permissions for their role. 
      • If two roles need to be able to edit the same field (e.g., a student provides a response first and then the mentor or supervisor can have permission to edit the response), the student may be given read/write permission and the mentor or supervisor have editable permission.

  • By default, fields have no role access; set permissions explicitly.

    • To save time, create one field, set permissions, test it, then Copy it for similar questions.

  • The External role applies when a form is emailed to someone without a Sonia login, identified only by their email address.

  • Reviewer 1 and Reviewer 2 can also be external roles OR for student peer reviewers. 
    • See the article on Peer Reviews for more details.

Preview the Form

It is recommended that you periodically check the design of the form. 

• Save it by clicking the Save button on the ribbon
• Use the Preview button to see how the form will appear to each role.
  
  

Fields pane

Selecting a field highlights it and displays its detailed properties in the Item Properties pane. 

A summary of the properties are displayed on the field card:

1. Name of the field
2. Description text
3. Field type
4. Depending on the field type
   1. Up/Down icons to move the field up or down the list of fields. 
      • NOTE: you can DRAG and DROP the field to quickly move it up or down the order if you prefer.
   2. Delete removes the field from the form. 
      • NOTE: If anyone has already completed the form, the responses will also be deleted and cannot be recovered

   3. The Edit pencil appears only for Action buttons and Tables

      • Use it to edit table design or define actions on submit.

   4. Copy will duplicate a field and its properties. 

The Action Button

Sonia forms can have sections completed in stages or by different roles.

Permissions on each field control who can view or edit it.

• Separate action buttons are needed for students and supervisors/mentors.

• Mandatory fields are checked only if above the clicked action button.

• After submission, fields above are locked if read-write; fields below remain editable if permitted.

• Fields with Editable permission can be changed after submission if the respondent’s action button allows it.

See the Power of Action Buttons  guide for more details.

Sonia Form Topics:

What is a Form

Understanding Form Design & Field Types

 Forms Online

Forms and Accessibility

Using Calculation Fields

Additional Fields Info