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Overview

Creating a PDF online form template is just a matter of following the instructions from Creating PDF templates, and then, optionally, adding text to the field names to make certain fields required or subject to validation conditions. Any template designed according to the normal instructions for creating PDF templates is already usable as an online form, but none of the fields will be required or subject to validation conditions; however, because a form like this is likely to be filled out improperly and thus to require more processing effort, it's recommended to make fields required and to enforce validation conditions.

Overview

The process for creating an online form template is almost exactly the same as that for creating any other form template in Blueprint OMS. There are only four key differences:

1. With online form templates, you might want to set some fields to be read-only fields.
2. With online form templates, you will want to pay attention to the tab order of the fields, so that, when a patient navigates the form using the Tab key on their keyboard, they will go through the fields in the desired order.
3. With online form templates, you can make some fields required, so that the patient cannot submit the form without entering something in the field.
4. With online form templates, you can make some fields enforce a certain input format, such as a date, a telephone number, or an email address.

For all four of these items, your PDF editor will have field properties allowing for the desired functionality.

For the latter two items, follow this general format for form field names: (merge field):(required or not required):(validation type). Here are some examples.

The latter two slots are optional, so your existing PDF templates are already forward-compatible with the online forms use case, to the extent that they will populate field data and map new inputs to the corresponding fields for the patient file.

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title Expand to see a table of examples of online form field names...
Merge field Required Validation Example of a text field name Notes patientBirthdate:req:date patientGivenName:req Everything after "req" can be omitted. patientAltContactPostalCode::zip The "nonreq" designation can be omitted, as that is the default. The colons must be kept. insuredEmployerSchoolName Everything after the merge field can be omitted, as, by default, the field is not required and there is no field validation. text1:req:date Since no merge field is being used, any text can be put before the first colon; it is best to set this so as to ensure that all the form fields have unique names. text2:req Since no merge field is being used, any text can be put before the colon; it is best to set this so as to ensure that all the form fields have unique names. Also, everything after "req" can be omitted, as, by default, there is no field validation. text3::date Since no merge field is being used, any text can be put before the first colon; it is best to set this so as to ensure that all the form fields have unique names. Also, the "nonreq" designation can be omitted, as that is the default. The colons must be kept. text4 Since no merge field is being used, any text can be used for the field name. Also, as, by default, the field is not required and there is no field validation, there is no need for the colons or the "nonreq" or validation designation.

Part 1: merge field name

If you wish to use a form field as a merge field, the first part of the form field's name should be the merge field name, i.e., the name of the merged data that should be pulled into (and later, poss updated by) the field. If merge data exists for the chosen field, it will populate in the form field; if the patient edits that form field, then a Blueprint OMS user's processing the form will make the patient file reflect the new data entered in the form field. You can find the full list of available merge fields at the template tool on the Blueprint Solutions website.

If a form field is not meant to be used as a merge field for merging Blueprint OMS data, enter any text for this part of the field name, and make sure that the fields on the form have unique names.

Read-only fields vs. editable fields

Tab order of editable fields

Field name slot 1: merge field name

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If you wish to use a form field as a merge field, set the first part of the form field's name to the merge field name. If merge data exists for the chosen field, it will populate in the form field; if the patient edits that form field, then a Blueprint OMS user's processing the form will make the patient file reflect the new data entered in the form field. You can find the full list of available merge fields at the template tool on the Blueprint Solutions website.

For a form field is not meant to display or update Blueprint OMS field data, enter any text for this part of the field name, and make sure that the fields on the form have unique names.

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Field name slot 2: req or nonreq

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After the first part of the field name, enter a colon and then "req" to make the field a required field, or "nonreq" (or alternatively, nothing, since "nonreq" is the default) to not make the field a required field.

Non-text fields such as checkboxes, radio groups, and drop-down menus can also be made required using the "req" designation.

Field name slot 3: validation type

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The third part of the form field's name is the type of validation that will be enforced by the field. This third part only applies to text fields and can should be omitted for other types of form fields, and for text fields that don't require any specific format for the input.

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