Test and Publish Your Form

After building your form and configuring its settings, you can test and publish it. You should always test a form before you publish it to ensure everything works as expected, that it flows logically, and that it is easy to complete and submit.

There are two ways for you to test the form; you can preview it yourself and email a test link to other staff members or stakeholders. As you test, we recommend consulting the form publishing checklist.

Form Publishing Checklist

The following is a list of elements to consider as you test your form. Please note that not all steps will be applicable to every form.

Form Element:	Check that:
Form fields	All mandatory fields are marked as required. Descriptions are used to provide instructions, when appropriate. Minimum and maximum restrictions are in place, if necessary. This may include Number restrictions, Text character limits, Files uploaded, or Checkboxes selected. All Dropdown, Checkbox, and Radio button options are added correctly, and lists used when applicable. Email fields are set to use the address when contacting respondents and to require confirmation. Field sets are used when appropriate. Snippets and piped answers are used when appropriate.
Logic	Rules and scenarios show or hide fields or sections correctly. No rules or scenarios prevent submission when they should not. If using stop form logic, you have a section and content field explaining why you have prevented submission.
Groups	Repeatable groups are set to have a maximum or minimum repetition. Office-use-only groups are in place.
Files	Restrictions are in place for the number of files, maximum size, and file types, when appropriate. If restrictions are in place, these are noted in the field description.
Payments	Calculations are set up to produce the correct payment amount. The correct payment gateway is selected, and any extra details are assigned. A receipt number prefix has been added. The receipt number and prefix are piped into email notifications and generated into PDFs. Test payments are successful, and extra details are sent to the gateway. Please see your payment gateway provider for test payment credentials.
Connectors	The correct Location field map provider is selected. The correct payment gateway is selected. The correct SharePoint list is set up Any data connections are in place for the relevant field and for form load and submission. The correct govDelivery connection is selected.
Content	The spelling in questions, options, and descriptions is correct. Outline instructional text, fees and charges, or post-submission processes and timelines in Content fields. Any changes necessary to the buttons, text, messages are made.
Response settings	An email identity has been verified. Recipients and content added for internal response notifications. A success message or external URL has been set. A respondent confirmation email has been configured. All necessary documents are attached to emails. A response limit has been set, when necessary.
Form documents	The Response PDF has been configured. All custom documents templates are uploaded and in use.
Display settings	The correct theme has been chosen. The correct form layout has been chosen. If using a section layout, the form fields are divided into logical sections.
Notifications and emails	Success messages and confirmation emails are received by respondents. Internal staff are notified of submissions, and workflow notifications are working correctly. All necessary documents are attached to or linked from emails.
Workflows	All workflow steps are in place. All Create a Workflow to Manage Response Processes are in place. Any Set Up Workflow Notifications and Reminders attached to the steps and transitions are addressed to the correct recipients and have the necessary content. Your Resubmission settings are correct, if enabled.

Testing the Form

There are two easy ways to test your form:

Test it yourself by selecting Save and preview in the form builder. A test form will open in a new tab and you’ll be able to complete and submit a test response.
Send an external test link by going to Settings > Testing, adding each email address in the Email draft form box, and selecting Send. Each email address must be separated by a comma, and the link will be valid for one month. The link will always show the latest version of the form, so any updates you make will be available via the link for thirty days.

To test a payment gateway, please use the testing credentials and instructions provided by your chosen payment gateway.

All test responses are available in the form’s Responses tab and are labeled as Test. If you’re on a legacy pay-per-response plan, we won’t charge for test responses; you will start incurring costs once the form is published.

If you’re not happy with the form, continue to edit it in the Build and Settings tabs.

Publish the Form

When it’s ready, you can publish a form by selecting Publish in the Build tab. You can also select See published form to view the live version from the Build screen or from the ... menu on the Forms list.

Enterprise plan users can also add notes as they publish to explain any changes they made or schedule the form to be published at a later date.

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Test and Publish Your Form

Form Publishing Checklist

Testing the Form

Publish the Form

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