Introduction
What is the Form Portal?
The Form Portal is your central workspace for working with forms and checklists in Ambience. It provides an intuitive interface for viewing, creating, completing, and tracking forms throughout their lifecycle.
Think of the Form Portal as your personal form inbox and outbox - it shows you forms that need your attention, lets you create new forms, and helps you track what you’ve submitted.
Form Portal vs Form Designer
It’s important to understand the distinction:
| Form Portal | Form Designer |
|---|---|
| For end users | For developers/designers |
| Fill out and submit forms | Create and modify form templates |
| View form instances | Design form structure |
| Track form status | Configure form behavior |
| Create instances from templates | Build reusable templates |
Most users only need the Form Portal. The Form Designer is for power users and administrators who create the form templates that appear in the portal.
Who Should Use This Guide?
This documentation is intended for:
- End users who need to fill out forms
- Employees submitting requests, applications, or reports
- Managers reviewing and approving submissions
- Anyone who interacts with forms as part of business processes
If you need to design or modify form templates, refer to the Form Designer documentation instead.
Key Features
Two-Tab Interface
[SCREENSHOT MARKER: two-tab-interface] Description: Show the Form Portal with both View and Create tabs visible. How to capture: Capture the top of the interface showing both tabs clearly.
The Form Portal has two main tabs:
- View Tab - Access your existing forms
- Current forms (in progress)
- Submitted forms (completed)
- Archived forms (historical)
-
Create Tab - Start new form instances
- Browse templates by role
- Create new forms and checklists
Role-Based Organization
Forms are organized by roles to control access and simplify navigation:
- My Forms - Your personal forms
- My Checklists - Your personal checklists
- Role categories - Forms shared with roles you belong to
You only see forms you have permission to access based on: - Your user roles - Form ownership - Workgroup membership
Form Types
The portal supports three types of forms:
- Standard Forms - Regular data entry forms
- Workflow Forms - Forms integrated with approval processes
- Checklists - Task-based forms with completion tracking
Each type is indicated by a different icon in the form list.
Form States
Forms progress through different states:
- Current - Forms you’re actively working on (editable)
- Submitted - Forms you’ve completed (read-only)
- Archived - Forms that have been archived after retention period
Search and Filter
Quickly find forms using the built-in search: - Type any part of the form name - Results filter in real-time - Works across all categories - Case-insensitive
Workflow Integration
Forms can be integrated with workflows for business processes: - Automatic routing through approval chains - Status tracking and notifications - Audit trail of all actions - May return to you for additional information
Common Use Cases
Employee Self-Service
- Leave requests
- Expense claims
- Time-off applications
- Benefits enrollment
- Address changes
Manager Tasks
- Approval workflows
- Performance reviews
- Budget approvals
- Team requests
Business Processes
- Purchase orders
- Issue tracking
- Customer feedback
- Incident reports
- Audit checklists
Getting Started
Ready to start using the Form Portal?
- Quick Start Guide - Get up and running in 5 minutes
- Using the Form Portal - Learn all the features
- Troubleshooting - Get help with common issues
System Requirements
Browser Support
The Form Portal works best with modern browsers: - Chrome (recommended) - Firefox - Edge - Safari
Ensure JavaScript is enabled in your browser.
Network Requirements
- Active internet connection required
- Access to Ambience server
- Valid user credentials
Permissions Required
To access the Form Portal, you need: - mod-form-portal privilege (basic access) - mod-form privilege (for forms) - mod-checklist privilege (for checklists, if enabled)
Contact your administrator if you don’t have access.
Next Steps
- New users: Start with the Quick Start Guide
- Experienced users: Jump to Using the Form Portal
- Administrators: See Administration
Ready to get started? Continue to the Quick Start Guide to create and submit your first form.