In the New View, Forms allows you to create electronic versions of simple data collection forms for use on Java-enabled mobile phones

What can I do in Forms?

Forms is an extremely powerful data collection tool which combines the power of a Java-based mobile phone application with the ease of use and availability of text messaging. Imagine you're a health clinic and you have staff travelling in different parts of the country collecting data on illnesses, test results and the incident of certain types of disease. At the moment this information is likely being collected on paper forms, which are then sent back to your clinic at certain time intervals, or they simply come back when the member of staff periodically returns. This is obviously a slow and inefficient way of collecting data, and doesn't give the clinic 'real time', up-to-date information from the field as it happens

The Forms module in FrontlineSMS allows you to create copies of very simple paper forms on your computer, which can then be sent to a Java-enabled mobile phone through a text message. This phone can then be handed to a member of hospital staff who can then take it to the field with them and enter the information they collect directly onto the phone (by following a trimmed-down version of the on-screen form you have created for them). Once the date input is complete, the information collected can be sent back to FrontlineSMS as a compressed text message, giving you up-to-date and real-time information. Other systems are available that provide data collection functionality, but many rely on data connectivity via the mobile phone network. FrontlineSMS does not, and only requires that you have a mobile signal. If the forms are completed in an area where there is no signal they will be held in the phone until a signal is detected, after which they will be safely sent

Please note: Although Forms is very powerful, it does require some intermediate PC knowledge. If you are new to FrontlineSMS or to computers, you may want to connect with other users in FrontlineSMS Community on the internet and ask for guidance before you begin. Regardless of your skill level, it is advisable to experiment with the Forms module before using it in a real, live environment. Experimenting with the tool is all part of the process! You will also need to have a phone which supports Java and GPRS. Check out the Sending your completed form to a mobile phone section for more details


The Forms Editor

To begin designing a new form, click on "New" [2] from the main window [1]. The following window will appear:

Palette [9]
This is where you select which type of field you want to add to your form. A number of field types are available - for example, "Check box" will insert a tick-box on the form, which the user can tick or un-tick, depending on the answer to a specific question. (In the sample form above, "Check boxes" can be seen next to the Lives with family, Has transport and Supervisor fields). Text fields can be added by using the "Text field" tool (seen next to Borrower name in the sample above) and "Text area" tool (which is a larger text area, used in the example above to enter the Borrower address)

Preview [10]
This is where you see a preview of your form, as you build it

Properties [11]
This is where you give each of your fields 'names' (such as Borrower name and Has Transport in the sample above). The properties window also allows you to select maximum lengths for each of the fields, and select whether certain items (such as "Check boxes") start off ticked, or un-ticked, when the form is loaded. Different palette tools have different properties settings

Form name [12]
Each of your forms need to be given a unique name. "Form name" is where you tell FrontlineSMS what you want to call your form

Save/Cancel [13]
Once you've finished designing your form you can Save it or, if you want to discard it, Cancel it [13]. "Saved" forms will appear under the name you chose in the main window [1]

Building your new form

To build a new form the following four-step process needs to be followed. Firstly, click on which field type you would like to add, from the Palette [9]. Secondly, hold the right-mouse button down and drag the field across into the Preview space [10] and let go. Thirdly, click on the field you have just added in [10] until it has a blue box surrounding it (there won't be any text next to it yet). The final step is to edit the new field - you do this by editing the Value section in the Properties window [11]. Different field types have different properties that you can set, but a common one is Label, which is the name you give to the field (such as Borrower name in the sample screen). You may need to practice editing and changing properties to get a better understanding of what they do and how they work

When you are finished, either Save it [13]or, if you want to discard it, hit Cancel [13]
 

Editing, deleting or copying an existing form

Forms that you have already created in FrontlineSMS appear in the main window [1]. 'Locked' forms also appear in this window (i.e. Forms that have been 'finalised' and sent to a mobile phone, and which can no longer be changed). To edit or delete any unsent forms, highlight the form name and then click Edit [3] to make changes to it, or Delete [4] to remove it

If you want to make a copy of a form, perhaps to make another which is similar (and you want to use an existing form as a starting point), highlight the form name in the main window [1] and click on Copy [5]. A second form, with the same name, will appear in the main window [1]. To edit this duplicate form, highlight it in the list and click Edit [3]. You can now make changes - it is advisable to change its name to avoid confusion with the original form, which you can do by typing a new name into the Form name [12] field before you Save [13]

Sending your completed form to a mobile phone

Once your form is complete, you are ready to send it to a mobile phone. Firstly, however, you need to download the FrontlineSMS Forms Client onto the target phone. Phones need to be Java-enabled and have GPRS data access, and be allowed by your network operator to connect to the Internet. Check your user manual if you're not sure whether or not your phone has Java and/or GPRS, and check with your telecom provider about access to the Internet. Not all phones will support Java or GPRS

Latest news and updates on now to get the FrontlineSMS Forms Client are available either in the online version of this manual or in the FrontlineSMS Community on the internet. If you can't find what you're looking for, start a new discussion topic in the forum and someone will help you. The Forms module is new to this version of FrontlineSMS, and is likely to evolve considerably over time. As at launch on 25th June, we are undergoing final tests of the Forms Client, and will post news here, and links, as soon as it is available

Before sending forms to your phones, you may want to create a new Group which contains the names and numbers of the people you want to send the form to. You can create a new Group by following the instructions in the ContactManager module (this is optional). Select the Group which contains the person or people you want to send the form to from the Groups window [6] and the contents of that Group will appear in the Send to window [6] beside it. Click on the name of each person you want to send the form to, and hit Send [8]
 
NOTE: Once a Form has been sent to a mobile phone, it will be 'finalised' and you won't be able to edit it (FrontlineSMS needs to match the information coming in from the mobile phone with the original form, and making changes will result in this information being misread). If you are happy that the form is complete and you won't need to make any further changes, select Continue, else hit Cancel

Displaying data sent in via a form

Your users can now take their phone and can begin collecting data in the field, filling in the form you have created for them on their mobile phone screen. Their completed information will come into FrontlineSMS as compressed text message, which is uncompressed and then matched with the original form, and the data extracted

The main window [1], with finalised forms - which have a    icon next to them - and the received data, looks something like this. This Results window shows the data collected for each form as well as the "Submitter" (the number/contact that sent in the Form). Just click on any Form name to view the responses

You can also view the aggregated responses for specific fields within the Form by selecting the field name, which show under the Form name in the window. Here, FrontlineSMS will add up data with the same value and display the number of times it appears, rather than displaying the same text multiple times

NOTE: Even though Forms may be finalised, you still have the option to send them to more phones. To do this, right-click your mouse on the Form name in the Forms window [1] and select Send and follow the earlier instructions for sending your Form to a mobile phone. You can toggle back to the Results window by right-clicking again on the Form name and selecting Results
 

Exporting your Forms data

You can export your Forms data into a Comma Separated (CSV) file. With the Results window showing, select your Form name (or field name) and click on the Export results button at the bottom right of the screen

You can ask FrontlineSMS to display totals for fields with the same values ("Aggregate values"), else just select what data you would like exported by ticking or un-ticking the field names. Enter a Filename for the data (add .CSV to the end) and click Export

As previously suggested, it is recommended that you experiment with FrontlineSMS Forms and get comfortable before using them in a live environment