Training Guide: Build and Preview

By the end of this guide you will have built a working OnBase form from an empty sheet, bound every field to a keyword, and tested it on the Preview tab. Allow about 45 minutes. Use the training connection throughout, so nothing reaches a real system.

Chapter 1: What you'll build

You'll build an AP Invoice Intake form that a clerk fills in when an invoice arrives without a scan. Every field saves to a keyword on the training Document Type AP - Invoice.

Before you start

• Sign in to Keyform Studio.
• Check that the connection badge in the top bar says TRAINING. If not, open Settings → Connections, select Training (sample data) and Use this connection.
• If you'd like to keep the sample work order form, copy its design file from the HTML tab first. This guide replaces it.

Chapter 2: Tour of the Build tab

The Build tab has three columns: what you can add on the left, the form sheet in the middle, and the settings of whatever you've selected on the right.

Try it: select any field on the sample form and watch the Properties panel change; select an empty part of the sheet, or press Esc, to go back to form settings.

Chapter 3: Start a new form

A form starts with a Document Type, because that decides which keywords you can bind.

1. On the Build tab, select New form above the sheet, then select it again to confirm. The sheet empties and the title becomes Untitled form.
2. In Document Type, choose AP - Invoice.
3. Select the title on the sheet and type AP Invoice Intake.
4. Select the line under the title and type: Use this form when an invoice arrives by email or post. AP processes new invoices within two business days.
5. With no field selected, look at the Properties panel. Change Submit button text to Submit invoice.
6. Leave Button and heading color as it is for now; you can match your company's colour later.

Open the Palette's Keywords tab: it now lists the eight keywords on AP - Invoice, from Vendor Name to Payment Terms.

Chapter 4: Add fields bound to keywords

The fastest way to add a field is to drag a keyword: you get the right kind of field, already bound, with the keyword's name as its label.

Drag keywords onto the sheet

1. In the Palette, open the Keywords tab.
2. Drag Vendor Name onto the sheet. A blue line shows where it will land; let go.
3. Drag Vendor Number next to it. Number keywords become Number fields.
4. Drag Invoice Number, Invoice Date, Invoice Amount, PO Number and Payment Terms in that order. Date keywords become Date fields, and keywords with a data set, like Payment Terms, become dropdowns filled with its values.

Under each field you'll see its OnBase field name, such as OBKey_Vendor_Name_1. That name is what makes OnBase save the value to the keyword.

Add a field that isn't a keyword

1. Open the Palette's Fields tab.
2. Drag Long text to the bottom of the sheet.
3. In Properties, set Label to Notes for AP. Leave OnBase keyword as Not bound.

An unbound field shows Not bound to a keyword in amber: its value stays on the form and isn't saved as a keyword. That's fine for notes, and the checks will remind you about it.

On a touch screen or without a mouse

Select a Palette item instead of dragging it. It's added below the selected field, or at the end of the form.

Binding a field you already added

Select the field, then choose the keyword in OnBase keyword in Properties. If the label was still the default, it changes to the keyword's name.

Chapter 5: Field settings

Select a field to change its settings in Properties; the sheet updates as you type.

Keep labels short and in the words people use, not the keyword's internal name. The keyword binding is what OnBase uses, so the label can say anything.

Chapter 6: Layout

Group related fields under headings and pair short fields side by side, so the form reads top to bottom in the order people work.

Add sections

1. From the Palette's Fields tab, drag a Heading to the very top of the sheet. In Properties, set Heading text to Vendor.
2. Drag another Heading above Invoice number and name it Invoice.
3. Drag an Instructions block just below the Invoice heading and type: Copy the details exactly as they appear on the invoice.
4. Optional: drag a Divider above Notes for AP to set it apart.

Pair fields side by side

Two fields sit on one row when both are half width and next to each other.

1. Select Vendor name, then choose Half under Width. Do the same for Vendor number.
2. Make Invoice number and Invoice date half width, then Amount and PO number.
3. Keep Payment terms and Notes for AP full width.

On a phone, half-width fields stack automatically.

Move, copy and remove

Chapter 7: Clear the checks

The checks next to the Document Type catch mistakes before the form reaches OnBase. Aim for Ready to export, or only warnings you've decided to keep.

1. Select the checks summary to open the list.
2. Select any item in the list to jump to the field it's about.
3. Fix each Problem; read each Warning and decide.

Your form should now show one warning, for Notes for AP. That's expected.

Chapter 8: Test the form on the Preview tab

The Preview tab shows the form exactly as the exported HTML will look, and lets you submit it to see what OnBase would receive.

Check how it looks

1. Open the Preview tab.
2. Select Desktop, then Phone. On Phone, the half-width pairs stack into one column.

Check that required fields work

1. Select Submit invoice without filling anything in. The browser stops you at the first required field.
2. Type a vendor name and try again. It stops at the next required field.

Submit a test

1. Select Fill with sample values. Every field gets realistic test data.
2. Select Submit invoice.
3. Read What OnBase receives on the right. Each row is a field name and the value OnBase would save to that keyword.
4. In training mode, a pretend document is created, for example Document 104231 created in AP - Invoice, and it's listed under Training documents.

Check that every keyword you expected is in the list and that Notes for AP is not, since it isn't bound. Clear form empties the form for another try; Clear under Training documents removes the pretend documents.

Chapter 9: Practice exercise

Build a second form on your own, then check it against the list below. Next, follow the HTML training guide to put it into OnBase.

The task: an HR New Hire form on the Document Type HR - New Hire Form, with the sections Employee and Start. Bind Employee Name, Employee ID, Personal Email, Job Title, Department, Manager Name, Employment Type and Start Date. Add an unbound checkbox Laptop needed.

• The Document Type is HR - New Hire Form.
• The form has a clear title, a one-line description and a specific submit button text.
• Every field except Laptop needed shows an OBKey_ name.
• Employee Name, Employee ID and Start Date are required.
• Personal Email is an Email field; Start Date is a Date field; Employee ID is a Number field.
• Department and Employment Type are dropdowns filled from their data sets.
• Short fields are paired at half width.
• The checks show no problems, and one warning for Laptop needed.
• On the Preview tab, a test submission lists 8 keywords.

Shortcuts worth remembering