Form Builder

What is Form Builder?

Form Builder collects whatever you need: reader signups, ARC and beta applications, surveys, and the rest. Fields include text, email, number, date, dropdown, radio, checkbox, and file upload. You can also add headers, rich text, images, and a Book Info block that shows a book from your library. Group fields and save the group as a template. Set colors, layout, fonts, and your logo. You can create and publish as many forms as you want at no extra cost.

Can form responses go straight into ARC Tracker or Beta Readers?

Yes. In the form's settings, choose where responses go and map each field. ARC Tracker needs name, email, and book. Beta Readers needs name and book. Every response is also saved on the form, so nothing is only in the other tool. You cannot publish until the required fields are mapped.

How do I share a form, and what is a short link?

Publish the form, then copy the link. The first time you publish, the form gets a short link such as tatb.link/k7x2qd, so you do not have to share the long address. Short links do not expire.

Can I choose my own short link, and what happens if I change it?

Open the form, click Short link, then Customize link. Type 3 to 40 letters, numbers, or hyphens. The form checks whether the name is free as you type. Changing the name does not break old links. Every earlier name still opens the form, and nobody else can take a name you have used. Each form can hold up to 200 names.

How do I get a QR code for my form?

In the form's Short link dialog, open the QR code tab. Change the colors, pattern, and corner shapes, and add a logo in the middle. Download a high-resolution PNG or an SVG for print. Test a styled code with your phone before it goes to print.

How do I see how many people opened my form?

The forms list shows an eye icon with each published form's view count. Visits from any link count, except your own. Open Short link and the Stats tab for views and short-link clicks over 7 days, 30 days, and all time, plus a daily chart and breakdowns by link, country, and where the click came from. Numbers can lag a few minutes, and the first load can take several seconds. IP addresses are not recorded.

Can I close a form, schedule it, or stop duplicate responses?

Yes, all in the form's settings. Close submissions whenever you want and show your own message. Set an open date and a close date. Turn on duplicate prevention so the same email, or the same browser, cannot respond twice. Responses you already have are left as they are.

Where do I find form responses, and can I download them?

Open the form and switch to Submissions. Every response is listed there. Once you have at least one, Export CSV downloads them all.

How do I build and publish my first form?

1. Open Form Builder from the left sidebar and click New Form. A new draft called Untitled Form opens in the builder. 2. Type a name in Form title. Add a short Description shown to visitors if you like. 3. In the panel on the right, click a field type under Add a field to add it to the bottom of your form. Use Add a block for headings, text, images and book details, and Add a section for ready-made groups of fields. 4. Edit each field where it sits: type the question, a placeholder, the choices (one per line), and tick Required if it must be answered. 5. To reorder, drag a block by its grip handle, or use the up and down arrows on the right of the block. The trash icon removes it. 6. Under Form Settings, add your logo, pick a style, write a Thank-you message, and choose where responses go under Send responses to. 7. Click Preview to see the form the way visitors will. 8. Click Save Form. 9. Click Publish at the top of the page. The form is now live, and Copy link appears so you can share it. The first time you save or publish a form that doesn't send responses anywhere, you'll be asked Add responses to a tracker? Choose ARC Tracker or Beta Readers to map the fields, or No. Just log submissions. Either way, every response is saved on the form's Submissions tab, and you can change this later under Send responses to. Good to know - Publish makes your last saved version live. Once a form is published, the save button reads Save Changes, and visitors only see your edits after you click it. - Your edits are kept when you switch between the Builder and Submissions tabs, but click save before you leave the page. - Visitors don't need an account to fill in your form. - Click Unpublish to take the form offline. Visitors then see This form isn't available. Responses you've already collected stay on the Submissions tab. - On the Form Builder list, each form shows Draft or Published, with icons to edit, publish or unpublish, duplicate, copy the link and delete it. Duplicate makes an unpublished copy with (Copy) added to the name. After deleting a form you can click Undo in the message that appears to bring it back.

What field types and blocks can I add to a form?

Fields (Add a field) - Short Text: a one-line answer, like a name. Tick Must be a web address to accept only links. Visitors can type example.com/review and it's saved as https://example.com/review. - Paragraph: a longer answer. - Email: an email address. Tick Require confirmation to make visitors type it twice. The two must match, and only one copy is saved. - Number and Date: a number, or a date from a date picker. - Dropdown: pick one choice from a list. - Single Choice (Radio): pick one choice, with all choices shown. - Multi-select Dropdown: pick several choices from a list. Good for long lists like genres. - Multiple Choice (Checkboxes): tick any number of choices. - Star Rating: one to five stars. - File Upload: attach a file of up to 50 MB. - Mailing List Signup: a tick box that adds the visitor to one of your mailing lists (see below). - Hidden field (fixed value): visitors don't see it. Every response sends the value you type, which is handy for telling apart two copies of a form. New choice fields start with Option 1 and Option 2. Replace them with your own choices, one per line. Settings on each field - Question label: what visitors see. - Internal name: optional. If you fill it in, you see it instead of the label in Submissions, the CSV export and field mapping. - Placeholder: grey example text inside the box. Not available for choice, star rating or file fields. - Required: the form can't be sent without it. - Width: Full width, Half (2 per row), Third (3 per row) or Quarter (4 per row). Narrow fields that sit next to each other in your list share a row on the live form. A full-width field or any block starts a new row. If your form has an email question, visitors also get a Send me a copy of my submission tick box. The first visible Email question is the one used for copies, duplicate checks and mailing list sign-ups. Blocks (Add a block) - Header: a heading to break up the form. - Rich Text: formatted text with a toolbar. - HTML Block: your own HTML. On the live form only basic formatting is kept: paragraphs, headings, bold, italic, underline, lists, links, images, quotes and dividers. Scripts, embeds and anything else are removed, and links open in a new tab. - Image: upload a JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF of up to 10 MB, or reuse one you've uploaded before. Add alt text and choose the size and alignment. - Book Info: shows a book from your Book Library. - Group: starts a titled section. Adding people to your mailing list The Mailing List Signup field shows an unticked box with your own wording. Only visitors who tick it are added. 1. Connect your list in Newsletter Analytics first. 2. Make sure the form has an Email question. That's the address that gets added. 3. Add a Mailing List Signup field and edit the words next to the box. 4. Pick your list from Choose a list… and add a tag if you want one. 5. Click Save list connection, then Test with my email. The test adds your own address to the list with the tag Form Builder test. 6. Optionally choose which question to use under Send as the subscriber's name. Automatic uses a Short Text question labelled like a name, or the first Short Text question. 7. Save the form. Your list's API key must be allowed to add subscribers, not just read them. If you change the key, click Re-save list connection. On the Submissions tab, an icon in the column shows whether each person was added, couldn't be added, or didn't tick the box.

How do I show a book from my library on a form?

The Book Info block shows a book from your Book Library on your form, such as the cover and blurb on an ARC application. 1. Make sure the book is in Book Library. 2. In the form builder, click Book Info under Add a block. 3. Choose the book from Book. You can type to search. 4. Pick a Layout: Cover left, Cover on top, Hero cover, Compact row or Wide banner. 5. Under Show fields, tick what to show: Cover, Title, Author, Series, Genre, Tropes, Page count, Description, Blurb, Publication date, ISBN-13, ASIN, Retail links and Editions & formats. A new block starts with cover, title, author and blurb. If you untick everything, it goes back to those four. 6. Click Preview to check it, then save. It stays up to date The block is linked to your Book Library. When you change the book's cover, blurb or details there, the form shows the change straight away, without saving the form again. Covers kept in your own Dropbox or Google Drive still show to visitors. Check before you publish If no book is chosen, or the book has since been deleted from your library, visitors see Select a book to display here. in its place. Open the block and pick a book. Book Info doesn't set the book for ARC Tracker The block only displays the book. If your form sends responses to ARC Tracker or Beta Readers, set the book in the field mapping too: under Send responses to, click Edit field mapping and choose the book from your library under Book. Every response then uses that book, so you don't need a book question on the form.

How do I group fields into sections and reuse them on other forms?

Making a section 1. Click Group under Add a block. 2. Give it a Section title and, if you like, a description. 3. Move fields below it. Everything below a Group, up to the next Group, appears together in a bordered box on the live form. To take a field out of a section, move it above the Group or below the next one. Adding a ready-made section Under Add a section, click a section to add it to the end of your form. You can edit everything it adds. The built-in sections are: - Reader magnet details: first name and email. - Contact info: name and email, with email confirmation. - ARC application: name, email, the book, where they usually review, and notes. - ARC review report: star rating, review links for Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub and elsewhere, email and a note. - Beta reader signup: name, email, book, draft version and a deadline check box. - Newsletter signup: first name and email. - Reviewer links: Goodreads or StoryGraph, blog and social profile links. Saving your own section 1. Build a section that starts with a Group. 2. Click Save as template on the Group. The Group and every block below it, up to the next Group, are saved. The template then appears under Add a section on all your forms. To delete one of your templates, click its trash icon. You can undo straight after. Built-in sections can't be deleted. To copy a whole form instead, use the duplicate icon on the Form Builder list. Collecting review reports The ARC review report section is made for readers telling you they've posted a review. Pair it with ARC Review (adds a reported review to a reader) under Send responses to, and choose the book in Edit field mapping. The rating and book are required. When a report comes in, it's added to that reader's existing ARC Tracker entry, found by their personal review link or by their email and the book. Their status doesn't change: you check the links and validate the review yourself in ARC Tracker. If no matching reader is found, you get a notification and the answers stay on the form's Submissions tab.

How do I change my form's look, logo and background?

All of these are in the Form Settings panel on the right of the form builder. Click Preview to check your changes, then save so visitors see them. Logo Click Upload logo and choose a JPEG, PNG, WebP or GIF of up to 10 MB. You can also pick an image you've uploaded to Form Builder before. Then add alt text for screen readers and choose a Size (Small, Medium, Large or Full) and Alignment (Left, Center or Right). Your logo shows at the top of the form, and on the thank-you and closed messages. Background image Under Background image, upload an image or reuse an earlier one. It shows behind the form card, not inside it. Then adjust: - Size: Cover (fill the page), Contain (fit the whole image), Original size or Custom width (16 to 4000 pixels, handy for a repeating pattern). - Repeat: no repeat, tile, across only or down only. - Position: click one of the nine squares. - Scrolling: Scrolls with the page or Stays fixed while scrolling. - Color wash over the image: pick a color and strength (up to 90%) to make the form easier to read. Click Reset to defaults to undo your adjustments, or Remove to drop the image. Large images load slowly for visitors, so aim for under 2 MB. Colors, fonts and labels - Style: choose Default, Midnight, Warm, Forest or Rose. - Font: keep Default (system font) or choose a font from the list. - Field label placement: Above the field or To the left of the field. Custom CSS Click Add Custom CSS to write your own styles. They're applied after the style you picked, so they can change anything. Start your rules with #af-form-root to keep them inside the form. For safety, @import lines and a few other risky bits of code are removed from the live form. Footer and page title Forms show a small Powered by Author's Toolbox link under the form. Tick Hide "Powered by Author's Toolbox" footer to remove it. The browser tab shows your form title followed by Your Name from Settings, under Profile.

How do file uploads on forms work, and where do the files go?

Adding a file field 1. In the form builder, click File Upload under Add a field. 2. Type the question, for example Upload your cover photo. 3. Tick Required if every visitor must attach a file. 4. Save the form. Each File Upload field takes one file. Add more fields if you need several files. Limits - Up to 50 MB per file. A bigger file is refused with a message saying it exceeds the 50MB limit, and nothing is saved, so the visitor can pick a smaller file and send again. - If the upload itself fails, the visitor sees File upload failed — please try again. and that response isn't saved either. Where the files are stored Files go to the storage you've set up in Settings, under File Storage: - If you've connected Dropbox or Google Drive, files go there. - If you've connected both, they go to whichever you've set as your default. - Otherwise they go to Author's Toolbox's built-in storage. If files are landing in built-in storage even though you've connected Dropbox or Google Drive, disconnect it and connect it again in File Storage. Getting the files Open the form, switch to the Submissions tab, and click the file name in that response's row to open or download it. For files saved to Dropbox or Google Drive, that service must still be connected in your account.

Why won't my form publish, or why did a submission fail?

The form won't publish or save - Finish mapping the required fields for … before publishing. Your form sends responses to another tool, but some required fields aren't matched yet. Under Send responses to, click Edit field mapping and fill in every field marked with a red star. ARC Tracker needs name, email and book. Beta Readers needs name and book. ARC Review needs a rating and book. You can choose the book from your library instead of asking for it. - Fix the invalid HTML in your HTML block before saving. One of your HTML blocks has broken markup. The block shows what's wrong underneath it. - Finish or fix the open and close dates before saving. A schedule date is half-typed. Finish it or clear it. - Reader magnet forms have their own checks, such as needing at least one file in Reader Magnets and an Email question. The message tells you what to fix. My changes aren't showing on the live form Visitors see your last saved version. Click Save Changes, then reload the form. What visitors might see - This form isn't available. The form is unpublished or deleted, or the link is wrong. - Your closed message: the form has Close submissions ticked, or it's outside the open and close dates you set. - Your already-responded message: Prevent duplicate submissions is on and they've responded before, from the same email or the same browser. - … is required: a required question was left blank. - … confirmation doesn't match: the two email boxes are different. - … must be a web address: a link question needs a full address like https://example.com/page. - A file is too big or File upload failed — please try again. See the file upload article for limits. - Too many submissions — please try again shortly. More than 20 responses were sent to this form from the same network within a minute. Waiting a minute fixes it. A response arrived, but not in ARC Tracker or Beta Readers Every response is saved on the Submissions tab first. Sending it on to another tool happens after that and is skipped if the answers it needs are empty: ARC Tracker needs a name or an email, and Beta Readers needs a name. Check your field mapping and that those questions are required. For ARC Review, a report that matches no reader in ARC Tracker isn't added. You get a notification and the answers stay on the Submissions tab. A visitor didn't get their copy The Send me a copy of my submission email is limited to a few per hour for each email address and network, to stop it being used to spam people. Ask them to check their spam folder.