PDF Online Form Frequently Asked Questions
PlatoForms FAQ
Custom Fields for Email Notifications
How to Use Custom Fields for Email Notification
When you publish a PlatoForms Online PDF Form, you will have the option to receive and send email notifications once someone has filled up your PDF form online. And to add convenience for you, we also included a custom field feature for your Email Notifications. You can use the said custom fields in the email body or subject.
Custom Fields will allow you to automatically put your preferred field data, links, and other values inside the email. Custom Fields for email notification appear in the following format: {{form_name}}.
You can visit this FAQ page for more information about PlatoForms Custom Fields
How to Set Custom Fields for Email Notifications?
To add custom fields on both email subject and body, go to your PlatoForms dashboard and choose the online PDF form where you want to set a custom field. Once you find it, click on the gear icon at the top right corner of the online fillable PDF and choose Notifications.
Once you click Notification, you will land on the Notifications Settings Window. From there, you can customize your online PDF form’s notification email.
You can choose your preferred custom field value for your notification email body and subject from the list below:
{{form_name}} - You can use this field if you want to add your online PDF form’s name on your email body and subject. The form name is the title name you set on your online PDF upon saving it. You can view it on your PlatoForms dashboard under the online PDF form overview.
{{form_id}} -If you want to insert your Form ID on the notification email body and subject of your online PDF form, you can use this custom field value. Your Online Form ID is a unique set of numbers and letters used to identify your online PDF forms from other forms uniquely.
It usually appears like this on the email:
{{submission_id}} - Submission ID is a set of numbers and letters generated once someone submits a response to your online PDF form. Suppose you want to add this on the notification email body and subject of your online PDF form. In that case, you can select this custom field value.
It usually appears like this on the email:
{{revision}} - This custom field allows you to see the online PDF form revision times. If the form is revised once, you will receive “1” on your email notification.
{{revision logic block}}- If you want to get the re-edited submission number where the revision is greater than 1, you have the option to use this field, and its code appears like this:
Using at Email body:
Using at Email subject or body advance mode:
{{tracking_code}} -This is another set of numbers that you can use to search respondents’ submission details on the submission page. It usually looks like this:
{{shared_editor_link}} - Editor link is the link that allows you and the user to open and edit a specific submitted PDF online form. If you want to add the editor link to your notification emails, you can choose this custom field value from the list or paste this code.
Note: You will automatically generate a new PDF version once someone uses the link to edit the Online Form responses.
{{attach_csv_data}} -You also have the choice to attach the CSV data file of all the gathered data to your email notifications with the help of this custom field value. The said CSV data file will contain all submitted data from a specific form.
{{attach_pdf_file}} - This custom field value, on the other hand, can be used if you want a PDF file of all the gathered data to be attached to your email notification.
{{shared_pdf_link}} - If you prefer to get the link of the submitted online PDF data, you can put this custom value field on your email body.
The PDF link will look like this on the email:
{{shared_attachment_link}} - This custom field value is helpful for online PDF forms that have file upload fields such as documents and images. If you want your email notification to have the said attachments, you can choose this custom field and put it on your email’s body.
{{attach_sign_cert_pdf}} - You can use this custom field if you want to attach a Signature Certificate PDF on your email notification. A signature Certificate will help you determine whether the signature in your online PDF is altered or not. To receive the Signature Certificate of your PDF form, you have to enable it first under the invitation settings.
{{sign_cert_checksum}} - If you are using the PlatoForms e-signature feature, you should also know that it has the SHA256 checksum of the submitted online PDF form. SHA256 checksum helps you determine if the certificate or the document itself, were not faked or changed. Suppose you want to include the checksum of the signature certificate on your email notification. In that case, you can select or paste this custom field.
{{checksum logic block}} -This custom field is also helpful if you are an e-signature user. Suppose you want to include the Signature Certificate’s logical operation on your email notification. In that case, this is the custom field that you can use.
{{data.fidxx}}- You will be able to add the online PDF form information to your online PDF form email notification body and subject using this custom field. In this custom field, fidXX stands for the Field ID. If you wish to use this, put the Field ID that you want to set its value for your email notification body and subject. If you are not able to find your preferred custom field from the options, you can add the code manually on your email notification body and subject.
How to find the Field ID?
Your PDF forms field ID always has a number in it, and you can view it inside the fillable PDF editor tool. On the image below, you’ll see “Single Line Text #3”, in this situation, your field ID is 3.
Though not included in the list, you can also add the following Workflow Custom Field Values on your email notification:
{{is_workflow}}- If you have PDF workflow and you want to indicate in your email that form is part of a workflow, you can use this custom field.
{{workflow_name}}- You can use this custom field if you want to add the workflow name in your email notification.
{{step_ordinal_index}}- You can use this field to add workflow step ordinal index in your email notification. Ordinal index refers to the sequence or order of your online PDF workflow. It indicates if the PDF form is the 1st, 2nd or 3rd step in the process.
{{next_step_link}}- If you want your email to include the following step workflow link of your online PDF form workflow, you can use this custom field value.
To give you an overview of how to use the Workflow Custom Field Values, see the photo below:
Note: You will not be able to use the list of options for the email subjects, so we recommend pasting the custom field values manually.
Once you edit your email notification and you’re happy with your custom field, you can then click Save.
Where Can I Use PlatoForms Custom Fields?
Aside from the Email Notifications, you can also use PlatoForms Custom Fields for your Download PDF Name Pattern , and for Cloud Drive subfolder name.