General Discussion

In this post I'll be explaining how to dispatch submission data from a Repeatable Section in one form to a Repeatable Section in another form. To do this, I'll show you a workflow where a user can define a set of instructions or a checklist and then send that list to another user to complete.

This workflow suits a use case where:

• There is a group of users that are consistently needing to define steps for another set of users
• The number of steps is not too large to reasonably enter one-by-one in a repeatable section
• The instructions vary enough for each form use that hard-coding questions into forms for every situation doesn't make sense.

The steps for the user are as follows:

1. User A enters instructions into a repeatable section in the first form ("Phase 1"). The only question in the repeatable section is a Text Area labelled, "Instruction."
2. User A dispatches the form to a second "Phase 2" form, which is sent to User B's inbox
3. The repeatable section in the Phase 2 form has the "Instruction" question, but it also has other required questions: A Single Checkmark question labelled "Complete," a Date question, and a Text Field question for "Name."
4. Each Instruction entered in Phase 1 shows in the repeatable section in Phase 2. For each Instruction User B must answer "Complete," "Date," and "Name".

Here's an example use-case:

I need to send a supervisor out to a job site to review and quote on a custom installation. In addition to preparing a quote for the work that needs to be completed, I want that supervisor to be able to outline the specific steps the installer will need to complete when doing the work. Since this is a custom installation, the installer will need instructions specific to this job and can't just work from a set of standard installation instructions. The form I will be building will allow our supervisor to document these specific instructions while doing their site review and quote so that when the installer shows up, they can open their installation form and know exactly what to do.

To create this workflow, follow these instructions:

Create the first Form

1. Name the form "Phase 1"
2. Create a Repeatable Section labelled "Checklist"
   
3. In the Repeatable Section add a Text Area question labelled "Instructions"
   
4. Save and Deploy the form

Create the second Form

1. Name the form "Phase 2"
2. Navigate to the "Settings" tab and then to "Workflow Settings"
3. Under "Form Initiation Methods" choose "Inbox (Dispatched Forms)"
   
   Now the Phase 2 form can only be opened from a dispatch in a user's inbox, not from the Forms Box.
4. Repeatable Section called "Checklist"
5. In the Repeatable Section add a Text Area question labelled "Instructions"
   • Make this question Read Only
     
6. Add three more questions in the same Repeatable Section:
   • A Single Checkbox question labelled "Complete"
   • A Date Selector question labelled "Date"
     • Make this question Required
   • A Text Field question labelled "Name"
     • Make this question Required
7. Your repeatable section will have four questions, with the "Instructions" being read-only
8. Navigate to the Settings within the repeatable section, and checkmark "Prevent users from deleting entries."
   
9. With this setting checked, and the "Instructions" question locked you have prevented the user who receives the dispatched set of instructions from deleting or altering any of the Instructions given to them.
10. Save and Deploy the form

Create the Dispatch Destination:

Note: If you are new to the Dispatch Data Destination, our documentation can be found here.
For more tips on how to set up your Dispatch Data Destination and be sure to read Ian's Insights Ep.5 - Dispatch Destination Approval

1. Create a Data Destination and choose Dispatch
2. Name the destination Phase 1 > Phase 2
3. Under the Dispatch Configuration Tab:
   • Target Form: Selected Here
   • Target Form: Phase 2
   • Target User: User B (for the purposes of this example.)
     
4. Add the dispatch destination to the Phase 1 form

Now try it out!

Open Phase 1, enter a list of instructions, and submit. Here's how a set of instructions will look in Phase 1 and then in Phase 2 when the dispatch is opened:

Repeatable rows in the Phase 2 form are outlined in red where the user hasn't yet answered all the required questions in the row.

If you want to try something more advanced, add a single form approval workflow to the Phase 1 form to enable someone to approve the list of instructions before they are dispatched to Phase 2.

#TechTalkImplementation
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Julie Roberts
Implementation Specialist
ProntoForms
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