formbuilder-admin

What this skill does

# FormBuilder Admin

FormBuilder is a University of Illinois web application for creating customizable forms,
surveys, and event registration workflows. The admin interface is at
`appserv7.admin.uillinois.edu/FormBuilderAdmin`.

## Key Concepts

FormBuilder organizes work in a hierarchy: **Unit > Form Group > Form**. Each form has
**periods** (time windows when the form is active), **phases** (workflow steps), **sections**
(content containers), and **questions** (data fields). Phases are connected by **routing
triggers** that move form responses through the workflow when conditions are met.

There are three phase types: **Data Collection** (where users fill out the form),
**Review Approval** (where admins review responses), and **Archive** (final storage).
Only one Data Collection and one Archive phase are allowed per form.

Forms can be **Standard** or **Event Registration** (which adds event sessions, guest
questions, and registration management). Event registration has two modes: **Standard Mode**
(automatic registration on submit) and **Advanced Mode** (registration controlled by routing
triggers). This choice is irreversible.

## Navigation

The admin URL pattern is:
`appserv7.admin.uillinois.edu/FormBuilderAdmin/Unit/{unitId}/FormGroup/{groupId}/Form/{formId}/...`

Key pages append to the Form URL:
- `/Contents` — Form contents editor (questions, sections)
- `/Contents/PaymentInformation` — Payment line items
- `/Lifecycle` — Workflow diagram
- `/Phases` — Phase list and settings
- `/RoutingTriggers` — Routing trigger list
- `/Properties` — Form properties (title, authentication, payment details)
- `/Periods` — Period management
- `/Periods/EventSessions?periodId={id}` — Event sessions for a period
- `/EventSessionCategories` — Event session categories (form-level)

**Important:** Breadcrumb navigation sometimes fails in this application. Prefer direct URL
navigation by constructing the URL from the known base path. Use the sidebar hamburger menu
(☰) for top-level navigation.

## Core Workflows

For detailed procedures on each area, see the reference files:

- **Questions and Sections:** See [references/form-contents.md](references/form-contents.md)
  for adding/editing questions, question types, sections, and question triggers.
- **Event Sessions:** See [references/event-sessions.md](references/event-sessions.md) for
  session categories, creating sessions, and linking sessions to questions and payments.
- **Payments:** See [references/payments.md](references/payments.md) for enabling payments,
  adding payment line items, and CFOAPAL configuration.
- **Workflow and Lifecycle:** See [references/workflow-lifecycle.md](references/workflow-lifecycle.md)
  for phases, routing triggers, conditional statements, and routing actions.
- **Authentication and Access:** See [references/authentication-and-access.md](references/authentication-and-access.md)
  for local user self-registration, security groups, periods, and form access.
- **Troubleshooting:** See [references/gotchas.md](references/gotchas.md) for known pitfalls
  and hard-to-discover fixes.

## Safety Guidelines

- **Always confirm destructive actions** with the user before executing (deleting triggers,
  phases, questions, or responses).
- **Edit triggers before deleting phases.** If a routing trigger references a phase and you
  delete that phase first, the trigger will have a broken reference. Always update or remove
  trigger references to a phase before deleting it.
- **Work step by step.** For multi-step changes (especially workflow modifications), execute
  one step at a time and verify with the user before proceeding.
- **Maintain a change log.** When making multiple changes, keep a running list of what was
  changed so the user can audit and revert if needed.
- **Archive rather than delete questions** when possible. Archiving (setting Is Active to
  unchecked) preserves historical data while hiding the question from the form.
- **Test in Test Email Mode** before going live. When Test Email Mode is on, all emails route
  to the form group's testing email address instead of real recipients.

## UI Interaction Patterns

The admin interface uses a left-panel/right-preview layout on the Form Contents page. Key
patterns:

- **Global Settings panel** (left side): Select the active phase, view payment info, and add
  phases/sections.
- **Form Preview panel** (right side): Shows the form as it appears to users. Click a section
  or question to select it, then use the Form Contents panel to edit/add.
- **Gear icon (⚙):** Used on many list pages (Phases, Routing Triggers, Event Sessions) to
  access Edit/Delete options via dropdown.
- **Blue "EDIT" buttons:** Direct edit access on list items.
- **"+ ADD NEW..." buttons:** Appear in section headers to add new items.
- **Save Changes / Save button:** Always at the bottom of editing panels. Changes are NOT
  auto-saved.
- **Sidebar editing panels:** When editing questions, triggers, or line items, a panel slides
  in from the left or opens inline. Scroll down within this panel to see all fields.