Using Online Forms to Collect Information
Forms are basically used to efficiently and accurately correct information needed to know the views of people as well as make decisions. Web generated forms often referred to as online forms are quite suitable for carrying out such surveys and can mostly be found on a web page. Submitting data to the servers for processing is done once all the necessary data is entered on the online form. Online forms resemble paper or database forms where the user fills it using checkboxes, radio buttons or text fields. Unselected state can be restored with the use of a checkbox and more than one or no item selected. Graphical control elements that allow the user to choose only one of a predefined set of mutually exclusive options are the radio buttons or the option buttons. Radio buttons and checkboxes have a list of circular holes containing white space for the unselected and a dot for the selected. Text box or text field are intended to enable the user to input text information to be used by the program usually in a rectangle with border that separates the text box from the rest of the interface.
The graphical user interface elements for creating a form are several. A text input is text box which enables the user to input a text in a single line. Personal information can be risky if it lands on the wrong hands hence alternatives are sought so that when inputting such personal data such as replacing the text with symbols or making the text not to be seen.to enhance security. Radio buttons for selecting items as well as file select control for uploading files in an online form are also key elements. Reset button activated to restore all values to their initial values, a text area allowing for multiple rows of data to be entered, and a select which is a drop-down list with a list of items where the user can select the button, are also parts of the major elements of an online form. Finally, there is a submit button for sending the form to the server.
There are various ways of making either use Microsoft word, excel or other available online applications. Online forms might sometimes require being converted into pdf which is done using pdf form builder apps. The online form builder apps are built to work on any website and are flexible enough to make anything from a simple contact form to detailed multi-page survey. Using the online form builder apps easily as well as their ability to save time makes them be highly used and recommended.
Regular use of online forms for an organization helps people to collect information, learn the preference of people as well as gather feedback. The forms, therefore, acts as a communication bridge that allows user to communicate with the company or vice versa.