Forms

Forms allows you to create electronic versions of simple data collection forms for use on Java-enabled mobile phones


NOTE
: To use FrontlineForms you must be running FrontlineSMS version 1.5.5 or above. To find out, check the top left of the screen when running FrontlineSMS. The number that appears is the version you are running. If you need an upgrade and haven't received an email invitation to do so, get in touch via the Contact form on the website

NOTE: FrontlineForms is the latest key addition to FrontlineSMS, introduced in March 2009, and is very much a work-in-progress. Although comprehensive testing has been carried out, as with any new product there may be initial teething problems. If you have any comments or problems, please post them to the FrontlineSMS Community on the internet so we can respond, and share your findings - and our solutions - with other users
 

What can I do in Forms?

Forms is a flexible entry-level data collection tool which combines the power of a Java-based mobile phone application with the ease of use and availability of text messaging. Imagine you're a health clinic and you have staff travelling in different parts of the country collecting data on illnesses, test results and the incident of certain types of disease. At the moment this information is likely being collected on paper forms, which are then sent back to your clinic at certain time intervals, or they simply come back when the member of staff periodically returns. This is obviously a slow and inefficient way of collecting data, and doesn't give the clinic 'real time', up-to-date information from the field as it happens

The Forms module in FrontlineSMS allows you to create copies of very simple paper forms on your computer, which can then be sent to a Java-enabled mobile phone through a text message. This phone can then be handed to a member of hospital staff who can then take it to the field with them and enter the information they collect directly onto the phone (by following a trimmed-down version of the on-screen form you have created for them). Once the data input is complete, the information collected can be sent back to FrontlineSMS as a compressed text message, giving you up-to-date and real-time information. Other systems are available that provide data collection functionality, but many rely on data connectivity via the mobile phone network. FrontlineSMS does not, and only requires that you have a mobile signal. If the forms are completed in an area where there is no signal they will be held in the phone until a signal is detected, after which they can be safely sent

Please note: Although Forms is very flexible, it does require some intermediate PC knowledge. If you are new to FrontlineSMS or to computers, you may want to connect with other users in FrontlineSMS Community on the internet and ask for guidance before you begin. Regardless of your skill level, it is advisable to experiment with the Forms module before using it in a real, live environment. Experimenting with the tool is all part of the process! You will also need to have a phone which supports Java. Check out the Sending your completed form to a mobile phone section for more details

 

Activating the Forms module

When FrontlineSMS is installed for the first time, the Forms module is initially hidden from view. To activate the Forms module, go to the View menu, then select Tabs, and make sure "Forms" is ticked. A new Forms tab should then appear with your other menus along the top of the screen. To hide the Forms module, go back into the same menu and remove the tick/check from the "Forms" entry


The Form Editor

To begin designing a new form, click on "New" [4] from the main window [1]. The following window will appear:

Palette [9]
This is where you select which type of field you want to add to your form. A number of field types are available - for example, "Check box" will insert a tick-box on the form, which the user can tick or un-tick, depending on the answer to a specific question. (In the sample form above, "Check boxes" can be seen next to the
Lives with family, Has transport and Supervisor fields). Text fields can be added by using the "Text field" tool (seen next to Borrower name in the sample above) and "Text area" tool (which is a larger text area, used in the example above to enter the Borrower address). Note that not all fields may be available as we continue to work on and improve the Forms module

Preview [10]
This is where you see a preview of your form, as you build it

Properties [11]
This is where you give each of your fields 'names' (such as
Borrower name and Has Transport in the sample above). The properties window also allows you to select maximum lengths for each of the fields, and select whether certain items (such as "Check boxes") start off ticked, or un-ticked, when the form is loaded. Different palette tools have different properties settings

Form name [12]
Each of your forms need to be given a unique name. "Form name" is where you tell FrontlineSMS what you want to call your form

Save/Cancel [13]
Once you've finished designing your form you can
Save it or, if you want to discard it, Cancel it [13]. "Saved" forms will appear under the name you chose in the main window [1]


Building your new form

To build a new form the following four-step process needs to be followed. Firstly, click on which field type you would like to add, from the Palette [9]. Then, hold the left-mouse button down and drag the field across into the Preview space [10] and let go. Thirdly, click on the field you have just added in [10] until it has a blue box surrounding it (there won't be any text next to it yet). The final step is to edit the new field - you do this by editing the Value section in the Properties window [11]. Different field types have different properties that you can set, but a common one is Label, which is the name you give to the field (such as Borrower name in the sample screen). You may need to practice editing and changing properties to get a better understanding of what they do and how they work

When you are finished, either Save it [13] or, if you want to discard it, hit Cancel [13]

NOTE: To enter data into the Properties window, make sure the mouse cursor is in the Value column (see below) - as you type on your keyboard the words should appear in this field - if they don't you need to click into the space before typing. Once you have finished typing your properties, hit the Enter/Return key on your keyboard to tell FrontlineSMS that you have finished

TIP: You can change the order in which the fields appear in your completed form by highlighting the field in the Preview space and pressing the cursor up or down keys on your keyboard. You can also delete them by pressing the delete key, or by dragging them with your mouse into the rubbish bin icon


Editing, deleting or copying an existing form

Forms that you have already created in FrontlineSMS appear in the main window [1]. 'Locked' forms also appear in this window (i.e. Forms that have been 'finalised' and sent to a mobile phone, and which can no longer be changed. This is explained in more detail later). To edit or delete any unsent forms, highlight the form name in the main window [1] and then click Edit [6] to make changes to it, or Delete [2] to remove it

If you want to make a copy of a form, perhaps to make another which is similar (and you want to use an existing form as a starting point), highlight the form name in the main window [1] and click on Copy [5]. A second form, with the same name, will appear in the main window [1] below the original with an additional "*" next to the name. To edit this duplicate form, or to change its name, highlight it in the list and click Edit [6]. You can now make changes - it is advisable to also change its name to avoid confusion with the original form, which you can do by typing a new name into the Form name [12] field before you Save [13]


Sending your completed form to a mobile phone

Once your form is complete you are ready to send it to a mobile phone. Before that you'll need to download the FrontlineSMS Forms Client onto the target phone (this small program reads your forms and allows the user to fill them in and send the data back to you). Phones need to be Java-enabled and be allowed by your network operator to connect to the Internet. Check your phone's user manual if you're not sure whether or not your phone has Java and/or is able to connect to the internet (you will likely need GPRS for Internet access). Note that not all phones support Java or GPRS

If you have Internet access on your phone:

Open the phone's WAP/Web browser and take it to forms.frontlinesms.com - the optimum version of the Forms Client will then be downloaded directly onto your phone and you'll be ready to go

If you do not have Internet access on your phone:

If your phone is Java-enabled but it doesn't have Internet access or coverage, click here to visit the manual download page (your computer will need to be connected to the Internet for you to be able to access this page). This will provide you with a copy of the Forms Client for storing on your computer. From here you will need to manually install it on your phone, most likely through a USB cable. To do this you will need some technical knowledge, which you are best to seek out in your local area. For more general questions feel free to reach out to the FrontlineSMS Community on the internet

Before sending forms to your phones, you need to assign it to a Group which contains the names and numbers of the people you want to send the form to. If you try sending the form without setting a Group, FrontlineSMS will give you a warning message. (You can create a new Group - if you need to - by following the instructions in the Contacts module). To assign a Group, highlight the Form name in the main window [1] and then right-click your mouse and select Group from the menu that appears. Select the Group you want to send the Form to from the list. You are now ready to send the Form, so click Send [3]
 
NOTE
: Once a Form has been sent to a mobile phone, it will be 'finalised' and you won't be able to edit it (FrontlineSMS needs to match the information coming in from the mobile phone with the original form, and making changes will result in this information being misread). If you are happy that the form is complete and you won't need to make any further changes, select Yes, else hit No

NOTE: Some of the more basic phones will be unable to 'accept' a form automatically. FrontlineSMS is able to detect these handsets, and in these cases a regular text message will be sent to the users phone telling them that a new form is available - they will then need to manually request it using the Get New Forms option on their phone (see next section, below)

 
Using the Forms client on your mobile phone

Once the Forms client is up and running on your phone, the main menu will look something like this:

NOTE: The first time you run the Forms program on your phone, depending on configuration and functionality, it may ask you for permission to 'Allow application to start automatically?' or 'Allow application to start when notified'. If you select "OK" or "Yes" to this message, whenever new forms are sent to your phone, it will automatically run (or "wake-up") FrontlineForms and process the new form. Not all phones support this feature, so if you do not see this message, ignore this step and don't worry

Enter New Data
This is where you enter data into the forms stored on your handset. When the application is first installed there will obviously be no forms available to complete. To add forms, you firstly need to create a form using the FrontlineSMS Form Editor. Once forms are created and sent to the handset, two things can happen when you click the
Enter New Data menu. If there is only one form on your handset it will open automatically. If there is more than one form stored on the handset, you will see a list of available forms. Clicking on a form from the list will open that form and allow you to enter data into it

Manage Data
Once you have entered data into your forms,
Manage Data allows you to edit or delete entries on each completed form, or to selectively upload completed forms to the FrontlineSMS server

Upload Data
When you have filled in a number of forms, you can upload the data from these forms by clicking on
Upload Data. This will then send all completed forms to FrontlineSMS. If you only want to upload some of your completed forms, go to the Manage Data menu option

Get New Forms
Using this option will send an SMS message to FrontlineSMS to request any new forms. FrontlineSMS will only return forms to this handset if they have been "sent" to this handset in FrontlineSMS. If you have set up forms in FrontlineSMS, but have not sent them to this handset, or if there are no new forms available, FrontlineSMS will respond with a message saying "There are no new forms available for this handset"

Options
This section allows you to change settings for the application, and to see help and other information:

Settings

Here you set up the hub phone number for your FrontlineSMS installation. This is the phone number associated with the SIM card inside the phone or modem attached to FrontlineSMS on your computer. (On some phones you can also tweak settings for application wake-up, in which case there will be additional settings available). You cannot use FrontlineForms unless you have a server phone number

Help
This section contains a short introduction to the application's capabilities and usage

About
Provides information on the version of FrontlineForms your handset is running

Debug
The Debug menu allows you to clear all FrontlineForms-related data from your handset. This will delete all forms, and all saved form data. Use this option with great care: Once you have deleted the forms and completed form information, it cannot be retrieved!


Displaying data sent in via forms

Once you have finished designing a form, and your users have the Forms client loaded onto their phone, and your form has been sent to them (see above), your users can take their phone and begin collecting data in the field, filling in the form you have created for them on their mobile phone screens. Their completed information will come into FrontlineSMS as compressed text message, which is uncompressed and then matched with the original form, and the data extracted

The main window [1], with finalised forms - which have a    icon next to them - and the received data, looks something like this. This Results window shows the data collected for each form as well as the "Submitter" (the number/contact that sent in the Form). Just click on any Form name to view the responses

NOTE: Even though Forms may be finalised, you still have the option to send them to more phones. To do this, select the Form name in the Forms window [1] and select Send [3] and follow the earlier instructions
 

Exporting your Forms data

You can export your Forms data into a Comma Separated (CSV) file which can then be read by a wide variety of other applications (Excel, for example). With the Results window showing, select your Form name (or field name) and click on the Export results button at the bottom right of the screen

Enter a Filename for the data, and choose a location for the file using the Browse button (optional), and click Export

As previously suggested, it is recommended that you experiment with FrontlineSMS Forms and get comfortable before using them in a live environment

It is also recommended that you regularly back up - Export - your collected data to protect against computer crashes and possible data loss

 

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