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How to use 'Input Formatting' in Forms to restrict how data is entered
How to use 'Input Formatting' in Forms to restrict how data is entered

Use Input Formatting so that form data can only be entered in a specific format.

Liz Splain avatar
Written by Liz Splain
Updated over 5 years ago

Did you know when you're building forms you can set validations and formatting requirements on your form fields?  Using 'Input formatting' on your 'Text Box' fields lets you ensure the data you want is being entered in a uniform way.

Here's a list of 'Input Formats' that are currently supported in molti:

  • SSN (####-##-####)

  • ZIP (#####)

  • ZIP = 4 (#####-####)

  • Phone Number ((###)###-####)

  • Phone Number with Extension ((###)###-#### ext. ###)

  • Date and Time (##/##/#### ##:##)

  • Date (##/##/####)

  • Time (##:##)

  • .... and "Custom"! 

(If you want to read how to apply 'Custom' formatting, scroll to the bottom of this article.)

How to apply 'Input Formatting'

  1. Open the 'Form & Report Builder' in your left-side navigation menu.

  2. Open a form you've already created, or start a new one.

  3. Drag a 'Text Box' field into your form.

  4. Name your field in the 'Label'  section.  For this example, we want to collect Zip Codes.

  5. You want to make sure the Zip Codes are always entered in the same format, so we should apply 'Input Formatting'.

  6. To start, select the 'Data Type'.  This dictates what validations and formatting options will be available to you. Select 'Number' from the drop-down menu,

  7. Then select the 'Data Validation'.  This tells the system what it should be validating for.  If a field isn't meeting the validation requirements, it will be red when a user is inputting information.  Select 'Zip' from the drop down menu.

  8. Then select the 'Input Formatting'.  This forces the user that is entering data into the forms to enter it in a specific format.  In this case they must enter 5 numbers.  Select 'ZIP (#####)' from the drop-down menu.


   7.  Select Create .

Now when a user enters information into the form fields, they must enter it in a ##### or the information will not be accepted and the form field will be red.  Here's an example:

But what if the type of formatting you want isn't available.  That's why we have "Custom" formatting options, too!

How to apply 'Custom Input Formatting'

  1. Open the 'Form & Report Builder' in your left-side navigation menu.

  2. Open a form you've already created, or start a new one.

  3. Drag a 'Text Box' field into your form.

  4. Name your field in the 'Label'  section.  For this example, we want to collect a percentage.

  5. When you're using custom formatting, you don't need to identify the 'Data Type' and 'Data Validation'.  Select 'Custom' in the 'Input Formatting' drop-down menu.

  6. Now you can define your format. Use the formatting rules provided (? = Any letter; # = Any digit; * = Any letter or digit).  For this example we want to specify a percent in the following format ###.##%.

7. Select 'Create'.

Now when a user enters information into the form fields, they must enter it in a ###.##% or the information will not be accepted and the form field will be red.  Here's an example:

This results in consistent information being entered into forms, and consistent information being output via forms.

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