Link forms together

Linking two or more forms together is a valuable tool that will allow you to keep separate databases and quickly pull the information from one to another. 

• How to identify the type of relationship between your datasets
  • A one-to-one relationship
  • A many-to-many relationship
  • A one-to-many relationship (the most frequent!)
• How to insert a dropdown list that lists records from another form
• Example
• Linked URLs

With forms (datasets), the relationship between datasets can be:

• One-to-one (like a beneficiary and an ID card)
• Many-to-many (like students and classes: a student attends many classes, and many students attend 1 class)
• One-to-many (like a parent and their children)

Once you identify the nature of the relationship between your two forms, you can choose the best way to structure your data.

A one-to-one relationship means :

• One item from your Form A is only linked to one item from your Form B
• One item from your Form B is only linked to one item from your Form A

If you realize that the relationship is one-to-one, you should usually keep the data separate from two different forms. For instance, that would be the case of an individual and his ID card.

In some cases, however, it makes sense to separate them. For instance, the relationship between spouses may be one-to-one (one person married to the other, and nobody else). However, both names will not appear in the same form, but we can link them together.

A many-to-many relationship means :

• One item from your Form A can be linked to one or more things from your Form B
• One item from your Form B can be linked to one or more things from your Form A

If you realize the relationship is many too many, you should make a 3rd form to help join the two documents together (see the example below).

Sometimes, it makes more sense to put a list in the form where you will likely need to select fewer items from the list. For example, if you have coaches and students, placing the list of coaches (multi-select) in your Students form makes more sense if a student will only have a few coaches (maybe between 1 and 3).

The one-to-many relationship is the most frequent. It means :

• One item from your Form A can be linked to many items from your Form B
• But one item from your form B can be linked to only one item from your form A

If you realize the relationship is one-to-many, you should place your dropdown list in the form where you only need to select one item. For example: if a class only has one teacher, you should put the list of teachers (single select) in the Classes form.

• Analyze your data to identify the type of relationship. This will help you decide which form gets linked (where you use the "custom form" field).
• Create the 1st form with its appropriate fields.
• Create the 2nd form with its appropriate fields.
• Place the new field ("Custom form" field) in the "parent" form and configure it (steps below).

To place the field in the form:

• Go to the design page of the form.
• Drag and drop the "Custom form" field in the form.
• Click on the pen icon to configure this new field.
• Select the "child" form (from which you want to be able to select records to link to).
• Edit other parameters (like mandatory, multi-select, etc.).
• Click update.

You could create a third form, your attendance sheet form, in which you can link one beneficiary to one attendance. 

You can achieve this by adding two fields of the "List" type. Then click on the pencil icon to edit the details. Select "Custom forms" and then select the "Beneficiaries" form for one of the fields and the "Training" form for the other field. 

This will allow you to keep your databases separated and organized and to be able to run reports on the different information entered in each database. 

One single form can be linked to many forms, so you could also link your Beneficiaries to your Seed Distribution form. This will allow you to select from the list of existing beneficiaries. 

When you access the record that links to the other forms, in this example, each Beneficiary, you will see on the left the fields belonging to the Beneficiary form and on the right the Forms and records linked to that beneficiary. 

Notice that you can add data relevant to that beneficiary from this view. Click on the "+" symbol next to a linked form's title. A panel will appear, allowing you to add a new record related to that beneficiary.

If you use link forms together and want to use Formalto (web URL) and be able to create records in the linked form, make sure that all the linked forms have their URLs.