Overview
The Input Builder is the digital-form side of the Form Builder — where you define the fields an inspector fills out in the field. Whether you started from scratch, from a template, or from a PDF upload, this is where you review and refine the form before it's used. The PDF Builder then controls how the completed report renders as a PDF.
⚠️ Changing your form? Update the PDF output too. If your form has a custom PDF output, the Input Builder and PDF Builder don't sync automatically. When you rename a field's key, remove a field, or add one, update the matching field-key references in the PDF Builder so the output keeps rendering correctly. See Designing PDF Outputs with the PDF Builder.
▶️ Watch: Form Builder homepage tour
Opening and previewing the form
Open your form in the Input Builder. The builder shows every component of the digital form — each field and field group laid out as it will appear to the person completing it.
Click Preview at any time to see the form exactly as an inspector will see it while filling it out. This is the end-user view; use it to sanity-check your edits, then return to the builder to keep working.
Editing a field
Click any field on the canvas to open its options, where you can change its content and settings. You can also add conditionals to a field to control its behavior — for example, showing a field only when an earlier answer has a certain value.
The Tools panel
The left side of the builder has a set of tabs: Tools, Data, Settings, and Layout. The first, Tools, is the palette of building blocks — what you see is what you get. Education and investigation forms also have a fifth tab, Components.
Drag and drop any component onto the form to add it.
Once a component is on the canvas you can move it, bump it up or down to reorder, copy it, or delete it.
Standard fields vs. composite fields
The component set includes standard fields (simple, single-purpose inputs) plus a few composite fields — components that bundle more than one field together. Use a composite when you need a repeatable, multi-part section instead of wiring up individual fields by hand.
The composite / field-group components include:
Geographic Coordinates Field — capture GPS latitude/longitude.
Deficiency Field Group — log and manage deficiencies inside the report.
BMP Implementation Deficiencies Field Group — document BMP conditions and tie them to deficiencies.
Schedule Events — schedule follow-up events from within the form.
User Equipment Field Group — pull from the equipment assigned to the user.
Enforcement Actions Field Group — record enforcement actions within the report.
Monitoring Records Field Group — enter monitoring data for designated sampling points.
Compliance Status is a ready-made dropdown for inspection forms. It isn't a composite: it adds a single dropdown that's already set up.
It's pre-filled with the site's or structure's current compliance status. It lists the enabled statuses that apply to all programs, plus the ones set for the inspection's own program. A structure inspection lists the statuses set for Structures. A status set only for a different program isn't listed. If the record's current status has since been disabled or moved to another program, the field still lists it, so the pre-filled answer shows. Statuses are set up in Settings — see SSO, Compliance Status Types, and Billing Settings.
When the inspection is published, the answer becomes the site's or structure's new compliance status. For a structure, the change also shows in its Status History.
Saving a draft doesn't change the status. The field is pre-filled only when an inspection is started. If you open an existing inspection to edit it, the field keeps the answer that was saved.
You can rename it and add conditionals. Its dropdown choices and what it updates are fixed; when you open the field, they're listed under Set by this component.
It can't go inside a Field Group (replicatable), because a site or structure has only one status.
It isn't available on education or investigation forms.
Data settings
Open the Data settings to see the raw data behind the form — the underlying values and structure the form is built on.
Form settings
Open the Settings tab to control how the form behaves and what it outputs:
Form name
Output type — a form generated from a PDF upload has a custom PDF output. Alternatively, you can have the system automatically generate a simple PDF output if you only need a basic version.
Form description
Navigation type — choose how users move through the form: Pages or Table of Contents.
Layout
Use the Layout button to organize how each field is arranged on the form — rearrange and structure fields the way you want them to appear.
Undo / Redo and page navigation
At the top of the builder:
Undo and Redo step through your recent changes.
The page dropdown moves between pages of the form.
You can also add a page from here.
Versioning
Versioning appears at the top of the builder:
When you edit a published form, your changes are saved automatically to a draft version; the published version stays live until you publish. Right after you click SAVE AND PUBLISH, or when you pick a published or archived version from the version dropdown, changes are not saved automatically — click SAVE to save them to a draft. If you click GO BACK first, you're warned that all unsaved changes will be lost.
Once you have a draft, you can edit the draft's name.
You can view the changes made relative to a previous version.
FAQ
Q: What's the difference between a standard field and a composite field?
A: A standard field captures one value (text, date, a checkbox, etc.). A composite field bundles several related fields into one repeatable section — for example a Deficiency or Monitoring Records group — so you don't have to build the parts individually.
Q: How do I make a field appear only in certain situations?
A: Open the field and add a conditional — it controls when the field shows based on other answers in the form.
Q: I edited a published form — did I change the live version?
A: No. Your edits to a published form are saved to a draft version, and the published version stays in place until you publish your changes.
Q: I published an inspection with a Compliance Status answer, but the status didn't change. Why?
A: The status changes only when the inspection is published. Saving a draft doesn't change it. After publishing, the status stays as it is when the answer was left blank, or when a newer inspection of the same type has already been published for that site or structure. An earlier inspection — for example one started offline on mobile that syncs later — doesn't overwrite the status a newer one set. Editing a published inspection without changing its Compliance Status answer also leaves the status alone. This means a status someone changed by hand after the inspection isn't put back. When a status was picked, the inspection itself still records it.
Q: A status I expected is missing from the Compliance Status field. Why?
A: The field lists the enabled statuses that apply to all programs or to the inspection's own program. For example, a status set only for Structures doesn't appear on a site inspection, and a status set only for a site program doesn't appear on a structure inspection. To change which programs a status applies to, or to turn a status back on, see SSO, Compliance Status Types, and Billing Settings.
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