Creating a New Form

Creating forms in reBB is straightforward and intuitive, even if you're new to form builders. This guide will walk you through the basics of creating your first form, adding components, and generating output.

Accessing the Form Builder

To start creating a form:

1. Navigate to the reBB homepage
2. Click the "Create a form" button
3. You'll be taken to the form builder interface where you can design your form

Understanding the Form Builder Interface

The form builder has three main sections:

• Left panel: Contains form components you can add to your form
• Right panel: Your form canvas where components are arranged

Adding Components to Your Form

Adding components is as simple as drag-and-drop:

1. Find the component you want in the left panel
2. Click and drag it onto your form canvas
3. Drop it where you want it to appear

Or for a quicker approach:

1. Click on a component in the left panel
2. It will automatically be added to the bottom of your form

Basic Form Components

Here are some essential components you'll likely use:

• Text Field: For short text input like names or titles
• Text Area: For longer text input like descriptions or comments
• Select: Dropdown menus for choosing from options
• Radio: Option buttons where only one can be selected
• Checkbox: Toggle options that can be turned on or off
• Number: For numerical input only
• Date/Time: For date and time selection

Arranging Your Form

You can organize your form layout in several ways:

• Drag components up or down to reorder them
• Use Panel components to group related fields together
• Add Columns to create multi-column layouts
• Include Fieldset components to visually separate sections

Configuring Component Properties

After adding a component, it'll automatically open the component properties, here you can modify and edit many of the component's default properties, such as making the component required or edit the component's name:

Understanding Wildcards

Wildcards are how you connect form fields to your output template:

1. Each component generates a wildcard based on its "Key"
2. Wildcards appear in the "Available Wildcards" section above your template
3. The format is {KEY} where KEY is your component's unique key
4. Click the copy button next to any wildcard to copy it to your clipboard

Creating Your Template

Your template determines how form data will appear in the final output:

1. Scroll down to the "Form Template" section
2. Enter your desired output format (BBCode, HTML, or plain text)
3. Insert wildcards where you want form data to appear

For example, a simple BBCode template might look like:

[b]Name:[/b] {NAME_123}
[b]Age:[/b] {AGE_456}
[b]Bio:[/b] {BIO_789}

When the form is submitted, these wildcards will be replaced with the user's input.

Working with Dataset Wildcards

When using datagrids, you'll see special dataset wildcards:

1. Dataset wildcards appear as {@START_GRIDKEY@} and {@END_GRIDKEY@}
2. They're highlighted in red until used in your template
3. Place these wildcards around the section that should repeat for each row
4. You must include both the START and END wildcards in your template

For example:

[b]Team Members:[/b]
[list]
{@START_TEAM@}[*]{name} - {role}
{@END_TEAM@}
[/list]

You can read more regarding datagrids here.

Saving / Testing Your Form

When your form is ready:

1. Enter a name for your form in the "Form Name" field
2. Click the "Save Form" button
3. You'll receive a shareable link to your form
4. You can always return to edit your form by appending "/builder.php?f=YOUR_FORM_ID" to the reBB URL or by clicking on the link to use the form as a template in the footer.

Tips for Well-Designed Forms

• Group related fields together
• Order fields in a logical sequence
• Use clear, concise labels
• Add help text for complex fields
• Keep forms as short as possible