4.4 Create, publish, unpublish and delete form versions
When you first create a new form, it is automatically registered in the system as version 1: “V1”. You can continue editing this version until the form is ready to be put into use, but we advise you to create new versions as the work progresses. This way you can always go back and work on an older version in case anything goes wrong with the new one. The very first edition of a form version is called the draft version.
In order to start using the form for entering data, it will have to be published. This means that others can find it in their apps, ready to be filled out. You can only publish one version at a time, so if there is already a published version, it will automatically be unpublished when you publish a new version.
Sometimes you may have to make changes in the form even though it has already been used for data collection. The security features of Zegeba ensure that these data will not be lost but are stored in separate files. If you need to merge the data from the different versions, you can do that by exporting both versions’ data and merge them in a spreadsheet. If you try to open a published form in the Designer, or an unpublished form that contains captures, it will be opened in Minor Edit Mode. In this mode you cannot create or delete elements, as this may affect data already captured, but you can make small visual changes to the element properties, such as changing labels and colors, adding new options in Single or Multiple Select elements, or selecting that an element will not be printed on the PDF.
Create a new version of a form
-
In the Form Templates screen, click on the folder that contains the form and then
click on the form you wish to create a new version of. -
You will then see the various versions of this form named V1, V2 etc.
Press the [New form version] button on the top left
to create a new version of the latest, top version
– or –
If you prefer to start from a version further down in the list,
click on the version’s 3-striped menu and select New Version
to create a copy of this version instead.
In both cases the now copy will be placed on the top of the version list. -
Press [Design form] in the row with the new version to start designing it, based on the previous version.
Publish a version of a form
- In the form’s Form Versions screen, click on the grey dropdown box [Unpublished].
- Select [Published].
- Press [Capture data] if you want to use this form to capture data.
Note! If there already is another published version, it will be unpublished when you do this.
Unpublish a version of a form
- In the Form Versions screen, click on the green dropdown box [Published].
- Select [Unpublished].
Delete a form version
- In the Form Versions screen, left-click on the striped icon next to the version you wish to delete.
- Select Delete Form Version, and press [Confirm] to confirm deletion.
Tip: If you are making a new form version with significant changes, you may wish to keep the previous version published and available for users until the new version is properly tested and approved.
The best way to do this is to create a folder for drafts and tests, copy the existing form version to this folder, change this design and then test it by publishing and unpublishing it outside the reach of normal form users. Use the methods described in Managing: 4.3 Create, edit, copy, rename and delete forms to copy the form to a draft folder.
When the new form version is ready, first create a new version of the existing, published form. Delete the content of this form and copy the content of the new draft design to this form via the File menu copy/paste options.