How to build and use (submit) a Fillable Form in SciNote

The Fillable Forms feature allows you to create standardized, reusable digital templates for collecting structured data directly in protocol steps. This article walks you through the process of building, publishing, and using Fillable Forms.

Step 1: Access the Form Builder

1. Navigate to the Forms section in the left-hand menu.

2. Click + New form to start creating a new template.

Step 2: Add form fields (blocks)

Each form is built using field types called blocks. You can mix and match block types depending on the kind of data you want to collect:

• Text – for comments or descriptive entries, including (#) smart annotations

• Number – with optional units and value range validation

  • 

• Single choice – dropdown with one selectable option

• Multiple choice – dropdown with multiple selections

• Date & Time – with support for ranges and timestamps

• Action – a “Mark as completed” button to confirm procedural steps

• Inventory Item – link inventory items (saves a snapshot at submission)

Each block can be configured with:

• A title and optional Smart Annotation-supported description

• A required toggle

• A Mark as N/A toggle

Step 3: Configure and organize fields

• Drag blocks to reorder

• Use the duplicate icon to reuse a field

• Delete any block by clicking more options followed by delete

• Click Test Form to see how the form will appear to end users before you publish

Step 4: Publish the form

When your form is ready:

1. Click Publish to make it available for use in protocol steps

2. Published forms are locked; to make changes later, click Unpublish

Step 5: Insert the form into a protocol step

To use a form during a procedure:

1. Open a Task 

2. Navigate to a step in the Protocol section

3. Click Insert Content → Form

4. Select your published form from the list

   1. Up to 5 recently used forms will appear for quick access

Step 6: Fill out and submit the form

While working in a task:

• Users can complete forms during protocol execution

  • You MUST have the 'Technician', 'User', or 'Owner' role to submit a Form. 'Viewers' cannot submit Forms on Tasks.

• Fields will be timestamped when filled

• Click Submit when done — the submission is logged in the Activity log and Audit trail

Step 8: Export completed form data

You can export submitted form data to .xlsx format for reporting, analysis, or compliance needs. Here’s how:

1. Navigate back to the Forms section in SciNote

2. Find the form for which you want to export submission data and click the checkbox next to the form name

3. Click the Export button down in the bottom menu

4. SciNote will notify you once the export is ready

5. Click the download link in the notification to retrieve the exported file

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