How to Build an Entry Form Using the Question List

This guide covers functionality that is used by admins to build forms and will refer to other guides that explain specific functionality in more detail. The aim of this guide is to detail how admins can create, edit and manage questions lists for their forms. This guide does not detail the full process of launching an entry form or the functionality on the award settings page.

Forms in Nucleus

Nucleus core purpose is to collect data from a group of users referred to as entrants. Entrants log into the system to submit data either for themselves or others, often to enter an award or to apply for funding/certification etc. This process is completed using the from, a set of questions curated by admin users. Nucleus provides functionality so that admin users can collect any data required via a completely bespoke form. The question list contains 21 different question types and a wide range of functionality that allows admins to change the questions displayed to entrants depending on their answers to previous questions, known as dependencies or dependent questions.

Learning and understanding the functionality does require investment and form building, depending on the length of the form and the complexity of the question set, does take time. The result is a feature heavy system that allows as much customisation as required. This guide will cover the basics to server as a reminder resource but BAFTA Tech support provide full training as part of the contract and are always happy to answer specific questions via the support site.

Creating An Entry Form

Before you begin creating an entry form, we recommend that you spend some time sketching out what is required. Do not let your form be constricted by previous systems or process, fully sketch out a form that contains the questions which will collect all the data required for your award/project. Once you have this information you can begin to understand how to create the form within the Nucleus functionality. It is better to come with an idea of what questions will be asked before you start.

All of the form building functionality is in the Question List section of Nucleus. To begin make sure you have created your award that you wish to edit and then:

Log into the Admin Interface
Go to Actions>Question List
Select the relevant Award from the drop down at the top of the page

Note – the question set edited is for the selected award so it is vital that the correct award is displayed in the drop-down.

To begin the form click Add to create your first question and the question settings page will load. The options on this page will differ depending on the question type and answers chosen.

Initial Options

At the top of the page there are four input fields that define the question:

Name – Enter a name for the question in the textbox. The only requirement in Nucleus is that the name set is unique. Nucleus will not prevent admin users providing a duplicate name in this field but duplications will cause issues if entries are copied or progressed. We recommend that you apply a descriptive name such as Introduction Divider as this will assist in identifying the question at a later stage but it is perfectly fine to enter a code such as AwardQ1. The name is for administration purposes only.
Type – Select the question type you are creating. The selection process will change the options on the page. For a full list and description of question types view the question guide.
Position – Defines the positioning of the question on the form. This can also be edited on the question list.
Question Display – The default is all, as the majority of questions created will be visible both for all users. However there are many workflows, where a question that can be viewed and updated only by admin users for example, such as adding a status or a score. This guide details the different visibility options.

Question Parameters

The question parameters section contains options that affect the display and behaviour of the question on the entry form. Not all are applied to each question and the ones that are not relevant for your selected question will be hidden. The options are covered in no particular order:

Title/Question – The pubic facing question name that will appear on the form. This field can be left empty if required.
Required? – Define if the question is mandatory or optional
Read only? – Define if the entrants can edit the question
- No [default option]
- All Users – question is read only for all entrants
- Shared User Only – question is read only for entry guest users
- Entry Owner Only – question is read only for entry owners
Default – A value entered in this field will be populated when the form is generated. Admins can enter special values in this field that will were provided by the user on the registration form
Hint – A value entered in this field will display in a light grey colour that disappears when the entrant clicks into the input field on the form
Max/Min Length – Specify the number of words or characters that entrants are required to supply as the answer to the question
Text – A full html editor used to display text and content onscreen
Earliest/Latest Date – For Date questions only. Define the date range for the date selector. These fields are optional
Min/Max Selected – Used to define the number of responses an entrant can supply for the question
Options – Define the answers an entrant can choose for select questions
Min/Max Value – For Duration questions only. Define the minimum and maximum values that can be entered for this question
Rows – Used to define the height of Text Area questions
How many subsequent questions? – Used by Multi-Part questions
Is a tag? – Answers to this question are used on the Viewing Interface by Judges to filter entries
Use for Correspondence – The answer provided will be included in emails generated by Nucleus
Value/Formula – Used in the Export questions

Note – the special options for Media Library Items are coved in the Media Library guide.

Options

The options section contains functionality that uses the question data in other areas of the system outside of the entry form. Admin users are not required to set these when creating the form but it is advised as there are many benefits to using these options.

Answer incudes personal data – set this to yes to specify if the answer constitutes as personal data. This is covered in the GDPR guide
Hide answers on redacted PDF’s – this option is fully covered in the redacted pdf guide
Include on options – there are three options which begin with include on, for Entrant, Admin and Admin Dashboard and are important for the entry form set up.
- Entrant – The key item is to set one question on the entry form for position 1 for entrants. This defines the question that will be used to identify all of the entries. If a question is not set for item 1 then you will see an error message on the question list and the award will not work correctly. The question selected must appear for all entries in the award, so using a field called Entry Title is advisable. In addition any questions set to appear as for the Entrant will appear on the tables for Unsubmitted and Submitted entries on the entrant dashboard assisting in entrants managing their entries. For more instructions see this guide.
- Admin – The admin entry table on the admin entry checking page can be customised using this function. To set a question to appear as a column on the table set a number in this option.
- Admin Dashboard – for more information read the Customising your Admin Dashboard Guide.
Viewing Interface options – These are key for setting up the Viewing Interface which can be actioned later in the process. The Viewing Interface Set-up guide fully explains the set-up when you are ready to action.
Worksheet for Export – defines the sheet in which the question data is exported in the entry data download csv file.

Note – to assist Admins in speeding up the process, it is possible to edit some functions as part of a ‘Batch’ process, meaning that multiple questions can be updated in one process. This can be reviewed in this guide.

Help

For each question admins can display text to provide further information for entrants that is printed onscreen below the field. This can be used to provide direction to entrants and accurate answers to the questions, saving admins having to reject entries later in the process.

Short Help – Any copy provided in this field is printed on screen in full directly below the question
Long Help – Any copy provided in this field will be hidden and a link name More will display on the screen. When the entrant clicks on the link any copy in this field will appear. This is designed for detailed information that will take up large amounts of space onscreen if displayed.

Note – There is no word or character limit for either help option, so it is possible to display long text in the short help option. Long help should not be used without short help or the formatting on screen will appear odd.

Dependencies

Dependencies are a powerful tool which admins can use to extract the exact information that entrants need to supply. Using dependencies is not mandatory and is a decision you will need to make. Some forms are simple and if all entrants are required to answer the same questions then you might not need to use dependencies. If however, entrants are required to supply vastly different data sets depending on their answers then dependencies can be used as a filter to only display specific questions, for example asking a costume designer for a statement if the entrant selects costume design as a category. Dependencies can also be used to rule out entries before the entrant completes the form, such as using the award date criteria to display a message if the entry falls outside of the range specified. This can be built to be as simple or as complex as you need and therefore makes it difficult to explain. BAFTA support staff are always available to answer questions and this will also be looked at extensively in the training sessions.

Setting a dependency is essentially stating that you want this question to appear on the entry form based upon a particular answer to a previous question on the entry form. Each dependency relies upon three sections:

Question – select the question from the first dropdown that you wish this question to depend upon. It is really important that this question has been created previously.

Test – you select how the system will test the data entered by the entrant, so for example does this equal certain parameters

Value – is what we are testing against, so if I wanted to test that an answer to a question was equal to 01/01/2011 then I would enter 01/01/2011. If this answer was provided by the entrant then this question will appear on the entry form.

Form Structure

The beauty of Nucleus is that it enables you to ask any question in the order that you require. In the first instance take a look at your current entry form, be it on paper or online. Think about how you would like it to work in an idea world and ideally get a piece of paper and draw some work flow diagrams. Think about what information is key and the best method to ask it in. For BAFTA we decided that we didn’t want entrants to spend time completing an entry form only to find out at the end that they are not eligible. So we placed the eligibility questions at the top of the form.

At BAFTA we have designed the form in four distinct sections and we will show you how to build it using this method. Again, this is just a suggested design that works really well for us. There is no need to follow it to the letter, do what you think is right for you.

BAFTA forms are structured as follows:

Awards Information
Eligibility check
Category select
Basic entry information
Category specific entry information
Declarations and Terms and Conditions

Each organisation has different requirements and remember there is the option to copy and tweak the form each year to make changes and improvements. We find that Admins learn lessons based on experience and feedback from Users. Remember support is here to advise but the aim in Nucleus is to create functionality that will empower Admins to create the forms they want.

Deleting and Restoring Questions

When a Question is deleted, it is hidden from the Admin Question List view and removed from the Entry Form, but the data and the Question are still available for retrieval. This is helpful if a User changes their mind or if a Question was accidently deleted and needs to be recalled. To view deleted Questions, click on the Show Deleted button at the top of the Question List. All deleted Questions will be listed at the bottom of the list. From here, Admins can restore any deleted Questions. Once restored, the Question will be added to the bottom of the Question List but can be edited and moved as required.

Questions will now be fully deleted when the Award is deleted.

How to Preview the Entry Form

Nucleus provides a two preview buttons on the Question List page which allows Admins to view the form, both as the form will appear to entrants and with additional Admin UI.

Entrant Preview – When clicking on the button the Admin User will be logged in as an Entrant and will be taken to the Entry Form page. Admin Users have full access of the Entrant Interface, being able to complete the Entry Form, submit, create new entries, generate and pay invoices, as well as upload Media Items. Emails will not be sent in preview mode but can be previewed in the email list. The preview form is not visible to Entrants. The preview button will be removed when the Award submission date is in the past.
Admin Preview – When clicking on this button all of the actions described in Entrant Preview will apply, however, there is additional functionality available in this preview mode to assist admins in their form creation. The quest ID is displayed on the form and clicking on this will allow the admin to edit the question settings. In addition there is a table for questions with dependencies to show which questions they are dependent upon to allow admins to trouble shoot and resolve issues.

How to Switch On the ‘Preview Entry Form’ button

In order to use the preview function a configuration value needs to be set with an organisation ID that is not in use by an organisation. This organisation will be used to create all of the preview entries. Note that the entries will appear on the Entry List for Admins and can be approved on the Viewing Interface if required. This should be set by default on all new instances but can be changed at a later stage if required. If you wish to change this please raise a support ticket.

Go to Actions>Organisations
Create a new test Organisation and leave it without adding any users
Go to Actions>Misc
Click on Configuration Values
Look for “Organisation Id For Entry Form Preview Option” under the Name column
Click Edit
Copy the Organisation ID you just created on the value field
Save & Close
Go to Actions>Question List and filter the relevant award from the drop-down menu. The ‘Preview Entry Form’ button will appear.