This how-to article will help Admins to make services publicly requestable in the client portal. The user must be an admin, have the app admin permission to the ticketing app in which the form for the service lives, or be a Manager / Owner of the service either directly or indirectly through one of their active groups.
Overview
Public forms allow unauthenticated Client Portal visitors can submit ticket requests. At this time, public forms are only supported for ticket requests and link services. They cannot be used for project services.
Configuring a Public Form
The following configuration options are available for public forms:
- Allow Public Requestors – Controls whether unauthenticated users will be able to fill out and submit the form. If enabled, there will be required fields for the requestor to provide their first name, last name, and email address.
- Default Acct/Dept – Every ticket needs an account/department value. Since this cannot automatically be determined on a public form, this field is required if public requestors are enabled for the service.
- Include requestor phone number field on form – If enabled, the field will be included as optional on the form. It can never be marked as required.
- Include captcha field on the form – The captcha field ensures that forms are being submitted by people as opposed to internet bots and other automated internet systems.
<p class=”alert alert-info”>If public requestors are enabled for the service, it is highly recommended that a captcha is included on the form to prevent spam.</p>
- Requestor Matching Mode – Enable this to match up a ticket requestor's email with existing TeamDynamix user records. User records will be searched based on Primary Email, Alert/Notification Email, and Alternate Email (in that order).
The following matching modes are supported:
- None – The requestor information will be added to the ticket as plain-text, and no existing user will be selected as the requestor.
- Straight Copy – Existing users will be searched with the above logic. If a record is found, that user will be marked as the requestor on the ticket. Otherwise, the information will be added to the ticket as plain-text.
- Create Customer – Existing users will be searched with the above logic. If a record is found, that user will be marked as the requestor on the ticket. Otherwise, a new customer record will be created with the provided name and email and will be marked as the requestor of the ticket.
Creating a Public Form
Creating a public form is similar to a creating a new service, though it must be configured for public use.
To create a service for a public form:
- Navigate to the service in the client portal
- Select Edit Service on the right
- Select the Form tab
- If you have already configured a form, select Use an existing Shared Form and then choose your form from the dropdown. If you have not yet configured a form, configure a form using the Create a New Form or Create a new form using an existing Shared Form options.
- Select Save.
- Under Public Requestor Settings, check the box next to Allow Public Requestors.
- Specify a Default Acct/Dept.
- Set Optional Requestor Forms Fields to determine if a phone number and captcha are required to complete the form.
- Set the Requestor Matching Mode to determine if the email address entered by the public user will be used to make a new requestor or match to an existing requestor when the form is submitted.
- Select Save.
Previewing a Public Form
After the form has been configured, use the Preview tab to see what the form will look like to requestors via the Client Portal and technicians in the Ticketing Application. Publicly available forms will also display a Client Portal (Public Requestor) visibility option.
The preview mode has a few differences from the Client Portal view:
- All lookup fields will be hidden.
- Required First Name, Last Name, and Email Address fields will be rendered at the bottom of the form.
- An optional Phone Number field will be displayed at the bottom of the form, if configured in the public form settings.
- A required captcha field will be displayed at the bottom of the form, if configured in the public form settings.
Gotchas & Pitfalls
When on the Forms tab for services, the default selection is Create New Form. If you click save and navigate away from this page, you will have inadvertently created a form specific to this service. Either assign a form, create a new form, or navigate from the page without clicking save.
Examples
Common use cases for public forms include password reset options or services that may be requestable by vendors or others who do not have a login with your organization.