The first step in creating custom forms is to create the fields that are to be used to create the forms.

To create (or edit) a custom jInbound field

1. Log into the Joomla Administrator and select Components - jInbound - Fields from the main menu
2. Select New (or select the field you wish to edit)
3. Set the main Field settings
   • Title: The field label that is displayed on the form
   • Published: Select whether this field will be available for use (generally published unless you want to remove it unavailable on all forms)
   • Field Name*: This is the unique name used in the database to identify this field (it is never seen by users of the form)
   • Field Type: Determines how the field will function, see below for a description of each Field Type
   • Field Description: A text area that can be displayed as a tooltip for the field, it is commonly used in order to provide users with instructions on how to enter the data for the field (optional)
   • Default Value: The information that will be pre-filled in the field when the visitor views the form (optional - generally you will not want to pre-fill any required fields)
4. Set any field attributes if required, in the Attributes Tab (also where you will select if this is a required field)
   • Class Name: Allows you to add a class to the current field which can be used to match with or create new styling for the field
   • Required: Select whether this field must be filled in order to submit the form, if this attribute is set to Yes and the visitor tries to submit the form without filling this field they will see a notification.
   • Options: Some Field types may display Options, for example if you create a List you will enter each item that can be selected as an options (see example below)
     • Text: The label that will be displayed for an option as the user sees it on the form
     • Value: the resulting data that will be recorded in the database (the Text and Value may be the same) - note this may also be used in emails, so be sure to make it descriptive for such uses
   • Extra Attributes: (Optional) Different fields have different available attributes, they are listed in the attributes tab for easy reference, attributes for each field can also be found in the official Form_field documentation
     • Attribute: The type of specific data/action that is to be applied to the field
     • Value: The specific result of the attribute you wish to apply

Example of using Options to create a List

Some fields require that you provide options for a user to select, in the list below each of these has (Enter Options in Attributes Tab) added to the description.

You want to create a field called "Mastery" with field type "list" ( dropdown ), in the "Attributes" tab inside "Options" input box you can provide the options you want inside that dropdown box like:

Novice
Expert
Jedi

Example of the use of a Field Attribute

In this example we will ask the prospect what budget they have between 20,000 and 100,000 in increments of 5,000

We could make a list with many options 20,000/25,000/30,000/35,000 etc or use Integer Field with it's the attributes to create the options for us

• Create a Integer Field with all the basic items as above
• add the required attributes
  • Attribute: first - Value: 20000
    • press the [+] button to add another attirbute
  • Attribute: last - Value: 100000
  • Attribute: step - Value: 5000

Pro tip: in addition you can set the default value to 50000 in the Field tab if that is your preferred answer (for marketing or from experience)

A wide variety of fields can be created including:

• checkbox - provides a single checkbox to be checked or unchecked (Enter Options in Attributes Tab)
• checkboxes - provides unlimited checkboxes that can be used for multi-select. (Enter Options in Attributes Tab)
• color - provides a color picker when clicking the input box.
• email - provides an email field.
• hidden - provides a hidden field for saving a form field whose value cannot be altered directly by a user.
• integer - provides a drop down list of integers between a minimum and maximum.
• list - provides a drop down list of custom-defined entries. (Enter Options in Attributes Tab)
• meter -
• number -
• radio - provides radio buttons to select different options. (Enter Options in Attributes Tab)
• range -
• tel - provides an input field for a telephone number.
• text - provides a text box for data entry.
• textarea - provides a text area for entry of multi-line text.
• url - provides a URL text input field.

jInbound form fields uses the core JForm functionality, complete detailed documentation (some used to create this document) about JForm can be found at in the official Form_field documentation

You can now add the fields to a form by creating a inbound marketing form in the jInbound Forms Manager