This guide walks you through building a form: where it lives, how to add fields and pages, how validation behaves, and how to define the actions that run when a user submits. For what forms are and when to use one, start with Forms.

Forms
Form
An Automation whose first Step opens a data-entry screen, used to collect structured information from colleagues, or from external users via a Portal.
are built under Settings → Operations → Forms. You'll need to be a System admin. Because a form is an Automation
Automation
A rule that automatically runs one or more Steps, such as sending a notification or updating a record, when its Trigger conditions are met.
whose first step opens a form, its editor mirrors the automation editor.

1. Create the form

1. Open the Forms pane

Open Settings, and under Operations select Forms.

2. Add a form

Click Add Form to open the form editor. Give it a clear Name (for example Stock Allocation) and, optionally, a Description so your team knows exactly what it does.

2. Decide where the button appears

A form shows as a button on a record's right-click menu. You control which records show it.

1. Choose the collection

Set the Collection

Collection

A container for records in Kinabase, similar to a table in a spreadsheet or database, used to organise one type of data such as Projects or Contacts.

the form applies to, or choose All Collections.

2. Name the button

Give the button a descriptive name and icon - this is what users click, so make the action obvious (for example Allocate Stock).

3. Limit when it shows (optional)

Add conditions so the button only appears when it's relevant - for example, only on records at a certain Workflow

Workflow

A structured process, built from Stages and Actions, that a record moves through to represent its status in a business process, such as a sales pipeline.

stage, or only for users with a given Role

Role

A named set of Permissions you assign to colleagues to control what they can see and do in Kinabase; every organisation also has a built-in Everyone role.

3. Add pages and fields

A form is made of one or more pages. Each page has a main body, where the user enters data, and a sidebar for supporting information.

1. Title the page

Give the first page a title, such as Allocation Details. Titles help users find their place in longer forms.

2. Add body items

In the main body, add the items the user interacts with:

Field - an input that captures a value. This can include selecting records from other collections.
Text - static, formatted text for instructions or context.

Use the sidebar for read-only support: static Text, Image / Images, or a Results Block that shows calculated values (built from computed fields) so users can see the consequences of their input before they submit.

Show live results with computed text

A Results Block with a computed field is a great way to confirm what a user is about to do - for example: "You are allocating 5 of Product B, costing £120. Confirm to proceed."

To include a field's value in computed text, reference it with $FIELD_NAME - the field name in capitals with underscores between words, so a field called Quantity is $QUANTITY. Reference the field directly by its own name (use $NAME, not $COMPONENT.NAME); to reach a field on a linked record, chain names with a dot, e.g. $COMPANY.NAME. See Computed Fields.

4. Show content conditionally

Conditional visibility keeps a form relevant by showing or hiding Fields, Text, Image / Images, Results Blocks and pages as answers change.

Add visibility conditions to an item

Edit a Field or Text item and open its Visibility tab.
For Image / Images or a Results Block, open the item's menu and select Add visibility conditions.
Select Hide this when… or Only show when….
Click Add condition and build the rule from an earlier field or available record data.

When you add several conditions, all of them must match. Only earlier fields are available as form targets, so place each controlling question before the content it affects.

Add visibility conditions to a page

Click the eye-slash Visibility conditions button beside the page heading, then add the conditions in the same way. Page-level visibility is available from page two onwards. The first page always shows, although its individual items can still be conditional.

Kinabase updates visibility as answers change and skips pages that have no visible items. A hidden field is treated as blank by later conditions, computed fields and validation. Its value is excluded from the submitted form values; if the form updates an existing record, the stored value is left unchanged.

Check warnings before saving

The editor warns you when a required field may be hidden, when a later formula, condition or action may receive a blank value, or when a shared form uses data that its audience cannot access.

Public forms can use earlier form answers in visibility conditions, but cannot check record or user data. External Portals can use conditions based only on record or user data. Conditions that mix form answers with record or user data are not supported on public forms or External Portals.

If reordering or deleting content would break a condition, Kinabase lists the conditions and validation rules that will be removed. Choose the confirmation action to continue, or Cancel to keep the current form.

5. Choose which record the form acts on

By default, a form acts on the Record where its button appears. You can keep the button on that starting record while making the form's fields, default values, formulas and following actions use a related record instead.

On the Form tab, under How users open this form, select a collection in Show on record pages in. Enable Act on a related record.

2. Add the first switch

Expand Choose which record this form acts on, then click Switch record. Under Select a record from, choose the destination collection. Use Relates to Record via to choose the link from the starting record.

3. Choose from multiple matching records

If the link can return more than one record, you must set Selection Criteria and Mode. Date and time fields offer Earliest or Latest; numeric and duration fields offer Min or Max. You can also add Filters to narrow the records considered before Kinabase applies the selection criteria.

4. Follow a longer route

Click Switch record again to follow another link. Repeat this for each link in the route. The card summarises the final destination and every link used to reach it.

5. Preview the target

Open the Preview tab and choose a launch record under Selected Record. Kinabase resolves the route before showing the preview, so you can check that the form displays data from the intended related record.

The form will not open if a link returns no record, a configured link is no longer valid, or the user cannot read a record in the route. It also stops submission if the target changes after the form opens.

Read our guide to linked Collection Fields to learn how records are connected.

6. Set validation

Validation keeps submissions clean - for example, stopping someone allocating more stock than exists.

Edit a field and open its Validation tab to set whether the field is Required, whether a number must be a whole number, and any minimum and maximum values (each with its own message).

For limits that depend on other fields, switch the min or max to formula mode and reference a field - for example, cap an allocation at $QUANTITY_IN_STOCK. Issues can be a warning (shown, but the user may continue) or an error (which blocks submission).

7. Add more pages and a thank-you page

Break a long form into pages

For anything complex, split the form across pages so users aren't faced with a wall of fields.

Under the first page, click Add Page.
Give the new page a title, then add its body and sidebar items as before.

Repeat for each section of your process.

Confirm the outcome with a post-submission page

A post-submission page is shown after a user submits - ideal for confirming what happened and pointing to next steps.

In the form editor, turn on the post-submission page.
Set its icon and title (for example Stock Allocated).
Add a description, and optionally results blocks showing the final calculated values.

8. Define what happens on submission

The fields collect data; the actions decide what to do with it. This is where a form behaves exactly like an automation.

1. Add an action

Under What to do, click Add step and choose an action type. Forms can use most automation steps - Add a task, Send a notification, Send an email, Create a new record, Update the current record, Generate PDF document, Copy to clipboard, and Make an API call.

2. Use the submitted values

Map the action's fields to the values the user entered, along with record and expression values, just as in any automation.

3. Chain actions

Add further steps to run in sequence - for example, update the record, then send a notification, then create a task.

For the full catalogue of what each step does, see Automation Steps.

Forms can be shared by public link, embedded on an approved website, or added to a Portal

Portal

A secure, branded web interface, separate from the main app, that shares a filtered view of your Kinabase data with internal colleagues or external collaborators.

. See Shareable forms for publishing and response controls.

10. Best practices

Start with the essentials

Capture the fields you truly need first, then add pages, results blocks and validation as your process matures.

Test with a real record

Run a record through the form to check every page looks right and the resulting actions behave as expected.

Check your conditions

Confirm the button only appears - and the form only runs - for the records and people you intend.

Need more help? Ask your System admin, or contact our support team via Help & Support.

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Next Multi-row inputs

Creating Forms