Dapple Form Builder has many field types you can add to a submission form, split into two groups: informational elements (Title, Accordion, Text, Image, YouTube) and input fields (Short, Long, Date, Single, Dropdown, Checkbox, File Upload, Payment, Rating, Codes). Add any field by clicking Add Item in Form Builder. This article is the complete reference.
What field types are available?
Group | Field type | What it does |
Informational | Title | A heading. Use to label sections of your form. |
Informational | Accordion | A collapsible section. Best for submission guidelines, terms and conditions, or an introductory message. |
Informational | Text | A block of fully-formatted static text. |
Informational | Image | An embedded image — for direction, context, or visual reference. |
Informational | YouTube | An embedded YouTube video. |
Input | Short | Single-line text input for short answers like names, emails, URLs, or numbers. |
Input | Long | Multi-line text input for longer answers like bios or cover letters. |
Input | Date | Date picker — for date of birth, deadlines, etc. |
Input | Single | Radio buttons — one selection from a list of options. |
Input | Dropdown | Dropdown menu — one selection from a longer list. |
Input | Checkbox | Multiple selections, or a single agreement checkbox (e.g. terms and conditions). |
Input | File Upload | Attachment uploader — supports most file types. |
Input | Payment | Stripe-powered submission fees, tip jars, or paid add-ons. |
Input | Rating | Numeric score input. |
Codes | Codes | Create access codes to access other projects |
How do I configure a field?
Click any field to open its settings. Every input field has these common controls:
Label — the field name shown to the creator.
Placeholder — an example answer that appears in the empty field.
Description — additional instructions shown below the label.
Required — whether the field must be answered before submission.
Information Type (Short field only) — the format expected: Text, Email, Number, Colour, URL, or Time.
Conditional Logic
Every input field can be set to show or hide based on previous answers — for example, 'show this text field only if the creator selects Other in the dropdown above'. Open any field's Conditions tab to add a rule. Full guide: Setting Up Conditional Logic
Auto-save and preview
Auto-save — Form Builder saves your work every few seconds.
Preview — publish the most recent changes (Save new version), then open the public form URL in a new tab.
Advanced settings — change a field's route ID and URL only if you know what you're doing. Editing these breaks any embedded links pointing at the old field IDs.
Advanced Settings
The advanced settings enable you to change the route ID and URL's associated with this field. Warning - Changing these values may have an impact on embedded links. If editing these make sure to update any place where these links exist.
All Fields
Several different fields can be added to a form. These can be found when selecting Add Items
Title
Use Title fields to break your form into sections — e.g. a Title at the top of the form, then another Title before the upload section, then another before the terms-and-conditions section. Pick a font size that matches the hierarchy you want.
Accordion
An Accordion shows a header that the creator can click to expand. Ideal for long-form content like submission guidelines or terms — it keeps the form clean while letting creators read the full text if they need to.
Single, Dropdown, and Checkbox
Field | Use when |
Single | Yes/No questions or selecting one option from a short list. |
Dropdown | Selecting one option from a longer list (4+ options). |
Checkbox | Either selecting multiple options, or a single agreement checkbox (terms and conditions). |
File Upload
For attachments like documents, images, audio, or video. Configure accepted file types and the maximum file size in the field settings. For attachment limits and supported file types, see How to upload files
Payment
Adds a Stripe-powered payment to the form. Use a single price for submission fees, or Select Amount for multiple payments, donations, or tiered options. Full guides: How to Add Payments to Submission Forms
Title
This should be used to Title your submission (such as the submission type name perhaps). Headings are also a useful way to split up or segregate different parts of your form. Add the name of the title and then select the font size.
As it would appear in the form:
Accordion
This is best used to organise and simplify long or complex fields by breaking them up into smaller, more manageable sections. Each section of an accordion is typically represented by a header, which the user can click to expand or collapse the corresponding content. These are most often used for Submission Guidelines, Terms and Conditions or an introductory message.
As it would appear in the form:
Text
Enables a section of fully-formatted text to be added.
Image
An image can be embedded in the form to add direction, colour or branding.
Youtube
A YouTube video can be embedded in the form - great for promo videos.
Payment Elements
Payments
This is the field where payments for submission fees can be set. See here on how to add payments to submission forms.
Input Elements
Short
Best for short form answers likes names, single sentence answers, dates, URLs etc
Label - The name of the field
Placeholder - An example answer
Description - Instructions on what/how to fill out
Required - Whether this field is mandatory
Information Type - The format of which you would like the answer entered
The Required field denotes whether the submission is mandatory or optional. There are several options for the format of the answer
Text
Email
Number
Colour
URL
Time
Address
Name
Some Short fields as they appear in the form
Long
The long answer should be used to gather more substantive answers such as a cover letter or biography etc.
As it would appear in the form:
Date
This is used for requesting dates such as Date of Birth
As it would appear in the form:
Single
Radio buttons provide a list of options and allow the user to select only one. They are most useful for yes/no questions or to select a single preference from a list of choices. Once one of the radio buttons has been selected, it can only be unselected by selecting another radio button
As it would appear in the form:
Dropdown
Use the drop-down list box when you want to enable creators to choose a single selection in a list of predefined items. List of entries are hidden by default.
As it would appear in the form:
Checkbox
The single checkbox is best used to opt-in or agree to something such as Ts and Cs or submission guidelines for example.
As it would appear in the form:
Upload
This is the field to give the creator the option to upload a file.
As it would appear in the form:
Rating
You can add a score rating option. This can be useful if wanting to conduct a survey within your form.
Codes
Access codes enable you to gain access to another project or form you have setup. This is particularly important if wanting to take payment up front for an entry to an award or competition. After the payment is made, the creator gets a secret code and access to another form. See here for more information on access codes.
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