External Form

The External Form node allows for Dispatcher Stratus forms to be connected to a URL. This URL can be provided to a user where Dispatcher Stratus collects the data entered into the form. The External Form node acts as the beginning of a workflow that does not necessarily begin with a document, but does require some input from a user. You can use this node for a variety of workflows, such as:

• Job application collection
• Incoming sales information collection
• Customer feedback

To open the External Form node’s configuration window, add the node to your workflow and double-click on it.

Configuring the External Form Node

• Enabled - To enable this node in the current workflow, ensure the toggle is to the right. By default, nodes are enabled upon creation. If you disable the node, and there are no other collection nodes, the workflow will not accept documents and will not pass validation.

• Name - The node name defaults to this field. This name appears in the workflow below the node icon. Use this field to specify a meaningful name for the node that indicates its use in the workflow.

• Description - Enter an optional description for this node. A description can help you remember the purpose of the node in the workflow or distinguish nodes from each other.

Buttons

• Help - To access Online Help, click this button.
• Cancel - To exit the window without saving any changes, click this button.
• Save - To preserve your node configuration and exit the window, click this button.

Apps

To create a Stratus app based on the configured node, select Create App on save. Upon saving the node, Stratus creates an External app and posts it on the Apps page. The app will enable tenant members to access the form specified in this node without accessing the workflow itself, for example, for users who do not have workflow permissions.

The new app retains the node’s configuration, including the name, description, and node icon. If a node icon has not been defined for the workflow, Stratus assigns a generic default icon to the app instead.

Note: The new app appears on the Apps page in an unshared state so that it can be modified, if necessary, before being shared with other tenant members.

Configuration Options

To configure the node, do the following:

1. Using the Select Form drop-down menu, select one of your configured forms.

2. The URL generated is now connected to that form.

3. Copy the URL so it can be distributed and/or copy the iframe code so it can be embedded in a web page. See the Important note below for more information.

4. Select the authentication method you would like to associate with the form. Options include:

• Dispatcher Stratus Login - The user must sign in using their Dispatcher Stratus login. This option is selected by default.
• Single Sign-On (SSO) via SAML (Non-Stratus user) - Dispatcher Stratus uses the previously configured SAML to authenticate the user without them having to enter credentials.
• Single Sign-On (SSO) via SAML (Stratus user) - Dispatcher Stratus uses the previously configured SAML to authenticate the user without them having to enter credentials.
• Anonymous Submission - The user is not required to authenticate.
  • Require human verification - The user is required to complete an ALTCHA (CAPTCHA alternative) to verify they are a human (not a bot) before the form can be submitted. This option is automatically selected when you select Anonymous Submission.

5. Select the Save button to save and close the node.

Important!

• The External Form node cannot collect data if the workflow is not running. If a user attempts to access the provided URL while the workflow is not running, they will receive an error.
• The URL is not accessible from outside the node. It is recommended that you save the URL somewhere external. If the URL gets lost, you will have to stop the workflow to recopy it, which could impact data collection.
• Each node generates a unique URL. You can have multiple External Form nodes in the same workflow.
• The form can also be embedded in an iframe within another website.
• When the External Form node is configured with Anonymous Submission and is followed by a process automation node (not a People node) or a Distribution node, you must insert an Assign Owner node before the process automation or Distribution node for the workflow to function as intended.

Using a Form

After the rest of the workflow is configured and is running, the URL provided will take a user to a page to fill out the form, as in the following illustration:

If the Dispatcher Stratus login authentication method was selected during node configuration, users will have to log in with the same authentication method used to access Dispatcher Stratus. If the Anonymous Submission option was selected, users will be brought right to the form without having to login. If you selected to include human verification, it appears at the bottom of the form and must be selected before the form can be submitted.

Note: When using the Dispatcher Stratus login authentication method, the workflow must also be shared with the user attempting to access the form.

External Form Capture

When using the External Form node, forms are accessed via the provided URL or accessing the page with the embedded iframe. To complete a form, do the following:

1. Navigate to the page with the External Form.
2. Enter information into the required fields and any additional fields as needed.
3. If needed, select the I’m not a robot checkbox.
4. Select the Submit button

From there, the form is sent into the workflow as a job. If there are any People Nodes in the workflow, the form can be viewed on the Forms tab in the Job. Users with access to the job can update Form field entries (with the exception of Signature fields).

Eventually, as the job is processed through the workflow, the job will reach a Distribution Node. This indicates the end of the workflow. The job will no longer be accessible and the form data will be deleted, unless it was saved, such as with the Flatten Form or Metadata to File nodes.