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Formstack: Getting Started

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Caroline McCraw
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What is Formstack?

Formstack is an online tool that allows you to create, customize, and manage forms for various purposes such as surveys, event registrations, applications, and feedback forms.

** Note that Formstack is not intended for long-term (multi-year) storage of submission data, as there are file and form limits. If you are collecting information that needs to be stored indefinitely, consider using a Google Drive or Box integration (see below). 

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Requesting a Formstack Account:

To request a Formstack account, please submit an IT Helpdesk ticket with the following information:

  1. User name and COE email
  2. User type:
    • Analyst User: Can view/edit submission data; cannot create or edit forms. 
    • Standard User: Can create/edit forms, in addition to view/edit submission data. 
  3. Folder access: Which folders does this person need access to? Is there a preexisting Formstack user whose access we can mirror for the new account?

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Setting Up Your Formstack Account:

  1. You will receive an email from Formstack called "Reset Password Notification." Although you will ultimately use your COE credentials to access Formstack, you are required to set up a Formstack-specific password as a backup. Click the blue "Reset Password" button.
  2. Create a Formstack password when prompted. Save this password for yourself as backup.
  3. Once you create a password, you will automatically be taken to the "Logging Into Formstack" process below. 

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Logging Into Formstack:

  1. Click "Sign In" (upper right corner) on https://www.formstack.com/
  2. Enter your COE email address and hit Next. 
  3. You will arrive at a COE "Single Sign-On" page. Use your COE email address and password to log in and conduct two-factor authentication (2FA) via Duo. 
    • Provide your COE email and password: 
    • Proceed with two-factor authentication (2FA) via Duo: 
    • Arrive at the your Formstack portal!

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Things to Keep In Mind (Best Practices):

Data Security Practices:

  • HIPAA: Our organization's Formstack account is not HIPAA-compliant. 
  • Personally Identifiable Information (PII): If your form collects PII (licenses, tax information, names, addresses, etc.), please ensure that this sensitive information is not transmitted via email—INCLUDING AS PART OF SUBMISSION CONFIRMATION EMAILS. Our emails are subject to FOIA, and including PII in emails increases the risk of this information accidentally being exposed in a FOIA request. 

Storage:

  • We have storage limits on the number of forms and submissions. 
    • Please periodically delete outdated forms and/or submissions. 
    • Is your form frequently receiving submission attachments (file uploads)? These files can quickly eat away at our storage space. Please consider using a Google Drive or Box integration for submission attachment storage. 

User Types:

  • There are two types of user licenses:
    • Analyst User: Can view/edit submission data; cannot create or edit forms. 
    • Standard User: Can create/edit forms in addition, to viewing/editing submission data. 
  • Standard user licenses are more expensive than analyst user licenses. Projects requiring a significant number of new users may need to supply funding for licenses. 

Organization:

  • Please do your best to put forms in an appropriate folder rather than leave them as "Uncategorized." This ensures that we can easily provide access to other users.
  • Please submit an IT Helpdesk ticket if you need access to a different folder or need a new folder created.

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Formstack Resources:

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