Meld Solutions Inc.

Introductions: The Meld FormBuilder

One of the most tedious, complicated and inevitably necessary parts of any online application is the dreaded FORM.  FORM comes in many shapes and sizes, serves many purposes, and is generally there to complicate the normally happy process of developing and using an application.

In an effort to tame FORM and make him a welcome part of the family, we are developing an Open Source tool called FormBuilder.  FormBuilder is a GUI-based online form creator that lets content managers use a click and/or drag-and-drop interface to assemble a form.  If you have ever used the Adobe PDF form builder, then you've seen an example of what I am talking about.

FormBuilder will be part of our Meld Manager utility set.  In its most basic format, i.e. when a user wishes to 'create' a new form, FormBuilder will present a set of icons that represent individual form fields (Text, Dropdown, Radio Button Group, etc.).  Users will be able to click or drag these fields into the form display window.  Fields can be rearranged by dragging them up and down, divided into sections or pages, and even grouped together into special "Field Sets" such as address or username/password groups.

Each field has an associated 'settings' form that lets you enter the label, default value, tool tip and help information associated with it.  You can also add styles, layouts and options like "Administrator Only" or "No Duplicates".

Lists via Meld DataProvider

Dropdowns and other multiple-item field group can be tied to a highly customizable and reusable list of information via another Meld Manager utility, the "DataProvider".  I'll get more into DataProvider later, but for now let me explain how it works with Meld FormBuilder. For example, you could create a list called "Countries" and all of your forms could include that list as a dropdown or set of checkboxes.

You can also add custom information to your lists.  For instance, you could add a column containing abbreviations, postal codes, pricing or anything else associated with your list item.  When a user selects an option, you can use that extra information in your own applications as mere information or to help automate your own custom processes.

FormBuilder in Applications

FormBuilder isn't meant to stand alone as an application, but rather as a utility in larger applications.  The most obvious and basic of those would be an "Emailer Forms" application, where the forms merely populate a database or send out the information via Email, but there are also many places where FormBuilder will be useful in customizing the administration of an application as well.

Applications will use FormBuilder by 'calling' for its interface via events or the Meld Manager API.  The 'create' interface will only need a moduleID to associate the new form with the Mura module (or plugin) using it.  Once the form is completed, it can be called again via the 'fill in' event/API so that the content creators or site visitors can fill in the form.  There are a whole set of API tools being developed for using FormBuilder in an application, and there will be lots of ways you can access and present entered data in both the administrator and front-end.

Meld FormBuilder and Meld Ecommerce

The first place you'll see FormBuilder in action will be in our Meld Ecommerce application.  FormBuilder will give content managers the ability to quickly and easily create custom product templates.  If I'm selling t-shirts, tires, wrench sets and golf clubs, I want to be able to create a product template that not only suits each of those products, but lets me differentiate which fields in the template the content entry people are supposed to complete (manufacturer, fabric type, or color selection range) and which my customers are supposed to fill out (size they want, color they desire, etc) or merely see (i.e. the manufacturer or fabric type selected when the product was entered).

It's safe to say that the FormBuilder is going to be the cornerstone of many of our products, including Meld Ecommerce.  We want to make one of the most important parts of an application (i.e. allowing the user to customize the application to suit their specific needs) and make it as simple as possible.  We also hope that other developers will find a use for FormBuilder in their applications too!