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Hollie
Rising Star I
Hollie
Rising Star I
June 4, 2026
Solved

Tier 2 Forms in Nested Tier 1s

  • June 4, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 39 views

Hi!
 
I have a question about a setup that I haven’t seen come up very often. Let’s say we have a Tier 1 Form that functions like a folder for other Tier 1 Forms. For example, we have a Tier 1 Form called Households, and within each Household record, we link the Tier 1 Participant Profile records for the people in that household.
 
So the structure would be:
(1) Tier 1: Household
          (multiple) Tier 1: Participant Profiles
 
That part makes sense to me.
 
My question is: Is there any way to display the Tier 2 Forms associated with those linked Participant Profile records inside the Household folder?
 
For example, if each individual Participant Profile has related Tier 2 Forms, can those Tier 2 Forms also appear within the folder view for the Household record, even though they are associated with the Participant Profile rather than directly with the Household?

Please let me know if anyone has any thoughts on this!

    Best answer by AnnieNovacek

    Hey ​@Hollie !  This is an interesting question. My first thought is what are we trying to accomplish because that can inform the best solution. Do we just want to be able to see the records in both places for easy reference? Are we hoping to save time navigating between records? Is this reporting related? 

     

    Situation:

    • First, the short answer to your question is no. Tier 2 Forms and Records live under specific Tier 1s. They aren’t shared and wouldn’t show up within a different Tier 1’s Document Folder. If you want the same Tier 2 used with different Tier 1 Forms, you actually have to build that Tier 2 Form under each.
    • You have the correct idea in mind for linking one Tier 1 Form to another like Participants and Households, and this is a great way to organize or connect related people, but you have to click into each Participant to see the Tier 2s for that person.
    • Underneath the Household Tier 1, you can have Tier 2 forms, but the typical approach there would be to capture information that relates to most or all of the Household, leaving individual Participant level data under the Participant Tier 1.
    • More info on recommended Form structure

    Options:

    • With that said, you could have Tier 2s under the Household that you link to the specific Participant involved if you want that data to live under the Household instead.
    • You could also create Tier 2s Forms under the Household designed to link to Tier 2s under Participants to be able to see a list and easily navigate between them. Whatever you choose as Quick View data will show up in the link on the Tier 2 under the Household.

    • More info on Form Linking

    Considerations:

    • What I would be very careful about is any duplicate data entry that could cause your reporting to be inaccurate (and be a burden on your staff). 
    • It’s also important to be conservative with how many Linking fields you use since this can slow down the system. 
    • Links are great for reporting on related data that lives in separate but connected forms, but you also have to be careful that the report knows which link you are interested in. 
    • If you are considering this for reporting reasons, I do want to note: If you want to pull a report with data from the Household Tier 1, Participant Tier 1, and Participant Enrollment Tier 2, you don’t need the Enrollment Tier 2 to show up or be linked to the Household to combine. 
    • More info on reporting on linked forms (this walks through using Tier 1 data with two related Tier 2s, but there are similar considerations).

     

    So with all that said, I would think back to your why to determine how you want to move forward.

     

    As a side note, if your use case is actually different from the Household and linked Participants example, then I understand that this might not solve your problem. For example, if your “Household” Tier 1 is actually representing a Class / Program / Cohort, then maybe using a Program within Apricot would be a better way to put related Participants into a “Folder.” Hope this helps!

    1 reply

    AnnieNovacek
    AnnieNovacekAnswer
    Community Manager
    June 5, 2026

    Hey ​@Hollie !  This is an interesting question. My first thought is what are we trying to accomplish because that can inform the best solution. Do we just want to be able to see the records in both places for easy reference? Are we hoping to save time navigating between records? Is this reporting related? 

     

    Situation:

    • First, the short answer to your question is no. Tier 2 Forms and Records live under specific Tier 1s. They aren’t shared and wouldn’t show up within a different Tier 1’s Document Folder. If you want the same Tier 2 used with different Tier 1 Forms, you actually have to build that Tier 2 Form under each.
    • You have the correct idea in mind for linking one Tier 1 Form to another like Participants and Households, and this is a great way to organize or connect related people, but you have to click into each Participant to see the Tier 2s for that person.
    • Underneath the Household Tier 1, you can have Tier 2 forms, but the typical approach there would be to capture information that relates to most or all of the Household, leaving individual Participant level data under the Participant Tier 1.
    • More info on recommended Form structure

    Options:

    • With that said, you could have Tier 2s under the Household that you link to the specific Participant involved if you want that data to live under the Household instead.
    • You could also create Tier 2s Forms under the Household designed to link to Tier 2s under Participants to be able to see a list and easily navigate between them. Whatever you choose as Quick View data will show up in the link on the Tier 2 under the Household.

    • More info on Form Linking

    Considerations:

    • What I would be very careful about is any duplicate data entry that could cause your reporting to be inaccurate (and be a burden on your staff). 
    • It’s also important to be conservative with how many Linking fields you use since this can slow down the system. 
    • Links are great for reporting on related data that lives in separate but connected forms, but you also have to be careful that the report knows which link you are interested in. 
    • If you are considering this for reporting reasons, I do want to note: If you want to pull a report with data from the Household Tier 1, Participant Tier 1, and Participant Enrollment Tier 2, you don’t need the Enrollment Tier 2 to show up or be linked to the Household to combine. 
    • More info on reporting on linked forms (this walks through using Tier 1 data with two related Tier 2s, but there are similar considerations).

     

    So with all that said, I would think back to your why to determine how you want to move forward.

     

    As a side note, if your use case is actually different from the Household and linked Participants example, then I understand that this might not solve your problem. For example, if your “Household” Tier 1 is actually representing a Class / Program / Cohort, then maybe using a Program within Apricot would be a better way to put related Participants into a “Folder.” Hope this helps!

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