The linking function in Apricot allows you to create connections between records in your database. This is particularly useful when you need to associate data from one form with data from another form. Linking fields also allow administrators to pull fields from the linked forms into the same section of a native report, which is otherwise impossible for unrelated forms.
Linking is recommended anytime you need to establish a relationship between two Tier 1 forms, a Tier 1 form and a Tier 2 form housed under a different Tier 1 form, or two Tier 2 forms housed under different Tier 1 forms. This could include scenarios like:
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Connecting client profiles to the services they've received
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Linking event registrations to the attendees
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Relating household information to individual family members
Follow the steps listed below to learn how to add a linking field to a form and establish a relationship between data entered in two or more forms.
Note: The more linking fields added to a single form, the more likely users will experience performance issues when interacting with the form. The limit for a single form is 100 linking fields.
Step 1: Determine your base and target form
In our example, we have a Tier 1 Household Profile form and a Tier 1 Participant Profile form. Our goal with linking these forms is to have every participant in our database associated with a Household Profile record so we can eventually report on our data by clients or families served.
The Household Profile form will be considered our "base" form. This is the form that users will navigate to first in their data entry workflow and where the linking relationship is created within the Form Designer. The Participant Profile form is then considered the "target" form, meaning that users will be directed to select or create a record for this form as they fill out a record for the base form.
Step 2: Add a Link field to the base form
Open your base form in the Form Designer, then expand the "Linking" category in the Field Choices palette. Click and hold the "Link" field name to drag it into a form section.
Next, click on the gear icon at the top-right of the field box to open its properties.
In the "Linked To" section, select the target form from the dropdown. You'll then decide in the following dropdown menus how many links can be created between records of the base form and records of the target form.
In our example, each Household can include many participants. However, our users will only associate each participant with one Household. We selected "Many" Participant Profile records to be linked to each Household Profile and "1" Household Profile record to be linked to each Participant Profile record.
The "Number of Links per page" property determines how many links are previewed when viewing a record; users are able to click into the linked section to scroll through all links when necessary. You can also choose to show associated records of the base form that are linked to the same record or allow users to add a description to identify each link.
Select "Apply" once you've finished setting up your properties, then publish the base form from the Form Actions palette.
Step 3: Configure the target form
Once a linking field has been added to a base form, it'll also appear on the target form under the field name "Link Instructions" by default. Open the target form in the Form Designer and view the linking field's properties by clicking its gear icon.
There are fewer property options for you to configure here, but you can still select the number of base form links that appear on records of the target form. You may also choose to show other records of the target form that are linked to the same base form record. In our example, this would allow us to view other Participant Profile records linked to the same Household Profile record
Be sure to click "Apply" and publish the target form to make any changes available to users for data entry.
Step 4: Add a link within a record
Navigate to your base form as though you're creating a new record, then scroll to the Link field you configured in Step 2. Click "+ Add" to connect the record you're creating to a record of the target form.
The search window allows you to view and filter for existing records by a search field. Note: Using the "Link All" button here will link every record currently displayed in your search. If this adds more links than the Link field's properties allow, then none of the links will be saved with the record.
Clicking on a record name here will immediately create a link in the base form's record.
Selecting "+ Create New" from the search window will navigate you to a new, blank record of the target form to fill out.
Fill out the target form as usual, then scroll to the linked section to see this record is already linked to the base form record. Once you save the target form record, you'll be brought back to the base form.
Click "Save Record" in the Record Options palette to establish active links between the base form and target form records.
Step 5 (optional): Deactivate or delete a link
You can view the active links within a record in the linked section and click the green text to navigate to an individual record.
If a link was added in error or needs to be removed, you can either deactivate the link by unchecking the box next to the link in the "Active" column or remove it entirely from the record by clicking the trash icon in the "Delete" column.
Deactivating a link retains the history of that link existing within the record, and you can choose to hide or unhide deactivated links using the checkbox at the top of the linked section. Deleting a link, however, permanently removes it from the record (you can re-add the link following Step 4 again if necessary).
What else do you need help with?
How do I create a link between two Apricot forms? | Where do I set up form linking in Apricot? | Why can’t I link my two forms in Apricot? | How do linked forms affect data entry in Apricot? | How do I choose the field that connects two forms? | How do I view related records across linked forms? | What permissions do I need to link forms in Apricot?
