Forms: Overview & Processing Steps [KB.F.2.0.0]

More updated Form documentation can be found at Eloqua 10 Product Documentation

This article includes:

Overview of Forms

Managing Forms (Creating, Deleting, Moving, etc.)

Form Processing Steps

Examples of Forms

Overview of Forms

Forms are one of the most powerful and effective means of collecting information about existing or potential customers. By filling in their information and submitting the form, email recipients or visitors are "opting in" to your marketing campaign (this should be clearly stated in the text associated with the form). In addition, forms can be used to ensure that you're able to collect information about visitors when they want to access demos, whitepapers, and other value-added marketing collaterals. This creates a "win-win" situation, where the visitor is able to access information that is valuable to them in return for providing some of their contact information for your marketing database.

Forms can be simple or quite complex, depending on your needs:

Simple:

More Complex:

You can include a wide range of fields in your form to gather different types of information about your existing or potential customers. Be careful not to include more fields than absolutely necessary, as this will reduce "form fatigue" or abandonment and increase the participation rates in your marketing campaigns. Make sure that the amount of information you ask for corresponds to the value of the information you're providing in return. For example, if you're providing a whitepaper about a topic of broad interest, you might only ask for the first and last names and the email address of the visitor. But if they've progressed to viewing a demo, you may want to know about their company, revenues, industry, and so forth. In addition, it's a good practice to use "gated forms," or forms that collect information, often in stages, before a visitor can access your marketing assets.

Managing Forms

Creating Forms

In Eloqua, you can create simple or complex forms, then drag them into your emails and landing pages to capture visitor information for your marketing database.When you are building a form, you double-click (or drag and- drop) fields in the list of available fields to add them to the form.

To create a form:

1. From the navigation toolbar at the top of the page, select Assets > Forms.
2. Click New.
3. In the Template Chooser, select a template, then click Choose. If you select a Blank Template, then a form without any fields is displayed. The template opens in the work area.
4. Click the gear-cog button> Settings. Enter a Form Name.
5. Select a Form Validation Failure Page from the list in the drop-down menu. The Validation Failure Page is the landing page to which the user will be directed if the form is unavailable.
6. HTML Name - The Form must have a valid HTML name. If you wish, you can enter a name for your form. The name cannot contain any spaces. When you stop typing, Eloqua will automatically check for the validity and availability of the name you have selected. If the name is valid and available, you will see This HTML name is available, at which point click Use, then click Done to exit the Settings page. However, if you prefer, click Generate to have Eloqua assign a name for your form automatically. If you select that option, you still have the capability of changing or customizing the name before proceeding to the next step.
7. Click Done to exit the Settings page. Note that the name of the form on the top title bar (under the Eloqua logo) is updated.
8. Start dragging-and-dropping fields into the form from the left-hand pane. (Note: You can also double-click to add a field). You can pull in Contact Fields that are already being used with your contact records or you can pull in Custom Fields (defined by how the field functions: for example, as a checkbox or multi-select list). Find the fields you want in one of these lists, or, if you know at least part of the name, use the Search function.
   
   
   Contact Fields are the most commonly used fields in forms. Many of these fields are mapped to your contact records so that they can be pre-populated with information using field merges. If so, the name of the field to be used in the merge is highlighted in a different color:
   
   This is useful, for example, to pre-populate information from a contact's record in subsequent forms they submit, or to show their current information so that they can update selected fields ir appropriate. For example, the information in the following form has been pulled from the database using field merges:
   
   The Custom Fields are used when you want to add additional fields (not available in the existing set) for special functions. For example, you may want the form submitter to include a block of text such as a description, so you'll add a Paragraph Text field; or you want the form submitter to select one of several options using checkboxes; or you want administrative information (such as a form ID number) that is not shown in the form submitted using a Hidden Field.
   
   Set the parameters that are specific to each different type of Custom Field:
   • Single Line Text - This field is used to allow entry of a short text data without being connected to existing contact data. No additional configuration beyond the standard settings is required.
   • Paragraph Text - This field is used to allow entry of a longer section of text data (a paragraph) without being connected to existing contact data. No additional configuration beyond the standard settings is required.
   • Dropdown Menu - Insert a drop-down menu or picklist. You must specify a list of values to be used in the drop-down list. The form submitter can select one of these values. With this type of field, an additional option appears for field settings.
     
     

     Click Select a List, then choose one of the available lists in the Option List window. When you click the list, the values are shown on the right.

     
     You can select an item and use the delete button to remove a list (the left-hand pane) or the list items (in the right-hand pane), then click Delete in the confirmation window. Or click to add a list or list item:

• To add a list: Click the '+ button' below the left-hand pane. Click the new item and type in the list name.
• To add an item to the list: Make sure the list is selected in the left-hand pane so that any list items are shown in the right-hand pane. Click the '+ button' below the right-hand pane. Select the new item and fill in the name. Repeat for additional list items.
• To rename a list or a list value: Click on the item you wish to change and type over what is currently shown. Once you click out of that area the change will be saved.

     When you have selected the correct list, click Select to choose it for the Drop-Down control. Make sure that you change the Field Label to accurately reflect the content of the list and make any other changes required to the field.

• Multiple Select Menu - The form submitter is able to choose one or more selections from the menu of choices. Click the Select a List button to populate the choices in the field. The selection of lists from which you can choose is determined by the Select Lists area of Setup. For a complete description of the Select Lists functionality, refer to Eloqua 10 Select Lists guides, available in the Eloqua 10 knowledgebase on the Customer Support Portal.
• Radio Buttons - The form submitter is able to choose one selection from a series of radio buttons. Selecting the list is the same as for the Dropdown field above. In addition, you can configure the list of choices to be in a one, two or three column format.
• Checkboxes - Insert a series of checkboxes. Users can select more than one choice. You must specify a list for the checkbox values and also choose a layout format (the number of columns) for arranging the checkboxes. Click Select A List, then choose the list you want to use and click Select.
  
  Then choose a Column Layout from the following options:
  
  One column:
  
  Two column:
  
  Three column:
  
  Additionally, you can fill in the HTML Name and choose a Data Type (text, large text, date or numeric) to restrict the type of content.
• Hidden Field - Use this type of field to embed a value in the form that is not displayed to the form submitter. For example, a form number or marketing campaign code can be placed in the form so that it's submitted along with other form data. No special settings are required for this type of form field. The Advanced Settings are the same as for the Checkboxes above.
• Section Title - Inserts a vertical space with no content in between fields to allow you to control vertical spacing in the form.
  
  

9. As you drag each field on to the Form, or once you have them all placed on the page, click each field and define the following in the pane on the right-hand side of the work area:
   

   Field Settings tab - Set parameters for each field:

   • Field Label - The name that will be shown next to or above the field.

   • Field Instructions - Optional instructions that help the user fill in the field. This is shown as small text below the field.

   • Label Position - This is the position of the text label relative to the form field it is labeling. For example, you could put the text "First Name" either next to (to the "left" of) the form field or above (on "top" of) the form field.

     Text label to the left of the field:

     Text label on top of the field:

   • Size & Position - Set the size of the field on the page: small, medium, or large, and indicate whether the field label will be positioned above (top) or to the left of the field on the Form.

   • Advanced Settings - Click this button to use additional options:

     • Data Type - Text, Large Text, Date, or Numeric. This helps to control what can be entered in the field and how it will be formatted. A Text field can contain up to 100 characters, whereas a Large Text up to 1000.

     • HTML Name - This is the name by which the application recognizes the form. In most cases, make this similar to or identical to the Form Name, but without spaces. The HTML name field can contain up to 50 characters.

     • There may be additional settings depending on the type of field. For example, for a Multiple Choice field, you will also have the option to select the Column Layout (one, two, or three columns).

       
       For a Drop Down, Multiple Choice, or Checkboxes field, you will also have to define the options that will be available to the user.

       Validation tab - Select the form field for which you wish to enter validation criteria. Click the Validation tab at the top of the window. Based on the Data Type that you have selected for that field, the options presented to you on the Validation tab will vary.

       The options on this tab will be displayed according to the type of field you are configuring:

• This field is required - Select this checkbox if you want to make this a required field. If you select this, the text label appears with an red asterisk (*) next to it in the form to indicate that this is a required field. You can fill in the Error Message that is shown to users who submit the form without filling in this field. This message can be generic ("Please fill in all required fields") or specific to the field ("Please fill in the Business Phone field").

• Must contain a valid email address - Used only if this field is expected to contain an email address value. This validation checks for the conventional email address format (*@*). You can fill in the Error Message which is displayed if the submitted value is not in standard email address format.

• Must contain a specific number of characters - Enter the minimum and maximum number of characters that you will allow for this field. This setting is particularly useful for values that tend to adhere to a specific range of lengths such as a phone number, account number, or user code. Enter the Valid Text Length Message to be displayed if the length of the data in this field is not in the correct length range.

• Numeric Value—Used to check numeric data values to ensure that they're in a particular range of values. Specify the minimum and maximum values after checking Must have a value within the specified numeric range, then enter an error message to display if the value entered in this field is not within the limits specified. Note that you will only see the numeric validation option if you have inserted a form field where the Data Type is set to Numeric.

• Must contain a valid date format—This option will only appear if the Data Type of the field has been set to Date. Choose this option to validate the data entered in the field against the valid selected data type. If this is selected, you can use the default error message or change it to your specifications, and it will be displayed when invalid data is submitted.

   

       Pre-Population tab: If you wish to pre-populate a field on your Form, you can either enter a default value directly in the field provided. It is also possible to select a field merge to populate the field with data from the corresponding field in the contact or visitor record.

       If you want to use a field merge, you   can search for the field by name. Note that if the field already includes a field merge, then the merge will be shown in the Use a Field Merge field.

       In certain instances, data being submitted on your Form should not have any pre-population. The reason for this could be related to security, i.e. so as not to validate or update a previously stored value. To prevent (disable) pre-population of a Form field, click the Pre-Population tab and select None.

10. You can move fields up or down in the form by clicking the up or down arrows that appear when you select the field on the form.

    There are three ways in which to delete a Form field: by clicking the Delete button on the right-hand side of the field , by right-clicking on the form field and clicking Delete Field, or by selecting the field and pressing the Delete key.

11. Click Save to save your form fields and settings.

Deleting Forms

If you are no longer using a form, you can delete it as part of your regular maintenance to keep the application from becoming cluttered with too many old forms.

To delete a form:

1. From the navigation toolbar at the top of the page, select Assets > Forms.
2. Click Open. Enter part or all of the form name in the Chooser to find the form or navigate to the form in the list.
3. Select the form and click Choose to open it.
4. Select the 'gear-cog' button > Delete.
5. As an alternative to opening the form to delete it per the instructions above, you can also delete a form by right-clicking on the form name in the Form Chooser and selecting Delete.
6. Select Delete in the confirmation window to confirm that you want to permanently delete the selected form from the application. The form is deleted.

Editing a Form

To edit a form:

1. From the navigation toolbar at the top of the page, select Assets > Forms.
2. Click Open. Navigate to and select the form in the Form Chooser and click Choose. The form opens in the work area.
3. Make changes as required in the form (see See "Creating Forms" on page 4 for more detailed information about these processes):
   • Add fields - Click fields in the tools pane on the left to add them to the form.
   • Configure fields - Click on the label in an existing field to access the field settings, data validation, and pre-population settings. From here, you can change features of the specific field such as the Field Label (the name and label position) and the Field Instructions.
   • Change the form settings - Click the Settings button to change settings for the whole form such as the Form Name or default Label Position for all fields.
4. Once you have made all of your changes, click Save on the top toolbar. Warning: If your Form is Live (i.e. is included in a live Campaign), a warning will appear stating that any changes you save to the form will also be live.Make sure that the changes that you are making are intended for immediate publishing.
5. The form is saved with your changes.

Copying a Form

You can copy a form so that you don't have to build a new form from scratch, adding all of the fields one at a time.

To copy a form:

1. From the navigation toolbar at the top of the page, select Assets > Forms.
2. Click Open. Navigate to the form you want to copy in the Form Chooser. Right-click it and select Copy. In the list of forms in the Chooser, you will see the copied form placed at the bottom of the Form Chooser with the name of the copied form appended by the word "copy".
3. Select the copied form and click Choose.
4. Click the 'gear-cog' button > Settings. In the Settings window, make any changes as required. Fill in or select the following.
   
   • Form Name - This is the name of the copied form followed by "copy"; you can modify the name directly in the field. The name will help you to find this form later when you want to edit it in the forms area, or when you want to drag it into an email or a landing page.
   • Validation Failure Page - This is the landing page to which a user will be directed if the Form is unavailable.
   • HTML Name - This is the name by which the application recognizes the form. This name is based on the Form Name.
5. Click Done, then click in the work area and make any other changes required to the form on the field level.
   Click Save to save the form under the new name.

Creating a Folder

Create a folder to hold a number of similar forms. This makes form management easier.

To create a folder in the list:

1. From the navigation toolbar at the top of the page, select Assets> Forms.
2. Click Open. In the Chooser, right-click a form and select New Folder. The folder will be created at the same level as the form selected and will be named "untitled folder" by default.
3. Right-click the new folder and select Rename. The name is selected. Enter the new name, then press Enter.

Viewing and Troubleshooting Form HTML Code

You can view the HTML code used in your form in order to copy and paste it into a web page, and also use the troubleshooting feature in Eloqua 10 that lets you see how the code is used for different functions so that you can troubleshoot any issues with the form.

To view/copy and troubleshoot the HTML code for your form:

1. From the navigation toolbar at the top of the page, select Assets > Forms.
2. Click Open. If required, you can enter a search term at the top of the window to narrow your search for the form. Navigate to the form you want to open in the Form Chooser and select it, then click Choose.
3. With the form open for editing, select the 'gear-cog' button > View Form HTML.
   
4. If you want to troubleshoot the code or copy the tracking scripts to a web page, click the Integration Details tab. Select whether data submitted using the form will be re-posted, in which case you can copy the required tracking script and hidden tracking fields code to a web page where you want to host the form. You can also fix any form code directly in the windows that show how different parts of the code are used. When you are finished, click Close, then click Save to save your changes.
   

Setting Up Form Processing Steps

You can add one or more form processing steps to a form to carry out immediate additional actions or processing on the form data. For example, the submitted form data or static data you enter may be used to create or update a contact record; the contact may be sent an email or redirected to a web page; or the contact may be sent to an automated marketing program or marketing campaign.

To set up a Form Processing Step:

1. Navigate to the Form. On the top navigation bar, go to Assets > Forms.
2. Click Open. Navigate to the form you want to open. Select it and click Choose to open the form in editing mode.
3. Click the 'gear-cog' button > click the Processing button in the upper-right corner. Click the '+ button' at the bottom of the page and choose the key field that will be used to uniquely identify the data record. This is used to ensure that data records updated in Eloqua can be matched to corresponding data records in the integrated CRM system. Note that you can override this default key field on a step-by-step basis (usually under Advanced Settings).
4. Click the '+ button' to begin adding steps to your Form. A pop-up menu appears with the types of steps you can add.
   
   Each of the steps will be described below.
5. Double-click on the step you wish to add to your Form. The step is then shown in the list under the and is now ready to be configured.
6. Click on the processing step to configure it. The exact configuration options depend on which step you select (click on one of the follow steps to view the options).

Update Contacts - With Form Data

This processing step is used to update existing data entities from the data submitted in a form. The field submitted in the form (selected on the left) is updated in the contact record (in the field selected on the right). This step allows you to let contacts submit their information to your marketing database or update their contact information using a form. Note that this step allows you to map a single field at any time, but you can select and set the parameters for additional fields in the list before saving the step.

The processing step includes the following options:

• Maps to Contact Field - Select a form field in the drop-down list if it is not automatically mapped to the corresponding field name, in the above sample, First Name maps to the First Name Contact Field.
• Update Type - Select an update rule for when to update this field from the default rules: Always update; Update if the submitted value is blank; Update if the new value is not blank; or Update if valid email aaddress.
• Advanced Settings - Set the Key Field Override: used to uniquely identify the form submitter so that the form data can be matched precisely to a contact record. This will ensure that it will can be properly updated in the application and in the integrated CRM system. Note that for this processing step, this setting overrides the default key field (Email Address). If you don't choose a different key field here, then the default is applied.
• This Processing Step Executes - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select 'Conditionally when..' and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

When you have finished configuring the field, click Save. Repeat for any additional fields you want to configure, and make sure you click Save when you are done.

Update Contacts - With Custom Values

This processing step is used to update a contact field using one of the update rule types listed or apply a Shared Update Rule. You can make this update conditional on the value in a selected field in the submitted form. For instance, if the form is submitted by an employee of a specific company, you can set other field values in the contact record to reflect known company information such as the Ticker Symbol for the company's stock or the location information for their headquarters.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Add - Click Add. In the picklist, select a contact field that is already in the system and select an update rule from the 'update type' list The update rule types include: Append Value; Apply date stamp; Overwrite from contact field; and Set to value.  You can select a field and click Remove to remove it from the list.
• Apply Shared Update Rule - Use this function if you'd like to use a Shared Update Rule.  Shared Update Rules can contain multiple update rules and will action in the order they are listed in the Shared Update Rule.  Note:  Shared Update Rules are accessed/created/modified by navigating to Contacts > Shared Library > Shared Update Rules.
• Advanced Settings - Set the Key Field used to uniquely identify the form submitter so that the form data can be matched precisely to a contact record so that it can be properly updated in the application and in the integrated CRM system. Note that for this processing step, this setting overrides the key field selection you made in step 3 in the procedure above to choose the default field for all processing steps. If you don't choose a different key field here, then the default is applied.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

When you have finished configuring the field, click Save. Repeat for any additional fields you want to configure, and make sure you click Save when you are done.

Change Contact's Email Address

This processing step allows you to change a contact's email address.  You identify the original email address field and the new email address field.  When this step actions it will replace the email address with the value provided in the new email address field.

Update Account - With Form Data

This processing step functions similar to the 'Update Contact - With Form Data' step, but updates Accounts.  It updates existing data entities from the data submitted in a form. The field submitted in the form (selected on the left) is updated in the Account record (in the field selected on the right). This step allows you to let contacts submit their Account information to your marketing database or update their Account information using a form. Note that this step allows you to map a single field at any time, but you can select and set the parameters for additional fields in the list before saving the step.

The Update Type selections are identical to the 'Update Contact - With Form Data' step.

Update Account - With Custom Values

This processing step functions similar to the 'Update Contact - With Custom Values' step but updates Accounts with custom values. You can make this update conditional on the value in a selected field in the submitted form. This step requires a form field to be identified as the unique identifier and the field in which it maps to.  You can add additional fields using the 'Add' button and select one of the listed update types: Append value; Apply date stamp; Increment by one; Increment by value; Overwrite from account field; Set to value.

Update Custom Data Object - With Form Data

This processing step is used to update a Custom (Data) Object.  A field must be identified as the Key Field, which is used to identify the Custom Object.  The Field Mapping section allows this step to update Custom Object fields using data submitted through the form.

Update Custom Data Object - With Custom Values

This processing step is used to update a Custom (Data) Object using custom values.  Similar to the Contact and Account-based 'Update - With Custom values' steps, this step also requires one field to be identified as the unique identifier and the field that it maps to.  You can add additional fields to update using the 'Add' button and select one of the following update types: Append value; Apply date stamp; Overwrite from custom object field; Set to value.

Send Submitter an Email

The Send Submitter an Email step is used to send an auto-responder email to the form submitter when they submit the form. For example, if the form is being used to register for an event, the auto-responder email could be used to inform the submitter that their information has been received and that they'll receive another email about whether they're successfully registered for the event.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose the field containing the Email Address - Select the field that contains the email address to which you want to send the confirmation email. In most cases, this will be the Email Address field.
• Choose an email to send - Select the email to send to the submitter when they submit their form information. Click Choose Email, then select the email in the Chooser and click Choose.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Send Notification Email

The Send Notification Email step is used to send automatically send an email to a sales rep or agent when a form is submitted. You can configure the step so that the notification is only sent to a specified email address if a specific field value matches a set value. For example, if the form is submitted with the value in the Zip Code field equal to the value used for a sales rep's territory (the condition on the notification is met), then she or he will receive an email notifying them that the form was submitted.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Recipient Email Address - Enter the email address to which you want the notification email sent. This should be an address accessible to the sales representative or agent.
• Subject Line - Enter the subject line for the email. It should be something that reflects the urgency or importance of the notification.
• Notification Configuration - Select the configuration option for the body of the notification. This controls the fields of data that are shown in the notification.
• Email Encoding - Choose the text encoding for the notification email. This can be a specific language (to make sure that the character set is available) or Unicode (UTF-8).
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. Note that in this case, it means that an email will be sent to the notification email address every time a form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Redirect to Web Page

You can use this processing step to redirect the form submitter to a specific website page or landing page right after they submit the form. This is useful when you want to provide additional information, allow access to content in return for the form submission, or spur the form submitter to take additional actions.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Send to an Eloqua Landing Page - Select this option (instead of Send to an External URL) if you want to redirect the form submitter to a landing page in the Eloqua application. Choose whether you want to select a Constant Value for the path to the landing page (choose the landing page from the picklist or click the folder icon and select it in the Chooser) or whether the path value should be taken from a Form Field (choose the form field).
• Send to an External URL - Use this option (instead of Send to an Eloqua Landing Page) to send the form submitter to a specific web site page outside of Eloqua. Choose whether you want to select a Constant Value for the path to the external page (enter the path in the field) or whether the path value should be taken from a Form Field (choose the form field).
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Subscribe Contacts Globally

The Subscribe step is used to subscribe all form submitters to all campaigns.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose the field containing the Email Address - Select the field that contains the email address to identify the visitor or contact for which you want to execute the step.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Unsubscribe Contacts Globally

The Unsubscribe step is used to unsubscribe form submitters from all campaigns.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose the field containing the Email Address - Select the field that contains the email address to identify the visitor or contact for which you want to execute the step.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Add to Program

Use this processing step to add the new contact to an automated marketing program. For example, you may want to add them to a lead scoring program so that you can begin applying a scoring system for the contact's attributes and activities that point to specific types of follow-up actions for marketing or sales.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose a Program - Select the existing automated marketing program to which you want to add the contact. Type in a name or part of a name, or click the picklist button and choose a program in the list.
• Choose a Step - Choose the specific step within the selected program where the contact will be added. Note that the contact can only move forward in the program (to subsequent steps), so any processing that must be applied to the contact must occur in the program flow after the point of entry.
• Advanced Settings - Set the key field use to uniquely identify the data entity record so that it can be properly updated in the application and in the integrated CRM system. This overrides the default setting for all processing steps.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Add to Campaign

Use this processing step to add the new contact to a marketing campaign. For example, you might want to add the contact to a campaign that manages event registration and communications.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose a Campaign - Select a marketing campaign to which to add the contact. Type in a name or part of a name, or click the picklist button and choose a campaign in the list.
• Choose an Element - Select the specific element (or step) in the campaign to which to add the contact. Note that any crucial processing for the contact should occur in the campaign flow after this point.
• Advanced Settings - Set the key field use to uniquely identify the data entity record so that it can be properly updated in the application and in the integrated CRM system. This overrides the default setting for all processing steps.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Add to Shared Contact List

Use this processing step to add the contact to an existing contact list.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose the field containing the Email Address - Set the key field use to uniquely identify the data entity record that contains the Email Address information (the unique identifier) for the contact.
• Choose a contact list - Select a contact list to which to add the contact. Type in a name or part of a name, then select one of the lists shown, or click the picklist button and choose a contact list.  If you choose 'Determined by a form field,' the form field must contain the ID of the Shared Contact List, and not the name.  The ID is a numerical value (similar to the Integration Rule Set ID), if you wish to explore this option and cannot locate the ID, please contact Support.  For instructions on obtaining this ID, please visit this link.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Remove from Shared Contact List

Use this processing step to the contact from an existing contact list.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose the field containing the Email Address - Set the key field use to uniquely identify the data entity record that contains the Email Address information (the unique identifier) for the contact.
• Choose a contact list - Select a contact list from which to remove the contact. Type in a name or part of a name, then select one of the lists shown, or click the picklist button and choose a contact list.  If you choose 'Determined by a form field,' the form field must contain the ID of the Shared Contact List, and not the name.  The ID is a numerical value (similar to the Integration Rule Set ID), if you wish to explore this option and cannot locate the ID, please contact Support.  For instructions on obtaining this ID, please visit this link.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Post Data to Server

Use this processing step to repost submitted form data to another server.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Select either Constant Value or Form field to identify the URL that will receive this form's data - Enter the URL for the server to which you are going to repost the submitted form data.
• Field Mappings - The field mappings between the form source fields and the target fields on the server to which you are reposting are set up automatically based on the HTML names of the source fields. If required, you can change these names so that the proper fields are the server are mapped.
• Always/Conditional - With Always (the default) selected, the form processing step is always executed when the form is submitted. As an alternative, you can select Conditional and set up a single criterion to control whether the form processing step is executed.

Run Integration Rules

This processing step allows you to create/update Leads/Contacts or Accounts in your CRM system.  It allows you to ensure that data submitted to the form is updated in your CRM.

The processing steps includes the following options:

• The Destination Integration Rule Set is - This field identifies the location of the Integration Rule Set.
  There are three options:
  • Always the same - select this option if the Integration Rule Set will always be same set.  Select the Integration Rule Set in the second field labeled 'Choose an Integration Rule Set'.
  • Determined by a form field - select this option if a specific form field contains the Integration Rule Set ID.
  • Determined by an option list - select this option if you are using a Lookup Table to reference different Integration Rule Sets.

Note: The Integration Rule Set ID can be obtained by opening the Integration Rule Collection (click the 'Edit Integration Rule Sets' button > select the Integration Rule Collection) and the ID is located in the URL string &IntegrationRuleCollectionID=.  As per this image:

Email Group - Subscribe/Unsubscribe

Use this processing step to subscribe the form submitter to a specific email group (for example, to receive newsletters).

The processing steps includes the following options:

• Choose the field containing the Email Address - Set the key field to uniquely identify the data entity record that contains the Email Address information (the unique identifier) for the contact.
• Choose the desired email group - Choose the group to which the form submitter is subscribed.  If 'Constant Value' is selected, the adjacent field will display all Email Groups available.  If 'Form Field' is selected, that field should contain the Email Group ID.
• Choose if this step Subscribes or Unsubscribes - If 'Constant Value' is selected, the step actions according to the displayed value (i.e. Subscribes or Unsubscribes to the Email Group).  If 'Form Field' is selected, that field should contain either the value of 'Subscribe' or 'Unsubscribe' for this step to action correctly.

Web Tracking - Opt-in/Opt-out

As of May 25, 2011, compliance laws in the European Union changed to protect users' privacy when navigating to a web site that writes a cookie to the user's computer. EU Compliance requires EU/UK businesses and other organizations to obtain consent from visitors to their websites in order to store on and retrieve usage information from users’ computers.

This function called Web Tracking - Opt-in/Opt-out is also referred to as "Strict Mode".

• To enable this step, and therefore the ability of the Form submitter to enable or disable this privacy feature, double-click on Web Tracking - Opt-in/Opt-out to add the step to your Form.
• Once added, single-left click on the step to configure it. The General Settings pane appears on the right-hand side.

On the right-hand pane (General Settings), configure the following:

• The field containing the Email Address - This field has been pre-defined in the Fields & Views section of the Setup area in the Eloqua application. By default, Email Address will be pre-populated in this field in the step.
• In the Opt-In/Opt-Out Field section, select either Form Field (and the Field that will be opted-in or out), or Constant and indicate a specific value
• In the next two options, indicate the action that will be taken when a user accepts the cookie (True Value) or rejects the option (False Value), as indicated in the example above.

Finally, indicate when this step will be executed during Form submission: Always, or on specific conditions based on Fields that are available to your form.

Note: The following values are recognized as Positive Submissions: "true", "yes", "1", "on". All other values will be recognized as false.

Cancel Event Registration (Only available with Events Module @ Team and Enterprise)

Use this processing step to cancel contact's event registration.  This step does not remove the contact's custom object (data card) from the event, but simply marks their status as 'Canceled.'

This processing step includes the following options:

• The Event is - There are three options to identify the Event:
  • 'Always the same' - Allows you to select the Event from the drop-down list labeled 'Choose an Event.'
  • 'Determined by a form field'  - Allows you to specify a form field that contains the Event ID number.
  • 'Determined by an option list.'  Allows you to specify a form field which contains a value that will be referenced in the identified Lookup Table. The Lookup Tables returning value must be the Event ID number.

Obtaining the Event ID number - If you have chose to identify the event based on a form field or option list (Lookup table), you will need to reference the Event ID.  The Event ID can be obtained from the URL of the Event Overview.

To find this URL\ID number, navigate to Setup > Events and open the event.  Click the 'Edit' button in the Event Overview section and find the string '&DataCardSetID=.'  The number specified in this string is the Event ID.  Example:

Update Event Registration (Only available with Events Module @ Team and Enterprise)

Use this processing step to add contacts to an event, their status will be listed as 'Registered.'

This processing step includes the following options:

• Choose an Event - Select the event from the drop-down list.
• Field Mapping - Map Source (form) Fields to the Event fields.

Examples of Forms

Forms may be one of your main methods for gathering information about visitors, potential customers, and existing customers, so it's important to give some thought to the design and use of forms to optimize the responses your receive. By investing some time in designing and using forms correctly, you will receive the maximum amount of data to populate your marketing database.

The following examples outline a few potential uses for your forms.

Example 1: Event Registration

A form can be placed in a landing page and accessed using a click-through link in an email. You can set up a form that allows email recipients to click through to a landing page and register for an event, such as a training course.

You can use a form to gain addition information, such as feedback, after the training course.

Example 2: Collect Contact Data in Exchange for Information

A common use of forms is to collect visitor or contact data in return for contact information. The form acts as a "gate" to the content, with all of the fields of information you need to get from this campaign designated as required. Keep in mind that the amount of data the form submitter has to provide should correspond to the value of the information you are providing. If you're allowing access to a high-level whitepaper that contains a lot of useful information about a trend or industry, you can probably request a fair bit of data in return. But if you're linking to your product demo, visitors may not be willing to give up as much information to view the demo, unless they're already highly motivated and deep into the sales cycle

Note that the following form also provides a quick way to bypass the form for returning visitors, who only need to enter their email address and click Submit.

Example 3: Contact Us

Depending on how much information you want to collect when a visitor contacts your company, a Contact Us form, hosted on a landing page or on your web site, can be simple or quite complex. Here's an example of a very simple form:

Note that some fields are auto-populated, pulling in known visitor or contact information. This allows customers and other known contacts to submit a form with their message without filling in all the other information again. Also note that as the unique field that identifies the form submitter, the Email Address is the only required field in this form.

Here's an example of the form Eloqua uses on its website. Note that the fields have been separated into sections... Required and Optional fields. This makes it more efficient for visitors to fill in and submit information when they don't have time or don't want to submit all the data in the form.

More updated Form documentation can be found at Eloqua 10 Product Documentation