How do I add a form I created to a page?

J Truelove asked on November 29, 2017 23:41

Hello DevNet!

I am a new hire to a company that has an existing Kentico installation (version 9; seems like a mix of Portal Engine + ASPX Templates) for our corporate site and I cannot figure out how to simply add a form to a page. I'm thinking the answer is: Our Kentico installation is customized to such an extent that the only answer I may find rests with the company that implemented our site three years ago in Kentico. We've basically broken ties with this company so this option isn't very realistic.

Let's see where we can go with this on DevNet.

I can see all of our existing forms in the Forms application and I can easily create forms using the Form Builder. Super intuitive. Easy peasy.

I have noticed that pages on our site are each constructed of Page Types. There are no Widgets to speak of. So, for example, from a design perspective, inside a Page Template which contains the top nav and the bottom footer, our Contact Us page consists of three full-width sections:

A large "hero" background image with an h1 heading on top. Page Type = Hero Image
The contact us form. Page Type = Contact Us
An email newsletter signup section. Page Type = Email Signup

As you'd guess for the hero section, it has been set up so that, in the file tree on the left side of the UI, the user selects the Page Type and then can click the "Form" tab and here can specify what the heading text should be and also can select the large background image.

The following Page Type, named Contact Us, doesn't offer the "user" very much in the "Form" tab. Just a field where the user can enter some text that precedes the form.

Let's just skip the third section, the Page Type named Email Signup.

And...that's it. I see nowhere in Kentico where the user could say, "On the Page Type called Contact Us, display the Form [also] named Contact Us." There is a disconnect here. I could edit the Page Template. I could then go into the Design tab and drag an Online Form Web Part onto the page, specify which form I want to display there, Save, and have the form display on every single page that uses that template. I don't want that obviously.

I just can't believe our Kentico instance was set up in a way where the user cannot add forms to pages. What am I missing here?

Thanks so much for any assistance you might provide.

Recent Answers

Vukasin Andjelic answered on November 30, 2017 09:07 (last edited on November 30, 2017 10:48)

Hi J Truelove,

yes if u change something on page template, then every page with same page template will be changed. What can you do is just to go under the Properties tab to Template tab on the page that you want to change. There then select option Save as new template and give the name for the new template. With this u create a new template for the current page and you are sure that only that page use that new template.

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J Truelove answered on December 1, 2017 18:41

Hi Vukasin! Thanks for responding. I do understand how to Save as new template to create a new template based off of an existing template.

I guess I was hoping that I could somehow add a form to a page without first creating a Page Template. Seems like a strange workflow. So, moving forward, every single page that contains a form will have its own unique Page Template. Seems like a very inefficient way to create content in a modern CMS.

Thanks again!

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Daniel Maley answered on December 1, 2017 21:38

J Truelove,

Changes made on your page tab do NOT apply to all pages using the template. So you can add an "Editable Text" web part while on the "Design" tab (note this web part will be added to all pages that use this template, however, if you leave the "Default Text" empty it will not be visible when viewing the page). With the Web Part added you can then navigate to the "Page" tab and you should see a dotted box where you added the "Editable Text" web part. Click into that box and on the Action Bar you should see an insert/edit widget option (it is a white gear on a black background) click this and you should have the ability to add an online form widget. You can add this widget to this page and it will NOT be added to other pages that use the same template.

It is a bit confusing: Changes while on "Design" tab and changes to the "Page Template" impact all pages using that template. However changes on the "Page" tab such as adding text/widget to "Editable Text" area stay with that specific page.

Hope this helps... I realize it may not be a viable solution as it does involve adding a web part to the template. Email with any questions!

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