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Leveraging Date and Time Fields in Laserfiche Forms for Form Control

Updated: Nov 21



 

Introduction:


Take control of your form utilizing Date and Time fields. Dynamically adjust the visibility of forms based on current dates and times, making it easier to manage ongoing processes. This solution can be used in both the Classic and Modern designer with limited setup.


Use Cases:


  • "Coming Soon"

    • Posting a Laserfiche form link such as an external parent-based form to your school's website prior to when a form should be fillable.

  • "Window Closed"

    • Preventing form completion after the specified datetime window has closed. This feature ensures employees cannot submit requests past the deadline.

  • "Time of Year"

    • Collecting data at different times of the year, such as during school semesters. This approach allows for applications to include specific instructions or necessary information based on the application period, such as referrals submitted in the Fall versus the Spring.


Steps to Implement Show/Hide based on a single Date Time Field in Modern Designer:


  1. Add a Date Time field to your form that will remain hidden.

  2. Use Section at the top of your form to place all additional fields within.

  3. Uncheck the “Show section label, border, and text above field” option so the section is not seen in the form.

    1. Additional sections can be placed under the main section, if necessary.

  4. Check the “Use the current date and time” default area of the field setup.

5. Go to Field Rules and select "Add Rule".

6. To make the form available, select “Show”; to make the form unavailable, select “Hide.”

7. Select the Section that all fields are nested within.

8. Select the datetime field and set the rule to “IS ON” or “IS AFTER” and enter the date and/or time the form should be available.

Ex: The form fields will now be viewable on 8-16-2024 at 8:00 am.


  • Pro Tip: Utilize a Custom HTML field to display instructions or information about when the form can be completed or has ended. This helps end users know when to return to the form.


Steps to Implement Show/Hide based on a single Date Time Field in Classic Designer:


  1. Add a Date field to your form that will remain hidden.

    1. Select the “Show Time” checkbox if you will be using a specific time.

2. To default the date or datetime value, enter current_date or current_datetime in the default value.

3. Use Section at the top of your form to place all additional fields within.

4. Check the “Hide section label, border, and text below the label” option so that the section title is not seen.

a. If your form has multiple sections, each section will need to be used in the show/hide rule.

5. Go to Field Rules and select “New field rule.”

  6. To make the form available, select “Show”; to make the form unavailable, select “Hide.”

  7. Select the Section that all fields are nested within.

  8. Select the datetime field and set the rule to “IS ON” or “IS AFTER” and enter the date and/or time the form should be available.

Ex: The form fields will now be viewable on 8-23-2024 at 6:00 am.


Extra:


  • Use two date fields to set show and hide rules to the form during a window timeframe.

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