Reusable Forms & Fields

What Are Reusable Forms and Fields?

Beyond the form and field components you place on a page, UnifyApps provides two centrally managed libraries for sharing components across apps:

• The Forms library — "Create and manage reusable forms to use across your applications."

• The Fields library — "Create and manage reusable fields to use across your forms."

Build a standard form (such as a customer record) or a standard field (such as a phone number with the right validation) once, then drop it into many apps and forms so they stay consistent. Updates to the central definition propagate to every place it's used.

Note: Where to find them: AI Applications → Forms / Fields

The Fields Library

The Fields library is a table of reusable field definitions. Each field has a Field Name, Field Type, and Description. Fields are versioned — you publish a new version to release changes to all consumers.

Supported Field Types

A reusable field can be one of 25 types. The Form block offers 27; the two not offered as reusable fields are Array and Object:

• Text

• Text Area

• Number

• Integer

• Date

• Time

• Date Time

• Single Select Dropdown

• Multi Select Dropdown

• Checkbox

• Switch

• Email

• Password

• Slider

• Pin Input

• Phone Number

• Currency Input

• Rich Text

• Radio Group

• Rating

• Checkbox Group

• Code Editor

• File

• Key Value Pair

• JSON Schema

Creating a Reusable Field

1. Navigate to AI Applications → Fields.

2. Click Create Field.

3. Enter a Field Name, Description, and select a Field Type.

4. Click Open in Builder to configure the field's details — label, placeholder, default value, validation rules, and any type-specific options.

5. Publish the field when ready. It becomes available to drop into any form across your applications.

For the builder's Content and Input tabs, see Field Builder.

Field Versioning

Each field has an Overview and a Versions tab so you can track changes over time. When you update a field:

• Open the field in the builder and make your changes.

• Publish a new version to release the changes.

• All forms using this field will reflect the updated version.

Tip: Use versioning carefully — publishing a new version of a field updates it everywhere it's used. If you need a breaking change in one place only, consider creating a new field rather than updating the existing one.

The Forms Library

The Forms library is a table of reusable form definitions. Each form has a Form Name and Description. A reusable form can be placed into multiple applications.

Creating a Reusable Form

1. Navigate to AI Applications → Forms.

2. Click Create Form.

3. Enter a Form Name and Description.

4. Build the form using the form builder — add fields (including reusable fields from the Fields library), configure layout, validation, and events.

5. Your edits save automatically. The form is then available to place in any application page.

Using a Reusable Form in an Application

1. In the page builder, open the component palette.

2. Find your reusable form by name and drag it onto the canvas.

3. The form instance inherits all the configuration from the central definition.

4. To update the form for all instances, edit it in the Forms library.

Managing the Libraries

Search and Filter

Both libraries are tables with search by name. Use the search box to find a specific form or field by name when you have many entries.

Editing and Deleting

Each row in the library has actions:

• Edit — rename a form; rename or change the description of a field.

• Delete — remove a form or field from the library. Take care: deleting a reusable component may break applications that use it.

Empty State

When no fields exist yet, the library shows a "No Fields Yet" prompt — "Create reusable fields and use them across your forms." Click the create button to get started.

Reusable vs. In-Page Components

Best Practices

Tip: Standardize common fields first. Identify fields that appear in many places — phone numbers, addresses, status dropdowns — and build them as reusable fields with consistent validation before building your forms.

Tip: Use descriptive names. Name your reusable fields and forms clearly so others on your team can find and understand them without opening each one. Include the context in the name — e.g. "Customer Phone Number" rather than just "Phone".

Warning: Plan versioning carefully. Because publishing a new field version updates all consumers, avoid breaking changes. If you need to change a field significantly, create a new field instead and move consumers to it gradually.

Tip: Use descriptions. Both forms and fields have a Description field. Use it to document what the form/field is for, who uses it, and any constraints or special behaviors.

Step-by-Step Examples

Create a Reusable "Phone Number" Field

1. Navigate to AI Applications → Fields.

2. Click Create Field. Enter Name: "Customer Phone Number", Type: "Phone Number".

3. Click Open in Builder. Set Label: "Phone Number", make it required (Is Optional: off), and add a validity condition for format.

4. Publish the field.

5. In any form that needs a phone number, add a field and select this reusable field from the library instead of recreating it.

Create a Reusable "New Customer" Form

1. Navigate to AI Applications → Forms.

2. Click Create Form. Enter Name: "New Customer Form".

3. In the form builder, add fields: First Name (Text), Last Name (Text), Email (Email), Phone (reusable Phone Number field), Company (Text).

4. Configure validation, layout, and submit behavior. Your edits save automatically.

5. In any application that needs customer creation, drop the "New Customer Form" component onto the page instead of rebuilding the form.

Update a Reusable Field Across All Uses

1. Navigate to AI Applications → Fields and find the field to update.

2. Click Open in Builder and make your changes (e.g., add a new validation rule).

3. Publish the new version.

4. All forms using this field now reflect the updated validation rule automatically.