Overview
This article covers building the form itself: the Steps and Sections that organize an application, the Fields inside them, and the sidebars that hold instructions for applicants.
📌 Note: To create an application from scratch, or to configure its settings, see Creating + Managing Applications and Individual Application Settings.
Applications in Element451 are organized into Steps and Sections, with Fields inside them. This structure streamlines navigation and organization for applicants.
Step: acts as a separate page in the application process, guiding applicants through different phases of information submission.
Section: the area within each Step where data fields are placed to gather information from the applicant. Sections are especially useful for grouping related topics, and they can be expanded or collapsed to streamline the experience within each Step.
Field: an individual question or data point you collect from the applicant. Fields are the building blocks of the application.
For instance, Steps could be titled About You, Education History, Academic Plans, and Emergency Contact Info. Within the About You Step, Sections could include Personal Information, Contact Details, and Residency, allowing for a structured and user-friendly application experience.
Adding a Step
Click + Add Step from the lefthand menu.
Enter a name for your Step. Keep in mind that this name is visible to applicants, as shown in the screenshot below:
Click Add in the top right corner to save your new Step.
Editing, Deleting + Reordering Steps
When you create an Application, the first Step is created for you automatically.
To edit a Step, click the Step name.
To rename or delete a Step, click the three horizontal dots next to the Step name.
To reorder your Steps, click and drag the Step to the desired place using the up and down arrow icon.
Adding a Section
Click + Add Section.
Give the Section a name.
To let applicants enter multiple items, for example every high school they attended, set Repeatable Section to Yes. You will then be asked whether entering an item is required, and whether you want to limit how many items they can add.
Click Add in the top right corner. The Section is added to the Section list.
Adding Fields
Fields are the individual pieces of information you request from applicants. For efficiency, you can add fields individually or in groups.
✨ Pro Tip: use the Show Preview toggle to see how your fields will display to the applicant as you build.
Click the Section name to edit it.
Click + Add Field. The Add Field sidesheet opens. You can choose from individual fields or field groupings for standard data collection. For example, add a field grouping for Name, Home Phone, and Cell Phone, followed by individual fields for Date of Birth and Email.
Customize the field to control how it appears and behaves:
Label: the name of the field as seen by the applicant. Keep labels short so they display properly on mobile. For extra context or instructions, use Help Text instead.
Description: an internal note about the field, useful for administrative purposes.
Required: whether the field must be filled out to submit the application.
Hidden: hides a field from the form without deleting it, which is helpful for temporary adjustments.
Help Text: guidance on what the applicant should enter. Examples work well here.
Field Size: how much space the field occupies on the line.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 as needed.
🚨 Important: Upload fields are automatically added to the Documents tab of the applicant's dashboard once an application is submitted. Marking an upload field as Hidden keeps it off both the application form and the post-submission Documents tab. The upload field must be hidden in every section or field grouping where it appears: if it is left visible anywhere, it will still appear on the Documents tab. This does not affect the checklist. If transcripts are configured as a checklist item, they will still appear on the applicant's checklist.
Custom Step + Section Sidebars
Sidebars hold the instructions, tips, and policy details applicants need while completing a step, without adding that text to the form itself. Applicants open a sidebar by clicking a labeled button, and you control where that button appears and what it says.
The Two Sidebars
Within a Step, you can configure two separate sidebars. Both can be active at the same time. A Section sidebar does not replace the Step sidebar, so applicants can open either one at any point in the step.
Custom Step Sidebar is configured on the Step. Applicants open it from a button in the step header, in the top right corner next to their account menu.
Custom Section Sidebar is configured on an individual Section inside the Step. Applicants open it from a button in that section's header, alongside the required field count and the expand/collapse control.
How the Header Button Behaves
There is only one button in the step header, and its content follows the applicant. On the Dashboard it opens the Dashboard sidebar. Once the applicant moves into a Step, that same button opens the Step sidebar instead. If that Step does not have its sidebar activated, no button appears in the header at all.
📌 Note: a third sidebar is available on the application Dashboard. It is configured under Content > Dashboard, covered in Creating + Managing Applications.
Configuring a Sidebar
The steps are the same at both levels.
Select the Step from the lefthand menu, or click into a Section within that Step.
Scroll to Custom Step Sidebar or Custom Section Sidebar and set Activate custom sidebar to Yes.
Click the pencil icon on the Sidebar Title row and complete two fields:
Title: the heading applicants see at the top of the sidebar when it opens.
Button label: the text on the button applicants click to open the sidebar. Leave it empty to use the default, Tips and Info. Whatever you enter appears in the Sidebar Trigger Label column.
Click + Add Paragraph to add a block of content, then give it a Title and Text. The editor supports bold, italics, numbered and bulleted lists, and links. Add as many paragraphs as you need.
📌 Note: paragraphs display in the order you add them and cannot be dragged to reorder. To change the order, edit the paragraph content, or delete and re-add them.
🚨 Important: setting Activate custom sidebar back to No deletes that sidebar's title, button label, and paragraphs. Turning it back on gives you an empty sidebar, so copy your content somewhere safe first if you plan to reuse it.
Good to Know
A button appears only where a sidebar is activated. If a Step or Section has Activate custom sidebar set to No, applicants see no button for it.
If you activate a sidebar but leave its paragraph blank, the button still appears and opens an empty panel. Add your content before publishing.
Information Requests and Supplemental Forms have their own custom sidebars, configured in those features and surfaced to applicants the same way.
✨ Pro Tip: use the Step sidebar for guidance that applies to the whole step, such as deadlines or who to contact with questions. Keep Section sidebars focused on the fields in that section, for example how to enter a name so it matches legal documents. Short paragraphs and bullets are easier for applicants to scan than long blocks of text.