16 Sep, 2016
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Understanding external lists

When you create a form, you may have to use the same list in several elements of your form or you may even use it in different forms. With Kizeo Forms, you can create a list that you can re-use multiple times. They are called external lists.

Different kinds of external lists.

Kizeo Forms has several kinds of lists:

  • The regular List: it is just a basic list.

  • The Hierarchical List: This is a list that has several levels (up to 9), meaning that you can narrow down your selection with categories. For instance, it can be a list to select a location. The first level of this list will allow you to choose between several Countries. After selecting one country, the second level will let you choose between several states or region within this country. After selecting the state or region, the third level will allow you to select a city. And so on…

  • The Referential List: this list will be connected to one or several fields (up to 49) of your forms. This means that when you select an item in your list, the field linked to this list will be filled automatically. For instance, you have a list of customers with their contact details. When you will select the name of one customer, it will automatically fill the address field, the e-mail address field, etc.

  • The Referential-Hierarchical List: It is a combination of the Hierarchical List and the Referential List. Meaning that first you will have a list with several levels to narrow down your selection. After you selected one item, it will automatically fill several fields of your form.

  • The list with codes: when you import an Excel file, it allows you to give to each one of your items a specific code or name that can be different from the name you see when you are filling your form. For instance, it can be the name of a product replaced by its store reference.

  • The filtered list: this list gives you the option to choose which part of the external list each user will be able to see.

Step 1. Create your External lists.

Example: You work in a real estate agency.  For each house or apartment you visit, you need to check the condition of the ceilings and walls. For each room, you always have to check the same items:

  • Seepage
  • Rising water
  • Recent stains/rings
  • Black spots
  • Mould

Save time by creating a list called “Condition of ceilings and walls” that you will re-use for each room you inspect. This external list can be re-use as many times as you want and within an unlimited number of forms.

You have 2 options to create your external list: manually or importing an Excel file.

Option 1. Manually enter your External list.

  • Go to the External lists tab from the online platform.
  • Click on Create an external list.
Create a new list  
  • Give a name to your list and enter the elements.

Put elements in your list You have several options to go through the creation of your list:

add_a_level_list_manually- add_reference_list
  • Change the order of your list:
cange_order_element Don't forget to save your list!

 Option 2. From an Excel file.

This is by far the best option when you want to create a long list. To learn more about how to create a list from an Excel file, read this tutorial.

Tip: If you are going to make some changes on your list, you can upload an empty excel file and use the Change & Add option. This way, you will import the new items of your list and without erasing the former ones. Feel free to read our tutorial on how to modify an external list.  

Step 2. Insert your External list in your form.

  • Now create a new form and insert a List item
  • Go into your List features by clicking on the green pencil icon
  • Click the Features tab, and then in the External list scroll bar, select your list. In our case, we select 'Condition of the ceilings and walls'.
Features list scroll bar  
  • /! Do not forget to confirm your changes and save your form.

Display on your mobile device.

This is how your mobile user will see the list on his/her mobile device. Click on the left or right arrow to see the next picture. 


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