> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.goguardian.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create and Manage Forms

> Create GoGuardian Visitor forms from a template, customize their steps, translate them, and turn them on, off, or archive them.

A form in GoGuardian Visitor is the list of steps for one kind of check-in or check-out, such as checking in a visitor, a guardian picking up a student, or a student arriving late. Forms decide what visitors and students do at a kiosk and what staff fill in at the **Front Desk**. They set how visitors and students confirm who they are, who they're here to see, what they sign, and whether they get a badge or a hall pass.

You can create as many forms as your school needs, so each kind of visit can have its own steps. Contractors, volunteers, and guests at a school event can each get a form that asks only what matters for them.

You need the Site Admin role at the site to create and manage its forms. Only Super Users in GoGuardian Org Management can create and manage **District-Wide** forms.

## Understand How Forms Work

Every form starts from a template. The template decides who the form is for and what it does, and you can't change either after you create the form. Choose the template that matches the kind of check-in or check-out.

| Template | Use it for | Starts with these steps | **Shown To** | **Action** |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| **Visitor** | Visitors, vendors, volunteers, contractors, and event guests | **Confirm Visitor Identity**, **Print Badge** | Visitors | Checks visitor in |
| **Parent/Guardian Pickup** | A guardian or other approved adult picking up students | **Confirm Visitor Identity**, **Select Students**, and **Create Hall Pass** if your site has Hall Pass | Visitors | Checks student out |
| **Student Check-In** | Students arriving late or checking in at the office | **Confirm Student Identity**, and **Create Hall Pass** if your site has Hall Pass | Students | Checks student in |
| **Student Self Check-Out** | Students checking themselves out, such as for an appointment | **Confirm Student Identity** | Students | Checks student out |

**Shown To** and **Action** appear on the **Forms** page and at the top of the form editor. They're set by the template:

* **Shown To** is who fills out the form. At a kiosk that offers forms for both, visitors and students choose who they are first, then see only the forms for them.
* **Action** is what happens when the form is complete, such as checking a visitor in or checking a student out.

Each form's steps run in order. You can add steps, change their options, and reorder most of them. For what each step does, see [Form Steps Reference](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/form-steps-reference.md).

Forms appear in 2 places:

* **Front Desk:** Staff see every form that's turned on when they start a check-in or check-out. See [Use the Front Desk](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/front-desk.md).
* **Kiosks:** Each kiosk offers the forms you choose for it. See [Kiosks](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/kiosks.md).

The form's name is what visitors and students tap at a kiosk, so name it for the visitor or student choosing it, such as "Visitor," "Contractor," or "Picking Up a Student."

![GoGuardian Visitor Forms page as a Site Admin, with the District-Wide Event Visitor form shown read-only and the site's forms listed with their Status, Shown To, and Action](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/01-forms-site-admin.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=72f030c1e014e37218eec4111c37ec1a)

### Choose a Site Form or a District-Wide Form

The **Forms** page has 2 sections, one for each kind of form:

| Kind | Where it's used | Who manages it | Create it with |
| - | - | - | - |
| Site form | Only the site you're signed in to | Site Admins at that site | **New Site Form** |
| **District-Wide** form | Every Visitor site in your district | Super Users in Org Management | **New District-Wide Form** |

Use a site form for anything specific to one school, such as its contractors or events. Use a District-Wide form when every school should follow the same process, such as one pickup form for the whole district.

Site Admins see only **New Site Form**. District-Wide forms that are turned on appear in their own section, where Site Admins can see them but not change them. For the rest of the differences, see [Share a Form Across Your District](#share-a-form-across-your-district).

![GoGuardian Visitor Forms page as a Super User, with New District-Wide Form above the District-Wide section and New Site Form above the site's forms](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/02-forms-super-user.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=7d1085771f05c2cb2180c3e6de821226)

## Plan Your Forms

Create a form for each group that should check in differently. Here are some ideas:

* **Contractors:** A **Visitor** form with a **Choose Host** step that suggests your facilities staff, with **Allow Host Search** turned off so contractors choose only from that list. Add a **Choose Destination** step with suggested destinations, such as the boiler room or the gym, and a **Sign Document** step for your safety policy.
* **Volunteers:** A **Visitor** form with a **Sign Document** step for your volunteer agreement, with **Save answer and skip for future visits** turned on so returning volunteers sign once, until the form changes.
* **School events:** A **Visitor** form for back-to-school night or a performance, with fewer steps so the line moves quickly. New forms are on as soon as you save them, so turn it off until the event. Turn it on for the event and off again afterward.
* **Late arrivals:** A **Student Check-In** form with an **Ask Question (Choice)** step for the reason, such as "Appointment" or "Overslept," and, if your site has Hall Pass, a **Create Hall Pass** step that sends the student to class.

Keep each form as short as you can. Every step adds time at the kiosk and at the **Front Desk**.

## Create a Form

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms**.
2. Next to your site's name, click **New Site Form**. To create a form for every site instead, see [Share a Form Across Your District](#share-a-form-across-your-district).
3. Under **Choose a template**, select **Visitor**, **Parent/Guardian Pickup**, **Student Check-In**, or **Student Self Check-Out**.
4. To rename the form, click its name at the top of the editor, enter a **Form Name**, then click the check mark.
5. Add and set up the form's steps. See [Customize a Form's Steps](#customize-a-forms-steps).
6. Optionally, add languages under **Settings** and translate the form. You can't save the form until every text is translated. See [Translate a Form](#translate-a-form).
7. For a **Visitor** form, choose whether visitors can check themselves out. **Allow Self Check-Out** is under **Settings** and is selected by default. See [Allow Self Check-Out](#allow-self-check-out).
8. Click **Save**.
9. Verify the result: The form appears under your site's name in **Forms**, with its **Status** turned on.

A new form is turned on right away, so it appears on the **Front Desk** as soon as you save it. To offer it at a kiosk, add it to the kiosk. See [Kiosks](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/kiosks.md).

![New Site Form dialog with the Visitor, Parent/Guardian Pickup, Student Check-In, and Student Self Check-Out templates, each showing who it's shown to and its action](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/03-new-site-form-dialog.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=2c80f81f99f0e230504d653bb3c4bccc)

## Customize a Form's Steps

The form editor lists the form's steps under **Steps**. Click a step to see its options on the right.

Saving any change to a form starts saved answers and saved sex offender checks over for returning visitors. See [Edit a Form](#edit-a-form).

### Add a Step

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms** and click the form's name.
2. Under **Steps**, click **Add Step**.
3. Select the step to add.
4. Set the step's options on the right.
5. If the form has **Additional Languages**, translate the new step. See [Keep Translations Up to Date](#keep-translations-up-to-date).
6. Click **Save**.
7. Verify the result: The step appears in the form's **Steps** list.

**Add Step** shows only the steps that fit the form's template. Each step can appear once per form, except **Ask Question (Choice)**, **Ask Question (Text)**, and **Sign Document**, which you can add as many times as you need. For which steps each template allows, see [Form Steps Reference](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/form-steps-reference.md#choose-steps-for-each-template).

![Add Step dialog for a Visitor form, with Print Badge, Choose Destination, and Choose Host grayed out because the form already has them](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/04-add-step-dialog.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=5ce508be9526ca6e256529fbbacb9169)

### Reorder Steps

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms** and click the form's name.
2. Under **Steps**, drag a step by its handle to move it.
3. Click **Save**.
4. Verify the result: The step appears in its new position in the **Steps** list.

Some steps stay in a fixed place:

* **Confirm Visitor Identity** or **Confirm Student Identity** is always first.
* **Print Badge** is always last.
* **Create Hall Pass** is last, or right before **Print Badge**.

New steps are added before **Create Hall Pass** and **Print Badge**, so they land in the right place.

![Steps list with Ask Question (Choice) being dragged above Choose Destination by its handle, while Confirm Visitor Identity and Print Badge have no handles](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/05-reorder-steps.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=784c87cefaeff4d0b24e7a8573322500)

### Remove a Step

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms** and click the form's name.
2. Under **Steps**, click the step.
3. Click **Remove** (trash can icon) at the top of the step's options.
4. Click **Save**.
5. Verify the result: The step no longer appears in the form's **Steps** list.

You can't remove **Confirm Visitor Identity** or **Confirm Student Identity**. Every form needs one.

![Choose Destination selected in the Steps list, with the Remove trash can button highlighted at the top right of its options](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/06-remove-step.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=576708f2d5d61922cefa5a7b8ba15ff9)

### Fix Step Errors

A red alert icon next to a step means one of its options needs attention, such as a **Sign Document** step without a document. Click the step to see what to fix. You can't save the form until every error is fixed and every text is translated.

![Form editor with the Steps list, Choose Host selected and its options on the right, and Settings below the steps](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/07-form-editor.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=bdff660e8a5bbcfec5f0f7e66a389d0e)

## Translate a Form

Add languages so visitors and students can fill out the form in their own language. They choose a language from the menu at the top of the kiosk. GoGuardian Visitor supports Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and Vietnamese in addition to English.

Every text on the form needs a translation for each language you add, including the form's name, headlines, questions, and choices. You can't save the form until each one has a translation.

### Add a Language

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms** and click the form's name.
2. Under **Settings**, select each language in **Additional Languages**.
3. Click **Translate All** to translate every text on the form into each language. For other ways to translate, see [Choose How to Translate](#choose-how-to-translate).
4. Review the translations. Click the language menu next to a text and select a language to see its translation. Edit any translation that doesn't read the way you want.
5. Click **Save**.
6. Verify the result: The form saves without errors, and the language menu next to each text shows no **Missing** labels.

![Form editor with Spanish added under Additional Languages and Translate All, red alert icons on untranslated steps, and the Headline language menu showing Spanish as Missing](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/08-languages-missing.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=81c75bb40cc8342003d40310286cdfb8)

### Choose How to Translate

**Translate All** uses AI to translate automatically. Always review its translations before you save, and change any that aren't right for your school. You have full control over every translation.

You can translate in 3 ways:

* **The whole form:** Under **Settings**, click **Translate All**. This is the easiest way, and it translates every text into every language you added.
* **One text:** Click the language menu next to the text, then select **Translate All** to translate just that text into every language. Or select a language, then click **Translate** to translate it into that language only. Use this after you change one text.
* **By hand:** Click the language menu next to the text, select a language, and enter the translation.

![Headline switched to Spanish in its language menu, with the English text below the empty field and a Translate button for this text, and Translate All under Settings](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/09-language-menu.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=d119e502d1791ee1258b17fb5609dfda)

### Keep Translations Up to Date

Translations don't update when you change a text. If you edit a question or headline in English, the old translations stay, and the form still saves, so visitors who choose another language see the old wording.

After you change any text, click **Translate All** under **Settings**, or translate the texts you changed. Then review the translations before you save. New texts, such as a step you just added, show **Missing** in the language menu until you translate them.

To remove a language, clear it from **Additional Languages**. If the form has translations in that language, click **Remove** to confirm. Its translations are deleted.

## Allow Self Check-Out

With **Allow Self Check-Out**, visitors check themselves out by scanning the QR code on their badge at a kiosk. Staff don't need to check them out from the **Front Desk**.

**Allow Self Check-Out** is available on **Visitor** forms, and the form needs a **Print Badge** step because the QR code prints on the badge. New **Visitor** forms have it selected.

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms** and click the form's name.
2. Under **Settings**, select **Allow Self Check-Out** to turn it on, or clear it to turn it off.
3. Click **Save**.
4. Verify the result: The badge preview in the **Print Badge** step shows a QR code when self check-out is on, and none when it's off.

![Print Badge step with Allow Self Check-Out on and a badge preview that includes the self check-out QR code](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/10-self-checkout-qr.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=4a621b9ab2c29f5471c210f45f8efc00)

## Edit a Form

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms** and click the form's name.
2. Change the form's name, steps, or settings.
3. Click **Save**.
4. Verify the result: When you open the form again from **Forms**, its name, steps, and settings show your changes.

When you save a form:

* Kiosks offering the form get your changes right away, with no restart. A kiosk in the middle of a check-in applies them as soon as that check-in is done, so no one is interrupted.
* Translations don't update on their own. If you changed any text, translate it again before you save. See [Keep Translations Up to Date](#keep-translations-up-to-date).
* Check-ins and check-outs already in progress finish with the steps they started with.
* Saved answers start over. Returning visitors and students answer saved questions and sign saved documents again on their next visit, and the sex offender registry check runs again even if **Save cleared sex offender checks** is on. After that visit, their answers are saved again.

Because saving resets saved answers, save changes to busy forms when you have a batch of them ready, outside arrival and dismissal times.

## Turn a Form On or Off

Turn a form off when you don't need it for a while, such as an event form between events. A form that's off doesn't appear on the **Front Desk** or on kiosks.

Kiosks update right away, or as soon as a check-in already in progress is done. Turn the form back on when you need it, with all its steps and settings as you left them.

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms**.
2. Turn the form's **Status** switch on or off.
3. Verify the result: The switch shows the new status. When the form is off, it no longer appears in **Start a Check-In or Check-Out** on the **Front Desk** or on the kiosks that offered it.

Turning a form off doesn't affect past check-ins. They stay in the **Activity Log**.

![Forms page with the Contractor form's Status switch turned off and the other forms turned on](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/11-status-switches.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=167e38d3b7ef796162ea1e147da591f3)

## Share a Form Across Your District

Super Users in Org Management can create **District-Wide** forms. A District-Wide form is available at every GoGuardian Visitor site in your district, so every school can use the same pickup or visitor process.

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms**.
2. Next to **District-Wide**, click **New District-Wide Form**.
3. Select a template and set up the form as you would a site form.
4. Click **Save**.
5. Verify the result: The form appears under **District-Wide** in **Forms**.

District-Wide forms work like site forms, with these differences:

* Only Super Users can edit, turn off, or archive them. Site Admins see District-Wide forms that are turned on but can't open or change them. They don't see District-Wide forms that are off.
* Turning a District-Wide form on or off applies to every site.
* They can't suggest hosts or rooms, because staff and rooms differ by site. **Choose Host** keeps **Allow Host Search** on, and **Choose Destination** can suggest only destinations you enter, not rooms.

Each site still chooses which forms its kiosks offer, including District-Wide forms.

![Choose Host step on the District-Wide Event Visitor form, with Allow Host Search selected and locked, and Suggested Hosts reading District forms can't suggest hosts](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/12-district-choose-host.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=bc1b4950666e6e744a5bbcecd1e9b622)

## Archive a Form

Archive a form you no longer need. Archiving can't be undone, so to use a form again later, turn it off instead. Past check-ins and check-outs from the form stay in the **Activity Log**.

1. In Visitor, go to **Forms** and click the form's name.
2. Click the menu (⋮) next to the form's name, then select **Archive**.
3. Click **Archive** to confirm.
4. Verify the result: The form no longer appears in **Forms**.

When you archive a form, it's removed from the **Front Desk** and from every kiosk that offered it, right away or as soon as a check-in already in progress is done.

![Form editor with the more options (⋮) button and its Archive item highlighted](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/13-archive-menu.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=49ce7507d430ce7e8549cf7015409d53)

![Archive confirmation dialog explaining that the form is permanently archived while past submissions remain, with Cancel and Archive](https://mintcdn.com/goguardian/vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi/images/screenshots/create-and-manage-forms/14-archive-dialog.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=vbbcOHBdrxzrcZoi\&q=85\&s=f957fdb83ae52615b6d7d526062c6ca1)

## Troubleshoot Forms

| Problem | Cause | Fix |
| - | - | - |
| **Save** doesn't save the form | A step or setting has an error, or a translation is missing | Look for red alert icons next to steps and **Missing** labels in the language menus. Fix each one, then save. |
| A step isn't in **Add Step** | The template doesn't allow it | See [Form Steps Reference](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/form-steps-reference.md#choose-steps-for-each-template). |
| A step is grayed out in **Add Step** | The form already has that step. Most steps can appear only once per form. | Edit the step that's already on the form. Only **Ask Question (Choice)**, **Ask Question (Text)**, and **Sign Document** can be added more than once. |
| **Create Hall Pass** is disabled in **Add Step**, with a lock on its GoGuardian Hall Pass badge | Your site doesn't have GoGuardian Hall Pass | Leave the step off, or contact GoGuardian Support about adding Hall Pass to your site. |
| A form doesn't appear on a kiosk | The form is off, or it isn't added to the kiosk | Turn the form on. Then add it to the kiosk. See [Kiosks](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/kiosks.md). |
| A Site Admin can't edit a form | It's a **District-Wide** form | Ask a Super User in Org Management to change it. |
| **Allow Self Check-Out** isn't under **Settings** | The form isn't a **Visitor** form | Self check-out is only for **Visitor** forms. For students, create a **Student Self Check-Out** form. |
| Visitors see old wording in another language | The text changed after it was translated, and translations don't update on their own | Translate the text again and review it. See [Keep Translations Up to Date](#keep-translations-up-to-date). |
| Returning visitors are answering saved questions again | The form was saved since their last visit, which starts saved answers over | No fix needed. Their answers are saved again after this visit. |

## Resources

* [Form Steps Reference](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/form-steps-reference.md)
* [Set Up GoGuardian Visitor](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/set-up-visitor.md)
* [Kiosks](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/kiosks.md)
* [Use the Front Desk](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/front-desk.md)
* [Understand Visitor Screening](https://docs.goguardian.com/products/visitor/visitor-screening.md)


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.