Online Form Templates Best Practices

Keep the following set of best practice recommendations in mind when creating templates for online forms:

• Use the Base Templates Provided from Sopheon - Each Accolade release contains a group of base templates on the Base Templates Reference Page. Use these base templates as starting points for templates specific to your organization.
• Design Online Form Content and Layout Before Building the XML File - Determine what fields to include and how to group them with the form. Gather the display and system names of any metrics to include with in the form.
• Create Well-Formed XML, following XML Code Practices - Use standard XML coding practices when creating the XML files for online forms.
• Capitalization - Names of elements and attributes are case-sensitive.
• Angle Brackets - Ensure elements and their attributes are properly enclosed in angle (< >) brackets.
• Make Your XML Easy to Read - Use indentation and levels to make the code within an XML file easier to read.
• Test As You Go - Upload and test the form with Accolade as you build the form. XML files that contain errors in the XML code do not upload to the Template Library successfully. It is easier to catch errors and troubleshoot the file if you add a small amount of code to the file and upload then if you create an entire form and upload at the end.
• Verify the Form in Accolade - Load the file, assign it to a deliverable, and create a test project that uses the form. Verify that the layout and entry fields have come through as you intended, prior to adding it to models that your organization currently uses.