Seamless Overview

Training with Seamless University

Access the Seamless University Training at http://help.seamlessdocs.com/en/articles/2083041-seamlessdocs-101

There are six short courses you can take to learn about Seamless and each course will take no more than 20 to 30 minutes.  Check out these great resources for:

• 101 Intro Course
• The Lobby - Understanding and navigating the homepage when you login.
• Doc Editor - Includes Getting Started, Adding Fields, Signatures, Special Fields, Advanced Field Settings, Attachments, and Calculations.
• Web Form Builder - Most Popular Form Elements, Image and Video, Survey & Event Tools, Specialty Tools, Formatting & Sharing.
• Submission Manager - Viewing Submissions, PDFs, Signatures, Attachments, and Payments. NOTE: Contact OCIO if you want to add payments to your form and OCIO will help with the setup in the U.S. Bank ePayment.

Advanced Course - The Wizard (combining SeamlessDocs and Web Forms!!!), Saving Templates and Bundling Forms, Using a Preparer, "Ask a Question" Feature.

What forms should I build in Seamless?

Most agency forms could be built in SeamlessDocs.  Seamless has a Seamless article decision matrix to help you identify the best forms to start with.  

A basic form with limited workflow is the ideal first form.  It's a good idea to get some experience with the platform before tackling a 10 page form or look to integrate with your backend systems. 

Seamless offers a lot of features and flexibility but it is not a replacement for full systems.  If you need a full licensing system please work with your Technology Account Manager to explore options, like Salesforce, in use at other agencies. 

Choosing Between a Doc and a Webform

Seamless offers two end-user facing products: Webforms and Docs. 

This Seamless article on differences between webforms and docs provides a checklist of questions to ask yourself before you begin building your online forms. 

Sample Seamless Doc Form  This form is a converted PDF.

Sample Seamless Web Form  This form feels more like a web application.

Recommended Naming Conventions for Fields

If you are interested in downloading and working with the data in your Seamless forms then OCIO recommends the following naming convention practices for your fields.  

Following these guidelines will make it easy for you to manage the data and ensure data is structured, complete, and consistent.  If you work with data.iowa.gov these guidelines will seem very familiar.

• Keep field names short and meaningful.
• Keep alpha characters lowercase.
• Avoid the use of symbols in headings (e.g. &, %, *)
• Use underscores or dashes in place of spaces.

Example:

The form has a field for "Contact Person First Name" A good field name would be Contact_F_Name or ContactFirstName

You can always use 

Setting Seamless Form Access Through Permissions

If you have a staff member that cannot access a Seamless form you need to grant them permission to the form.  

Permissions can be granted to:

• View Form
• View Submissions
• Edit Form
• Process Submissions

This Seamless support article "Setting Permissions and Access on Forms" explains how to set permissions.  

Submission Notifications and Submission Manager Guidance

Form notifications SHOULD NOT include the attachment of a PDF or the embed of data when the form is collecting personal information. 

Please review the Security Division guidance on the use of the Seamless Submission Manager option.