Templating

Templating is a way to dynamically replace specially formatted variables with data submitted from the form. Here's a simple example:

Hello [entry:Field169]. Thank you for your response.

You are entry #[entry:EntryID] and we received your submission on [entry:DateCreated].
When the form is submitted, the resulting variables are replaced with the data from the associated field. 
Hello Matthew. Thank you for your response.

You are entry #52 and we received your submission on March 4, 2015.

The templating system replaces the bracketed variables with data the user submitted on the form. This is especially useful if you want to personalize the email subject or confirmation message.

Template Types

Before we begin, you should note that there are three types of template options:

  1. Form Templates - Form templates are available for use in the Email Subject, Email Message and Template, and Confirmation Success Text.
  2. Email Templates - Email templates are available for use in the Email Template on the Email Design tab.
  3. Entry Templates - Entry data, that's the data the user typed into the form, will replace the Entry Template tags.

Finding the Variable

Now that we know how templating works, it's time to construct our own. There are two parts to the template:

  1. Template: [entry:]
  2. Parameter: Field169

The "Template" tells VFB Pro what kind of data to expect. If it's "[entry:]" it will be entry data. The "Parameter" tells VFB Pro what value to insert in place of the bracketed variable.

There are two methods for finding the correct template tag, depending on what you are trying to accomplish.

Template Options popup

On the Email Design, Confirmation, and Email Settings tabs, there is a "View Template Options" button. This will display a popup with all available template tags for the form you are working on.

On the Field Item

On the Edit Fields tab, you can obtain the [entry:] template by hovering over the field item and making note of the "Field ID" number that is displayed.

Using the Variable

As mentioned above, templating is only available in the Email Subject, Email Message, Email Template on the Email Design tab, and Confirmation Success Text.

Once you've obtained your field ID, build your subject or message as normal and then include your template tag. For example, if your field ID is 172, your template would look like this:

[entry:Field172]