Description

A form is a collection of input fields, allowing users to store, retrieve, and update data.

Forms may appear either in the main workspace or within other containers, such as Dialog popups, Popovers, Wizards, Filter panes, Details panes and Cards.

In a workspace	In a Dialog popup
Open	Open

Usage & Behavior

Structure

A form consists of two areas:

• the Input area, containing any set of input fields including Text fields, Drop-down menus, Checkboxes, Radio buttons etc.

• the Action area, which consists of:

  • a submit button, such as Save, Create, or Edit.

  • a Cancel button.

  • additional actions, where needed.

The Input Area

• For specific form elements, browse the Components section in LUX.

• Where possible, field labels will appear above the input field.

• Where relevant, a red mandatory indicator (*) will be shown to the right of the label.

  • Where a majority of fields are mandatory, a message will appear above the form indicating that all fields are mandatory unless otherwise specified.

• Where relevant, a help icon will appear next to the label (aligned to the right side of the field, if possible).

The Action Area

• The action area will always be visible.

• Action buttons will be aligned to the right.

• Where the action area appears at the bottom of the main workspace, it will be separated by a horizontal line.

Placement and positioning

In most cases, the action area will appear below the form.

• Within the main workspace, where the form does not exceed the height of the container,

  • the action area will appear beneath the last form field.

• Within the main workspace where the form reaches the bottom of the container, and within Popups and other modals:

  • the action area will stick to the bottom of the container.

  • the form above will have a scrollbar.

In some cases, where a form uses the entire workspace and is shown across multiple containers, the action area may appear at the top of the workspace.

States

Forms have two possible states:

The Cancel button is always enabled in all states.

Interaction

The submit button

• Clicking the submit button sends the data for further processing. (For error handling see Validations and errors below).

• In the main workspace, if the form was submitted successfully a success Toast will appear.

  • If the form was triggered from a parent page, the user will automatically be return to that page.

• For forms inside containers, refer to the corresponding pattern documentation. For example:

  • clicking the submit button in a Dialog popup closes it.

  • clicking the Apply button on a Filter pane applies the filter and disables the button.

The Cancel button

• Clicking Cancel on a form with unsaved changes may trigger a warning message, where necessary.

• In the main workspace clicking Cancel will return to user to the parent page, without saving the data.

• For forms inside containers, refer to the corresponding pattern documentation. For example:

  • clicking Cancel will close Popups and Popovers.

  • clicking Cancel may close the Filter pane, depending on the pin state.

Validations and errors

Validation triggers

There are two types of validation which may affect a form:

Presentation of errors and warnings

Errors and warnings are shown:

• against individual form fields - see Field validation for more information.

• as a message in the action area - see details below.

While the form contains an error, the submit button will be disabled.

A dedicated message will appear to the left of the action area. It will include:

• a status icon. If both errors and warnings are present, an error icon will be used.

• descriptive text including a link, and showing the total number of errors and warnings.

Clicking the link opens a Popover, containing additional information. The popover includes:

• general introductory text describing the number of issues and how to resolve them.

• a list of issues, with errors appearing before warnings. Each issue will show:

  • an error or warning status icon.

  • a description of the issue and how to resolve it.

  • a Resolve or Review link, where relevant. Clicking the link closes the popover and sets the focus on the corresponding form field. The form may auto-scroll where necessary.

Examples

Leaving an incomplete form

When the user navigates away from a form in the Edited state (after updating one or more fields), or while there are errors on the form:

• a Message popup will appear. See Common messages repository for appropriate message text.

• the user will choose to either keep editing the form or leave and discard changes.

Best practices

Use for:

• Creating or updating entities, such as users, roles, and channels.

• Configuration, such as service-level indicators or storage retention periods.

General

• Form fields should be arranged in one column. Closely related fields (e.g. First name and Last name) may appear side by side.

• Collections of related fields should be grouped into sections. For example, fields such as Email and Phone may be grouped under a Contact Information section.

Examples in different containers

Accessibility compliance

Unless otherwise specified, see our general compliance information in Fundamentals - Accessibility.