Form Gadget Overview – Kuali

Use this article to familiarize yourself with the various General Gadgets available in any form on the left panel of Form Builder. For a more detailed explanation of each gadget click below on the gadget specific article linked within.

You can use the list below to jump straight to a gadget, or you can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+F (⌘+F for Mac).

Layout Gadgets

Section
Read-Only Text
Read-Only Image

Basic Gadgets

Special Gadgets

Advanced Gadgets

For more information on Product Gadgets please refer to the General Gadgets vs Product Gadgets article.

Layout Gadgets

Section

Sections are used to organize content within the form, and can be used to create subsections or break the content into multiple pages rather than having a single, continuous form. Sections are also easily moved around within the form and will move all associated fields with them.

A Section within a form

Sections have the following settings available:

For more information, see the following article(s):

Read-Only Text

Read-Only Text can be used to disclose information within the form - such as additional instructions, or other relevant information that needs to be provided to users - but will not allow users to make any changes to the content within the field.

Read Only text Gadget

Read-Only Text gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: If you have trouble seeing certain text when you paste it in, try copying/pasting the text as "Plain Text" instead. Often when you paste text in from another editor, the styles can come with it, including colors which can render the text unreadable. This can be accomplished with either the remove formatting button Remove formatting icon

, or you can use the short-cut of SHIFT+CTRL+V (or OPTION+Shift+⌘+V on Mac) to make sure the special formatting is removed.

Read-Only Image

Read-Only Image can be used to display a static image within the form - such as adding logos, instructions, example images, QR codes, etc. to embed in your form.

Read-Only Image gadgets have the following settings available:

Basic Gadgets

Short Text

Short Text (may also be referred to as just 'text') gadgets may be used to create a field on a form that allows the user to input small amounts of text (name, etc.) The Short Text gadget does not support HTML formatting.

Short text gadget

Short Text gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: Short Text gadgets have a maximum character limit of 10,000 characters. Line breaks/carriage returns will count as a character.

Long Text

Long Text (may also be referred to as a 'text area') may be used to create a field on a form that allows the user to input longer text (sentences or paragraphs). The Long Text gadget does not support HTML.

Long text gadget

Long Text gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: Long Text gadgets have a maximum character limit of 10,000 characters. Line breaks/carriage returns will count as a character.

Rich Text

Rich Text gadgets may be used to create a field on a form that allows the user to input longer blocks of text (sentences or paragraphs) that can also be formatted.

Rich Text Gadget

Rich Text gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: Rich Text gadgets have a maximum character limit of 10,000 characters. Line breaks/carriage returns will count as a character.

For more information on text fields, see the following article(s):

Checkbox

Checkbox gadgets are used to create an option that allows the user to choose one or more items from a list. When a Checkbox is added to a form, you can create custom options or select from a preset.

checkbox gadget on form builder

Checkbox options

Checkbox gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: Check Boxes allow a user to select multiple options.

For more information, see the following article(s):

How do I use the Checkbox Gadget?

Multiple Choice

Multiple Choice (may also be referred to as a radio set) gadgets are used to create a field that allows the user to choose a single item from a list. When a Multiple Choice gadget is added to a form, you can create custom options or select from a preset.

Multiple choice gadget

Multiple Choice options

Multiple Choice gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: Multiple Choice gadgets only allow a user to select a single option.

For more information, see the following article(s):

How do I use the Multiple Choice Gadget?

The Dropdown gadget is used to create a field that will offer a dropdown list. When a Dropdown gadget is added to a form, you can create custom options or select from a preset.

Dropdown gadget

Drop down gadget options

Dropdown gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: Dropdown gadgets only allow a user to select a single option.

Date

The Date gadget is used to create a field that will allow the user to enter a date as well as provide a date picker to the user.

Date gadgets have the following settings available:

Note: Kuali will display and allow you to input dates and times in the formats you expect based on your locale settings in your Operating System and browser. For example, If your browser is configured for English (United States), it’ll display dates and times in the following formats: Short Date: MM-DD-YYYY, 11-13-2024 Time in 12-hr clock like: HH:MM, 2:30 PM. Alternatively, if your browser is configured for English (Canada), it’ll display dates and times in the following formats: Short Date: YYYY-MM-DD, 2024-11-23 Time in 24-hr clock like: HH:MM, 14:30. We default to “en-US” if there is a locale not currently supported by Kuali.

In all cases, the time can be input in any format 12-hr or 24-hr. Also, regardless of the display logic the time/date will always be stored consistently in the database. Our intent is to respect the user’s settings in their Operating System and Browser when displaying or inputing dates and times whenever possible.

Time

The Time gadget allows users to select a specified time.

The Time gadget has the following settings available:

Number

Number gadget is used to provide users a field to enter a response in the form of a number that may be used within calculations.

number gadget

The Number gadget has the following settings available:

Note: All gadget content is left aligned by default but Number and Currency values are right aligned to be in accordance with industry standards on numeric value alignment. Also, please be aware the max number of digits the field allows is 9007199254740991.

Email

The Email gadget is used to provide users a field to enter an email address, with validation to ensure the correct formatting.

Email gadget

The Email gadget has the following settings available:

Link

The Link gadget provides a field for users to enter a URL within the form, and enforces validation.

Link gadget

The Link gadget has the following settings available:

Currency

The Currency gadget is used to create a field that allows your user to input a U.S. dollar amount that may be used within calculations. Negative dollar amounts may be entered by using - before the entry (i.e. -10.00).

Currency gadget

Note: It is standard practice in the finance industry to store currency values as number of “cents” or whatever the lowest denomination is. This is because some programming languages use numbers in a way that can cause very slight rounding errors if they have decimals. To keep in alignment with industry standards, Kuali also stores currency values as number of cents. So for example, a value of $2.22 in a Currency Gadget will export as 222 in the CSV. If you export a CSV file of your data, currency will display as number of cents. You will need to adjust the formatting of the currency field in your CSV file if you want it to show a dollar sign and a decimal (e.g. $12.45). The below is a method to change the field formatting in Excel to accommodate this if desired by using the Custom $#0\.00 Type: Currency settings in Excel

The Currency gadget has the following settings available:

Image Upload

The Image Upload gadget allows users to upload an image as part of their form submission. The maximum file size for this gadget is 1GB.

Image upload gadget

The Image Upload gadget has the following settings available:

Note: When an image is uploaded, the preview is compressed to a max width of 640 px to make it easier to view. If you export the document, you'll have a link to the image included in the export, which provides the ability to download the full-sized, uncompressed image.

File Upload

The File Upload gadget will allow users to upload a file. The maximum file size for this gadget is 1GB.

File upload gadget

The File Upload gadget has the following settings available:

Special Gadgets

Country

The Country gadget will provide a list of countries within a typeahead list.

Country gadget

Country gadget options

The Country gadget has the following settings available:

Language

The Language gadget will provide a list of languages within a typeahead list.

Language gadget

Language gadget options

The Language gadget has the following settings available:

State/Province

The State/Province gadget will provide a list of US states and Canadian provinces within a typeahead list.

State/province gadget

State/Province Options

The State/Province gadget has the following settings available:

Option Range

The Option Range gadget is used to create a field that allows your user to select from series of options on a linear scale. A common application for this gadget is to provide a way for users to give a rating. This value can also be used within calculations.

Option range gadget

The Option Range gadget has the following options available:

Signature

The Signature gadget is used to request the eSignature of a form submitter or reviewer during the form submission or workflow processes. Submitters or reviewers have the option to type, draw, or upload an image of their signature.

Signature gadget

Sign button as it appears on a form

For more information on how you might allow reviewers to sign a form, see the Allowing Reviewers to Add Information to a Form During the Workflow Process article.

The Signature gadget has the following settings available:

Note: We provide eSignature support that is legally binding in the U.S. and Canada by meeting the US E-Sign Act https://www.docusign.com/products/electronic-signature/legality/united-states/. This does not meet the requirements of a Digital Signature.

For more information, see the following article(s):

Table

The Table gadget is used to visually group data on a form into rows and columns. Rows and columns can be labeled, and a variety of gadgets can be used to create the data on the table.

Table gadget

The Table gadget has the following settings available:

Repeater

The Repeater gadget will allow admins to group fields together that need to be repeated. When a user is filling out the form they can fill out multiple instances of the repeater field by selecting "add new".

Repeater gadget

The Repeater gadget has the following settings available:

For more information, see the following article(s):

Advanced Gadgets

Advanced Gadgets allow you to connect to other data sources such as the Kuali Groups and Users area or an external system. For more details please refer to the Smart Gadgets: Data Lookup (Single Item), Data Lookup (List), and Data Multiselect article.

Note: The smart gadgets may require API integrations to be added in Kuali. Your IT department may be able to facilitate this for you. More information on how to do that can be found in the Create an API Integration for Smart Gadgets article. Also, be aware once a Data Source is selected in an Advanced gadget it can be changed via the 'update' button only until the app is published for the first time; then it locks down and cannot be updated.

Validation

The Validation gadget can be used to add a form validation under certain criteria (beyond just "A required field is blank") to prevent submission or a workflow action. Sometimes gadgets require a certain number of responses, or a field is only required if specific data is entered elsewhere in the form (otherwise it's optional), certain lookup selections aren't allowed, etc. You can set any combination of desired criteria in the Validation rules to trigger when appropriate.

Within the Validation gadget you must first enter the desired Error Text that will display when the rule(s) for visibility are met. And then you can add the desired rule(s) to fire that validation. For example, in the below example the validation will display when the Sponsor selected is 'To Be Determined':

Within the form the user will see the Validation message immediately:

And if they attempt to submit the form or take a workflow action (i.e. Approve, Complete Task) without addressing the validation they'll also see the error display:

The Validation gadget has the following settings available:

Associations

Users often need visibility into how documents are connected across the system. The Associations Gadget provides a clear view of all documents in the system that reference the document you’re currently viewing.

Associations Gadget

Some example scenarios of use for the Association gadget across our products:

Kuali Build: View how a form connects to other forms across departments.
Kuali Research: Track which review checklists have been created for a protocol or which awards have been funded by a proposal.
Kuali Ready: Understand how emergency plans reference shared resources or critical assets.
Kuali Academic Ops: Identify courses or specializations associated with program or curriculum changes.

Administrators can easily configure the gadget to display relevant fields from the associated data set on the linked documents based on their needs. To configure simply add the Associations gadget to your form and then select a data set and the specific linked field.

Note: You will only see forms (aka data sets) listed in the Data Source option if they've been shared with the given form. Similarly, you will only have a gadget available to select from that form if you've linked a gadget from the current form in that form. More information on data sharing and using data from another application in your app can be found in the Data Sharing article.

Selecting Data Source

Also, if versioning is enabled in the data set you're linking to in the gadget you'll have additional options on what version of the document will appear in the Associations gadget - more information can be found in the Document Versions article.

Once configured the Associations field in the form will display the configured Form Title Field of the document as a hyperlink so you can open the associated linked document(s). You can configure what information displays as the Form Title Field via the Form Settings of the given form.

Platform - Forms - how associations appear on form

Note: Some Associations will be built into the form by default. For example, Course Prerequisites in Kuali Academic Ops will allow you to see which courses/programs in the system are using the course they are on as a prerequisite/co-requisite.
Student - Forms - how associations appear on form

Student - Forms - how associations appear on form

Data Lookup (Single Item)

The Data Lookup (Single Item) gadget can be used to automatically fill in additional information on the form based on external data established with an integration.

Data look up (single) gadget

The Data Lookup (Single Item) gadget has the following settings available:

Data Lookup (List)

The Data Lookup (List) gadget allows the form submitter to select a single item from a dropdown menu or typeahead gadget that can reference information found within Kuali Data (people, groups, or potentially other forms) or from External Data through an integration.

Data look up (list) gadget

The Data Lookup (List) gadget has the following settings available:

Data Lookup (Multiselect)

The Data Lookup (Multiselect ) gadget allows the form submitter to select multiple items from a dropdown menu or typeahead gadget that can reference information found within Kuali Data (people, groups, or potentially other forms) or from External Data through an integration.

Data look up (multiselect) gadget

The Data Lookup (Multiselect) gadget has the following settings available:

For more information, see the following article(s):

Submitted By

The Submitted By gadget will pre-populate the field with the name of the person submitting the form. This field requires the form submitter to be logged in.

Submitted by gadget

The Submitted By gadget has the following settings available:

Read-Only Data

The Read-Only Data gadget can be used to add information to your form that is uneditable to submitters. This information can come from data previously entered by the submitter on the current form, or from the data that is automatically captures on the form behind the scenes (e.g. document number, submission date, submitter’s email address, etc.).

Read only data gadget

The Read-Only data gadget has the following settings available:

For more information, see the following article(s):

Related to

Layout Gadgets

Section

Read-Only Text

Read-Only Image

Basic Gadgets

Short Text

Long Text

Rich Text

Checkbox

Multiple Choice

Dropdown

Date

Time

Number

Email

Link

Currency

Image Upload

File Upload

Special Gadgets

Country

Language

State/Province

Option Range

Signature

Table

Repeater

Advanced Gadgets

Validation

Associations

Data Lookup (Single Item)

Data Lookup (List)

Data Lookup (Multiselect)

Submitted By

Read-Only Data

Related articles