Using the "Parent" and "Child" Method for Form Relationships

Applicable Roles

• HR Admin
• HR Team
• Business Office

Pre-requisites

Form Management: Process Form Set-up & Creation, Creating and Editing Form Categories, Using the Template Builder (Forms & Notifications) – SchoolFront

Terminology

The basic concept in using Parent and Child forms is that you are creating a form and then taking whatever content you need from the parent form and essentially "copying" the parts you need into a child form:

"Parent" form - This is the originating form, often referred to as the "Original" form

"Child" form - This form is created with information off of the parent form, often called an "Offshoot" form

Contents

The Parent/Original Form

Create a Child Form

Edit Child Forms

Create Form Relationships

Next Step(s)

Determine the Parent / Original Form

It is necessary to use an existing Parent/Original form as a basis for creating Child forms. If the Parent/Original form does not yet exist, follow the steps in the article in the prerequisite section: Form Management: Process Form Setup & Creation to create a Parent/Original form before continuing to Create a Child Form. 

Creating the Child / Off-Shoot Form:

Navigate to: Process Forms / Form Category Management 

1. Select the Original Parent Form by clicking the magnifying glass

2. In the Details section, click Copy Process Form

   

3. The form will copy immediately (as indicated by COPY in the Form Name) and you will now be working in the copied form

4. Click Edit to change the form name to differentiate it from the Parent Form

   

Recommended Best Practice - Rename the Child form with the same name as the Parent form but include a designation of where the form is going or who it's for:

Original Parent Form title " Personnel Change Form - Original"

Off-shoot Child Form title "Personnel Change Form - Benefits"

Off-shoot Child Form title "Personnel Change Form - Payroll"

Repeat these steps for as many Child Forms as you intend to have, ensuring to rename each to reflect the purpose of the form, and to indicate that it is a Child Form. Once Child forms are copied and re-named from the Parent Form, they can be customized further. 

Customize or Edit Child Forms

1. If not already selected, click the magnifying glass for the renamed Child Form and in the Details, click Template Builder

   

2. In the Template Builder, delete anything in the template that will not be included on this Child Form 

   

3. Click Save at the bottom of the Template Builder when complete
4. Click on the Custom Fields tab

5. Click the red trash bin to delete any custom fields that will not be included on this form (that you deleted from the actual form in the previous steps)

   

6. Add Approvers and Email Rules to your Child Form
   1. When copying the Original Parent form, the Approvers and Email Rules are also copied, so it is necessary to check and potentially change these in any Offshoot Child form to ensure they are appropriate for the specific child form 

Repeat these steps for each Child Form. 

Creating Form Relationships

Once the Parent and Child forms are completed, the forms need to be tied together through the Form Relationships tab on the original Parent form.

1. Click the magnifying glass to display the tabs for the Parent Form, then click the tab Form Relationships

   

2. Click New Form Relationships

3. Change the radio button at the top to Potential Children

   

   1. Check the box for Child Available Only when Parent Complete if the Child Form(s) should only be processed after the Parent Form has been completed
4. Check box(es) for any Child forms listed 
5. Click Save & Close

You will now see your Child form(s) listed under the form relationships tab of the Parent form:

Recommended: Double check the content in the Overlapping Fields column, to ensure the correct custom fields are listed. 

Next Step(s)

Initiating Child Forms