Advanced Linking: Wizard-Style Linking
Bekah K. avatar
Written by Bekah K.
Updated over a week ago

Apricot's link function allows you to create connections between records that may or may not otherwise have a connection. These links between records can be used to improve data quality, improve reporting accuracy, and simplify user workflow.

Wizard Linking is a linking feature that can improve your user workflow. With this feature, links will open the linked form in a pop-up window, allowing a user to fill it out and save it and then return to the original primary record without opening or closing extra tabs.

The record in the example above is a Tier 1 donor record.

  1. It has two "wizard links" to some of the Tier 2 records that live under this Tier 1 profile record.

  2. Clicking the "Add" button next to one of these links opens the Tier 2 record in a new pop-up window that can be filled out, saved, and closed; and then returns the user to this spot where they can continue filling out the Tier 1 donor profile.

Document Folder After Filling Out Wizard Style Links

This is what the donor's document folder looks like after filling out the Tier 1 profile record with the wizard links.

  1. Both of the Tier 2 forms under the Tier 1 profile have already been filled out. If your users follow a workflow that requires them to fill out a Tier 1 record followed by a number of Tier 2 records, this can save them time because it will be like filling out just one record - but in effect they will be filling out each required Tier 2 record at the same time.

  2. These Tier 2 records, even though they were created with wizard links, can be accessed like any traditional Tier 2 record. Users can still use the document folder to create more if needed - they can also create more by accessing the Tier 1 profile record and adding more links.

Link Tier 2 Forms to Related Tier 2 Forms

The above example shows a client document folder. According to our prescribed workflow, every time a new client comes in for services, we have to fill out a series of Tier 2 records for them - depending on what age/grade they are in, we fill out either all of the "Elementary Education" Tier 2 records, or we fill out all of the "Middle School" Tier 2 records. Because we collect a lot of information, it has been split up into several forms.

We can use wizard style linking to add wizard links connecting the Elementary Education Intake record to each of the other elementary education Tier 2 records that need to be filled out. To the user, it will feel more like filling out one long form containing all the elementary education information we need to collect; but at the same time they will creating and saving a copy of each of the elementary education records every time they create and save an elementary education intake record.

Adding a New Wizard Style Link

To add a new wizard style link to an existing form, open that form for editing in Form Designer.

  1. Expand the black arrow next to Linking to display the link fields.

  2. Drag a link field into the body of your form.

  3. Open the link field gear box.

  4. Under "Linked to," select the form you would like to connect to the form you are editing.

  5. If you select a relationship that is can be made into a wizard style link (see list below), the Wizard Style checkbox will appear. Select it. Note: If you are linking two Tier 2 forms (that live under the same Tier 1 form) then Same Folder Linking will be applied automatically.

  6. Apply.

Updating a Traditional Link Field to a Wizard Style Link

  1. To update an old or traditional link field to become a wizard style link, open the field gear box on a link field.

  2. If the link field connects forms in a relationship that allows wizard style linking,

  3. Then you will have the option to make this link relationship into a wizard style link.

  4. When you are finished, click Apply. You must also publish the form for changes to take affect for your users.

Available Link Relationships for Wizard Style Linking

  1. Wizard style links can be created for the following link relationships:

  • Tier 1 form to unrelated Tier 1 form

  • Tier 1 form to related Tier 2 form

  • Tier 2 form to related Tier 2 form

2. Wizard style links cannot be created for the following link relationships:

  • Tier 1 to unrelated Tier 2

  • Tier 2 to unrelated Tier 2

  • Wizard Style links cannot be created with the Batch Record Creation tool.

  • Wizard Style links will only create new records. They cannot be used to connect existing records.

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