Updated July 9, 2024

Mapping a field on a form tells Dubsado where to save the information entered by your client. For example, you can map a short answer field on a form to the client’s first name. This will save whatever the client types in that field as their first name when they submit the form.

The term field is used in a few ways around Dubsado. Here's a quick breakdown:

Whatever the client enters in the form field that's been mapped to a client or project field can be populated in an email or form using a smart field.

When your client submits the form, the response in that field will automatically be stored in the location where you've mapped it. In the example above, we mapped a short answer form field to the client first name, so whatever the client types in for that question will be saved as their first name in their client profile!

👋 Here's a tip... only short answer or date select form fields can be mapped. No other type of form field (free response, dropdown, checkboxes, etc.) can be mapped at this time.

Date select fields can be mapped to the project date. When your client submits the form, the project date will be set or updated to match what has been entered in that field on the form. This will also add the project to your Dubsado calendar.

👋 Here's a tip... project dates set through mapped form fields will automatically become a "busy" event on your calendar. This will block out that time on your Dubsado schedulers. If you would like to prevent this, we recommend not mapping the date select field, or mapping to a custom project field for "Requested date" and manually setting the project date later.

If the project will be an all-day event on a single day, use a single date select field and map it to project date.

Set a project start and end date using two date select fields. Map one date select field to project start date and another to project end date. This will add a time select to the fields.

The easiest place to view mapped fields at a glance is in the project sidebar. The diagram below shows all the places in the sidebar where you will find mapped fields:

👋 Here's a tip... not all client mapped fields will appear in the project sidebar. Click on the pencil icon next to Client to pull up the client profile and see all the fields.

If you want to autofill the information stored in a mapped field into another form or canned email, use a smart field. The Smart Field menu in the text editor tool bar lets you add smart fields to a canned email or text box on a form.

Check out these articles for more info on using smart fields:

👋 Here's a tip... the information must already be saved in the client or project field before it can populate a smart field. Review the steps of your client process and make sure that you’ll be collecting the information before trying to autofill it.

Nope! Only map the form fields collecting info that you'll want to see in the project sidebar or autofill with a smart field later. Basic client contact information is a good place to start.

You can map to just about any of the default project or client fields. You can also create custom fields to fit your specific business needs.

Yes! If you map a form field to a project or client field that already has information stored, the client will see that information when they view the form. The client can type in a new response and submit the form to overwrite the existing information.

⛔️ Heads up! The exception to this is lead capture forms. Filling out a lead capture form will never update the mapped fields in a client's profile. This is for security purposes, because lead captures are meant to be publicly posted where anyone can fill them out. Existing information in mapped fields can only be updated via a contract, sub-agreement, questionnaire, or proposal sent directly to the client through a project in Dubsado.