Create and configure a form

Create a new Ship Event form that you own, then set the instructions, section titles, field labels, tooltips, custom attributes, and product columns your suppliers will see.

Applies to: Forms Manager (forms your account owns), not Forms List

Audience: Account owners creating forms for suppliers

Prerequisites: a plan that allows creating forms; optional instruction document already uploaded to Documents

Purpose

Create a new Ship Event form that you own, then set the instructions, section titles, field labels, tooltips, custom attributes, and product columns your suppliers will see. You work in Forms Manager, not Forms List.

Before you begin

Your plan allows you to create forms. Plan limits vary; see wholechain.com/pricing or contact support@wholechain.com.
Decide on a clear form name. Suppliers see it in their Forms List.
If you want to attach an instruction document, upload it to Documents first. The Instruction Document selector lists existing documents; it cannot upload a new one.
Keep in mind the four separate stages of a form's life: creating it, saving configuration changes (automatic), publishing it, and sharing it. Creating or configuring a form does not publish or share it.

Steps

Create the form

Open Compliance → Forms and select the Forms Manager tab

Open Compliance → Forms and select the Forms Manager tab.

Use Search forms to check whether a similar form already exists

Use Search forms to check whether a similar form already exists. When an account has no forms yet, Forms Manager shows an empty state with a prompt to create the first form.

Select Create Form at the top right

Select Create Form at the top right. The Create Form drawer opens.

Enter a Form Name (required)

Enter a Form Name (required). The field suggests an example such as "Packing list for network partners".

Select Create Form

Select Create Form.

Select Create Form to open the drawer; Form Name is required.

Enter a Form Name, then select Create Form.

A green notification confirms the form was created and its configuration opens.

A green notification confirms the form was created, and its configuration opens in the drawer. In Forms Manager the new form has the Status Draft and the Sharing setting Don't Share.

How saving works

Changes to configuration fields save automatically after you edit a field and click away. A Saving indicator appears at the top of the drawer while a change saves, and Publish Draft is unavailable until saving finishes. Saved changes are a draft. Suppliers do not see them until you publish (see Publish, share, and manage a form).

Select the expand icon at the top of the drawer to widen it.

The configuration drawer, expanded. Changes save automatically.

Configure the form

Information Details

Enter a Section Title

Enter a Section Title. Suppliers see it as the heading of the collapsible instructions section (the supplier's view labels the section Information and Instructions by default).

Optional: open Instruction Document and choose an existing document.

Optional: open Instruction Document and choose an existing document.

Enter Information Content in the rich-text editor

Enter Information Content in the rich-text editor. The toolbar offers undo and redo; the styles Small, Body, Large, and Heading; the fonts Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica, Georgia, and Verdana; bold, italic, underline, and font color; bulleted and numbered lists; and hyperlinks.

Instruction Document lists existing documents from the Documents module.

Information Details with a Section Title, an Instruction Document and Information Content.

Rich-text styles: Small, Body, Large and Heading.

Vendor, Ship From, and Ship To

Under Vendor Details, set the Section Title and Vendor Selection Label

Under Vendor Details, set the Section Title (default Vendor) and the Vendor Selection Label (default Vendor Details).

Under Ship From Details, set the Section Title (default Ship From)

Under Ship From Details, set the Section Title (default Ship From).

Under Ship To Details, set the Section Title and the Shipping to Label

Under Ship To Details, set the Section Title (default Ship To) and the Shipping to Label (default Ship to Location).

Vendor Details, Ship From Details, Ship To Details and the start of Shipment Details.

Shipment Details

Set the Shipment Details section title, labels and tooltips

Set the Section Title, SSCC Display Label, Purchase Order Number Label and Purchase Order Number Tooltip, Universal TLC Label and Universal TLC Tooltip, and TLC Source Label and TLC Source Tooltip. Tooltips are optional; a blank tooltip does not display to suppliers.

Decide on the two switches

Decide on the two switches:

Use SSCC Validation: when on, SSCC values are validated using the GS1 check digit. It is off by default.
Use Universal TLC Format: when on, the form uses one TLC across all product rows and lot or serial entries. It is off by default.

Shipment Details labels and tooltips, with Use SSCC Validation and Use Universal TLC Format switches (both off by default).

Use SSCC Validation switched on; the Saving indicator shows while the change saves.

Custom Template Attributes

Under Custom Template Attribute, select Add Attribute to add a row

Under Custom Template Attribute, select Add Attribute to add a row. Enter an Attribute Key and an Attribute Label (both required), and an optional Attribute Tooltip.

Choose the Attribute Type (required)

Choose the Attribute Type (required): Dropdown, Number, Text, or Date.

For Dropdown, enter the choices in Dropdown Items

For Dropdown, enter the choices in Dropdown Items by typing each value and pressing Enter.

To remove an attribute, select Delete on its row

To remove an attribute, select Delete on its row.

Custom attributes are optional, but an attribute needs all three of Attribute Key, Attribute Label, and Attribute Type before it can be created on the form. Suppliers see the attributes you create between Shipment Details and the product table. The configuration page has no control for making a custom attribute required for suppliers. Form Name is the only required field when you set up a form; labels, tooltips, custom attributes, and optional item columns are all optional.

A custom attribute row with key, label, tooltip and type.

Attribute Type choices: Dropdown, Number, Text, Date.

Trade Item Table Section

Set the Section Title (default Trade Item Table) and the column names and optional tooltips for Product, Quantity, TLC, TLC Source, and Lot Serial (default Lot/Serial).

Trade Item Table Section: column names and optional tooltips.

Optional Trade Item Columns

Optional columns show read-only Trade Item details after a supplier selects a product, so they can confirm they chose the correct item. For each of Item Number, Owner's Item Number, UoM, GTIN, UPC, PLU, and Brand, set Visibility to Shown or Not Shown, and optionally rename the column and add a tooltip. All are Shown by default.

A visible column displays a value only when the underlying Trade Item has that data. Owner's Item Number is the item number that you, the form owner, assigned; Item Number is the supplier's item number.

Optional Trade Item Columns: Item Number, Owner's Item Number, UoM and GTIN settings.

Each optional column has a Visibility setting: Shown or Not Shown.

Brand Visibility set to Not Shown; the setting is kept when the form is reopened.

Brand Visibility set to Not Shown; the setting is kept when the form is reopened.

Expected result

Your changes are saved as a draft. The Status in Forms Manager stays Draft, or Published with an information icon if the form was already published. Suppliers see nothing until you publish (see Publish, share, and manage a form).

Troubleshooting

The Create Form button is unavailable. Enter a Form Name; it is required.
I cannot find my new form. It appears in Forms Manager, not Forms List.
My supplier does not see my change. You have not published it. Select Publish Draft, or Publish from the row menu.
The editor looks empty when I reopen the form. Reload the page. If the text is still missing, re-enter it and click away so it saves.
A tooltip does not appear. Blank tooltips are not displayed; enter text to display one.

Field and action reference

Create Form drawer

Field	Req.	Type	Values and validation	Default
Form Name	Yes	Text	Shown to recipients in their Forms List.	Blank

Only the Ship Event form type is available. After creation, the form appears in Forms Manager with status Draft and sharing Don't Share, and its configuration opens.

Saving behavior

Item	Behavior
Autosave	Configuration changes save automatically. A "Saving" indicator shows while a save runs.
Publish Draft	Button at the bottom of the configuration. Disabled while a save is running.

All settings below are in the configuration opened from a Forms Manager row. No setting in this section is required to create or publish a form, except the three attribute fields noted under Custom Template Attribute. Owners can apply labels and tooltips, create custom data fields, and choose which optional item columns to show.

Information Details

Setting	Req.	Type	Values	Default
Section Title	No	Text	Heading of the supplier's instructions section.	Blank
Instruction Document	No	Selector	An existing document from Documents. It cannot upload a new document.	None
Information Content	No	Rich text	Undo/redo; Small, Body, Large, Heading; Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica, Georgia, Verdana; bold, italic, underline, color; bulleted and numbered lists; links.	Blank

Vendor Details

Setting	Req.	Type	Default
Section Title	No	Text	Vendor
Vendor Selection Label	No	Text	Vendor Details

Ship From Details

Setting	Req.	Type	Default
Section Title	No	Text	Ship From

Ship To Details

Setting	Req.	Type	Default
Section Title	No	Text	Ship To
Shipping to Label	No	Text	Ship to Location

Shipment Details

Setting	Req.	Type	Default	Notes
Section Title	No	Text	Shipment Details
SSCC Display Label	No	Text	SSCC
Purchase Order Number Label	No	Text	Purchase Order Number
Purchase Order Number Tooltip	No	Text	None
Universal TLC Label	No	Text	TLC
Universal TLC Tooltip	No	Text	None
TLC Source Label	No	Text	TLC Source
TLC Source Tooltip	No	Text	None
Use SSCC Validation	No	Switch	Off	When on, the SSCC must pass GS1 check-digit validation.
Use Universal TLC Format	No	Switch	Off	One TLC applies across all product rows and lot or serial entries.

Custom Template Attribute

Adds extra fields that suppliers see between Shipment Details and the product table. All three of Attribute Key, Attribute Label and Attribute Type are required to create the attribute on the form. The configuration has no control for making the attribute itself required for suppliers.

Setting	Req.	Type	Values
Attribute Key	Yes	Text	Identifier for the attribute.
Attribute Label	Yes	Text	Label suppliers see.
Attribute Tooltip	No	Text	Help text.
Attribute Type	Yes	Selector	Dropdown, Number, Text, Date.
Dropdown Items	Conditional	List	Used when the type is Dropdown.
Delete	n/a	Action	Removes the attribute row.

Trade Item Table Section

Setting	Default
Section Title	Trade Item Table
Product Column Name, Product Tooltip	Product
Quantity Column Name, Quantity Tool Tip	Quantity
TLC Column Name, TLC Tooltip	TLC
TLC Source Column Name, TLC Source Tooltip	TLC Source
Lot Serial Column Name, Lot Serial Tooltip	Lot/Serial

Optional Trade Item Columns

Each column has a Visibility setting (Shown or Not Shown, default Shown), a column name and a Tooltip.

Column	Shows (read-only, after a product is chosen)
Item Number	The supplier's item number.
Owner's Item Number	The item number assigned by the form owner.
UoM	Unit of measure.
GTIN	GTIN of the Trade Item.
UPC	UPC of the Trade Item.
PLU	PLU of the Trade Item.
Brand	Brand of the Trade Item.

A column shows a value only when the Trade Item has that data.

Was this page helpful?