Before you begin

This article shows you how to build a simple Vacation request form from an empty form.

When you finish, the form will collect the employee's name, leave type, requested dates, and optional comments. It will also be ready for respondent preview.

You need access to Forms in Addo. Decide which group should have access to the form and which language respondents should see.

Note: The form builder saves changes automatically.

1. Create the empty form

Select Forms in the main navigation.
In Forms Overview, select New.
Select Empty form.
In Form name, enter Vacation request.
Select the appropriate Group.
Select the form Language.
Select Create form.

The language setting controls the text Addo generates for respondents, including placeholders and validation messages. Text that you write yourself is not automatically translated.

Choose whether to start with an empty form, browse templates or import an existing form. For an empty form, enter a form name, select a group and language, and then select Create form.

2. Understand the form builder

Forms are organized into sections, rows, columns, and components:

A section contains one or more rows.
A row controls how content is arranged horizontally.
A column contains components.
A component is a piece of content or a question, such as text, a date, or a dropdown.

The Standard component panel includes content, input, selection, and advanced components. For this first form, you only need Text, Text input, Dropdown, Date, and Text area.

Drag a component from the panel and drop it into a row in the form.

Drag Standard or Custom components from the left panel into sections and rows on the form canvas.

3. Add an introduction

Drag a Text component into the first row.
Open the component.
Change its component name to Introduction.
Click the Text component, then click the pencil icon
Enter the following text:

> Please complete this form to request vacation. Your manager will review the request after submission.

The component name helps you recognize the component in the builder. The text is what respondents see.

4. Add the employee name

Drag a Text input component below the introduction.
Change its component name to Employee name.
Set the displayed question to Employee name.
Open the Validation tab.
Enable Mandatory.

This field will later be selected as the component Addo uses to identify the respondent.

5. Add the leave type

Click the grey + to add a new single-column row.
Drag a Dropdown component into the row.
Change its component name and displayed question to Leave type.
Open Options.
In field called Label, add these options:

Vacation
Personal day
Other

Open Validation.
Enable Mandatory.

Keep the list short for this introductory form. You can create more detailed absence categories later.

6. Add the requested dates

Drag a Date component below the leave type.
Name it Start date and use Start date as the displayed question.
Enable Mandatory under Validation.
Add another Date component.
Name it End date and use End date as the displayed question.
Enable Mandatory.

Date components can also support date restrictions and linked-date behavior. Those settings are outside the scope of this first form.

7. Add optional comments

Drag a Text area component into the form.
Change its component name to Comments.
Set the displayed question to Additional comments (optional).
Leave Mandatory disabled.

8. Identify the respondent

Addo must know which component contains the respondent's name before the form can be published.

Open Form Settings.
Select the Respondent tab.
Under Name, open Choose component.
Select Employee name.

The Settings summary should now show Name → Set.

In Form Settings, link the respondent’s name to the component that contains it.

9. Review signing and completion

Under Settings → Respondent, review:

Require signature
Signing (method)
After submission

This example uses Touchscreen signing. Addo also supports other signing and electronic identification methods, depending on your account and country.

By default, respondents see a "Thank you" screen after signing. To send respondents to another page instead, enter a URL under After submission.

Under Respondent, configure signing and choose whether respondents see the default "Thank you" screen or are redirected to another page after submission.

10. Review the administrative settings

Open Settings → Administration to review:

Form language
PDF title
Response destination

The PDF title defaults to the form name when no separate title is entered. Available response destinations depend on the workspace configuration.

Under Administration, select the language used for generated form text, set the PDF title and choose where completed forms are delivered.

Expected result

Your form should contain:

Field:	Type:	Required:
Employee name	Text input	Yes
Leave type	Drop down	Yes
Start date	Date	Yes
End date	Date	Yes
Additional comments	Text area	No

The employee name identifies the submission in Addo. The respondent completes the form and signs it using the configured signing method.

A short introduction
Required Employee name
Required Leave type
Required Start date
Required End date
Optional Additional comments
Employee name selected as the respondent-name component
A configured signing method

Check the saved status before leaving the builder.

If the form cannot be published

Check the following:

A component is selected under Settings → Respondent → Name.
The required components contain valid questions and options.
Your subscription includes Forms publishing.
Your user has the necessary permissions.

Next step

Continue with Preview and publish your form.

Create your first form