Forms are how teams in Redlist record operational data — equipment inspections, safety incidents, fuel logs, and similar recurring records. Building a form template from scratch lets you define exactly what information gets collected, in what order, and with what logic, so submissions come back consistent and ready for reporting.
Accessing the Form Builder
From the navigation, click Forms, then click Manage.
Open the Builder tab (the other tabs are Folders and Question Templates).
Click Create to start a new template.
How to Set Up Form Details
Enter a Form Name — this is what users see when selecting the form in Redlist.
Enter a Form Title — this displays at the top of the PDF generated after a submission. For example, a form named "D.O.T Pre Op" might have the title "Department of Transportation Pre Operation Inspection."
Optionally, add a Form Description, such as "Fill out the pre-operation inspection before operating any piece of equipment."
How to Add and Configure Questions
Add questions to the form using the builder canvas.
Click Edit on any question to open its settings in the side panel.
Configure visibility rules, fail rules, associations, inventory, and dynamic questions as needed.
Click Close on the question to collapse its settings.
NOTE: a typed reason for a fail rule does not by itself mark a submission Failed — confirm the rule is actually configured to do so rather than assuming a written reason is enough.
How to Add and Organize Sections
Add a new section to group related questions together.
Use the section's copy, reorder, and remove controls to organize the form.
Open Section Settings to configure a section's behavior.
How to Preview Your Form
Click Preview to see how the form looks and functions to an end user.
Close the preview to return to the builder and keep editing.
NOTE: Clicking Preview saves the form as a draft first, so your in-progress work isn't lost — previewing is no longer a no-save, throwaway action.
How to Save or Publish Your Form
The save button's label changes depending on the form's state:
Save as Draft — for a brand-new template you're not ready to make live yet.
Save Draft — for updating a template that's already saved as a draft.
Save as Revision / Save Revision — for editing a template that's already published, without changing the live version yet.
Save and Publish — always available; makes the form live for users to select and complete.
Using the AI Assistant to Build a Form
Instead of adding every field manually, you can use the AI Assistant (magic wand icon in the side panel) on any form you're building or editing. Describe what you want in plain language, and it applies the changes to your form directly. This is an optional shortcut alongside the manual steps above, not a separate required workflow. See How to Use AI to Build Forms for more detail.
Understanding Draft vs. Published Forms
A draft template is only visible to the people building or reviewing it — it won't appear as a form users can fill out.
A published template is live and appears wherever users select forms to complete.
You can keep working on a published form as a revision without affecting the currently live version, then publish the revision when it's ready.
Other options — Delete Form Template, Delete Draft, and Revert to Published — appear depending on the template's current state.
Use Cases / Examples
Building a new inspection form from scratch: a safety manager creates a form for daily equipment inspections, adds sections for each equipment area, sets fail rules on critical questions, previews it, then clicks Save and Publish to make it available to technicians.
Drafting a form before it's ready: an admin starts building a fuel log form but isn't finished defining all the questions, and clicks Save as Draft to preserve progress without it appearing as an option for users yet.
Using AI to speed up a first draft: rather than adding twenty questions manually, an admin describes the inspection they need to the AI Assistant, reviews and adjusts what it creates, then continues refining the form manually before publishing.
Best Practices
Use clear, distinct names and titles: since Form Name and Form Title serve different purposes, make sure both are meaningful on their own.
Preview before publishing: Preview is safe to use at any point since it just saves a draft automatically.
Keep published forms stable with revisions: edit an in-use form as a revision so the live version isn't affected until you're ready to publish.
Review fail rules carefully: double check that any question meant to flag a failed inspection has an actual fail rule configured, not just a typed reason.
Troubleshooting
Issue: I clicked Preview and now my form shows as a draft.
Solution: this is expected — Preview saves the form as a draft first so your work isn't lost. Continue editing and use Save and Publish when ready.
Issue: A submission I expected to fail shows as passed.
Solution: check whether the question has an actual fail rule configured — a written reason alone does not mark a submission Failed.
Issue: I can't find the option to edit question logic.
Solution: click Edit on the specific question — logic settings open in the side panel, not inline on the question itself.
Issue: I'm not sure whether my changes affected the live form.
Solution: if you were editing a published form, changes are saved as a revision and don't affect the live version until you click Save and Publish. Use Revert to Published to discard the revision.
Summary
Creating a form template involves naming it, adding questions and sections with any needed logic, and previewing before you publish. Templates can be saved as drafts, published live, or edited as revisions without disturbing a version already in use — and the AI Assistant is available as an optional shortcut throughout the process.