​

Overview

The Other Options tab allows you to further customize your public form by setting event steps, selecting contact types, adjusting the PDF output, and enabling file attachments. These advanced settings help automate your organizing workflow and tailor forms to specific use cases. Key features you can configure:

• Automatically apply event steps when forms are submitted
• Set the contact type for new and matched contacts
• Control PDF formatting (show or hide blank fields)
• Enable file attachments for documents, photos, and supporting materials

​

Configure advanced options for your public form

Follow these steps to set up advanced options:

​

Step 1: Navigate to the Other options tab

To get started, select the Other options tab in the public form editor.

​

Step 2: Set an event step (optional)

In the “Automatically set an event step on the contact record created by the form” drop-down menu, select an event step that will automatically be applied to the contact record upon form submission. This dropdown lists all active events and event steps configured in your campaign. You can choose from any event steps currently in your project. If you need to create a new event, refer to this article for instructions. How it works: When someone submits the form:

1. The contact record is created or updated
2. The selected event step is automatically applied to the contact
3. The contact’s event status is updated accordingly

Example uses:

• Mark all form submitters as “Attended Training” if this is a training registration
• Set status to “Interested” for interest card submissions
• Apply “Contacted” status for cold contact forms
• Mark as “Recruited” when someone signs up through an organizer’s unique link

When to use:

• You want to track form submissions as a specific milestone
• The form represents a specific stage in your organizing pipeline
• You want submitters to appear in reports filtered by event step

When to skip:

• The form is general-purpose and doesn’t represent a specific event
• You’ll manually set event steps after reviewing submissions
• Event tracking isn’t relevant to this form

​

Step 3: Select the contact type

Next, select the contact type that will be created or matched when the form is submitted. The data submitted in the form will be created as this contact type. This dropdown controls which contact type is assigned to the contact after form submission. Options:

1. Person or Organization (default) - Contact type matches the form type
2. Any internal contact type - Choose from your project’s configured contact types

How it works:

• By default, person forms create contacts with “Person” contact type
• By default, organization forms create contacts with “Organization” contact type
• But you can override this to use a specific contact type instead

Example uses:

• “Volunteer” form creates contacts with “Volunteer” contact type
• “Member” form creates contacts with “Member” contact type
• “Prospective Member” form creates contacts with “Prospective Member” contact type

Why change from default:

• Contact types help you categorize and filter contacts in Broadstripes
• Reports and searches can filter by contact type
• Different contact types may require different workflows

​

Step 4: Configure PDF display options

If you prefer not to show any fields that were left blank on the form, check the “On the PDF, hide fields left blank” box. This will remove any empty fields from the final PDF. This controls how the generated PDF displays form data. When enabled:

• Fields that were left empty by the submitter don’t appear in the PDF
• Cleaner, more compact PDF
• Only shows data that was actually provided

When disabled:

• All form fields appear in the PDF, even if empty
• Empty fields show as blank lines or “[no data]”
• Longer PDF that shows the complete form structure

Recommendation:

• Enable for most forms (cleaner PDFs)
• Disable if you need to see the full form structure even for blank fields (audit purposes)

​

Step 5: Enable file attachments (optional)

Check the “Allow submitter to upload files up to 10 MB” box to let users attach files to the form submission. Supported file types include:

• Most image/video files
• MS Office files
• OpenOffice files
• PDF
• Plain text

When enabled:

• A file upload field appears on the public form
• Users can select and upload files
• Maximum file size: 10MB per file
• Uploaded files attach to the contact record in Broadstripes

When disabled:

• No file upload option on the form

When to enable:

• Photo uploads for badges or profiles
• Document submission for grievances or complaints
• Supporting materials for applications or requests

When to skip:

• Simple interest cards or sign-ups
• Forms where attachments aren’t relevant
• Concerns about inappropriate file uploads

​

Allow multiple attachments

To permit multiple file uploads (with a total size limit of 10 MB), check the “Allow multiple attachments” box. This checkbox only appears if Allow submitter to upload files is enabled. When enabled:

• Users can upload more than one file
• An “Add another file” button appears after selecting a file
• All uploaded files attach to the contact record

When disabled:

• Users can only upload one file
• Simpler interface

When to enable:

• Resume + cover letter uploads
• Multiple supporting documents
• Photo galleries
• Any scenario where one file isn’t enough

When to skip:

• Most forms only need single file upload
• Reduces complexity for users

​

Custom label for attachment field

You can also enter a descriptive label for the attachment field to inform form submitters about what kind of file(s) they should upload. This setting only appears if Allow submitter to upload files is enabled. Default label: “Attachments” Custom label examples:

• “Upload your document”
• “Profile photo”
• “Supporting documents”
• “Proof of employment”
• “Badge photo”

Best practice: Use clear, specific labels that tell users exactly what kind of file to upload.

​

Step 6: Save your work

Once you’ve configured the options, click Save to finish customizing your public form.

​

How Attachments Work

When a form with attachments enabled is submitted:

1. File upload: User selects file(s) from their device
2. Validation: Broadstripes checks file size (must be under 10MB)
3. Storage: Files are uploaded to secure storage
4. Attachment record: An attachment record is created and linked to the contact
5. Availability: Files appear in the contact’s Attachments section in Broadstripes

Viewing attachments:

• Go to the contact record in Broadstripes
• Click the Attachments tab
• All form-submitted files appear along with any other attachments for the contact File formats supported: Most common file formats (PDF, DOCX, JPG, PNG, etc.)

File size limit: 10MB per file (enforced at upload time)

​

Configuration Examples

​

Basic Worker Interest Card

Event step: “Interest Card : Submitted” Final contact type: “Prospective Member” Hide blank fields on PDF: Yes Attachments: Disabled Result: Form submitters are marked with “Submitted” event status and “Prospective Member” contact type. PDFs are clean and concise.

​

Volunteer Application with Resume

Event step: “Volunteer Application : Applied” Final contact type: “Volunteer Applicant” Hide blank fields on PDF: Yes Attachments: Enabled

• ☑ Allow submitter to upload files
• ☐ Allow multiple attachments
• Custom label: “Upload your resume (optional)”

Result: Form submitters can upload a single resume file. Contact type is set to “Volunteer Applicant.”

​

Shop Steward Nomination with Supporting Docs

Event step: “Shop Steward Election : Nominated” Final contact type: “Shop Steward Candidate” Hide blank fields on PDF: No (show complete form) Attachments: Enabled

• ☑ Allow submitter to upload files
• ☑ Allow multiple attachments
• Custom label: “Supporting documents”

Result: Nominees can upload multiple files (recommendation letters, etc.). PDF shows all form fields even if blank.

​

Simple Event RSVP

Event step: “March Meeting : Registered” Final contact type: “Member” Hide blank fields on PDF: Yes Attachments: Disabled Result: Clean, simple form with no file uploads. Submitters are marked as registered for the March meeting.

​

Grievance Form

Event step: “Grievance : Filed” Final contact type: “Member” Hide blank fields on PDF: No (show complete form for records) Attachments: Enabled

• ☑ Allow submitter to upload files
• ☑ Allow multiple attachments
• Custom label: “Supporting evidence (photos, documents, etc.)”

Result: Grievants can upload evidence files. Complete form is preserved in PDF for legal records.

​

Best Practices

Event steps: Use specific event steps for each form to track your funnel Contact types: Use contact types to categorize your universe (prospective members vs. members vs. volunteers) PDF formatting: Enable “hide blank fields” for most forms to keep PDFs concise Attachments: Only enable if truly needed—every optional feature increases complexity Test thoroughly: Submit test forms to ensure automations (event steps, contact types) work as expected Document your approach: Keep notes on which event steps and contact types you use for which forms

​

Troubleshooting

Event step not applying:

• Verify the event is marked as “active” in the Events page
• Check that you saved the form after selecting the event step
• Submit a test form and check the contact record’s Events section

Wrong contact type:

• Check that you selected the correct contact type in the dropdown
• Remember: the contact is created first, then the contact type is applied
• Verify the contact type exists and is configured for the right entity type (person/organization)

Attachment upload fails:

• Verify file size is under 10MB
• Check file format is supported
• Try a different file
• Contact Broadstripes support if issue persists

PDF formatting issues:

• Toggle “hide blank fields” to see if it improves layout
• Review the PDF generation job logs if available
• Submit test forms with different data to see what affects layout

​

Next Steps

Here are links to the other documentation pages for public forms:

• Create a new public form
• The “Standard fields” tab
• The “Timeline” tab
• The “Employment” tab
• The “Form content” tab
• The “Email” tab
• Viewing and downloading public forms