Available tutorial

In TimeTonic, you can prefill certain fields of an external form by passing parameters directly in the form's URL. This method lets you personalize forms for each user or context, without them having to manually fill in the fields concerned.

Step 1: Prepare and share a form

1. Organize the source table: create a table containing the necessary information (for example, a list of events). Add a field to uniquely identify each record (for example “ID” or “Intervention name”). Make sure this field is unique to avoid duplicates.
2. Set up the form table: create a dedicated table to collect the data submitted through the form. Add columns matching the fields to fill in (for example “Intervention”, “Check 1”, “Check 2”). If needed, link a column to the source table to associate records (for example “Event” linked to the events table).
3. Protect sensitive fields: set some fields to read-only to prevent them from being edited in the form.
4. Share the form: go to the “Share form” option in TimeTonic, then copy the generated URL.

Step 2: Prefill fields via the URL

Use the link copied in the previous step as a base. In the source table, add a column of type Formula: the CONCAT_URL function then generates a URL containing the prefilled parameters.

For a single field

When the form opens, the targeted field is automatically filled in:

For several fields

Concatenate the parameters in the same formula:

This gives you a unique URL for each record in your source table, letting you open a form with fields already prefilled. This method automates data entry, personalizes forms, and reduces human error.

Combine with a QR code

A QR code can open a form prepared using the method above. It combines two features: the QR code column (which points to a Permalink) and prefilling a form via the URL.

The principle: point to a Permalink

The QR code column represents the value of another column as a QR code. Target a Permalink type column rather than a direct URL: this avoids having to regenerate the QR code every time the targeted value changes.

Example use case

A blank form is associated with each piece of equipment, to report an incident. The equipment's name and category need to be automatically prefilled in the form.

Prerequisites:

1. Link two tables: an equipment list table and a form table.
2. On the form table, have a link column set to selection and single link.
3. Add the other columns letting the user fill in the missing details (for example, the incident description).

Once the QR code is scanned, the user reaches a form where some fields are already filled in: they only need to complete the rest. On submission, a new row is created in the form table, with the prefilled elements and the entered information.

Displaying the QR code in SmartText

To display a QR code image in the SmartText editor, insert the corresponding variable (e.g. $[QR code → Image]), then enable the Image icon in the editor bar. In preview mode, each row automatically shows its linked QR code.