Parents may get stuck on particular fields in your forms, or you may need them to provide answers in a specific way.

Using a combination of help text, default text, and tool tips will improve their experience with your form fields.

To add help text, placeholder text, default text, or a tooltip; hover on the field and select the 'three more actions' dots, and then make your selection from these options.

The below shows all of the options for a field which is ready for content to be added.

You can also click the tooltips on these options to remind you of the details.

Be sure to use the correct option based on the help you're trying to provide. Below are some definitions and examples for each option.

Help text

Help text will appear in small font directly beneath the field it's been added to. This is a good place to start for providing context for the information you're asking for, or some further information on how it'll be used. Keep this short and succinct (one sentence is best).

Placeholder text

This text will appear within the field itself. It's often used to provide an example of the format required for that field. This should be limited to a couple of words.

Default text/option

This should be used sparingly throughout your form. Some relevant scenarios include encouraging particular applicants, or if you already know the answer for the majority of applicants. For example, you may have an information session targeted to children starting Prep, so you may want to set the default option to 'prep' on your Information Session registration form.

Tooltip

Tooltips are best used when you need to provide the form user some detailed instructions or examples. They need to be able to complete the field without accessing this information, as it requires the user to know to click the information icon. An example could be on the 'Birth Certificate upload field' reminding parents you do not accept applications for unborn children.