Forms

Forms collect consistent operational information for incidents, inspections, maintenance, training, equipment, medical workflows, and other agency processes. They can trigger alerts, update Pulse statuses, support drafts and offline work, and feed Activity Log and Reporting.

Watch the Forms overview

Find and Organize Forms

Open Forms & Docs → Forms. Depending on your permissions, you can:

• Browse folders and subfolders
• Search or filter by title and tags
• Add or remove tags directly from the list
• Open a Form's containing folder
• Arrange Forms in a custom order
• Archive Forms that should no longer be used

The folder structure and ordering are reflected in management, HomeBase, and submission views.

Create a Form

Admins can select New Form or the + button and then configure:

1. The Form name, tags, and folder
2. Questions and sections
3. Advanced behavior, alerts, audience, and integrations
4. Where the Form should be available

Question types include Text, Number, Yes/No, Date, File, Diagram, User, Resource, Asset, Location, Address, and related operational values. A field can support restricted options, multi-select behavior, formatting such as durations, and default answers.

Diagram Questions

A Diagram question supplies a background image that submitters can draw or annotate. Use it for body diagrams, scene layouts, equipment diagrams, or any workflow where a visual response is clearer than text. Submitters can undo strokes before applying the response.

Default Answers

Text, Number, and restricted-option questions can be pre-populated with a default answer. The submitter can review or change that value before submission.

Require an Incident

Enable Require Incident when a Form response must belong to an incident. Watchtower blocks final submission until an incident is attached. This is useful for reports such as ePCRs that should never become orphaned Form responses.

Dispatch also checks required and suggested Forms before an incident is closed.

Control Who Can See a Form

Audience settings can limit a Form by user, user group, role, assignment position, or assignment group. Choose whether user-based and assignment-based rules use AND or OR matching.

Restricted Forms remain hidden from unauthorized users throughout Watchtower, including HomeBase, workflows, Form lists, and offline preparation. Admins and the content creator retain access.

Protect Sensitive Information

Use Sensitive Fields when only selected questions contain confidential information. Use Medical Forms when the complete response should be treated as protected medical information.

See Medical Forms and Sensitive Fields for access rules, encryption, redaction, and configuration instructions.

Connect a Form to Pulse

Eligible questions display the Pulse connection control in the Form Builder. Connect the question to an existing status or create one so a final Form submission updates Pulse automatically.

Watch the Forms and Pulse connection overview

Use Manage Connections to compare and synchronize restricted options between a question and a Pulse status. Sensitive questions cannot connect to Pulse.

Alerts

A Form question can trigger email or text notifications when an answer matches configured conditions. Rules can support exact or multi-select values, number comparisons, and any/all matching. Recipients can include specific contacts or the affected person's supervisors.

Sensitive answers are not exposed in notification content.

Make a Form Available

Forms can be opened from the Forms list and can also be:

• Pinned to HomeBase or the Submit experience
• Added to a Workflow
• Attached to an incident
• Shared through an automatically generated QR code

Audience restrictions continue to apply in every location.

Drafts, Auto Save, and Offline Work

Save Progress

Save Progress stores an incomplete response as a draft. While a response is a draft:

• Required-field validation is not enforced
• Pulse automations do not run
• Email and text alerts are not sent
• The response is excluded from reporting

Automations and validation run when the response is finally submitted.

Auto Save

Auto Save can be enabled in a Form's advanced settings. Watchtower then saves answers during completion to reduce data loss from interruptions or connection problems.

Supported Forms and required assets can also be prepared for offline completion. Diagram backgrounds and pending uploads are retained for submission when connectivity returns.

Review Responses

Open a Form's responses from Forms & Docs, or find individual responses in the Activity Log. Authorized users can review, edit, share, export, and report on submitted data. Finalized responses are included in Form Reporting; drafts are not.

Updated on: 21/09/2026