Use a General form to collect information without someone booking a course. For example, collect training enquiries, workshop interest or programme applications. This guide covers creating the form, choosing its settings, making it available and finding its responses.

People complete the form through a link, on your website or inside an online lesson. Each set of answers is saved as a response in Cademy.

Sign in to your Admin dashboard and open Forms. You need the Course Owner or System Admin role. If Forms is missing, ask the person who manages your team’s access.

For questions asked during a booking, use Create and Use Checkout Forms. General forms do not create bookings or course places. See Choose the Right Form and Field Type for the overview of form types.

Create a General Form

Create a form for the information you want to collect, such as “Training Enquiries”.

In Forms, select New Form.
Choose General.
Enter a Name for your team, then select Create Form.
In Form Editor, enter the Form Title people should see. Add a short description.
Select Save at the top.

The form starts as a Draft. Add your questions and settings. To share a public link or website embed, publish it using the steps under Form Links. For use in a lesson, it can stay a draft.

Can I remove Email or change the form type?
No. Every General form requires an email address. The main Email field cannot be removed or made optional. The form type cannot be changed after creation.

Example Forms list showing several form types and statuses.

Form Questions

Use a custom field for a question whose answer belongs to this response, such as “What training do you need?”. To save a name or telephone number in Contacts too, use Contact Details.

Add a question

Open Forms > your form > Form Editor.
Select Add Field > New Custom Field….
Choose an answer type from the table below.
Enter the question under Label. For choice questions, enter one answer choice per line under Options.
Keep Show on the Public Form on, when offered.
Select Add Field, then Save at the top of the form.

Example General form editor with Add Field options for shared Contact Fields or a custom question.

Choose the answer type

The picker lists these types in this order:

Field type	What people can enter
Rating	A score from one to five stars.
Scale	One number from a row between the lowest and highest points you set.
Text	A short answer.
Text Area	A longer answer.
Date	A calendar date.
Number	A number.
True/False (Boolean)	A yes or no answer.
Telephone	A telephone number.
Email	An email address.
Website	A website address.
File Upload	Documents or other attachments.
Address	Street, city, postcode and country.
Multiple Choice Checkboxes	One or more choices.
Single Choice Options	One choice from a visible list.
Dropdown	One choice from a dropdown list.
Statement	No answer. Use this to add instructions or information.

Set a Scale question

In Form Editor, select Add Field > New Custom Field… > Scale. Enter the question under Label.
Set Lowest Point and Highest Point. Both must be whole numbers from 0 to 10, and the lowest must be smaller than the highest. The default is 0 to 10.
If useful, add Lowest Point Caption and Highest Point Caption to explain the ends of the scale. Each caption can contain up to 40 characters.
Keep Show on the Public Form on. Select Add Field, then the form’s Save. Check the public form after publishing.

For example, a fictional training enquiry could ask “How confident are you with this subject?” with 0 labelled “Not confident” and 10 labelled “Very confident”. The chosen number is saved with that person’s response under Forms > your form > Responses > their response > Answers. This does not create a public course review.

Make a question required

In Form Editor, move your pointer over the question and open Field Options.
Turn on Required. People must answer this question before submitting.
Select Save in the options window, then Save at the top of the form.

Available controls depend on the field type. The main Email field is always required.

Edit, move or remove a question

In Form Editor, move your pointer over a question to show its controls:

Edit: click a custom question to change its wording or choices.
Move: use Drag to Reorder. Use Insert Field Here to add a question above it.
Resize: open Field Options > Field Width, where available, and choose how much of the row it takes up.
Remove: use Remove Field. Earlier answers are kept. Locked fields cannot be removed.

Before removing a File Upload question, open its responses and download any files you need. The saved filenames remain after removal, but the response panel no longer provides their download controls.

Save any options window, then select Save at the top.

Set answer limits or a required format

Open the question’s Field Options. For Number or Date, set Minimum and Maximum if needed. For example, a minimum of 1 prevents a training request for zero people.

Some text fields offer Pattern Validation. Its Regular Expression checks a specific answer format. Leave this blank unless you need it. If used, add a Custom Error Message explaining how to correct the answer. Save the options, then save the form.

Why is my question missing from the public form?
In Forms > your form > Form Editor, click the custom question, turn on Show on the Public Form, save the window and save the form. If it is still an internal column, open Responses, open its column-heading menu and select Edit Column…. Turn on Show on the Public Form and select Save. It then becomes a public question; use Form Editor for later changes.

File Uploads

Let people attach files, such as a training brief, to their response.

Open Forms > your form > Form Editor.
Select Add Field > New Custom Field… > File Upload.
Enter a Label, such as “Upload your training brief”.
Set Maximum Files and Maximum File Size (MB).
Under Accepted File Types, enter allowed types separated by commas, such as .pdf, .docx. Leave it blank to allow any type.
Select Add Field, then Save at the top.

Default: one file up to 10 MB.
Allowed limits: 1 to 10 files, from 1 to 50 MB per file.
Combined limit: Maximum Files multiplied by Maximum File Size must be 100 MB or less. For example, 5 files at 20 MB each is allowed.

Change these limits later in the upload question’s Field Options. Open Forms > your form > Responses, select a response and open its uploaded files under Answers. Files are not included in CSV exports. Download any files you need before removing a File Upload question. After removal, the response shows the saved filenames without a download control.

Why can I not hide File Upload or Statement?
These field types always appear on the public form. They cannot be private internal columns.

Add or edit instructions with a Statement

Use a Statement for instructions that do not need an answer. A custom Statement belongs only to this form.

Open Forms, select your form and open Form Editor.
Select Add Field > New Custom Field…, then choose Statement.
Enter a Label to identify it and write the instructions in Statement.
Select Add Field, then Save at the top of the form.

To change it later, click the custom Statement in Form Editor, edit its text, select Save in the window, then save the form. Scroll inside the window if long text puts the buttons below the visible area.

Form Appearance

Set the public heading, introduction, cover image and submit button.

Title, introduction and cover

Open Forms > your form > Form Editor.
Enter the Form Title and a short description.
Use Cover above the title to add an image.
Select Save.

Submit button

In Form Editor, click the submit button at the bottom.
Set the Button Label, such as “Send Enquiry”, and choose its Alignment.
Select Save in the window, then Save at the top.

The default is a full-width button labelled “Submit”.

Example General form editor with title, introduction and cover image controls.

Which name do people see?
Form Title is the public heading. Settings > Internal Name is the name in your Forms list. If Form Title is blank, the public page uses Internal Name.

Does the form icon appear publicly?
No. Icon helps your team identify the form in Cademy.

Select Save if you see Unsaved changes. Saving changes updates every place using this form, including lessons. Unpublish it first if you want to close its public link and website embeds while editing. Unpublishing does not stop responses inside lessons.

Contact Details

Use Contact Fields to save a person’s name, telephone number or other details in Contacts. The answers are also saved with the form response.

Add a contact field

Open Forms > your form > Form Editor.
Select Add Field. Under Contact Fields, choose a field, such as Phone.
Select Save.

To create a shared Contact field, select Add Field > New Contact Field…, choose its type, enter its details and select Create Field. This creates the shared definition immediately. Select the form’s Save to save its addition to this form. Closing the form without saving does not undo the new definition.

A shared field’s Contact label in Form Editor identifies it as a field saved on the person. Custom questions belong only to this form.

Edit a shared Statement

A Statement added from Contact Fields is shared. Changing its text changes it on every form using that Contact field. A custom Statement belongs only to this form.

Open Forms, select the form and open Form Editor.
Select the Statement labelled Contact, or open its Field Options.
Edit the text under Statement. If the text is long, scroll within the window to reach its buttons.
Select Save. Cademy shows Statement updated. Save the form at the top if you also changed its layout or other form settings.

Keep existing details or update them

For a public link or website embed, Cademy uses the submitted email address to find the contact in your account, or creates one if no contact matches. Inside a lesson, the response belongs to the registered learner. Their account email is filled in and cannot be changed on the form. The setting below controls how non-empty answers from Contact Fields affect existing details. Blank submitted answers do not clear existing contact details.

Open Forms > your form > Settings.
Under Contacts, find Update Existing Contacts and choose:

Off: keep saved details and only fill in blanks. An existing telephone number stays unchanged.
On: allow new answers from Contact Fields to replace saved details. A new Phone answer can replace the old number.

Select Save. The response keeps the submitted answers either way. Editing a saved response later changes that response only; it does not update the person’s Contact details.

Why has the contact’s telephone number not changed?
Check that you used Phone from Contact Fields. A custom question called “Phone” saves its answer only on the response. If a number is already saved, Update Existing Contacts must be on to replace it.

Change a field on one form or several forms

One form: for a built-in contact field, open Form Editor > Field Options > Custom Label, where offered. Enter the wording and save the options and form. Leave it blank to use the usual name.
Several forms: in the main menu, open Settings > Fields > Contacts. Select the field, edit it and select Save Field. Course Owners and System Admins can do this.

Changes in Settings affect other forms using that Contact Field, including copies. Use a custom question when its wording and choices should belong only to one General form.

Confirmation Message or Redirect

Choose what appears after someone submits through the public link or a website embed. This does not change the confirmation email. Inside a lesson, learners see a saved receipt with their answers and submission date instead of this message or redirect.

Open Forms > your form > Settings > After Submission, then choose one option:

Show a thank-you message

Under What Happens After Someone Responds, choose Show A Message.
Enter a Confirmation Message, such as “Thank you. Our team will be in touch.”
Select Save.

Open another webpage

Under What Happens After Someone Responds, choose Redirect To A URL.
Enter the full page address under Redirect URL, starting with https:// or http://.
Select Save.

Confirmation Emails

Send an email to the person who submits the form. New General forms use Cademy’s standard thank-you email.

Open Forms > your form > Settings.
Under Emails, find Contact Confirmation Email.
Choose what to send:

Default Confirmation: Cademy’s standard email.
Your own template: select a template you have created.
Turn Off: send no confirmation email.

Select Save. Turn Off is the separate button beside the template selector. To turn confirmations back on, choose Default Confirmation or an available template in the selector, then save.

To prepare a template, follow Create and Reuse Email Templates.

The person has not received an email. What should I check?
Check that Contact Confirmation Email is enabled and saved. If you selected your own template, check that it still exists; a deleted selected template does not fall back to Default Confirmation. Check the submitted email address and ask the person to check spam. A System Admin can open Forms > your form > Responses > the response > Emails and select the recorded message to check its status. Delivered means the recipient’s mail server accepted it, not that the person read it. See Email Activity.

Team Email Notifications

Email your team when a new response arrives.

Open Forms > your form > Settings.
Under Owners, choose the team members or groups who should receive notifications.
Under Emails, turn on Admin / Owner Email Notifications.
Select Save.

Owners decide who receives notifications and who an Inbox conversation is assigned to; they do not restrict who can access the form. With no Owners selected, Cademy uses your account’s notification recipients. If none are set there, it uses your System Admins.

To stop the emails, turn off Admin / Owner Email Notifications and save. Responses are still saved.

Why is my team not receiving notifications?
Selecting Owners alone does not turn emails on. Check Admin / Owner Email Notifications, the selected Owners and that you saved. Ask a System Admin to open Forms > your form > Responses > the response > Emails to check recorded messages. See Email Activity.

Example General form settings for submission, owners, email, Inbox and contact details. These are sample settings, not the default configuration.

Responses in Your Inbox

Create an Inbox conversation for each new response so your team can read it and reply.

Open Forms > your form > Settings.
Under Inbox, turn on Add Responses To Inbox.
Select Save.
After a new response arrives, select Inbox in the main menu. Open the conversation to read and reply.

Answers also remain in the form’s Responses tab.

Where do replies to form emails go?
Replies to the owner notification and Default Confirmation emails join the response’s conversation. Your own confirmation template may use a reply-to address that sends replies to another mailbox.

What happens when Add Responses To Inbox is off?
New submissions are still saved under Responses. A conversation can still start later if someone replies to a form email that sends replies back to Cademy.

Why is an older response not in Inbox?
This switch applies to new responses. Turning it on does not add earlier responses to Inbox. Read them under Forms > your form > Responses.

Form Links

Share a link so people can open your form on its own page. Anyone with the published link can fill it in without signing in. The page uses your logo, form title, description and cover image, if one is set.

Open your form in Forms and select Save.
At the top, open Draft and select Publish.
Open Share. Under Public Link, select Open to check the form people will see.
Select Copy and share the link in an email, message or social post.

How many forms can I publish?

Your plan limits how many General forms you can have published at the same time. Drafts and unpublished forms do not count. Using a form in a lesson does not count either.

Plan	Published General forms
Free	1
Starter	3
Pro	10
Teams	50
Custom	Depends on the limit set for your account. Contact Cademy if you need it checked.

If you reach the limit, Cademy shows a limit message with an Upgrade Your Plan link when you select Publish. Unpublish a form you no longer need, or ask your account administrator about upgrading. For plans and how to check yours, see Understand Cademy Plans, Limits and Fees.

After publishing, open Share > Public Link > Open.
Fill in the form using your own email address and select its submit button.
Check that you see your thank-you message or chosen webpage.
Return to Forms > your form > Responses and open your response.

This creates a real response and uses your current email and Inbox settings. You can delete the test response afterwards.

Why does the link say the form is no longer accepting responses?
Check the form is Published. Draft and archived forms cannot accept responses through the public link. If the form is still in Forms, publish it again when ready. Draft General forms can still accept responses inside lessons.

Use the form in a lesson

A General form can also collect information from learners inside an online lesson. For example, ask for a learning goal or a document before the learner continues. It does not create a booking or a public course review.

The form can remain a Draft. Using it in a lesson does not use a published General-form slot. Each Registration, a learner’s place on a course, can have one response to the same form. If the form appears in several lessons in that Registration, its saved response is reused. Use different forms for separate checkpoints.

Follow Add Forms to Lessons to add it, choose completion requirements and check the learner experience. Contact updates, confirmation emails, team notifications and Inbox settings still follow this form’s settings.

To see where the form is used, open Forms > your form > Usage. It lists the lessons that contain the form, each with its course and a View button that opens the lesson in the course editor.

Website Embeds

Put the form inside a page of your own website so visitors can complete it there. Answers go to the same Responses tab as answers from the shared link.

You need the System Admin role in Cademy and access to edit your website. If you are a Course Owner, ask a System Admin to set this up.

If the Embeds app is not installed, open Apps in the main dashboard menu, select Cademy Embeds, then select Install.
Open Forms > your published form > Share > Embed on Your Website.
Check that A Form and the correct form are selected. Only published General forms are available.
Check the preview, then select Get Code.
Under Your Platform, choose General, WordPress, Wix or Squarespace.
Follow the Steps shown for your website. Paste the Embed Code into your page, or use the Embed Address for Wix.
Add the code under Helper Script - Once Per Site in the location shown. This helps the form resize to fit its contents. Add it once per website.
Save or publish your website page and check that the form appears.

Example website embed preview showing questions and a submit button without the form’s title or cover.

The embed shows the questions and submit button. It does not show the form’s logo, title, description or cover image. Add a heading and introduction on your website page if you need them.

If you chose a redirect after submission, Cademy tries to open that address in the visitor’s whole page. If the browser blocks this, it opens inside the embedded form instead.

Why is my form missing from the picker?
Only published General forms appear. Check the form type and publish it first. If you cannot open Apps or the embed setup, ask a System Admin.

Form Responses

See who completed your form, read their answers and open uploaded files. Public-link and website submissions create separate responses, even if the same person submits again. Inside lessons, the same form has one response per Registration.

Open Forms > your form > Responses.
Search by contact name or email. Use All Time to choose a date range, or Source to show Public Link, Embed or Lesson responses.
Open Columns > Form Questions and select the answers you want to show in the table.
Click a response to open it. Read the Answers section and open any uploaded files.

For lesson responses, use Columns > Lessons > Course to show the course in the table. Open a response to see its course and lesson context. You can also open the learner’s Registration, expand Lesson Progress and the section containing the lesson, then select Form Submission.

Example General response list with Source, Columns, Export and internal tracking fields.

Correct an answer

Open the response and change the answer where it is editable. Changes save as you edit. They update this response only, not the person’s contact details. The submitted Email answer cannot be changed. Uploaded files can be opened and downloaded, but cannot be replaced from this panel.

System Admins can also open the person’s contact profile from the response. Course Owners do not see this control.

Example General response with Answers, Internal fields and an empty Emails section.

Delete a response

Open the response.
Open the three-dot menu beside Response.
Select Delete Response…, then confirm with Delete.

Deleting a response permanently removes it.

Why can I not find a response?
Check you opened the correct form. Clear the name or email search. Select Clear Filters, if shown, to remove the date and Source filters, then look again. Deleted responses are no longer available.

Why is a question missing from the table?
Open Columns > Form Questions and select it. Open an individual response to see its answers.

Email Activity

Check the emails recorded for a response, including their message and delivery status. This helps you check a confirmation email or team notification. You need the System Admin role.

Open Forms > your form > Responses.
Open the response you want to check.
Open its Emails section.
Select an email to read its message and check its status.

Course Owners do not see the Emails section. Ask a System Admin to check it. A Delivered status means the recipient’s mail server accepted the email; it does not prove the person read it.

Why is Emails empty?
A saved response does not mean an email was sent. Check the form’s confirmation email and team notification settings. If you expected a recent email, refresh and check again. If it is still missing, contact Cademy with the form and response details.

Internal Columns

Keep information for your team, such as an enquiry’s status, notes or follow-up date. Leave these columns hidden from the public form.

Open Forms > your form > Responses.
Select Columns > New Column…, or Add Column.
Choose Status, Internal Notes, Follow-up Date or another available type.
Check the Label and any Options. Keep Show on the Public Form off.
Select Add Column.
Open a response and enter the values under Internal. They save as you edit.

For example, use Status to mark an enquiry as “Contacted”. A Follow-up Date records a date; it does not send a reminder.

Edit or delete a column

Edit: open its table-heading menu, choose Edit Column…, make your changes and select Save.
Delete: choose Delete Column… and confirm with Delete Column. This also deletes its saved values.

Why can people see an internal column?
Check Edit Column… > Show on the Public Form. When on, it becomes a public question. Turn it off and save to keep it for your team.

Export Responses

Download responses as a CSV file to open in a spreadsheet.

Open Forms > your form > Responses.
Choose the date range and Source filters you need.
Select Export.
When the export is ready, select Download CSV.

The CSV includes the submission date, contact name and email, source, supported answers and campaign tracking information. It also includes Course and Lesson context for lesson responses. Address answers use separate columns. Earlier answers to questions removed from the public form are kept.

The export uses your date and Source filters. It does not use the name or email search text.
File Upload and Statement fields are not included. Open a response to download attached files.
Form response exports do not offer scheduled exports or a choice of export columns.

Form Analytics

See how often your form is viewed and how many responses it receives.

Open Forms > your form > Analytics.
Choose Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days or Last 90 Days.
Check the totals and daily charts for the selected period.

Views: how many times the form was viewed. This is not a count of unique people.
Responses: how many responses were submitted.
Conversion Rate: responses divided by views, shown as a percentage. For example, 5 responses from 100 views is 5%. If there are no views, it shows a dash.

Shared-link and website-embed views contribute to Views. Responses submitted inside lessons also contribute to Responses, but opening a form in a lesson does not add a public form view. Do not use Conversion Rate as a lesson submission or completion rate. Use Responses > Source > Lesson to inspect lesson submissions.

Campaign tracking

If you add campaign tracking details, also called UTM tags, to your form link, you can see them with the responses. This helps identify the email, advert or campaign a response came from.

Open Forms > your form > Responses > Columns > UTM and select the tracking columns you want to see. These can be blank when no tracking details were supplied.

Unpublish, Copy or Delete a Form

Unpublish: close the public link and website embeds

Open the form in Forms.
At the top, open Published and select Unpublish.

Answers are kept. The same public link shows a closed page, and website embeds stop accepting responses. To reopen them, open Draft and select Publish. Unpublishing does not stop responses in lessons. To stop a lesson using the form, remove or replace the Form block in that lesson and save the lesson. See Add Forms to Lessons.

Rename a form

In Forms, open the three-dot menu beside the form and select Rename….
Enter the Name and select Save.

This changes the name in your list. You can also edit Internal Name in the form’s Settings. Use Form Editor > Form Title for the public heading.

Copy a form

In Forms, open the three-dot menu beside the form and select Duplicate….
Enter a Name for the copy and select Duplicate.
Check the copy’s title, questions and settings before publishing.

The copy keeps the same type and settings, starts as a draft and has no responses. It still uses the same shared Contact Fields. Editing those in Settings > Fields > Contacts can affect both forms.

Delete a form

Before deleting, open Forms > your form > Responses and select Export, then Download CSV when ready. Clear date and Source filters first if you want all responses. The export does not include uploaded files; open each response to download any files you need.
Open the form’s Usage tab. If it lists lessons, select View beside each one, remove or replace its Form block and save the lesson. Cademy does not delete or archive a form while a lesson still uses it. While one does, Delete… opens This Form Is Being Used, which lists those lessons and has no Delete button.
In Forms, open the three-dot menu beside the form and select Delete….
Read the confirmation and select Delete.

A form with responses is archived: it disappears from the list, but its response history is preserved. A form without responses is deleted. Use Unpublish if you only want to close its public link and website embeds.

Frequently asked questions

Do people need a Cademy account to complete my form?
Not for the published Public Link or a website embed. Anyone can complete those without signing in. Inside a lesson, learners must be signed in to the account connected to their Registration. If someone sees a login page for a shared link, check you sent the Public Link from Share, not the address of your Admin editor.

Do I have to ask for an email address?
Yes. The main Email field is required and cannot be removed. This does not mean a public-link visitor needs a Cademy account. In a lesson, the learner’s account email is filled in and locked. See Create a General Form.

Does completing a General form book someone onto a course?
No. It saves their answers as a response. For questions asked during a course booking, use Create and Use Checkout Forms.

Can I collect responses without sending confirmation emails?
Yes. Open Forms > your form > Settings > Emails. Under Contact Confirmation Email, select Turn Off, then Save. Responses are still saved. Team email notifications have their own switch. See Confirmation Emails.

Can the same person complete the form more than once?
Yes, through its public link or website embed. Each submission creates a separate response. Inside lessons, there is one response to the same form per Registration, even if you use it in several lessons. Use separate forms if you need a fresh response at each checkpoint. See Form Responses.

Where do answers from my website appear?
Open Forms > your form > Responses. Website and shared-link answers appear together. Use Source > Embed to show website responses only. See Form Responses.

Will changing a question affect answers already received?
The saved answers are kept, but changing the wording can change the question label shown on earlier responses. Add a new question if you are asking something different. Removing a public question also keeps its earlier answers. See Form Questions.

Can I change a form after publishing it?
Yes. Saving updates the form wherever it is used. Unpublish it to close the public link and website embeds while editing. Publishing again reopens the same link. Lesson use continues while the form is a draft, so remove or replace its Form block in a lesson if those learners must stop using it.

What is the difference between unpublishing and deleting a form?
Unpublish closes public-link and website responses and keeps the form available to reopen or use in lessons. Delete removes it from the list: forms with responses are archived; forms without responses are deleted. Before deleting, remove the form from the lessons listed under Usage and export anything you need. See Unpublish, Copy or Delete a Form.

Does a follow-up date send a reminder?
No. An internal Follow-up Date is a date your team records on the response. It does not send an automatic reminder. See Internal Columns.

What if someone submitted the wrong email address?
The submitted Email answer cannot be edited. For a public-link or website response, ask them to submit again with the correct address. The earlier response stays unless you delete it. In a lesson, the email comes from the learner’s signed-in account and they cannot submit the same form again for that Registration. Check which learner account and Registration were used before correcting records. See Form Responses.

What should I send Cademy if I still need help?
Use the chat in your dashboard or email support@cademy.io. Include the form name or public link, the step you tried and any error message. If it concerns a response, include its Reference from the response details.

Create and Share a General Form