This article explains the Tabular element in FORMS Builder, which allows users to create collapsible, expandable sections within a form or checklist. It covers practical use cases for the element, such as construction QA documentation and participant registration, and provides step-by-step instructions for adding and configuring a Tabular section in a form.

The Tabular element lets you create collapsible sections (tabs) inside a form or checklist. Each section only shows its content when you click to open it — so nothing is displayed until you choose to expand it. If you click the Tabular element more than once, you'll get multiple identical sections, one for each click.

When would you use Tabular?

Here are a couple of examples to help you understand how Tabular works in practice.

Example 1 — Construction QA documentation

Imagine you're doing Quality Assurance (QA) on a construction site where you're building a cabin. Instead of creating a separate document for each part of the building process, you can build one document with a dedicated section for each stage, such as:

• Startup
• Outside Setup
• Inside Setup
• Tiles and bathrooms
• Chimney and fireplace

While filling out the document, you only open the section that's relevant at that moment — for example, "Startup." You can save your progress, come back later, and continue with the next section, such as "Outside Setup." If a section isn't relevant for a particular building type, you simply don't click on it, and it won't appear in the report.

Example 2 — Registering participants

If you need to register participants in your form but don't know in advance how many will attend, you can set up a Tabular with the title "Participant." Each time you click on it, a new instance opens for you to register another participant — so the second click registers the second participant, the third click registers the third, and so on.

How to set up a Tabular in your form

1. Find the Tabular element in the panel on your left-hand side and click the plus (+) icon to add it to your form.
2. Click on the element to open it.
3. Enter a title in the Title field — for example, "Participant."
4. If needed, add any additional instructions or tooltip information in the Info field.
5. Click Add element to add the types of elements you want to include inside your Tabular section. For example, you could add a Text Field element to allow someone to write a person's name.
6. Continue adding all the elements you need — such as Text Fields, Checkboxes, Signatures, and more — until your section is complete.
7. Check the right-hand side of your screen to see a live preview of how your Tabular will look.

Forms Builder (Beta) showing building blocks panel and form's report structure layout.

Preview dialog showing the Data Input tab with expandable checklist sections.