Creating, opening and closing forms | Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base [Skip to content](#main) [ ![Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base](/storage/branding/01M3N8PQ7PSDNQBBKKJM6XGW03.svg) ](https://nginx.deploy-lagoon-production.districtcms-docs.dh1.amazee.io) [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) Toggle navigation [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) 1. [Home](/) › 2. [Product documentation](/articles) › 3. [Forms](/articles?category=8) › 4. Creating, opening and closing forms Creating, opening and closing forms =================================== Updated 1 day ago · 4 min read Search Search Overview -------- Every form starts on the **Webforms** screen. This article covers the beginning and the end of a form's life: creating it, opening and closing it, and taking it down. For what goes inside a form, see [**Building a form**](/articles/building-a-form). > **⚠️ Important:** This is administrator work. Content editors have no form permissions. See [**Forms on your site**](/articles/forms-on-your-site). --- Creating a form --------------- 1. Go to **Structure**, then **Webforms**, and press **Add webform**. 2. In **Title**, type the name of the form. Visitors see it at the top of the form. 3. Check the machine name shown under the title. It becomes the form's address, so Event registration lives at */form/event-registration*. To change it, press **Edit** beside it now, because it cannot be changed after saving. 4. If you like, add an **Administrative description** and **Categories**. Only administrators see these. They help you find the form later in a long list. 5. Under **Status**, choose **Closed** while you build it. Nobody else can submit it until you open it. 6. Press **Save**. ![The Add webform screen with Event registration typed as the Title and its machine name beneath, the Status choice of Open or Closed, and the Save button, outlined in red.](/storage/dxjbO4aWgRyhd3Yn1N8DbV8MFaCE2Xaq4oN9mu3J.png) The form opens on its **Build** tab, ready for questions. Carry on with [**Building a form**](/articles/building-a-form). > **💡 Tip:** A closed form still works for administrators, so you can use the **Test** tab while it is closed. See [**Testing a form safely**](/articles/testing-a-form-safely). ### Starting from an existing form If a new form will be close to one you already have, copy it rather than starting again. 1. On the **Webforms** screen, press the arrow beside **Build** on the form you want to copy, and choose **Duplicate**. 2. Give the copy a new **Title**, and check its machine name. 3. Under **Status**, choose **Closed**. A copy starts open even when the original is closed. 4. Press **Save**. ![The operations menu of the Contact form open on the Webforms screen, with Duplicate and Delete outlined in red.](/storage/MCKX0RBEQBQqmLOiqEfvyXgNYUj80jkYJuyMDSE9.png) What a copy takes from the original What it leaves behind Its questions, pages and conditions Its submissions. The copy starts empty. Its settings, including the confirmation message Its address. The copy gets its own, from its machine name. Its emails, including who they go to > **⚠️ Important:** Check the emails on a copy before you open it, under **Settings**, then **Emails / Handlers**. Otherwise submissions to the new form go to whoever the old one emailed. See [**Confirmations, notifications and spam**](/articles/confirmations-notifications-and-spam). --- Opening and closing a form -------------------------- 1. Open the form and choose the **Settings** tab, then **Form**. 2. Under **Form general settings**, set **Form status** to **Open** or **Closed**. 3. Press **Save**. ![The Form settings of the Contact form with Form status set to Closed, outlined in red.](/storage/kXqZ5ZCGWEVtvgOZ1KosKYtFMO1pn3VO0yarFpIL.png) The status applies everywhere the form appears, including any page that holds it in a **Webform** component. The **Status** column on the **Webforms** screen shows each form's state at a glance. ### What visitors see when it is closed In place of the form, visitors see the message *Sorry… This form is closed to new submissions.* To say something more useful, such as when it will reopen or who to call instead, write your own in **Form closed message** on the same screen. > **💡 Note:** Administrators still see a closed form, with a note that it is closed. To check what visitors see, open the form's address in a private browser window where you are not signed in. ### Opening or closing on a date **Form status** has a third choice, **Scheduled**, which adds **Open** and **Close** dates and a **Form open message** for visitors who arrive too early. > **⚠️ Important:** On your site, a scheduled form may not open or close on time for visitors who are not signed in. The site keeps copies of its pages to load them quickly, and a stored copy can keep showing the form's old state after the date passes. The screen itself warns about this. Until a developer fixes it, open and close forms by hand on the day. --- Taking a form down ------------------ There are three ways to stop a form, and only one of them is permanent. Choice What it does Submissions Close Stops new submissions. Reopen it whenever you like. Kept Archive Closes the form, removes it from any page, and hides it from the **Webforms** list. Tick **Archive this webform** under **Settings**, then **General**. To find it again, set the list's filter to **Archived**. Kept Delete Removes the form for good. Deleted with it ### Deleting a form 1. Download the submissions first if you need them. See [**Reading and exporting form submissions**](/articles/reading-and-exporting-form-submissions). 2. Remove any links to the form from menus and pages, and take it out of any **Webform** component, so nobody follows a link to a missing page. 3. On the **Webforms** screen, press the arrow beside **Build** and choose **Delete**. 4. Read the list under **This action will…**, tick **Yes, I want to delete**, and press **Delete**. > **⚠️ Important:** Deleting cannot be undone, and the submissions go with the form. A form with more than 500 submissions cannot be deleted straight away: the site asks you to clear its submissions first. Related articles ------------------ - [ Forms on your site → ](/articles/forms-on-your-site) - [ Building a form → ](/articles/building-a-form) - [ Reading and exporting form submissions → ](/articles/reading-and-exporting-form-submissions) - [ Testing a form safely → ](/articles/testing-a-form-safely) Was this article helpful? ------------------------- Your feedback helps us prioritise what to rewrite. Yes No [ Back to Forms ](/articles?category=8) On this page **Need additional help?** Submit a support request through the [**support portal** ](https://doghouse.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals)or email © 2026 [Doghouse SaaS](https://doghouse.agency) [Glossary](/articles/glossary)