PLS-5: Building Forms for Applications & Roommate Matching
Last updated: October 5, 2026
Overview
Product Learning Session 5 (PLS-5) teaches you how to build forms—the data collection tools that power housing applications, roommate matching, task management, and more throughout Housing.Cloud. This session covers form types, the form builder interface, conditional logic with tags, and how forms integrate with your housing operations.
Who this is for: Super admins, application managers, and anyone responsible for creating and managing forms for housing cycles, tasks, and student data collection.
What you'll learn: How to build application forms and bio forms, configure conditional questions with tags, understand form lifecycle and system attachments, and analyze form responses.
Duration: 90 minutes (5 modules of approximately 15-20 minutes each)
Forms Are Building Blocks: In PLS-3, you learned that housing cycles need forms. In PLS-4, you learned that tags drive conditional logic and matching. In PLS-5, you'll build the forms themselves—using tags to create dynamic, intelligent data collection that powers your housing operations.
Session Modules
PLS-5 is broken into five focused modules. Complete them in order to build comprehensive understanding of the form builder and form management.
PLS-5A: Form Types, Builder Interface & Elements
Understand all form types available in Housing.Cloud, learn the form builder interface, master sections and elements, and discover when to use each of the 13 element types.
Key concepts: 11 form types, form builder navigation, sections and pagination, 13 element types, form duplication, preview feature
Time: 20 minutes
PLS-5B: Tags in Forms - Conditional Logic & Application Tagging
Learn how tags create dynamic, responsive forms where questions appear or disappear based on student answers. Understand the critical distinction between application tags and profile tags, and master real-time conditional logic.
Key concepts: Real-time tag application, conditional questions, inclusion vs exclusion logic, addTags vs addProfileTags, where tags save
Time: 20 minutes
PLS-5C: Additional Forms - Standalone Data Collection
Discover how Additional forms work differently from other form types. Learn to create link-based forms that can be shared like Google Forms, sent to individual students or groups, and posted in the Resident Portal.
Key concepts: Additional forms vs other types, link generation, sending to individuals vs groups, Resident Portal sharing, use cases
Time: 15 minutes
PLS-5D: Form Lifecycle & System Attachments
Understand how forms progress from Draft to Published to Archived. Learn why published forms lock and how different form types attach to housing cycles, task categories, and system settings.
Key concepts: Form statuses, publishing and locking, archiving, how forms attach to cycles and system functions
Time: 15 minutes
PLS-5E: Form Responses & Data Flow
Learn how to view and analyze form responses using Summary, Individual, and Spreadsheet views. Understand how data flows from form answers through tags to applications and matching algorithms.
Key concepts: Three response views, filtering and exporting, data flow from forms to tags to assignments, response analysis
Time: 20 minutes
Learning Path
We recommend completing the modules in order:
PLS-5A: Form Types, Builder Interface & Elements - Foundation of form building
PLS-5B: Tags in Forms - Dynamic conditional logic
PLS-5C: Additional Forms - Standalone form distribution
PLS-5D: Form Lifecycle & System Attachments - How forms integrate with Housing.Cloud
PLS-5E: Form Responses & Data Flow - Analyzing collected data
Each module takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. You can complete them all in one 90-minute session or spread them across multiple sessions.
Prerequisites
Before starting PLS-5, you should complete:
PLS-0: What is Housing.Cloud - System overview
PLS-1: System Navigation & Core Concepts - Admin portal navigation
PLS-2: Understanding Your Housing Data - Profiles, applications, residents, and inventory
PLS-3: Introduction to Housing Cycles - Understanding what cycles are and what they need
PLS-4: Tags & Rulesets - Creating tags and understanding how they drive automation
Why Prerequisites Matter: PLS-5 assumes you understand tags (PLS-4) and know that housing cycles need forms (PLS-3). You'll learn how to build those forms and use tags to create dynamic, conditional questions.
Key Takeaways
After completing PLS-5, you'll understand:
All 11 form types available in Housing.Cloud and when to use each
How to navigate the form builder interface and add sections and questions
The 13 element types and which to use for different data collection needs
How tags create real-time conditional logic where questions appear/disappear as students answer
The critical difference between application tags and profile tags
How Additional forms work as standalone, shareable data collection tools
The form lifecycle: Draft → Published → Archived
Why published forms lock and when you can unpublish them
How different form types attach to cycles, task categories, and system settings
How to view and analyze form responses in three different views
How data flows from form answers through tags to applications and matching
Building the Pieces: After PLS-5, you'll have built the application forms and bio forms your housing cycle needs. In PLS-6, you'll assemble these forms (along with tags and rulesets from PLS-4) into YOUR production housing cycle.
What's Next: Creating Your Housing Cycle
After completing PLS-5, you'll move into assembling all the components into your production cycle:
PLS-6: Creating YOUR Housing Cycle
Take the tags you created (PLS-4), the forms you built (PLS-5), and assemble them into your production housing cycle. Configure all phases, assign forms and rulesets, and prepare for launch.
The Journey So Far: PLS-3 showed you what cycles need. PLS-4 taught you to create tags and rulesets. PLS-5 teaches you to build forms. PLS-6 is where you put it all together into YOUR cycle for YOUR institution.
Common Questions
How many form types do I really need to use?
Most institutions primarily use Application forms, Bio/Questionnaire forms, and Additional forms. Other types (Task, Animal, Interaction, Daily Note) are optional and often feature-gated based on your institution's needs.
Can I edit a form after it's published?
No. Published forms lock to ensure data integrity. If you need to make changes, you must either unpublish the form (if it's not actively in use) or archive it and create a new version.
Do tags from forms save to student profiles?
It depends on configuration. Form question choices can have both addTags (saves to application) and addProfileTags (saves to profile). For Application and Bio forms, tags typically save to the application record. Task forms don't save tags anywhere—they're purely for data collection.
What's the difference between Application forms and Additional forms?
Application forms attach to housing cycles and create application records. Additional forms are standalone, shareable forms (like Google Forms) that can be sent to anyone at any time and don't require a housing cycle context.
How do conditional questions work?
When students answer questions that have tags attached, those tags are applied in real-time. Other questions configured with conditional logic (inclusion or exclusion tags) immediately appear or disappear based on the accumulated tags. This creates a dynamic, responsive form experience.
Getting Help
If you have questions while learning about forms:
Review specific modules: Revisit the module article that covers the concept you're struggling with
Ask your trainer: Bring questions to your live PLS-5 training session
Contact your implementation team: Schedule office hours for form building support
Submit a support ticket: Include specific questions about form configuration or behavior
Additional Resources
Product Learning Homework: Try It Yourself Exercises (PLS-0 through PLS-8.5) - Complete PLS-5 homework
Product Learning Session Framework: Complete Onboarding Structure - Full PLS roadmap
Form Types and Form Elements Overview - Quick reference guide
Create a Form - Step-by-step form creation guide