PLS-5D: Form Lifecycle & System Attachments

Last updated: October 5, 2026

Overview

Forms in Housing.Cloud progress through a lifecycle—from draft creation to publication to eventual archival. Understanding this lifecycle and how forms attach to system functions helps you manage forms effectively and avoid common pitfalls. This module provides an introduction to form statuses and how different form types integrate with housing cycles, task categories, and system settings.

What you'll learn:

  • The three form statuses: Draft, Published, Archived

  • Why published forms lock and when you can unpublish

  • How to archive and unarchive forms

  • Introduction to how forms attach to system functions

Time: 15 minutes

Form Lifecycle: Three Statuses

Every form in Housing.Cloud exists in one of three statuses:

Draft (In Progress)

What it means: Form is being built or edited; not yet available for use

What you can do:

  • Add, remove, or edit sections

  • Add, remove, or edit questions

  • Change question types

  • Configure tags and conditional logic

  • Change form type (Application, Bio, Additional, etc.)

  • Preview the form

  • Delete the form

What you cannot do:

  • Attach to housing cycles (cycles only accept published forms)

  • Send to students (students can't access draft forms)

  • View responses (no one has completed it yet)

Status indicator: Badge shows "In Progress" in blue/info color

Published

What it means: Form is live and ready for use in the system

What you can do:

  • Attach to housing cycles (Application/Bio forms)

  • Attach to task categories (Task forms)

  • Send to students (Additional forms)

  • View responses as students submit

  • Unpublish (only if not actively in use)

  • Archive (when no longer needed)

What you cannot do:

  • Add or remove sections or questions

  • Edit question text or choices

  • Change form type

  • Delete the form (must archive instead)

Status indicator: Badge shows "Published" in green/success color

Published Forms Lock for Data Integrity: Once published, forms cannot be edited to protect data integrity. If students have already completed the form, changing questions would invalidate their responses and break reporting. If you need to make changes, you must unpublish (if not in use) or archive and create a new version.

Archived

What it means: Form is no longer active but responses are preserved

What you can do:

  • View historical responses

  • Unarchive (bring back to active status)

  • Keep forms list clean by hiding old forms

What you cannot do:

  • Attach to new cycles or system functions

  • Send to new students

  • Edit (still locked from publication)

Visibility: Hidden by default; click "Show archived" to view archived forms

Status Progression

Draft (In Progress) → Publish → Published → Archive → Archived
                         ↓                        ↓
                    Unpublish ←                Unarchive
                    (if not in use)            (back to Published)

Publishing and Unpublishing Forms

How to Publish a Form

  1. Complete building your form with all sections and questions

  2. Preview to verify everything works correctly

  3. In the form builder, click Publish button at the bottom

  4. Confirmation dialog appears: "Are you sure you'd like to publish?"

  5. Warning shown: "Once published, the form cannot be edited"

  6. Click Yes to confirm

  7. Form status changes to "Published"

  8. Form is now available for attachment to cycles, sending to students, etc.

How to Unpublish a Form

Prerequisite: Form must NOT be actively in use (attached to active cycles, sent to students with pending responses, etc.)

  1. Open the published form in the form builder

  2. Click In Progress button (replaces the Publish button when form is published)

  3. No confirmation needed—form immediately returns to "Draft" status

  4. You can now edit the form

When to Unpublish: Unpublish forms to make edits ONLY if the form hasn't been used yet or has no active dependencies. If the form is attached to a housing cycle with applications or has student responses, you cannot unpublish it. Archive and create a new version instead.

Archiving Forms

When to Archive

  • Housing cycle ended and you won't use that cycle's application form again

  • Form was replaced with a new version

  • Form is outdated or no longer relevant

  • You want to clean up your active forms list

How to Archive

  1. Navigate to Setup → Forms → (appropriate form type tab)

  2. Check the checkbox next to the form(s) you want to archive

  3. Archive button appears in the toolbar

  4. Click Archive

  5. Confirmation: "1 form archived" (or number of forms archived)

  6. Form disappears from the active list

How to View and Unarchive

  1. On the forms list page, click Show archived button

  2. Archived forms now appear in the list (usually grayed out or with "Archived" badge)

  3. To unarchive: check the checkbox next to archived form(s)

  4. Click Unarchive button that appears

  5. Form returns to active status (Published)

Responses Are Safe: Archiving a form doesn't delete responses. All historical data is preserved. You can view responses to archived forms and export data just like active forms.

How Forms Attach to System Functions

Different form types attach to different parts of Housing.Cloud. Here's an introduction to each attachment mechanism (detailed configuration is covered in later PLS sessions).

Application Forms → Housing Cycles

Attachment point: Housing cycle application settings

How it works: When configuring a housing cycle, you select which Application form students complete when applying

Covered in detail: PLS-6 (Creating Your Housing Cycle)

What to know now: Only published Application forms appear in the cycle configuration dropdown. Build and publish your application form before you configure your cycle.

Bio/Questionnaire Forms → Housing Cycles (Roommate Finder)

Attachment point: Housing cycle application settings

How it works: You select which Bio form students complete for the Roommate Finder

Covered in detail: PLS-6 (Creating Your Housing Cycle)

What to know now: Bio forms are optional for cycles. If you don't use Roommate Finder, you don't need a Bio form.

Task Forms → Task Categories

Attachment point: Task category configuration

How it works: Each task category (Maintenance, Room Change, Safety Check, etc.) can have a custom form that students or staff complete when creating that type of task

Covered in detail: PLS-11 (Tasks & Communications)

What to know now: Task forms customize data collection based on request type. A maintenance request needs different questions than a room change request.

Animal Forms → Housing Cycles

Attachment point: Housing cycle animal form settings

How it works: Animal forms are assigned to cycles with tag-based applicability (e.g., only students with "ESA Approved" tag see the form)

Feature required: ANIMALS

What to know now: Animal forms collect documentation for ESA/pet approval. Not all institutions use this feature.

Interaction & Daily Note Forms → Global Settings

Attachment point: Student staff configuration (tenant-wide setting)

How it works: One Interaction form and one Daily Note form are selected globally for the entire tenant. When student staff submit interactions or daily notes, these forms are used.

Feature required: INTERACTION_FORMS

What to know now: These are global forms, not cycle-specific. All student staff use the same form across all cycles.

Additional Forms → No Attachment (Standalone)

Attachment point: None—distributed manually

How it works: You create shareable links and send to students individually, in bulk, or post in the Resident Portal

Covered in detail: PLS-5C (you just learned this!)

What to know now: Additional forms don't attach to anything. You control distribution manually.

Attachment Happens After Building: You don't configure attachments while building the form. First you build and publish the form, THEN you attach it to cycles, task categories, or system settings in the appropriate configuration pages. This separation keeps form building focused and clean.

Planning Your Forms

Before you start building forms for your production housing cycle, plan which forms you need and when you'll build them.

Essential Forms for Housing Cycles

Required:

  • Application form for each housing cycle (Fall 2025, Spring 2026, Summer 2026)

Recommended:

  • Bio/Questionnaire form for roommate matching (if using Roommate Finder)

  • One or two Task forms for common request types (Maintenance, Room Change)

Optional:

  • Additional forms for surveys, special requests, documentation

  • Animal forms (if ESA/pet approval is needed)

  • Interaction/Daily Note forms (if student staff tracking is used)

Form Building Timeline

Build forms in this order during your implementation:

  1. Week 1-2: Build and publish Application form (you'll practice this in PLS-5 homework)

  2. Week 2: Build and publish Bio form for roommate matching

  3. Week 3: Build 1-2 Task forms for common request types

  4. Week 4: Build any Additional forms you know you'll need soon

  5. Ongoing: Create Additional forms as new needs arise

By the time you reach PLS-6 (Creating Your Housing Cycle), you'll have your Application and Bio forms published and ready to attach to your cycle.

Key Takeaways

  • Forms progress through three statuses: Draft → Published → Archived

  • Published forms lock to protect data integrity—you cannot edit structure after publishing

  • Unpublish to make edits ONLY if the form isn't actively in use

  • Archive old forms to keep your active list clean while preserving responses

  • Different form types attach to different system functions:

    • Application/Bio → Housing cycles

    • Task → Task categories

    • Animal → Housing cycles

    • Interaction/Daily Note → Global settings

    • Additional → Standalone (no attachment)

  • Build and publish forms before configuring cycles or attachments

Attachment Details in Later Sessions: This module provides an introduction to where forms attach. You'll learn the detailed configuration steps in later PLS sessions: cycles in PLS-6, tasks in PLS-11, and other features in their respective sessions.

What's Next

Now that you understand the form lifecycle and how forms integrate with Housing.Cloud, you're ready to learn how to analyze form responses and understand data flow.

Continue to: PLS-5E: Form Responses & Data Flow

Additional Resources