Forms

The Form model, its properties, relationships and how to create dynamic forms using the FormBuilder.

Overview

The Form model is the central piece of Polyform. It holds a collection of fields, optional steps, validation rules and settings. You can attach forms to any model through a polymorphic relationship, set submission limits and control their lifecycle with statuses.

Core Properties

Property	Type	Description
`name`	string	Display name of the form
`slug`	string	URL-friendly identifier (unique per formable)
`description`	string\|null	Optional form description or instructions
`status`	FormStatus	Current status (DRAFT, PUBLISHED, CLOSED, ARCHIVED)
`settings`	array	JSON configuration for behavior and UI options
`opens_at`	datetime\|null	When the form opens for submissions
`closes_at`	datetime\|null	When the form closes for submissions
`max_submissions`	int\|null	Maximum number of submissions allowed
`max_submissions_per_user`	int\|null	Per-user submission limit

Settings Configuration

The settings property stores JSON configuration for form behavior:

Setting	Type	Description
`show_progress_bar`	bool	Display progress indicator in multi-step forms
`show_step_navigation`	bool	Show next/previous buttons between steps
`validate_on_step_change`	bool	Validate current step before allowing navigation
`allow_save_draft`	bool	Enable draft submission saving
`require_authentication`	bool	Require login to submit
`send_confirmation_email`	bool	Send email after successful submission

FormStatus Enum

Forms use a string-backed enum with behavior methods that control submission acceptance and drive UI display.

app/Models/Survey.php

Submission Acceptance

Only forms with PUBLISHED status accept new submissions. The isAcceptingSubmissions() method also checks opens_at, closes_at and max_submissions constraints.

Relationships

Forms have several relationships to other models in the package.

Formable (Polymorphic)

Forms belong to a parent entity via a morphTo relationship. Add the HasPolyforms trait to your models:

app/Models/Survey.php

Other Relationships

fields - HasMany FormField (all fields in the form)
submissions - HasMany FormSubmission (all submission records)
steps - HasMany FormStep (multi-step form steps)
webhooks - HasMany FormWebhook (webhook endpoints)

Computed Attributes

is_open - Whether the form is currently accepting submissions
is_multi_step - Whether the form has multiple steps
submission_count - Cached count of submissions (use withCount('submissions'))

Creating Forms

Using the Facade

Create forms directly with the Polyform facade:

app/Http/Controllers/FormController.php

Using the FormBuilder

The FormBuilder gives you a chainable API with 26+ field methods:

app/Http/Controllers/FormController.php

Builder Convenience

The FormBuilder handles field creation, validation rules and relationship setup for you. It is the recommended way to create forms in code.

Extensibility

Forms reference all related models via config('polyform.models.xxx'), so you can extend or swap out any model class. See the configuration docs for details.

Quickstart Fields