How to make a pre-fillable form that does not require logging in

I have some elderly staff that can send forms to clients but they struggle with all the logins and passwords, etc. I would like to setup a web link where they can pre-fill a form for a client and send it to the client for completion. Basically like sending an e-signature document but 2-step: pre-fill then client signing. But all from a web page and not from login.

Hi Aaron,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I'm an AI assistant. I'll do my best to help you until someone from the support team is available.

You can create a pre-fillable form without requiring logins by using Jotform's Prefill feature. This lets your staff prepopulate form fields and generate unique prefilled URLs that can be shared with clients for completion and e-signature.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Create your form with the necessary fields and add an e-signature element if needed.
2. Use the Prefill option in the Publish tab to manually prefill data or upload prefill data sets.
3. Generate and share prefilled URLs with your staff, who can then send these links to clients for completion and signing—all without requiring any login.

This two-step process allows your elderly staff to easily send prefilled forms via a simple web link, avoiding the need for logins or passwords.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

I am somewhat confused about the actual pre-fill step. Does this occur from the Publish tab (only accessible after logged in) or can it be done from a url?

Hi Aaron,

The pre-fill step is done from the Publish tab inside the Form Builder, which requires login. From there, you create and manage prefilled URLs that can be shared with clients.

However, once the prefilled URL is generated, it can be sent and accessed by your staff and clients without any login needed. So, the actual pre-filling setup requires login, but using the prefilled links does not.

Let me know if you want more details on generating these URLs.

This does not work for me. I want to be able to provide a url to my staff. Then my staff can pre-fill some initial fields then send the rest of the incomplete form to a client for final completion.

Hi Aaron,

To achieve what you want, you can share a prefill URL with your staff that includes some fields already filled via URL parameters. Your staff can open this URL, fill in the initial fields, then send the incomplete form to clients for final completion.

This method uses query strings in the URL to prepopulate fields without requiring login. Your staff just need to access the URL, fill their part, and share the form link with clients.

If you want, I can guide you on how to generate these URLs with prefilled data.

Yes please show me

Hi Aaron,

Here’s how to create a prefill URL with data in Jotform:

1. Open your form in Form Builder.
2. Fill out the fields you want prefilled using the Preview option.
3. Copy the URL from the browser’s address bar while in Preview mode; this URL includes the prefilled data.
4. Share this URL with your staff so they can fill their part and send the form to clients.

This way, your staff can start with some fields already filled without logging in. Let me know if you need more help with this.

Hi Aaron,

With Jotform’s Manual Prefill, prepopulating your form fields with data no longer requires you to go outside the form builder. You no longer need to maintain a spreadsheet for multiple URLs, as the prefilled URLs are saved within your settings and can be shared again when needed. It is also secured, as prefilled URLs are saved with unique tokens to display the data.

Let me show you how to prefill a form with Manual Prefill:

1. In the Form Builder, go to the Publish tab.

2. Select the Prefill tab from the left menu.

3 Click on the Manual Prefill option.

4. Click on the Add a New Prefill button. This will open the form where you can enter the data for further prefilling.

5. Fill in all the fields you wish to prepopulate. Once done, click the Create button.

Once the prefilled items are created, you can now go ahead and send them or copy the links.

If you want to manage multiple prefill items, select them from the list, and you should see the following buttons:

• Download — You can download all prefilled items in a CSV file.
• Send Invitation — Click this button to send the prefilled items to their designated recipients. As noted below, you can only send up to 5 prefilled items at a time.
• Delete — To delete the selected prefilled items. This cannot be undone.

When you click the Send Invitation button, a popup window will appear which automatically fills the recipients with the user’s email address. You can change the recipient(s) if you want to. You can also optionally add a message. Once ready, click the Send Invitation button at the bottom of the window.

Give it a try and let us know if you need any more help.

I get it. But this is way to cumbersome for my elderly staff.

I want them to be able to simply go to a url of the form, pre-fill in the first few lines as applicable, then "send to client" who will finish the rest.

It has to be that easy to make this work for them. and that easy would be a great product!

Hi Aaron,

I understand your concerns. Give me a little more time to find a different solution, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

In the meantime, let us know if you have any other questions.