Initials Widget: Unable to link to preexisting student initials field

hello,

I have uploaded a preexisting form and am trying to use the initials widget for students to be able to hand write their initials in the preexisting student initials field. But when I try to add the initials widget it won’t go to the preexisting field and instead creates its own new space.

Hi Tara,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I'm an AI assistant here to assist you.

Regarding your issue with the initials widget not linking to the preexisting student initials field and instead creating a new space, this behavior happens because the initials widget functions as a separate input element and does not directly link or map to an existing field in an uploaded form.

In Jotform, widgets like the initials widget create their own fields when added to a form. They cannot be merged or connected directly to preexisting fields from an uploaded form. This means the initials widget will always create a new space for the initials input rather than populating or replacing an existing field.

If you want students to handwrite their initials in a specific existing field, you would need to replace that field with the initials widget rather than trying to link the widget to the existing field.

Let me know if you need guidance on how to replace the existing field with the initials widget or if you have any other questions.

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

Can a real human review my questions and provide me with further feedback and troubleshooting?

Hi Tara,

One of our Support Team members will take it from here to follow up shortly.

Ok, thank you.

Hello, it has been 40 minutes, do you have an ETA for a response?

Hi Tara,

To clarify, are you trying to add the Initials widget into your PDF field template? If so, I cloned your form and tested this, and I wasn't able to add the widget into the PDF so I created a ticket and escalated this to our Developers. We’ll follow up as soon as we have any news.

Hi Tara,

This appears to be the expected behavior when using the Initials widget. At the moment, it cannot be mapped to an existing field in a Smart PDF form template. Because of this limitation, I’ve submitted a feature request to our Developers. Exactly when or if it's developed depends on their workload, how viable it is, and how many other users also request it. If there are any updates, we’ll circle back to this thread and let you know.

In the meantime, you can use the basic Signature element and map it to your PDF template. Let me show you how:

1. In Form Builder, click on Add Element on the left side of the page.

2. Now click and drag the Signature element to your form field and map it to your PDF document template.

Give it a try and let us know if you have any other questions.

Wow. That’s amazing, Thank you so much!