Note: This feature is available if you have purchased the Personalization module and are on a Professional or Unlimited plan.

This article provides an overview of personalization forms and form fields. This article is suitable for someone who already has a basic understanding of how to set up Turtl Docs for personalization including the concepts of a personalization token and page rules. If you want to recap on the basics, read our step-by-step guide for setting up a Doc for personalization.

We’ll cover:

What is a personalization form
Basics of creating personalization forms
Introduction to form field types
Input field deep dive
Layout field deep dive

Introduction

What is a personalization form?

A personalization form is an interface that allows Turtl users, and in some cases your readers, to personalize a Doc. Each form is made up of structured form fields which, when completed, dynamically replace any personalization tokens within your Turtl Doc.

A Turtl Doc with its Personalization form

Why are they important?

A personalization form provides a simple way for anyone to effortlessly tailor content without extensive training or technical expertise.

The content creator (let’s say a marketing team) sets the boundaries of what can and can’t be changed, and a team member (let’s say a salesperson) fills in the form to generate personalized content. This keeps things quick and easy for your personalizers and gives content creators the peace of mind that content will always be consistent and on-brand.

Personalization forms also provide a scalable solution. You can easily modify or expand the fields within the form to accommodate new requirements without disrupting your workflows.

Basics of creating personalization forms

How to access the personalization form builder

Open your Doc and click the "Personalization" tab.

Introduction to the form field types

Personalization forms are made up of form fields. Each personalization token in your Doc requires a corresponding form field. This will allow you to replace the placeholder content in your Doc with personalized information.

For example, if you have a personalization token in your Doc for a first name, you’ll need a corresponding form field to insert the customer’s first name. The type of form fields you use will depend on how you’re planning to personalize your Doc.

When you first open a personalization form, you’re presented with various form field options.

Form field options within a personalization form

The table below provides an introduction to the different form fields and their capability. You can learn more about each field later on in this article and use the hyperlinks to skip to more info.

Field name	Capability
Input fields (Used to input information into your personalized Doc)
Single line	Personalize a short line of text or a single word.
Multi line	Personalize longer paragraphs of information.
File upload	Upload a file into a personalization.
Logo	Add a customer’s logo to the cover page of your Doc using either their website URL or by uploading a file.
Homepage	Add a screenshot of your customer's website homepage to the cover page of your Doc using either their website URL or by uploading a file.
Vidyard	Embed (or record from scratch) a Vidyard video, layered over an existing background cover image or video
Video	Embed (or record from scratch) a video, layered over an existing background cover image or video
Dropdown	Enables you to choose one option from a drop-down list. Values within the dropdown are often linked to different pages or chapters in Turtl but can be used in other ways too.
Checkboxes	Enables you to choose multiple options from a checklist. Values within the dropdown are often linked to different pages or chapters in Turtl but can be used in other ways too.
Choice	Enables you to choose one or multiple options from a short list. Offers more design flexibility than the Checkboxes field.
Layout fields (Used to help organize and structure your form)
Heading	Enables you to add Heading text to your form.
Text	Enables you to add descriptive text to your form.
Section	Enables you to break up the form into separate sections with divider lines and clear titles.
Step	Enables you to break up the form into separate pages.

How to add an Input form field to the form

When you add an Input field to your form (such as the "Single line" form field), you’re typically prompted to connect it to an existing personalization token within your Turtl Doc or create a new one. However, some input fields don’t require a corresponding token such as the Logo, Homepage, Vidyard, and Video fields (see the table above).

In the video below we’re connecting a "Single line" form field with a personalization token for %firstname% which exists on the cover of the Turtl Doc.

Adding a "Single line" form field

Once you’ve added your input field, explore the Basic and Advanced field settings to complete the setup process. Settings options will differ slightly depending on which form field you’re using.

Form field settings

Setting name	Purpose
Basic settings
Token	The personalization token that your form field is matched to.
Label	The description of the field within the form. You’ll want to tidy this up to make it as clear as possible. E.g. change "firstname" to "Add the first name of your customer here".
Default	The value that will be shown on the master Doc (in place of the token) and on the personalization if the field isn’t completed. E.g. if a reader’s name is not completed, you might want it to default to “you”:
Prefill value	You have the option to pre-fill the form field with a value. This is the value that will be used within the personalization form and will pull in on the personalized version if the person completing the form doesn’t overwrite it with something else.
Placeholder	Optional text to help users of the form understand what kind of content they should include. E.g. if you want them to complete the first name of a reader, you might add a placeholder of "e.g. John"
Advanced settings
Required	Allows you to set certain fields as always required or when certain conditions are met. E.g. you could require that a field is only required when another field is completed in a certain way.
Enabled	Allows you to disable certain fields completely or when certain conditions are met. E.g. you could disable certain fields while you’re still working on them.
Visible	Allows you to hide certain fields completely or until conditions are met. E.g. you could hide fields related to a particular part of the Doc until a personalizer has chosen to include that section.

How to add a Layout form field to the form

Layout fields are very straightforward to add to your personalization form. Choose the field you’d like to add and edit the text as required for the Heading, Text, and Section fields.

In the video below we’re adding Section and Text fields to a personalization form.

Adding Section and Text form fields

Once you’ve added your layout field, explore the Basic and Advanced field settings to complete the setup process. Settings options will differ slightly depending on which form field you’re using.

Setting name	Purpose
Basic settings
Text	The text that you want to include within your layout field e.g. within your Heading or Section field. If using the Section field, you can control the text for both the Previous and Next buttons.
Advanced settings
Enabled	Same as on Input fields.
Visible	Same as on Input fields.

Input fields

Single line

Single line form field within the personalization form builder

Single line form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	Personalize a short line of text or a single word For a walkthrough of how to add a single line field to a form, watch the video on this article.
Example use case	Personalize a customer’s name, email address, mobile number, etc.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	Yes
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	No

Multi line

Multi-line form field within the personalization form builder

Multi-line form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	Personalize longer paragraphs of information
Example use case	Personalize an introduction message for key prospects or add commentary on a pricing page.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	Yes
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	Consider providing guidance within the personalization form on how much text can be added within the field e.g. max 100 words, 200 words. This will help to ensure that text is displayed clearly within the Doc. If you don’t want to have a hard word count, rather than linking your multi-line form field to a Text Box widget, you could use the Table Widget and use a single cell. This would allow the text to be scrollable depending on the length.

File upload

File upload form field within the personalization form builder

File upload form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	Upload a file into a personalization. Supported file types: .png .jpg .jpeg .bmp .svg .mp4 .gif .pdf .csv .xls .xlsx For a walkthrough of how to add a file upload field to a form, watch the video in this article.
Example use case	Enable salespeople to upload a LinkedIn profile image to sales materials Personalize a hyperlink to a specific PDF of T&Cs for a proposal (you might prefer to keep this info in a PDF rather than include it within the Turtl Doc itself)
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	Yes
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🔴 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API It cannot be used for Reader Form personalization (when you’re allowing external readers to personalize content) for security reasons.
Anything else to consider?	The file upload field allows for a wide range of different file types to be uploaded, from PDFs and Excel sheets to images and videos. Provide clear instructions for your personalizers within the personalization form so they know how to prepare their file to reduce issues.

Logo

Logo form field within the personalization form builder

Logo form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Example output of logo personalization for Google

Capability	Add a customer’s logo to the cover page of your Doc by either: Adding the URL of a website homepage e.g. www.google.com Uploading an image file of the logo manually. Supported file types: .png .jpg .jpeg .bmp .gif For a walkthrough of how to add a logo field to a form, watch the video in this article.
Example use case	Add a customer’s logo to a Doc for ABM or Sales Enablement, or prepare a Doc for partner marketing.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - the logo will automatically be placed on the front cover of your Turtl Doc. The exact placement will depend on your brand theme and the Surf style you’ve chosen for your Doc. If you want to adjust the default placement of the logo, contact our support team.
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🔴 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API The file upload method of adding a logo can not be used for Reader Form personalization (when you’re allowing external readers to personalize content) for security reasons.
Anything else to consider?	You have an added option to set the logo to ‘Whiteout’ mode within the form field settings. This works well on darker backgrounds.

Homepage

Homepage form field within the personalization form builder

Example output of homepage personalization for Google

Capability	Add a screenshot of your customer's website homepage to the cover page of your Doc using either: Adding the URL of a website homepage e.g. www.google.com Uploading an image file of the homepage manually. Supported file types: .png .jpg .jpeg .bmp .gif
Example use case	Add a customer’s homepage graphic to a Doc for ABM or Sales Enablement.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - the homepage graphic will be automatically added to the cover page of your Doc. You can use this template to design your cover page to suit the placement of the homepage graphic.
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🔴 Reader form 🔴 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API The file upload method of adding a homepage can not be used for Reader Form personalization (when you’re allowing external readers to personalize content) for security reasons.
Anything else to consider?	No

Vidyard

Vidyard form field within the personalization form builder

Vidyard form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	Embed a Vidyard video onto the cover page of your Doc
Example use case	A salesperson could add a personalized video introduction to a proposal or product overview.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - the embedded Vidyard video will be automatically added to the cover page of your Doc. In most cases, we will need to add some custom code to your cover page so the personalized video works with your specific cover design. Contact our support team to get help with this.
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🔴 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API Vidyard videos can’t be embedded within Reader Form personalization (when you’re allowing external readers to personalize content) for security reasons.
Anything else to consider?	You must have a paid Vidyard account in order to use this field. The free account only has a limited number of embeds allowed which is prohibitive in this scenario.

Video

Video form field within the personalization form builder

Video field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	If you don’t have a tool like Vidyard, use this to include a personalized video on the cover page of your Doc by either: Recording a new video on-the-fly Uploading a video. Supported file types: .mp4 .ogg .webm
Example use case	A salesperson could add a personalized video introduction to a proposal or product overview.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - the video will be automatically added to the cover page of your Doc. In most cases, we will need to add some custom code to your cover page so the personalized video works with your specific cover design. Contact our support team to get help with this.
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🔴 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API Videos can’t be uploaded within Reader Form personalization (when you’re allowing external readers to personalize content) for security reasons.
Anything else to consider?	No

Dropdown

Dropdown form field within the personalization form builder

Dropdown form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	Enables you to choose one option from a drop-down list. Values within the dropdown are often linked to different pages or chapters in Turtl but can be used in other ways too. For a walkthrough of how to add a dropdown field to a form, watch the video on this article.
Example use case	The dropdown could hold a list of different industries e.g. Financial Services, Manufacturing, Technology, etc. If the personalizer chooses "Manufacturing" within the dropdown, the content and images within the Doc could be personalized based on the industry chosen. The dropdown could hold a list of sales reps e.g. John Doe, Jane Doe, Susan Doe. When the sales rep chooses their name within the dropdown, a page with their contact details and bio could be included within the Doc.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	Yes
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	To advance your use of this field, you can populate dropdown options based on a list of data from a .csv file. For example, if you have a list of sales rep information within a file e.g. their name, link to LinkedIn profile image, contact details, etc, you can use some custom code within your personalization form to automatically populate a dropdown field with this information. When a sales rep's name is selected, multiple elements of a Doc could be personalized at once e.g. their name, their image, contact details on the back page, etc. If you think you might have a use case for this, get in touch with our support team to learn more.

Checkboxes

Checkbox form field within the personalization form builder

Checkbox form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	Enables you to choose multiple options from a checklist. Values within the dropdown are often linked to different pages or chapters in Turtl but can be used in other ways too. For a walkthrough of how to add a checklist field to a form, watch the video on this article.
Example use case	The checkbox could hold a list of different problems your product/service solves. The personalizer could select the problems which resonate with them which would then pull in relevant content within the Doc.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	Yes
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	No

Choice

Choice form field within the personalization form builder

Choice form field from a personalizer’s perspective

Capability	Enables you to choose one or multiple options from a short list. Offers more design flexibility than the Checkboxes field.
Example use case	The choice boxes could hold three different answers to a question e.g. "What’s your biggest marketing challenge?". The chapters and pages within the Doc could be personalized based on the option chosen.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	Yes
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	No

Layout fields

Heading

Capability	Enables you to add Heading text to your form.
Example use case	Add clear headings to your form to make it clear that personalizers have moved on to a new section of the form.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - just add the field to your form
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	You can drag and drop your field to move it around the form.

Text

Capability	Enables you to add descriptive text to your form.
Example use case	Add additional text to sections of your form to provide additional instruction.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - just add the field to your form
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	You can drag and drop your field to move it around the form.

Section

Capability	Enables you to break up the form into separate sections with divider lines and clear titles.
Example use case	Break up your form into a few clear sections so it’s easier for personalizers to follow e.g. ‘Customer info’, ‘Product preferences’, ‘Pricing’
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - just add the field to your form
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	You can drag and drop your field to move it around the form.

Step

Capability	Enables you to break up the form into separate pages.
Example use case	If you have a particularly long form, break up your form into separate steps so it’s easier for personalizers to work through.
Requires a personalization token within the Doc?	No - just add the field to your form
Works with all personalization methods?	🟢 Internal form 🟢 Reader form 🟢 File upload 🟢 CRM as a data source 🟢 API
Anything else to consider?	The buttons to navigate between the steps in your form will default to ‘next’ and ‘back’ but you can customize these within your form. The first step in your form will only display a next button and not a back one. The back button will still be editable when building your form but won't be visible when personalizing your Turtl Doc. The final page of the form will always use the same text for the back button as the page before. You can't edit this separately. The default text for the buttons (next and back) will get translated if you update the Doc language. However, if you edit the text to something custom then this will not get translated.

Build content button

Capability	The final button that personalizers press to submit the form and generate a personalized Doc.
Anything else to consider?	The Build Content button will appear automatically on your personalization form. You can click on the button to edit the text. The default "Build Content" button text will get translated if you update the Doc language. However, if you edit the text to something custom then this will not get translated.

The Build Content button will appear automatically on your personalization form. Click on the button in the form builder to be able to edit the button text in the basic tab on the right-hand side.

Form field compatibility overview

Field name	Works with all personalization methods?
Input fields (Used to input information into your personalized Doc)
Single line	Yes
Multi line	Yes
File upload	No - can not be used for Reader Form personalization
Logo	No - the file upload method can not be used for Reader Form personalization
Homepage	No - the file upload method can not be used for Reader Form personalization
Vidyard	No - can not be used for Reader Form personalization
Video	No - can not be used for Reader Form personalization
Dropdown	Yes
Checkboxes	Yes
Choice	Yes
Layout fields (Used to help organize and structure your form)
Heading	Yes
Text	Yes
Section	Yes
Step	Yes

Testing your form

Once you’ve added your form fields to your personalization form, click "Preview Form" to see your finalized form in a new tab. This is a great way to keep checking back on progress as you’re making your form.

#personalisation #personalise

The personalization engine is protected by US patents.

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