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Create an Email Registration Form

Create a registration form to email to families. When families complete the form, the registration data is saved to our secure web server.

  1. On the Information tab, click Students > Processes then, on the Formation Processes tab, click Register Families and Enroll Students Online.
  2. Select Create and Email Registration Form, then click Next.
  3. Read the process description, then click Next.
  4. Enter the form name and brief introduction to display at the top of your form.
  5. Select the sections you want to display on the form, and click Next.
  6. If you selected to show sacraments, user keywords, and/or student remarks, select the options to display on the form. Click Next.
  7. If you selected to show ministries and/or talents, select the options to display for those fields and for the status field on the form. Click Next.
  8. Select the options to display for relationships, titles, phone types, email types, and grades/degrees. (Scroll down to see all the option lists.) Click Next.
  9. To display class information on the form, select the option. If you want to require families to enroll students, select the checkbox. This removes the ability for the family to select Enroll Student or Do Not Enroll Student on the registration form. Then, enter how many classes the family can register for, select the year/period, and select the classes to include. Click Next.
    CAUTION: The first time you create a form, all classes are selected by default. After that, the classes you selected last time are marked. Be sure the selected classes are the ones you want to include on the form.
  10. If you want to allow families to pay for registration online, select your Vanco account and the appropriate fund information. Note that PDS does not save payment information when families submit registrations. Payments are processed directly through Vanco.
  11. If needed, enter the rate to be paid per family and/or per student. Then, on each applicable tab, enter any rates to charge by grade, age, class, or other. The amounts you enter depend on how you handle registration. When you're finished, click Next.
    CAUTION: The family rate applies per form the family submits. If they register one student per form, they will pay the family rate for each student.
  12. If you have fees, select whether to charge by grade, age, class, or other, and enter the rates. Enter a meaningful fee name (such as "Sacramental Prep Fee" or "Meal Fee") and fund information that fee payments should go toward. Click Next.
  13. Select whether to provide discounts per family, per student, or for multiple students, and enter the rates. Click Next.
    • Single Rate Discount Per Family—You can set up discounts per family. In the top table, enter a meaningful name for each discount that registering families will understand. Enter each type of family's discount amounts in the bottom table in the window.
    • Single Rate Discount Per Student—You can set up discounts per student. In the top table, enter a meaningful name for each discount that registering families will understand. Enter each type of student's discount amounts in the bottom table in the window.
    • Multiple Rate Discounts—You can set up discounted rates per grade, age, class, or student. In the top table, enter a meaningful name for each discount that registering families will understand. Enter each type of student's discount amounts in the bottom table in the window.
  14. Enter any instructions you want the registering family to see. To include a list of the student rates you set up in the previous window, enter [RateOptions] in this box. To go to a new line, press Ctrl + Enter on your keyboard. You can use standard HTML formatting, such as <b></b> for bold and <u></u> for underline. You'll be able to preview the form in the next window. Click Next.
  15. Select the fields you want to include on the form. You can edit field names in the Edit to Show on Form column. Click Preview Form to see what the fields look like on your form.
    Note: Always preview and test your registration form to make sure you have any rates and discounts set up correctly.
  16. Then select which of those fields you want to require the family to enter when registering. An asterisk (*) displays on the form beside the required fields you select. Click Next.
  17. Enter the email address of the person to notify after a family registers their student(s). Typically, this is the person who processes registrations.
  18. Compose the confirmation email that each registering family receives.
  19. If you want to redirect families to another webpage after submitting their form, enter the URL. Enter the number of seconds to show the confirmation page before redirecting.
    Tip: Enter 0 seconds to go directly to the webpage without showing confirmation.
  20. Select whether to email the form with existing information displayed so families can update it, or email a blank form for families to complete. Click Next.
    • If you selected blank form, click the add icon green plus sign and enter the family names and emails. These can be added as new records once families register.
    • If you selected to send existing information, select which families to email the form to. Only families who have an email address are included. Also, select which family name format to use on the confirmation email families receive when they submit their registration.
      Note: For help with conditions, see the Additional Selections section in the topic, Report Selections.
  21. Click Next to review and verify the email list.
  22. If you selected to send existing information and you want to require a password to open the form, you can encrypt the email attachment. Select Password Protect the Email Form and enter the password that all families must use to open their registration form. Then, click Next.
    Note: Two emails are sent to the selected families once you finish this process: one with the form attached and one with the password. When families open the attached form in their email program, they are prompted to enter the password you set in this step.
  23. Click Setup to enter or verify your email server information. Then, enter the email information and message.
  24. When you're ready to send the form, click Email.

Watch & Learn

Learn how to create a web or email registration form in Formation Office. 9 min 26 sec

It may take a minute for the video to display. To watch in full screen mode, click the expand icon in the video player.

To watch more videos, visit the PDS Video Library.

As families fill out the form, the person you entered as the Notice Email Address for Your Church receives an email.

Note that if you included payments on your form, registrants can see the amount breakdown before they pay.

Example of the payment breakdown on the registration form

Once you get registration forms back, you're ready to check and register families and students.