Vantaca Home: Global Forms, Overrides, and Hidden Forms

By Shelley Labrecque Updated

Global forms are the default forms that every association in your management company uses. When one association needs something different, you can replace a global form with that association's own version (an override), hide a global form for that association, or turn a form the association already has into an override of a global form. This article explains how each option works and what homeowners see.

Important: Overrides, hiding, and linking currently apply to ARC forms.

For how to create and edit forms, see the "Vantaca Home: Build and Manage Forms" article.

Contents

 

Permissions

Navigate to Settings > Roles and find the role you want to assign the permission to. Go to Settings and click Edit next to Form Management, then select the permissions the role needs:

  • View: Shows the Form Management screen, including the Global Forms and Association Forms tabs, form previews, and View ARC forms by association.
  • Edit: Allows users to create and edit forms, duplicate forms, add and remove overrides, make an association form an override, link association copies, and hide or show a form for an association. They can also undo these actions while the Undo message is showing.
  • Delete: Allows users to delete forms, and to undo a deletion while the Undo message is showing.

Buttons a user does not have permission to use do not appear. For the full list of permissions, see the "Role Securities" article.

 

How Homeowners See Forms

For each global ARC form, Vantaca decides what a homeowner sees in this order:

  1. If the association has an override of the global form, homeowners see the override. They do not see the global form.
  2. If the association has hidden the global form, homeowners do not see it.
  3. Otherwise, homeowners see the global form.

Forms that exist only for one association (extra forms) appear in addition to the global forms. They do not replace anything.

The same rules apply everywhere homeowners reach a form: the New Request list in Vantaca Home, the HOAi webchat, a saved link to a form, and the submission itself. A homeowner who opens a saved link to a global form is taken to their association's override. If the association hides that form, the link reports that the form is not available.

 

The Four Kinds of Form

On the Association Forms tab, the Source column tells you where each form comes from:

  • Global default: A global form the association uses as it is. Homeowners see it.
  • Global default - Hidden: A global form that has been hidden for this association. Homeowners do not see it, and you can show it again at any time.
  • Override of {global form}: This association's own version of a global form. Homeowners see it instead of the global form.
  • Added for this association: A form that exists only for this association. It appears alongside the global forms and does not replace any of them.

 

Global Forms Tab

Navigate to Settings > Form Management and click the Global Forms tab. In addition to the form name, action item type, status, and last modified date, the table shows two columns:

  • Overrides: How many associations replace this form with their own version, with the first two association names. Click the count to open Associations with overrides, which lists each association and its override form.
  • Hidden: How many associations hide this form. Click the count to open Associations hiding this form.

An association that both hides and overrides a form is counted under Overrides only. In either window, click View Association Forms to go to that association's forms.

Each row has Edit, Preview, and Add Override buttons. The More actions menu contains Link association copies, Duplicate, and Delete. Add Override and Link association copies appear only for published (Live) global ARC forms and only if your role has edit access to Form Management. If a global form is in Draft, publish it first.

 

Association Forms Tab

Click the Association Forms tab and select an association from the Association list. The list is searchable. Each row shows:

  • Form Name
  • Source: Where the form comes from. See The Four Kinds of Form.
  • Action Item Type: The action item type the form creates. ARC forms show the association's ARC Model.
  • Homeowners: Whether homeowners see the form. The column shows Shown, Hidden, or Not shown with the reason, such as Not shown: global form is Draft or Not shown: global form is Blocked.

The buttons in each row depend on the form's source:

  • Global default: Preview, Add Override, Hide Form
  • Global default - Hidden: Preview, Add Override, Show Form
  • Override of {global form}: Edit, Preview, Remove Override
  • Added for this association: Edit, Preview, Make Override of…, Delete

If homeowners at an association cannot see any ARC forms, a banner at the top of the tab explains why: the ARC Request page is turned off in Portal Pages, or no ARC Model is chosen. Click Open Association Settings to choose an ARC Model.

 

Add an Override

An override starts as a copy of the global form. You edit the copy, and after you save it, the override is independent of the global form.

Add an override for one or more associations

  1. Navigate to Settings > Form Management and click the Global Forms tab.
  2. Click Add Override on the global ARC form you want to replace.
  3. Select the associations that should get their own version. Use Search associations to narrow the list. Use the checkbox in the header row to select every association that matches your search, including associations on other pages. Your selections stay selected when you change pages or searches.
  4. Click Continue. The form builder opens with a copy of the global form.
  5. Edit the copy as needed, then click Save.

If you selected one association, the override's default name is the global form's name followed by the association's name. If you selected several, each association gets its own copy with the global form's name.

Associations that already have an override of this form are dimmed and show Already has an override. To replace an existing override, remove it first.

Note: Each association gets its own copy. Editing one association's override later changes only that association's form. To pass a change on to every association, edit each override.

Add an override for the association you are viewing

  1. On the Association Forms tab, select the association.
  2. On a Global default or Global default - Hidden row, click Add Override. The form builder opens with a copy of the global form.
  3. Edit the copy, then click Save.

To change an override later, click Edit on its row.

What an override follows from its global form

  • Action item type: ARC overrides always create the association's own ARC Model action item type. The action item type is locked in the form builder.
  • Status: An override has no status of its own. If the global form moves to Draft or becomes Blocked, its overrides stop showing to homeowners too. They show again when the global form is published or unblocked.
  • Content: The override keeps its own name, description, and fields. Later edits to the global form do not change it.
  • Deleting the global form: You cannot delete a global form that still has overrides. Remove the overrides first.

Note: Add Override is not available for forms that exist only for one association. To make a form available to many associations at once, create a global form instead. Overrides are set per association. Model associations do not have overrides.

 

Remove an Override

Use Remove Override to put an association back on the global form.

  1. On the Association Forms tab, select the association.
  2. Click Remove Override on the override's row.
  3. Confirm the message. It reads Homeowners at {association} will see {global form} again.

Important: Remove Override removes the association's override form from that association. It does not keep a standalone copy of the form. If you remove an override by mistake, click Undo in the confirmation message right away. See Undo a Change.

If the association had also hidden the global form, the confirmation reads {global form} will be hidden again for {association}. and homeowners continue not to see it.

 

Hide and Show a Form

Hiding switches one global form off for one association. The form stays in the association's list, and every other association keeps using it.

Hide a global form

  1. On the Association Forms tab, select the association.
  2. On a Global default row, click Hide Form.
  3. Confirm the message: {form} will be hidden for {association}. Homeowners at this association won't see it. Other associations are not affected.

The row now shows Global default - Hidden and a Hidden label in the Homeowners column.

Show a hidden form again

On the Global default - Hidden row, click Show Form. There is no confirmation message.

  • Hiding works one association at a time.
  • Only global forms can be hidden. To stop an extra form from showing, delete it. To stop an override from showing, remove it.
  • To turn off all ARC forms for an association, turn off its ARC Request page in Association > Portal Pages instead. See "Vantaca Home: Architectural Requests".
  • If you add an override to a form that is hidden, homeowners see the override. If you later remove that override, the form goes back to Global default - Hidden.

 

Make an Existing Association Form an Override

If an association already has its own form that was meant to replace a global form, you can turn it into an override without rebuilding it. The form keeps its name, description, and fields.

  1. On the Association Forms tab, select the association.
  2. Click Make Override of… on the form's row. The form must be an Added for this association form.
  3. In the Global form list, select the global form it replaces. Only published global forms in the same category are listed.
  4. Click Make Override.

The association's homeowners now see this form instead of the global form.

To do this for many associations at once, see "Vantaca Home: Link Association Form Copies". If a form is meant to appear next to the global form, leave it as an Added for this association form.

 

View ARC Forms by Association

Use this window to see at a glance which ARC forms each association's homeowners see. On the Global Forms tab, click View ARC forms by association. The window shows each association, its ARC Model, and the ARC forms homeowners see. Overrides and extra forms are labeled. Hidden forms are not listed.

  • The ARC Model column shows where the model comes from: Set on this association, Follows {association} model, or No ARC Model chosen.
  • Filter by association name or ARC Model, or choose All associations, With overrides or extra forms, or No ARC forms shown.
  • An association with no ARC forms shows why: the ARC Request page is turned off, no ARC Model is chosen, all ARC forms are hidden, or your company has no published global ARC form.
  • Click View forms to open that association's forms on the Association Forms tab.

Note: This window shows ARC forms only.

 

ARC Forms and the ARC Model

Global ARC forms apply to every association, including associations that use their own ARC Model. When a homeowner submits a global ARC form or an override, the request creates an action item of that association's own ARC Model type. If you change an association's ARC Model in Association Settings, its ARC forms keep showing to homeowners and follow the new ARC Model. Nothing needs to be updated.

ARC forms do not show for an association when:

  • The ARC Request page is turned off in Association > Portal Pages.
  • The association's ARC Model is (Choose an ARC Model).
  • All of the association's ARC forms are hidden, or the global ARC forms are in Draft.

When you create a global ARC form, the Action Item Type list offers the Model Association's ARC Model. For more about the ARC Model setting, see "Association Settings". For how forms connect to the ARC Model, see "Vantaca Home: Build and Manage Forms".

 

Undo a Change

After you add an override, hide or show a form, remove an override, make an override, link copies, add a form on the Association Forms tab, or delete a form, a confirmation message appears at the bottom of the screen with an Undo button. Click Undo while the message is showing, about 7 seconds, to reverse the change. After the message closes, Undo is no longer available.

Undo does the following:

  • Add Override: Deletes the new override or overrides.
  • Hide Form: Shows the form again.
  • Show Form: Hides the form again.
  • Remove Override: Restores the override.
  • Make Override of…: Unlinks the form and restores its original action item type.
  • Link association copies: Unlinks the forms that were linked.
  • New Form on the Association Forms tab: Deletes the new form.
  • Delete: Restores the form.

Note: Duplicate does not have an Undo button. If something changed in the meantime, for example the association already has a newer override, Undo tells you and does not make the change.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to update forms when I change an association's ARC Model?

A: No. Global ARC forms show for every association, and requests create an action item of the association's own ARC Model type. ARC forms no longer disappear when the ARC Model changes.

 

Q: A global ARC form shows as Hidden for an association, but we never hid it. Why?

A: When overrides were introduced, Vantaca hid the global ARC forms for some associations that use their own ARC Model and already had their own ARC form, so homeowners saw the same forms as before. Click Show Form on the row to show a global form again. If the association's own form is a copy of a global form, see "Vantaca Home: Link Association Form Copies".

 

Q: Homeowners at one association see two versions of the same ARC form. How do I fix it?

A: The association likely has its own copy of a global form. On the Association Forms tab, click Make Override of… on the association's form to make it replace the global form, or click Hide Form on the global form. To fix many associations at once, see "Vantaca Home: Link Association Form Copies".

 

Q: A homeowner cannot see an ARC form. What should I check?

A: On the Association Forms tab, select the homeowner's association. If a banner appears, it names the cause: the ARC Request page is off or no ARC Model is chosen. Otherwise, find the form's row and read the Homeowners column:

  • Hidden: Click Show Form.
  • Not shown: global form is Draft: Publish the global form.
  • Not shown: global form is Blocked: The form's action item type is set to block creation. Remove the block on the action item type.

 

Q: Which associations use a different version of a global form?

A: On the Global Forms tab, check the Overrides and Hidden columns. To see every association's ARC forms in one place, click View ARC forms by association.

 

 

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