Understanding the Three Form Types
Before setting up a public-to-internal workflow, it helps to understand the building blocks involved.
What is a Public Form? A public form is accessible to anyone — no login or account required. You share it via a link or QR code, and external users such as clients, patients, applicants, or members of the public can open and fill it in directly. Public forms are ideal for the initial data collection stage of any process.
What is an Internal Form? An internal form is restricted to members of your organisation. Only users with a login and the appropriate permissions can view or interact with it. Internal forms are used for processing, reviewing, approving, or completing work that shouldn't be visible to the public.
What is a Mixed-Access Form? A mixed-access form is a single form that behaves as both a public form and an internal form — depending on who is accessing it and where they are in the workflow. The first part of the form is public-facing. Once that section is submitted, the form transitions into an internal-only space where your team takes over. External users never see the internal sections, and internal users have full control over how they manage the form from that point forward.
How It Works: One Form, Two Stages
A public-to-internal workflow starts life as a public form. When an external user submits the public section, that submission acts as a handover point — the form is handed off to your internal team, and the rest of the form becomes internal-only.
In other words, a single form transforms mid-process:
Stage 1 — Public: An external user fills in and submits the first section(s). They see only what's relevant to them, and when they submit, they receive a confirmation message.
Stage 2 — Internal: The submitted sections are locked. Your team is notified, and they take over the remaining sections according to their permissions — reviewing, processing, approving, or completing the workflow internally.
The external user never sees the internal stage, and internal users have no need to manage a separate form or system. It all happens within the one record.
Common Use Cases
Mixed-access forms are ideal for any process where information is first collected externally and then handled internally:
NDIS: Participant completes a service agreement → team reviews, approves, and finalises internally
Healthcare: Patient submits intake information → clinicians triage and allocate care internally
Recruitment: Applicant submits an application → hiring team shortlists and reviews internally
Client Intake: Client provides details → team processes and onboards internally
Public Requests: A request is submitted externally → internal team converts it into a task or ticket.
How Public Forms with Internal and Submittable Sections Work
It starts with a Public Form. Once a section is submitted:
That section (and any before it) is locked and submitted
The sections that follow become internal
Internal users can continue working through the form based on section permissions
You can use multiple section submissions to support multi-step workflows.
How to Create the Public-to-Internal Workflow
1. Build your form
Start by creating your form in any of the following ways:
Design from Scratch: Build it manually with the form builder
Design with AI to generate your form structure
Browse Templates: Use a pre-designed template
2. Set the form to Public access
Edit in the Form Builder
Go to the Form Settings tab
Scroll down to the Access panel
Set the form to Public
This allows the first part of the form to be shared externally.
3. Design the public section(s) and set the handover point
Build the section(s) that external users will complete. On the final public section, configure the submission point that transforms the form from public to internal:
Click the Section Settings icon on that section
Enable Require Section Submission
Configure:
Notify Users or Groups — choose who on your internal team should be alerted when this section is submitted
Submission Message — write a message for the external user confirming their submission (e.g. "Thank you — your submission has been received and will be reviewed by our team.")
This submission point marks the transition from public to internal.
4. Configure section permissions
After the handover point, configure who can access and manage the internal sections using Section Permissions.
First, set up the user groups who need access. Learn more about Managing and Creating Custom Groups here.
Then, for each internal section, you can control whether users or groups can:
View the section
Edit the section
Submit the section
Unlock a submitted section
You can leave permissions at their defaults or fine-tune access to match your internal workflow exactly.
5. Add additional internal sections (optional)
You can add more sections beyond the initial internal handover. Each additional section can have its own submission point, triggering further notifications and locking the previous section. This is useful for:
Multi-step approvals
Staged reviews or sign-offs
Workflows where different team members handle different stages
6. Publish and share
Click Publish
Share the form using a public link or QR code
External users who open the link will see only the public section(s). Once they submit, your internal team picks up the form from their own workspace — with access controlled by the permissions you've set.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. What is a form with a public-to-internal workflow?
A. It's a single form that starts as a public form — accessible to anyone — and transforms into an internal form after the external user submits their section. This lets you collect information externally and process it internally within the same record.
Q.What is mixed access?
A. Mixed access refers to the combination of public and internal access within a single form. The early sections are public-facing; the later sections are internal-only. The form adapts based on who is accessing it and which stage of the workflow is active.
Q. Do public users see internal sections?
A. No. Public users can only see and fill in sections up to and including the first section submission point. Everything after that is internal-only and invisible to external users.
Q. Can I have more than one section submission?
A. Yes. You can add multiple section submissions to support multi-step internal workflows — for example, separate submissions for initial review, approval, and finalisation.
Q. What happens when a section is submitted?
A. The submitted section (and all previous sections) are locked, notifications are sent to the designated users or groups, and the next sections become available to internal users based on their permissions.
Q. Can internal users edit submitted sections?
A. Only if they have been granted access permission to unlock submitted sections. This is configured in Section Permissions.
Q. Does the form have to be set to Public?
A. Yes. The form must be set to Public so that external users can access the first section(s) without needing a login.
💡 IndyTips
Plan before you build. Decide which sections are public and which are internal before you start designing. A clear handover point makes the workflow easier to set up and easier to follow.
Write a clear submission message. Let the external user know what happens after they submit — for example, "Your form has been received and will be reviewed by our team within 2 business days."
Notify the right people. Set notifications on section submissions so your internal team knows exactly when action is required, rather than having to check manually.
Use multiple section submissions for complex workflows. Staged submissions are ideal for approvals, multi-person reviews, or processes with distinct handover points.
Review section permissions carefully. Make sure only the right users or groups can view, edit, submit, or unlock each internal section.
Test before you share. Submit the form as a public user to confirm the experience is correct, then check the internal workflow as an internal user.