IndyForms now lets you share forms with people outside your organisation — not just as anonymous public links, but as tracked, personalised experiences. You can see exactly who submitted what, and even pre-fill forms before sending them out.
There are three ways to share forms with external users:
Option 1: Share a Public Form Link
A public form link allows anyone with the link to submit a response. This is ideal when you want open access without requiring sign-in.
Open the form you want to share.
Click +Share in the top navigation.
Select More Sharing Options.
Click Create New +.
Copy the New Record link and share it with your external users via email, SMS, or any other channel.
Anyone with this link can submit a response. Responses are recorded in your form's records view.
Option 2: Share with a Specific External User (Tracked)
This option lets you create an external user by email address. Their responses are tied to their email identity, so you can track exactly what they've submitted.
Open the form you want to share.
Click +Share in the top navigation.
Select More Sharing Options.
Click Create New +.
In the Add User dialog, enter the external user's:
First Name
Last Name
Email Address
Toggle Invite to Tenant? If you'd like them to be added as a tenant user (optional).
Click Add User.
The external user will receive an email to complete the form shared with them, and their submissions will be tracked by email address in your records.
Option 3: Pre-fill a Form and Share with an External User (Tracked)
This is perfect when you want to send a form that's partially completed — for example, pre-populating a client's name, date, or any known details before they fill in the rest.
Select the form you want to share.
Create a new record (response) for that form.
Fill in the fields you want to pre-populate.
Once done, click + Share on that record.
Select + Add Contributors.
Click Create New +.
Enter the external user's details (First Name, Last Name, Email Address) and click Add User.
The external user will receive a link to the form with your pre-filled data already in place. They can then complete and submit the remaining fields.
What External Users See
External users receive an email invitation with a personalised link. They don't need an IndyForms account to fill in and submit the form. Once submitted, their response is recorded in your form and linked to their email address for easy tracking.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. Do external users need an IndyForms account to fill in a form? No. External users receive a personalised link and can complete the form without creating an account or signing in.
Q. What's the difference between a public form link and sharing with a specific external user? A public form link can be used by anyone — responses are not tied to an individual's email identity. When you share with a specific external user by email, their submission is tracked against their name and email address, giving you a clear record of who submitted what.
Q. Can I share the same form with multiple external users? Yes. You can add as many external users as you need. Each person receives their own personalised link, and their submissions are tracked individually.
Q. Can I pre-fill different information for different external users? Yes. Create a separate record for each external user, pre-fill the relevant details for that person, then add them as a contributor to their specific record. Each user will only see and interact with their own pre-filled form.
Q. What happens after an external user submits their form? Their completed response is saved to your IndyForms records and linked to their email address. You'll be able to view, manage, and export their submission just like any other record.
Q. What is the "Invite to Tenant?" option when adding an external user? Enabling this gives the external user a higher level of access as a tenant user within your IndyForms environment; they become a General User. Leave it unchecked if you simply want them to complete a form without creating an account.
Q. Can external users save their progress and return to the form later? Yes, they can! They can access the form via the emailed links, and each link is active for 30 days.
Tips
You can add multiple external contributors to the same record.
Pre-filling is especially useful for onboarding forms, authorisation forms, or any scenario where you already hold some of the respondent's data.
All external user submissions appear alongside internal responses in your records view.