Form Builders
SeqDesk provides form builders for customizing the data collection forms that researchers interact with. Admins can add fields, organize them into groups (which become wizard steps), set validation rules, and control visibility.
Order Form Builder
At Admin → Form Builder (/admin/form-builder), customize the fields
researchers see when creating orders.
How the Wizard is Built
The order creation wizard at /orders/new is constructed dynamically from the
form configuration:
- Each field group becomes a wizard step
- Fields are shown in the step matching their group
- Fields without a group appear in an “Additional Details” step
- The Samples step always appears (for per-sample fields)
- A Review step is always shown last
System Fields
These fields ship with every SeqDesk instance. They can be shown, hidden, or made required, but cannot be deleted:
Per-Order Fields (group: Order Details):
| Field | Type | Default Visibility |
|---|---|---|
| Order Name | Text | Visible |
| Number of Samples | Number (1–500) | Visible |
Per-Order Fields (group: Sequencing Parameters):
| Field | Type | Default Visibility |
|---|---|---|
| Sequencing Platform | Select (Illumina, ONT, PacBio, Ion Torrent, BGI) | Visible |
| Instrument Model | Text | Visible |
| Library Strategy | Select (WGS, WXS, RNA-Seq, AMPLICON, etc.) | Visible |
| Library Source | Select (Genomic, Metagenomic, Transcriptomic, etc.) | Visible |
| Library Selection | Select (RANDOM, PCR, cDNA, PolyA, etc.) | Visible |
Per-Sample Fields:
| Field | Type | Default Required |
|---|---|---|
| Organism | NCBI taxonomy lookup | Yes |
| Sample Title | Text | Yes |
| Sample Alias | Text | No |
Custom Field Types
Add custom fields of these types:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
text | Single-line text input |
textarea | Multi-line text area |
select | Single-choice dropdown |
multiselect | Multi-choice dropdown |
checkbox | Boolean toggle |
number | Numeric input with min/max |
date | Date picker |
email | Email address field |
phone | Phone number field |
currency | Currency amount |
funding | Funding/grant information (requires funding-info module) |
billing | Billing/cost center (requires billing-info module) |
mixs | MIxS metadata field selector (requires mixs-metadata module) |
sequencing-tech | Sequencing technology selector (requires sequencing-tech module) |
organism | NCBI taxonomy lookup (requires ena-sample-fields module) |
barcode | Per-sample barcode assignment |
Field Configuration
For each field, you can set:
- Label — display name shown to researchers
- Visible — whether the field appears in the form
- Required — whether the field must be filled before submission
- Per-sample — if true, shown as a column in the sample table; if false, shown once per order
- Admin-only — if true, only visible to facility admins (hidden from researchers)
- Help text — guidance shown below the field
- Placeholder — example text inside the empty field
- Default value — pre-filled when the form loads
- Validation — regex patterns, min/max values, or AI-powered validation with custom prompts and strictness levels
Field Groups
Fields are organized into groups that become wizard steps:
| Group ID | Default Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
group_details | Order Details | Basic order information |
group_sequencing | Sequencing Parameters | Sequencing technology selection |
| Custom | Your choice | Any additional sections you define |
You can create new groups, rename existing ones, and move fields between groups.
Drag-and-Drop Ordering
Fields can be reordered within and between groups using drag-and-drop.
Module Dependencies
Some field types require their corresponding module to be enabled in Admin → Settings. If a module is disabled, fields of that type are automatically hidden from the form regardless of their visibility setting.
| Module | Field Types Affected |
|---|---|
mixs-metadata | MIxS metadata selector |
funding-info | Funding fields |
billing-info | Billing fields |
sequencing-tech | Sequencing technology selector |
ena-sample-fields | Organism, Sample Title, Sample Alias |
Study Form Builder
At Admin → Study Form Builder (/admin/study-form-builder), customize
the metadata fields for study creation.
This works similarly to the order form builder but applies to the study creation and editing forms. It is primarily used for:
- MIxS template configuration
- Institution-specific metadata fields
- Mandatory fields per study type
Import/Export
Form configurations can be exported and imported as JSON, making it easy to:
- Back up your form configuration
- Copy settings between instances
- Share configurations with other facilities