To manage the creation, collection, and reporting of data across work activities, smart forms follow a standardized three-stage workflow: Admin, Field, and Respond.

Step 1: Create the Form in Admin

Smart forms are created, designed, and configured in Admin. Once a smart form is created, it can be reused for other work activities.

1. In Admin > Configure > All Forms, create a form. See Create a Form in the Admin Guide for Trimble Unity Maintain and Trimble Unity Permit for more information.

• Define fields, layout, and scripting logic (including advanced calculations and conditional rules).
• Define the form's required spatial data, including geometry type, accuracy requirements, tilt tolerance, and manual digitizing settings.

2. Associate the form to one or more work activity templates. See Associate Forms to a Work Activity Template in the Admin Guide for Trimble Unity Maintain and Trimble Unity Permit for more information.

Step 2: Collect Data for the Form in Field or Respond

Data is collected in the field using the Field or Respond app. Work activities can have multiple smart forms, which are called associated forms in the app.

1. Create a work activity using a work activity template associated with the form created in Admin. See Create Asset-Based Work Activities or Create Location-Based Work Activities and Create an Attached Work Order, Create an Attached Service Request, and Create an Attached Custom Inspection in the Respond Guide for Trimble Unity Maintain and Trimble Unity Permit for more information.
2. Add an associated form to the work activity. See Associated Forms and Add Associated Forms to a Work Order, Add Associated Forms to a Service Request, and Add Associated Forms to an Inspection in the Respond Guide for Trimble Unity Maintain and Trimble Unity Permit for more information.
3. Capture various data types, including text, signature, barcode, user, geometry, and attachments.
4. Sync the work activity to Respond if it was populated in Field. See View and Perform a Manual Sync for more information.

Step 3: Manage the Form in Field or Respond

Collected data can then be viewed, edited, and managed in Field or Respond .

1. Open the work activity in Field or Respond.
2. In Field, view, edit, or remove the forms from a work activity. See Associated Forms for more information.
3. In Respond, view, edit or remove the forms from a work activity. See Smart Forms for a work order, Smart Forms for a service request, and Smart Forms for a custom inspection in the Respond Guide for Trimble Unity Maintain and Trimble Unity Permit for more information.

Smart forms requiring high-precision location data for asset management can be configured in Admin to enforce accurate data collection.

The following settings can be configured in Admin for smart forms: 

• Accuracy Tolerance: Ensures GPS accuracy is within the specified tolerance when collecting locations in the Trimble Unity Field app.
• Tilt Tolerance (degrees): When using a GPS receiver with tilt compensation, ensures the angle of tilt on the receiver is within the specified tolerance.
• Disable Manually Digitizing: Forces the user to collect a location using GPS, by disabling the feature to capture it manually on the map.
• Geometry Type: Define the type of feature the form is designed to capture.
• Point
• Line
• Polyline

See Create a Form in the Admin Guide for Trimble Unity Maintain and Trimble Unity Permit for more information.

Forms are managed from the Associated Forms page of a work activity. The number in parentheses indicates the number of forms currently attached to that work activity. For example, Associated Forms (2) indicates that the work activity has two associated forms.

When opening, editing, or saving a form, a message configured by your administrator may appear. Follow the instructions in the message, or contact your administrator for more information.

1. Open a work activity.
2. Tap Associated Forms.

The Associated Forms page opens.

You can perform the following actions from this page: 

• Drop-down icon: Tap to expand or collapse an associated form.
• Not Synced icon: This icon appears when the associated form is not currently synced and that you need to perform a manual sync. See View and Perform a Manual Sync for more information.
• Edit icon: Tap to edit the associated form. See Add or Edit an Associated Form for more information.
• Attach icon: Tap to open the Attachments page and add attachments to the associated form. The displayed count next to the Attach icon indicates how many attachments are associated with the smart form. See Manage Form Attachments for more information.
• Delete icon: Tap to delete the associated form.
• Add icon: Tap to add a new associated form.

When an associated form contains a text field configured for long descriptions or extensive notes, the field presents large blocks of data as an interactive object that remains compact by default to prevent text from overwhelming the screen layout and blocking other fields. This design provides a cleaner, more manageable user experience, allowing you to easily view all necessary data while keeping the rest of the form accessible with less scrolling.

You can expand or collapse the text area with a single tap to view or edit its entire contents while working online or offline.

1. Open a work activity containing an associated form.
2. Tap Associated Forms and select the form you want to work with.
3. Locate the text field you want to modify.
4. Tap the Expand icon on the right side of the field boundary to view the full text area.

The field expands downward, displaying the complete text blocks.

To streamline the form layout again, tap the Collapse icon.

NOTE: When a text field is set to read-only, you can still expand the layout to view long-form notes without modifying the data.