Forms: Map input values from a dropdown menu or radio button list to normalized values in LGL

In this article:

Overview

It is possible to map input values from a dropdown menu or radio button list in your LGL form to normalized values in LGL. 

A dropdown menu or radio button list contains multiple values that someone submitting your form would select to further classify data such as a gift or a volunteer category. Each of these values must already be present within your LGL account before it can be mapped in LGL Forms. 

A good example of where this mapping can be used is when you want to allow donors to select a specific fund from a list of possible fund choices. But you can apply this same method anytime you want to allow your users to select from a list and capture the selection in the data submitted through the form. This article shares two examples of how to map these input values, shared in the sections below.

Mapping a donation to a choice of gift classifications

You can offer donors a selection of multiple funds or campaigns to direct their gift toward, and then map those values so the gifts are properly coded in LGL. 

  1. Create a dropdown menu or radio button list in your form, and then add each fund to the field as an item. You can name the field something like "How would you like your contribution to be invested?"

    2. Next you'll set up the mapping so that the user can select the fund they want their gift applied to.

  2. Make sure the “How would you like your contribution to be invested?” field is mapped in your form by clicking the "Map a field" button on the mapped gift record. Then select the mapping in the dialog that opens:

  3. The next dialog will appear. Add the LGL field types of “Gift” and “Fund name” to the mapping:
  4. Click the "Map values" icon (the blue "compass" image) for the mapping:
  5. Within the popup menu that appears, match each of the fund names from your form to the appropriate fund name in your LGL account (NOTE: The funds will need to exist in your LGL account already in order for them to be available to match to. If you haven’t added them already, you can do so at any time, but please allow 15 to 20 minutes for the names to populate over to LGL Forms):

    6. Now that these steps are complete, any gift submitted with a fund selection included will have that fund added as an attribute of the gift (meaning that the gift will be coded to the fund).

  6. Be sure you click the “Save & Finish” button before navigating away from this page.

Mapping a communication preference to communication tags

You can map communication preferences to the appropriate category (communication tag) for your constituents in a similar way as shown above. In this case, you are capturing someone's communication preference for a constituent submitting your form by asking "How may we contact you?"

The categories you're mapping to should mirror the communication tags in your LGL account. You can then map the values so they set the appropriate one that the donor or submitter has selected. 

This same method can be applied anytime you want to map a single field to multiple possible values, depending on the type of data you're capturing and what you want to map it to.

Set up your mapping, referring to step 1 in the first section section of this article for instructions. Your "Map values" dialog should look something like this:

As always, remember to save the changes to your mapping by clicking "Save" in the dialog and then clicking the "Save & finish" button for your mapping page before navigating away.

Related Articles