---
title: Configure a form element
slug: cms-12/docs/configure-a-form-element
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-08-10T15:55:53.000Z
---

The form elements are predefined building blocks for creating a form. You use the form elements as templates and drag and drop them into a form container, and then you can configure them to suit your needs. You can, for example, add two Text fields to a form and configure them so that the visitors can input their name and email address in those two fields. The email field can be configured with validation that checks that visitors enter formatted email addresses correctly. You can name and Email these form elements and reuse them on other forms.

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note**

When you use a form element on a form, an instance of that element is created in your form's **For this block** folder. You can remove the form element from your form, but the form element instance still resides in the **For this block** folder. You can also move the element instance and reuse that in other forms.
:::

See [Create a form](docId\:eF7OUSBnR9dr-TKMOE_uq) for information on how to do that. See [Form element types](docId\:iuBeFWU1XVa80qHBgxw9i) to see the different predefined types of form elements.

To configure a form element:

1. Create or open a form container.
2. Drag a form element, for example, a Text element, from the **Form Elements** gadget onto the form container.

   ![Dragging a form element onto the form container](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/4bWOoUeEV9FbixyhZS27p-20260720-145539.gif "Dragging a form element onto the form container")

:::Paragraph{indent="1"}
You can also click **Browse** to select a form element.
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::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/s14xAAEa0NAg8QQce-zbv-20260720-145539.png" size="100" caption="New form element selection screen" alt="New form element selection screen" isUploading="false" showCaption="true" indent="2"}

3. Select **Edit** from the context menu to create a text element with a *Company* label.

   ![Sample Text form element](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/ifsukJ2XezQwtRE7gAVQ1-20260720-145539.png "Sample Text form element")
4. If you want to show (or hide) the form element if certain conditions are met, you can do that for some form element types by setting up conditions in the **Dependencies** tab. For information on how to do that, see [the Dependencies tab](docId\:dGqSQKV0mgM33Efyrw9v5) in [Form element types](docId\:iuBeFWU1XVa80qHBgxw9i) and the [Example: Create a customer satisfaction survey](docId:4FiJsqAtDUbARw_d0nPfu).
5. Edit the information and publish. The new *Company* form element displays in the form container and the **Form Elements** box. Dragging the elements up or down in the box rearranges the elements on your form.

   ![Form elements in the form container](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/l3eERA7jJ63Q4FXPfz5Rq-20260720-145539.png "Form elements in the form container")

:::Paragraph{indent="1"}
The configured form element is saved in the form's **For this block** folder. You can reuse this configured form element in other forms.
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## Reuse configured form elements

A form is really a block type, and when you configure a form element, the configured form element is saved in your form's **For this form** folder under **Blocks**. You can reuse this configured form element in other forms, so you do not have to reconfigure a form element for each form.

1. Open the form's **For this form** folder in the assets panel.

   ![For this form folder](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/pPYEUwDJFjVUO-INM9eJt-20260720-145539.png " For this form folder")
2. Select your form element and drag and drop it into another folder.

   ![Drag and drop form element into another folder](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/_2KPFCUzzuaMw8Ra3dkX5-20260720-145539.png "Drag and drop form element into another folder")
3. Open another form container.
4. In the assets panel, open the folder where you moved your configured form element, and drag and drop that into your open form container.

   ![Drag and drop form element into form container](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/BrbvVORKJ5iIeSMZye5kI/iYFgM3d_m-Qoa0saW3ZP--20260720-145539.png "Drag and drop form element into form container")

:::hint{type="info"}
**Note**

You can now add this form element to multiple forms from this folder. Any changes to the element will affect forms where it is used.
:::
