Forms in Shepherd
Shepherd's Forms section houses two types of forms:
Client Consent Forms are sent electronically to clients to complete before or during an appointment, and are also used for new client and patient registration. Client-facing.
Internal Forms are completed by staff for clinical documentation such as dental charts and anesthesia logs. Created within a SOAP under Assessment. Staff-facing.
Navigate to: Forms (left navigation panel)
What You Need to Know
Save your work before navigating away.
Shepherd does not auto-save form templates. If you leave the template editor without clicking Save Template, any unsaved changes will be lost.
Editing permissions may be limited at group practices.
At group-level accounts, form templates are often managed at the group platform rather than from individual clinic accounts. If you cannot edit a template, your group administrator may need to make the change.
Auto-send for appointments is configured inside the form template — not in your appointment type settings.
If you want a form to send automatically when a specific appointment type is scheduled, open the form template and set the appointment types there. There is no auto-send configuration in the appointment type settings themselves.
Quick Start Guide
Select Forms from the left navigation panel.
Click + Create Form on the right side of the screen.
Click Add Title in the upper-left corner and enter a descriptive name. Be specific — your team uses this title to identify forms across the system.
Optionally click Add Description to add context for your team.
If you want this form to send automatically for certain appointments, select the relevant Appointment Types at the top of the template.
Click + Add Field to start building the form.
Add input elements to each field.
Click Save Template when finished.
Pre-loaded templates are available for common forms. You can use them as-is, duplicate and edit them, or create new templates from scratch.
Video Walkthrough
Linking a Form to Appointment Types
To send a form automatically when a specific type of appointment is scheduled, select the relevant appointment types in the Appointment Types field near the top of the form template. When an appointment of that type is created, the form is sent automatically based on the client's notification settings.
You can link a single form to multiple appointment types. See Sending Client Consent Forms for details on how auto-send works during scheduling.
Building the Form: Fields and Input Elements
Form templates are built using two components: fields and input elements.
A field is a section of the form — a labeled container for a group of related inputs (example: Patient History, Consent, Medications).
An input element is what goes inside the field — the actual mechanism for recording information.
You can add one or more input elements to a single field. You can also add a Text Block in place of a field if you need to include readable text — such as an introductory paragraph or instructions — that does not require any input from the client.
Adding a Field
Click + Add Field.
Click on "Untitled Field" to select it, then enter a name in the Field Name on the right-hand side.
Click Done to return to the field editor.
Adding Input Elements
Once a field exists, drag and drop input elements from the right-hand panel into the field. You can add one or more input elements per field.
Input Element | What It Does |
Short Text | Single-line free-text entry; best for brief responses that don't require detail. |
Text Area | Multi-line free-text entry; use when more space is needed. |
Select | Single-choice dropdown; shows only the selected value when the form is in use. |
Multi Select | Dropdown that allows more than one option to be selected. |
Radio | Button group where all options remain visible at all times; use Radio instead of Select when you want choices to always be visible. |
Date | Date entry field. |
Initial | Captures initials only (not a full signature). |
Signature | Captures a full drawn or typed signature. |
Body Map | Annotatable body diagram for marking locations on the patient's body. |
Table | Grid format for structured data entry. |
To configure additional options on any input element — such as dropdown choices, required status, or pre-populated text — click the element and the editor will open on the right-hand side.
Making a Field Required
The Required toggle applies to individual input elements, not to the field as a whole. To make a specific input required:
Click on the input element within the field.
In the right-hand editor panel, toggle Required on.
If a form has multiple input elements within one field, each one must be configured separately. Check each element individually if clients are bypassing fields that should be required.
Dropdown Limitations
If a Select or Multiselect field does not have enough options, open the field in the editor and add more option entries. If the number of possible responses is genuinely open-ended, consider switching that input element to Short Text instead — it provides a flexible free-entry field that doesn't require maintaining a fixed list.
Setting Default Values
After adding input elements, set your defaults directly in the template builder:
For a Select or Radio element, click the option you want pre-selected (example: Yes).
For a Multi Select element, click the option(s) you want pre-selected.
For a Short Text or Text Area element, type the text you want to appear by default.
Setting a default value does not lock the field — every field remains editable when the form is completed. If a pre-selected value cannot be cleared by the client, the input element may have a nested text box causing unexpected behavior. Try deleting and recreating that specific element from scratch.
Saving Your Template
When you have finished building or editing your template, click Save Template in the upper-right corner. The template is available immediately after saving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't a client clear a pre-selected answer on the form?
If a pre-selected value cannot be removed by the client, the input element may have a nested text box or formatting issue causing it to lock. Try deleting and recreating that specific input element from scratch. If the behavior continues, contact Shepherd support with the form name and the affected field.
Why can't my staff edit a form template?
Editing form templates typically requires admin permissions. At group-level accounts, some templates are managed at the group platform and cannot be edited from an individual clinic account — contact your group administrator to request changes or get the required access. Admin > Users > Roles > Admin Tab, "Manage Forms"
How do I copy an existing form template?
From the Forms Center, click the Actions icon (three dots) next to the form and select Duplicate. The duplicate opens as an editable copy with no effect on the original.
What is the difference between a Select field and a Radio field?
Both allow the client to choose a single option, but they display differently. A Select field shows options in a collapsed dropdown menu. A Radio field displays all options as visible buttons on the form, which can be easier for clients to scan at a glance.
Can I include reason for visit or appointment details as a variable in a form?
Form templates support client and patient information variables — such as client name and patient name — but reason for visit and other appointment-specific information are not available as form variables.