The Forms Builder is used to modify or create custom paper forms, such as address labels, statements, prescriptions, or encounter forms. This article contains the following information:

Creating a New Form: Label Example

To create in a new label form, go to the References ability, select the Forms node, and click the sidebar plus button. A "new record" entry appear under the Forms node.

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Rename the label in the "Form Name" field, and save the changes in the Edit menu by choosing Save Record, or use the Command-S keyboard shortcut. With the new form still selected, click the Edit button to open the form in Form Builder. A new window will open and display a blank form.

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Next, set the Form Type as a Label from the Form menu by selecting Form Type > Label. If the Forms Builder ability has not been purchased, only labels will be able to be created.

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There are four different label form types to choose from: Avery Address Labels, DYMO Address Labels, Labels, and Single Label. The Dymo Address Label is a single label used specifically for a Dymo printer. The Avery Address Label is a sheet of labels that print on a standard printer. The Address Labels are specifically used to only pull record name and address. No other information can be pulled to an Avery or Dymo Address label.

An address label can be used to print any referral, patient or other reference that has a Name and Address. To print patient information other than name and address, select either the Single Label or Label form type. The Single Label is used with the Dymo label printer, and the Label label type is used with the full sheet (or Avery) labels. The form type chosen here will correspond with the pull fields used on the palette.

Label Size - Avery

This information is only applicable to Avery Address Label or Label form types. This does not apply to DYMO Address Labels or Single Labels.

After choosing either Label or Avery Address Label form type, it is necessary to set the specific label/page settings. To access these setting go to the Form menu and select Labels.

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The label window will appear. First, set the label type from the Type menu. There are three common presets available. If using an Avery label other than the three available, select "Other".

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If selecting one of the presets, click the OK button to exit this window and return to your label.

If "Other" from the Type menu is selected, enter the pixel width and height of the label as shown on the label package or per the manufacturer's instructions: 

• In the Label Size field, enter the width and depth (height) of the label.

• In the Paper Size fields, enter the size of the full sheet of labels. If the labels are on a standard sheet size, leave this at 8.5" by 11".

The Rows and Columns fields determine how many labels appear on the sheet across and down, respectively. The Horz. (short for "Horizontal") Gutter and Vert. (short for "Vertical") Gutter fields are used to define the amount of white space between labels. The figure below illustrates the layout of a sheet of labels and how that corresponds to these fields.

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Label Size - Dymo

To create a Dymo Address Label or Single Label, set the corresponding form type from the Form menu by selecting Form Type.

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Next, select the Form Size item in the Form menu to set the Form Size. Enter the pixel width and height of the label as shown on the label package or per the manufacturer's instructions. The measurements may need to be translated from inches as pixels. To convert inches to pixels, multiply the number of inches by 72. For example, if a label's width measures 2 1/4 inches, take 2.25 X 72 = 162. The Width would be entered as 162.

When finished entering height and width, click OK. The label will be resized to the measurements entered.

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Pull Field Palette

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After selecting the Form Type and setting the label size, pull fields can be added to the form. Bring up the pull field palette by going to the Window menu and choosing Palettes, or by using the Command-Shift-D keyboard shortcut.Only pull fields that correspond to the selected Form Type can be used. Avery Address Labels and Dymo Address Labels can only use pull fields from the Envelope/Address Labels Palette. Label and Single Label form types can only pull from the Label palette.

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Adding Pull Fields to a Label

To add a pull field to the label, select the pull field in the palette and drag it to the desired location on the label.

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The Field Drawer

After placing all desired pull fields on the label, the desired format of the fields will need to be set. Open the Field Drawer from the Form menu by choosing Show Field Drawer, or by using the Command-Period keyboard shortcut.

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A drawer will open to one side of the form window. This drawer will show all information for the selected pull field.

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• Name: The text entered in the Name field is used as a reference on the form and can be changed.

• Pulled Fields: Pulled Fields lists the information that will be printed within the single selected pull field. Multiple pull fields can be added to this box. For example, if Patient Last Name is added from the palette to the "Pulled Fields (Drag From Palette)" box, just below Patient First Name, the label would then print the patient's first and last name in one line.

• Coordinates and Size: The X and Y coordinates are listed with the height and with of the selected field. Typically these do not need to be edited, as the pull fields are manually editable through drag and drop or the arrow keys on the keyboard.

  • To manually edit a field in one pixel increments, press the arrow keys.

  • Hold the Command key and use an arrow key to move the field in five pixel increments.

  • To adjust the width of the selected field, click the blue sizing handle on either side of the field, and drag it to the desired width.

• Format: The Format menu always defaults to text, though a different format may be desired. Set the format to chose how the pull field will display when printed. For more information on the various options under the Format menu, see the Format Descriptions documentation. The Justification drop down allows the selection of Left, Center, or Right Justification. This determines where the text will print, within the size limits of the pull field.

• Vertical: The Vertical menu selects where the pull field information will display. Select to display the text at the Top, Center, or Bottom location in a given pull field. This setting only takes effect for multi-line pull fields.

• Lines: To designate a pull field as a multi-line field, check "Is Multi-Line" in the field drawer. The Leading field is used along with the Multi-Line and Vertical options. It specifies how many pixels of blank space will be inserted above or below the text. The Blank If Zero checkbox is designed for use with Currency or Number formats. This will leave the pull field blank instead of printing a zero if there is no amount or number to pull. The Don't Print checkbox disables the pull field so no text will display when printed.

Form Builder Keyboard Shortcuts

Many menu items in MacPractice have a keyboard shortcut listed next to them. The following table outlines which keys on your keyboard are represented by which symbols in the menu. For example, in the File menu the shortcut ⌘P is listed next to the Print menu item. Holding down the Command and P keys on the keyboard will bring up the Print menu, just as if it was selected the Print menu item.

The following tables outline many of the keyboard shortcuts used in Form Builder.

Edit Menu:

Text Menu:

Form Menu:

Window Menu:

Pull Field Format Descriptions

• Text: Combine all the requested fields into a line of text.

• Name Field: Displays the text in the "Name" field in the form. This format should be only used to "hard code" information into a form. The information from the pull field will not be displayed.

• Date (00/00/0000): Displays the date in the MM/DD/CCYY format. The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Date (00/00/00): Displays the date in the MM/DD/YY format. The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Date (MMDDYY): Displays the date as MMDDYY (without dividers such as slashes or dashes). The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Date (MMDDCCYY): Displays the date as MMDDCCYY (without dividers such as slashes or dashes). The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Month: Displays the two-digit month (such as "02" or "11"). The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Day: Displays the two-digit date designation (such as "09" or "30"). The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Year (0000): Displays the year, including century (such as "1986" or "2010"). The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Year (00): Displays the year designation (such as "06" or "99"). The date must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a date, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Time (00:00 AM): Displays the time on a 12-hour clock with AM/PM designation. The data must be contained in a single pull field. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a time, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• True (X): If the data supplied is true, then output an X, otherwise leave blank.

• False (X): If the data supplied is false, then output an X, otherwise leave blank.

• Y/N: If the data supplied is true, output a Y, otherwise output an N.

• Dollar (0000.00): Outputs the data as a number with two decimal places. If there are multiple individual pull fields included in the field, it will display the sum of those fields. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a number, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Number (0000): Outputs the data as a number. If there are multiple individual pull fields included in the field, it will display the sum of those fields. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a number, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Number (twenty-six): Outputs the number data as a string. If there are multiple individual pull fields included in the field, it will display the sum of those fields. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a number, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Phone Area Code: Outputs the phone number area code only. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a phone number, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Phone 000-0000: Outputs the local phone number only. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a phone number, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Phone (000) 000-0000: Outputs the area cod and local phone number. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull a phone number, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Address (2 Line Max): If this field is selected, make sure the "Is Multi-Line" checkbox is checked in the field drawer. This pull field takes the data supplied (should be compromised of an address, suite, city, state and zip code), and combines them into two lines of text. The first line will include the street address and suite number; the second will display city, state, and zip code. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull an address, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Address (3 Line Max): If this field is selected, make sure the "Is Multi-Line" checkbox is checked in the field drawer. This pull field takes the data supplied (should be compromised of an address, suite, city, state and zip code), and combines them into three lines of text. The first line will include the street address, the second will display the suite number, and the third line will display city, state, and zip code. If this format is selected for a field that does not pull an address, it will be left blank on the completed form.

• Other: Output is based on format string provided. See Formatting Characters for information on creating format strings.

• Other Date: Output is based on the format string provided. See Other Date Format for more information on creating date format strings.

• Pad Front: When this option is selected there is an option to enter a "Pad" character and a "Max" number of characters for the field. The pad character will be added to beginning of the pull field's data, to bring the field up to the number of characters listed in the "Max" field.

• Pad Rear: When this option is selected there is the option to enter a "Pad" character and a "Max" number of characters for the field. The pad character will be added to end of the pull field's data, to bring the field up to the number of characters listed in the "Max" field.

Other Format and Formatting Characters

When the "Other" item is selected from the Format menu, MacPractice takes the data and combines it into a formatted string. For example, if the data consists of the patient last name, patient first name, patient middle name, the format string looks like the following: %@, %@ %c. When a patient form is made John James Smith, the output will be "Smith, John J.". The first two "%@" inputs indicate that the form needs to pull all information in the selected pull fields. The %c indicates the pull field should pull only the first initial. The comma, spaces, and period are kept when the placeholders are replace by the form data. 

• %@: Output the field as a string. For example, "Smith".

• %s: Output the field as a string. For example, "Smith".

• %c: Output the first character of the field, such as "S".

• %d: Output the field as a number, such as "0". A number placed between the % and the d would add that number of spaces before the data. For example, %5d would output "     0" or "     1234".

• %i: Output the field as a number, such as "0". A number placed between the % and i would add that number of spaces before the data. For example, %5i would output "     0" or "     1234".

• %u: Output the field as a number, such as "0". A number placed between the % and u would add that number of spaces before the data. For example, %5u would output "     0" or "     1234".

• %f: Output the field as a number, such as "0". A number placed between the % and f would add that number of spaces before the data. For example, %5f would output "     0" or "     1234".

• %w: Outputs the word for the number rather than the numerals. For example, 26 would pull to the form as "twenty-six".

Other Date Format

The "Other Date" option from the Format menu will combine the data into a formatted date string. For example, the date 11/01/2009 in a formatted string of "%A, %B %e, %Y" would be "Sunday, November 1, 2009". For more information on configuring custom date strings, continue to the next section of this document.

Date Formatting Characters

• %% - Outputs the % character

• %a - Outputs the abbreviated weekday name (such as, Mon., Tues., Wed., and so on)

• %A - Outputs the full weekday name (such as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on)

• %b - Outputs the abbreviated month name (such as. Jan, Feb, and so on)

• %B - Outputs the full month name (such as January, February, March, and so on)

• %c - Shorthand for the %X%x, the localized date format.

• %d - Outputs the day of the month as a whole number (01-31)

• %e - Same as %d, but does not print the leading 0 for days 1-9

• %F - Outputs the milliseconds as a decimal number (000-999)

• %H - Outputs the hour based upon a 24 hour clock (00-230

• %I - Outputs the hour based upon a 12 hour clock (01-12)

• %j - Outputs the day of the year (001-366)

• %m - Outputs the month (01-12)

• %M - Outputs the minutes (00-59)

• %p - Outputs AM or PM

• %S - Outputs the seconds (00-59)

• %w - Outputs the number corresponding to the weekday (0-6), where 0 is Sunday

• %x - Outputs the date as a string using the date representation in the Localization preferences.

• %X - Outputs the time as a string using the time representation in the Localization preferences.

• %y - Outputs the last two digits of the year (00-99)

• %Y - Outputs the full year (2009, 2010, and so on)

• %z - Outputs the time zone offset from GMT in hours and minutes (HHMM)

• %Z - Outputs the time zone name (such as Central Standard Time, Eastern Standard Time, and so on)

Creating a New Form - Encounter Form Example

To create in a new encounter form, go to the References ability, select the Forms node, and click the sidebar plus button. A "new record" entry appear under the Forms node.

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Rename the form in the "Form Name" field, and save the changes in the Edit menu by choosing Save Record, or use the Command-S keyboard shortcut. With the new form still selected, click the Edit button to open the form in Form Builder. A new window will open and display a blank form.

Next, assign the form type by going to the Form menu, selecting Form Type, and the correct type (for this example, select "Encounter"). Again, save the changes by going up to the Edit menu and choosing Save Record, or using the Command-S keyboard shortcut.

A form background can be added to the document. PDFs are the only document type that can be used as a form background. To add a background, go to the Form menu and select Import Form.

A window will pop up to browse and select the PDF to use as the form background. After selecting the file the image will now be set as the form background, as shown below. Pull fields can now be added by going to the Window menu and selecting Palettes, or use the Command-Shift-D keyboard shortcut.

The pull field palette will open and display a node for each form type. Since the form is set to an Encounter form type, only fields located under the Encounter node will work. Select the correct node in the palette and twist down the arrow to display all available pull fields for that form type.

Go to the Form menu and choose Show Field Drawer, or use the Command-Period (.) keyboard shortcut to open the Field Drawer. This drawer will show all information for the selected pull field. For this example, add a pull field for the patient first and last name to the form. First, twist down the Patient pull field category in the Palette, then click the Last Name pull field and drag it to the correct location on the form.

To ensure correct formatting, multiple pull fields can be combined on the form. After dropping the Patient Last Name pull field on the form it is now selected with blue sizing handles on either side, and its information is displayed in the field drawer. In the drawer, the "Pulled Fields (Drag From Palette)" area is displayed below the Name field. Whatever is listed here will pull to the selected field on the form itself. To make this print "Patient Last Name, First Name", select the First Name pull field from the palette and drag it below the Patient Last Name pull field in the side drawer, as shown below. There will now be two fields listed in this area.

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By default, the form will print "Patient Last Name First Name" with no comma in between. To add a comma, select the Format pop-up menu in the field drawer. By default, this menu will be set to Text. Select "Other" from the list of format options.

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Below the Format menu there is an empty text field. Click into the field and type: "%s, %s". The first %s represents the Patient Last Name field. The second %s represents the Patient First Name field. Now when the form is printed it will print as "Patient Last Name, First Name." Repeat this process for all the desired fields the form. It is important to remember that only the fields from the correct form type node of the Palette (in this case, the "Encounter" node) can be used.

For more information on the various formatting options available in Forms Builder, please see

Pull Field Format Description.