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How to Edit an Existing Form

Key Principles

  • Light touch — only touch what the task requires. Form items have interdependencies (calculated fields, conditions, visibility rules) that are easy to break. If it works, don't touch it.
  • Wait for the middle panel — when you first open a form, the middle panel may appear blank. Clicking before it finishes loading can cause the form to get stuck. Wait until the full form structure is visible.
  • Clone, never copy — use Clone to create new form items, not Copy. Copying creates a reference copy; editing it also edits the original.
  • Never copy an existing button — copying a Request button copies all underlying parts by reference. Always create a brand-new Form Item of type Request.

Step-by-Step

  1. Log in to Management Studio
  2. Navigate to Forms Designer
  3. Find the form → click View Versions
  4. Click Edit Form
  5. Make changes using the toolbar (Undo/Redo, Delete, Cut/Copy/Paste as needed)
  6. Save regularly — there is no auto-save
  7. Do not refresh the browser while editing

Versioning Rules

  • Don't create a new version prematurely. Only create a new version when you are about to make changes. A new version is a signal that something changed — treat it that way.
  • Add a clear version comment describing exactly what changed.
  • Save and Activate the new version for it to take effect on devices.

Recovering a form record whose latest version is corrupt

Proven on the Dev Void Post Inspection record, 29/07/2026 (ticket 22387). Importing a structurally-invalid .form created unloadable versions v4–v6, after which the record rejected every import with HTTP 500 — including a control package containing the unmodified, previously-working v3.

Three facts make this situation worse than it looks:

  • Management Studio has no delete-a-version. The only delete is delete the whole form. A corrupt version is permanent.
  • The Create Version button copies from the LATEST version, not the active one. Clicking it while the latest is corrupt just produces another corrupt version (this is how v6 happened).
  • A corrupt version is only inert once it is no longer the latest. v4–v6 still exist; they simply sit behind v7+.

The procedure that worked

  1. On the Form Versions page, click Unlock on the latest version.
  2. Export the ACTIVE version from Management Studio (not from the repo, not a rebuilt package).
  3. Re-import that export. It lands as a new version, which becomes latest + active and loads cleanly.

The active version keeps serving devices throughout, so there is no user impact while the record is stuck — but you cannot ship anything until it is recovered.

Two things that sound plausible and are wrong: that no import can succeed while the latest version is corrupt (the MS-exported active version does import), and that this needs Aareon or a SQL row-level fix (it does not).

The root cause was hand-authored package metadata. Never do that — clone a .ftpackage that has genuinely imported and swap only the artefact bytes. See sessions/gotchas-and-tips.md.

Quick Tips

  • Save regularly — no auto-save.
  • Do not refresh the browser page while editing.
  • Clone items instead of copying to ensure they are treated as new entries.
  • Ignore "Name Fields" errors if prompted — you can proceed without addressing them.
  • Resist the urge to tidy or refactor working fields — the risk of breaking something outweighs any benefit.