A form’s schemas decide what it collects. Its layout decides whether people can fill it in quickly and correctly. On Atlas Basic, where forms are printed and completed by hand, layout matters even more.
How a form’s layout is structured
When you attach data schemas to a form in its Fields section, each schema you attach gets its own part of the printed form, with a layout you control. For the Service Request form in the Basic tutorial, that means two sections: Contact Details and Service Address.
Within each section you’ll find:
- A title — the heading above that section’s questions.
- A form heading and footer — places for instructions.
- The fields — where you set their order and widths.
The Preview section shows the finished form, generated from your schemas and layout, and Download produces a print-ready copy.
Titles: tell people what each section is for
A section title should answer “what are you asking me here?” in a few words. Good examples:
- Your contact details
- Where should we do the work?
- About the property
The title is separate from the schema name, so the schema can keep a precise name (Service Address) while the form speaks the customer’s language.
Headings and footers: instructions where they’re needed
Use the heading for instructions that apply before someone starts a section — “Please print clearly” or “Use the address where the work will happen.” Use the footer for anything that comes after, such as what happens next or who to contact with questions. Keep field titles short and put explanations here instead.
Field order: follow the way people think
Order fields the way people naturally supply the information: name before email, street before city, city before postal code. On a paper form, a surprising order causes crossed-out answers.
Widths: give answers the room they need
On paper, width is space to write. Short answers — state, postal code — can share a line. Long answers — full name, street, email — need a full-width line. A good layout groups short fields side by side and gives long ones room.
Preview before you print
Use Preview to check the whole form as someone will see it: every question under the heading you gave it, with room to write. A quick check for each section:
- Is the title clear?
- Are instructions where they’re needed?
- Does the order feel natural?
- Is there enough room for the longest likely answer?
Then choose Download for a print-ready copy to print or email.
Layout carries forward
The layout you design for print isn’t thrown away when you go online. On the Advanced tier, a submission opens in Atlas as the form you designed, filled in — same sections, same order, same layout — with a PDF available to download. On Enterprise, record schemas have layout sections that work the same way.
Worked example: laying out the Service Request form
Here’s one way to lay out the two sections of Evergreen Landscaping’s Service Request form:
Section 1 — Contact Details
- Title: Your contact details
- Heading: “Please print clearly.”
- Fields: Full Name (full width), Email (full width), Phone (half width)
Section 2 — Service Address
- Title: Where should we do the work?
- Heading: “Use the address of the property, not your billing address.”
- Fields: Street (full width); City (half), State (quarter), Postal Code (quarter)
- Footer: “We’ll contact you within two business days to schedule a visit.”
The result: two short, clearly labelled sections, with room to write where answers are long and compact rows where they’re short.
A layout checklist
- Each section has a plain-language title.
- Instructions are in headings or footers, not squeezed into field titles.
- Fields follow the order people naturally give the information.
- Long answers have full-width space; short ones share rows.
- The footer says what happens next.
- The Preview shows no crowded or confusing areas.
Designing for handwriting
Handwritten answers need more space than typed ones. Some practical tips:
- Err on the side of width. Email addresses in particular run long when handwritten.
- Separate similar fields so answers don’t run into each other.
- Avoid tiny fields for anything longer than a few characters.
- Keep the page count low. A form that fits on one sheet is more likely to be completed and returned.
Frequently asked questions
Can two forms use the same schema with different layouts? Yes. Layout belongs to the form, so the same Contact Details schema can be laid out differently on each form that uses it.
Does the layout affect what’s collected? No. The schemas decide what’s collected; layout decides how it’s presented.
Will my layout be used online too? On Advanced, submissions open in Atlas in the layout you designed, and can be downloaded as a PDF.
Printing and distribution tips
A form’s life continues after Download:
- Print a test copy before a large run, and fill it in by hand yourself. Cramped fields become obvious immediately.
- Print double-sided only when the form is genuinely two-sided in use; single sheets are easier at a front desk.
- Keep a dated copy of each printed version, so you can tell which version a returned form came from.
- Reprint after schema changes that matter, rather than annotating old copies by hand.
- Store a PDF where the team can reprint without rebuilding the form.
Next steps
- Build your first form in Atlas — the whole Basic workflow.
- Designing intake forms people actually finish — general principles for any form.
