The release of Gravity Forms 2.8 brought a significant update to streamline user experience: the much-awaited Compact View.
With this new feature, the visual clutter is reduced, enabling a cleaner workspace to manage your forms. The enhanced interface allows for easier manipulation of fields and is a step forward in simplifying form creation and editing processes.
To further refine this experience, by incorporating specific add-ons, you can leverage additional functionalities that complement and expand upon the capabilities of the core Compact View.
The features added by Gravity Hopper amplify the inherent functionality of the Compact View, simplifying complex form structures and providing valuable time-saving advantages for frequent users.
Key Takeaways
- Compact View offers a cleaner interface for form management in Gravity Forms 2.8.
- Additional add-ons provide enhanced visibility and control over form elements.
- Enhanced functionality simplifies handling complex forms and saves time.
Overview of Gravity Forms 2.8 Release
Exploring Compact View Feature
Compact View has been added to core, significantly streamlining the form interface. It simplifies form layouts, offering a cleaner aesthetic and more efficient space usage, which enhances form management.
Enabling Compact View in Gravity Forms
To activate Compact View, navigate to the gear setting at the top right corner of the form editor. Selecting this option will toggle on the new Compact View.
Assessing the Compact View Layout
In the new interface, fields can still be manipulated—moved, duplicated, or deleted. Settings for each field are accessible without dominating the screen space, maintaining the overall tidy appearance of the Compact View.
Field ID Toggle in Compact View
An option to show or hide field IDs within Compact View is available. Toggling this setting adjusts whether IDs are displayed alongside field names to accommodate personal workflow preferences.
Manual Activation of Compact View for Forms
Currently, Compact View must be enabled on a per-form basis. There isn’t a global option available to apply this view across all forms by default, though the utility of such a feature is recognized for those handling larger forms.
Global Setting Speculation for Compact View
Just speculating here but it is possible that a future release may offer a global setting for Compact View. I’m sure you would agree a global setting would be beneficial, allowing a standardized view across multiple forms and enhancing the user experience.
Enhancing Gravity Forms with an Add-On
Gravity Hopper Plugin Benefits
- Legacy Compact View: While Gravity Forms 2.8 introduced a compact view, Gravity Hopper already possessed a version of compact view, providing a streamlined experience even before this update. Which has since been removed from the Gravity Hopper add-on.
- Additional Features: Beyond what core Gravity Forms offers, Gravity Hopper introduces features that could improve functionality and user experience if integrated into the core.
Significance of Gravity Hopper Icons
- Conditional Logic Indication: Icons signal fields with conditional logic, enhancing awareness of form dynamics.
- Usage in Conditional Logic: Identifies fields that influence other fields’ visibility, improving grasp over form interactions.
- Custom Validation Messages: Icons denote custom messages for user input validation, making them easily accessible without digging into settings.
Conditional Logic Visibility with Gravity Hopper
- Field Interconnectivity: Reveals connections between fields and where they are utilized in conditional logic.
- Error Identification: Highlights errors in conditional logic, allowing for quick detection and correction, streamlining form maintenance.
- Error Alerts: Notifications for broken logic appear directly in the form editor, preventing the need for exhaustive manual checks.
- Time-Saving: Quickly and effectively resolve issues with logic errors, saving time in form management.
Identifying Custom Validation Messages
- Immediate Visibility: Showcases custom validation messages directly in the editor without extra clicks.
- User Experience: Enhances understanding of user-facing error messages, aiding in effective form communication.
Gravity Hopper Plugin’s Additional Features
Using Dark Mode in Gravity Forms Editor
If you prefer working in a darker environment on your computer screens, mainly to reduce eye strain or simply for aesthetic reasons, the Gravity Hopper add-on brings a beneficial feature to the Gravity Forms editor: a Dark Mode option.
Here’s how you can take advantage of the Dark Mode:
- Navigate to the Gravity Forms editor within your WordPress admin area.
- Within the editor, you’ll find settings to activate the Dark Mode functionality provided by Gravity Hopper.
- Once Dark Mode is enabled, you will notice a complete color theme shift, providing you with a visually comfortable and sleek interface.
- This feature aims to improve your user experience, especially during extended periods of form configuration and management.
It’s important to highlight that Dark Mode is just one of several additional enhancements that the Gravity Hopper plugin offers.
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The Wrap UP
Hopefully, by now you’ve been able to use Gravity Forms compact view and find it helpful in managing your long forms.
I prefer to work with compact view enabled, especially with the added features of Gravity Hopper, and if you haven’t checked out their site yet, go do that now!
Your Feedback
Please leave a comment with your thoughts on the compact view, Gravity Hopper features, or any questions you have.
Note: Make sure to update your forms to the latest version to experience all new features discussed.
