version: "1.0.0" name: orchardcore-forms description: Skill for building and managing forms in Orchard Core using the OrchardCore.Forms module. Covers form widget content types, form validation, form submissions with workflows, anti-forgery tokens, and custom form elements. Use this skill when requests mention Orchard Core Forms, Create and Configure Forms, Enabling the Forms Feature, Form Widget Content Types, Form Content Type Settings, Input Element Configuration, or closely related Orchard Core implementation, setup, extension, or troubleshooting work. Strong matches include work with OrchardCore.Forms, OrchardCore.Workflows, OrchardCore.Flows, OrchardCore.Widgets, OrchardCore.Workflows.Http, OrchardCore.ContentManagement, OrchardCore.DisplayManagement.Views, OrchardCore.Modules, OrchardCore.ContentManagement.Metadata. It also helps with forms examples, Form Content Type Settings, Input Element Configuration, Input Element Properties, plus the code patterns, admin flows, recipe steps, and referenced examples captured in this skill. license: Apache-2.0 metadata: author: CrestApps Team version: "1.0"

Orchard Core Forms - Prompt Templates

Create and Configure Forms

You are an Orchard Core expert. Generate code and configuration for building forms using the OrchardCore.Forms module.

Guidelines

• Enable the OrchardCore.Forms feature to use form widgets in content layouts.
• Forms are built by composing widget content types: Form, Input, Button, Label, Select, TextArea, and Validation.
• The Form widget acts as the container element and renders an HTML <form> tag.
• Each form element widget maps to a standard HTML form element with configurable attributes.
• Use the FormInputElementPart and FormElementPart to configure element names, IDs, and CSS classes.
• Anti-forgery tokens are included automatically in forms rendered by the Form widget.
• Pair forms with the OrchardCore.Workflows module to handle form submissions via the HttpRequestEvent or form-specific workflow events.
• Form validation is handled via Validation widgets that display model state errors for specific fields.
• Place form element widgets inside a Form widget using a FlowPart or zone-based layout.

Enabling the Forms Feature

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Feature",
      "enable": [
        "OrchardCore.Forms",
        "OrchardCore.Flows",
        "OrchardCore.Widgets"
      ],
      "disable": []
    }
  ]
}

Form Widget Content Types

The OrchardCore.Forms module provides the following widget content types:

Form Content Type Settings

The Form widget has these key settings:

• Action - The URL the form submits to. Leave empty to post back to the current page.
• Method - HTTP method: GET or POST (default is POST).
• Encoding Type - The enctype attribute: application/x-www-form-urlencoded, multipart/form-data, or text/plain.
• Enable Anti-forgery Token - When enabled, an anti-forgery token is automatically included in the form.
• Workflow Type ID - Associates a workflow to execute when the form is submitted.

Input Element Configuration

The Input widget supports these HTML input types:

• text - Standard single-line text input.
• email - Email address input with browser validation.
• password - Masked password input.
• number - Numeric input with optional min/max.
• hidden - Hidden input for passing data.
• checkbox - Boolean checkbox input.
• radio - Radio button for single selection.
• url - URL input with browser validation.
• tel - Telephone number input.
• date - Date picker input.
• color - Color picker input.

Input Element Properties

Each input element has the following configurable properties via FormInputElementPart:

• Name - The name attribute used for form submission and model binding.
• Type - The HTML input type (text, email, password, number, hidden, etc.).
• Placeholder - Placeholder text displayed when the field is empty.
• Default Value - The initial value of the input field.

And via FormElementPart:

• Id - The id attribute for the HTML element.
• CSS Class - Additional CSS classes applied to the element.

Form Validation

Using Validation Widgets

Add a Validation widget after each form input to display field-level error messages. Set the For property to the name attribute of the input element it validates.

Add a ValidationSummary widget at the top or bottom of the form to display a summary list of all validation errors.

Server-Side Validation in Workflows

When processing form submissions in a workflow, use the ValidateAntiforgeryTokenTask activity to verify the anti-forgery token. Use a ScriptTask to perform custom validation and add model state errors:

// In a ScriptTask within a workflow
var name = requestFormAsDict["Name"];
if (!name || name.trim() === "") {
    addModelError("Name", "The Name field is required.");
}
var email = requestFormAsDict["Email"];
if (!email || !email.includes("@")) {
    addModelError("Email", "Please enter a valid email address.");
}
if (modelState.isValid) {
    setOutcome("Valid");
} else {
    setOutcome("Invalid");
}

Anti-Forgery Token Handling

• The Form widget automatically generates and embeds a __RequestVerificationToken hidden field when anti-forgery is enabled.
• When building custom form handlers or controllers, always validate the token using [ValidateAntiForgeryToken] or by including ValidateAntiforgeryTokenTask in your workflow.
• For AJAX form submissions, include the token in the request header as RequestVerificationToken.

Form Submissions with Workflows

Configuring a Form Workflow

1. Enable OrchardCore.Workflows and OrchardCore.Workflows.Http.
2. Create a workflow with an HttpRequestEvent or FormSubmissionEvent as the starting activity.
3. Add a ValidateAntiforgeryTokenTask as the first task after the event.
4. Use ScriptTask activities to read form data and perform validation.
5. Use NotifyTask to display success or error messages.
6. Use HttpRedirectTask to redirect after successful submission.

Reading Form Data in Workflows

Access submitted form values through the requestFormAsDict object in workflow scripts:

// Access form field values by their name attribute
var firstName = requestFormAsDict["FirstName"];
var lastName = requestFormAsDict["LastName"];
var email = requestFormAsDict["Email"];
var message = requestFormAsDict["Message"];
// Set workflow properties for use in subsequent activities
setProperty("FullName", firstName + " " + lastName);
setProperty("Email", email);
setProperty("Message", message);
setOutcome("Done");

Sending Email from Form Submissions

After reading and validating form data, use a SendEmailTask to process the submission:

• Set Subject, Body, Recipients using Liquid templates that reference workflow properties.
• Example body template: {{ Workflow.Properties.FullName }} submitted: {{ Workflow.Properties.Message }}

Creating Custom Form Elements

Custom Form Element Content Part

using OrchardCore.ContentManagement;
 
public sealed class RatingFieldPart : ContentPart
{
    public int MinValue { get; set; } = 1;
    public int MaxValue { get; set; } = 5;
    public int DefaultValue { get; set; } = 3;
    public string Label { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

Custom Form Element Display Driver

using OrchardCore.ContentManagement.Display.ContentDisplay;
using OrchardCore.ContentManagement.Display.Models;
using OrchardCore.DisplayManagement.ModelBinding;
using OrchardCore.DisplayManagement.Views;
 
public sealed class RatingFieldPartDisplayDriver : ContentPartDisplayDriver<RatingFieldPart>
{
    public override IDisplayResult Display(RatingFieldPart part, BuildPartDisplayContext context)
    {
        return Initialize<RatingFieldPartViewModel>("RatingFieldPart", model =>
        {
            model.MinValue = part.MinValue;
            model.MaxValue = part.MaxValue;
            model.DefaultValue = part.DefaultValue;
            model.Label = part.Label;
            model.Name = part.Name;
        }).Location("Detail", "Content");
    }
 
    public override IDisplayResult Edit(RatingFieldPart part, BuildPartEditorContext context)
    {
        return Initialize<RatingFieldPartViewModel>("RatingFieldPart_Edit", model =>
        {
            model.MinValue = part.MinValue;
            model.MaxValue = part.MaxValue;
            model.DefaultValue = part.DefaultValue;
            model.Label = part.Label;
            model.Name = part.Name;
        }).Location("Content");
    }
 
    public override async Task<IDisplayResult> UpdateAsync(
        RatingFieldPart part,
        UpdatePartEditorContext context)
    {
        var model = new RatingFieldPartViewModel();
        await context.Updater.TryUpdateModelAsync(model, Prefix);
 
        part.MinValue = model.MinValue;
        part.MaxValue = model.MaxValue;
        part.DefaultValue = model.DefaultValue;
        part.Label = model.Label;
        part.Name = model.Name;
 
        return Edit(part, context);
    }
}

Registering a Custom Form Element

using OrchardCore.ContentManagement;
using OrchardCore.ContentManagement.Display.ContentDisplay;
using OrchardCore.Modules;
 
public sealed class Startup : StartupBase
{
    public override void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        services.AddContentPart<RatingFieldPart>()
            .UseDisplayDriver<RatingFieldPartDisplayDriver>();
    }
}

Custom Form Element Migration

using OrchardCore.ContentManagement.Metadata;
using OrchardCore.ContentManagement.Metadata.Settings;
using OrchardCore.Data.Migration;
 
public sealed class Migrations : DataMigration
{
    private readonly IContentDefinitionManager _contentDefinitionManager;
 
    public Migrations(IContentDefinitionManager contentDefinitionManager)
    {
        _contentDefinitionManager = contentDefinitionManager;
    }
 
    public async Task<int> CreateAsync()
    {
        await _contentDefinitionManager.AlterPartDefinitionAsync("RatingFieldPart", part => part
            .Attachable()
            .WithDescription("Renders a rating input element in a form.")
        );
 
        await _contentDefinitionManager.AlterTypeDefinitionAsync("RatingField", type => type
            .DisplayedAs("Rating Field")
            .Stereotype("Widget")
            .WithPart("RatingFieldPart")
        );
 
        return 1;
    }
}

Form Element Placement and Styling

Placement in FlowPart

Form elements are arranged inside a Form widget using FlowPart. Each element widget is a child of the flow and is rendered in the order it appears.

Typical form structure:

1. Form (container with method, action, and encoding settings)

• Label (for first input)
• Input (first input field)
• Validation (validation message for first input)
• Label (for second input)
• TextArea (second input field)
• Validation (validation message for second input)
• ValidationSummary (summary of all errors)
• Button (submit button)

Applying CSS Classes

Use the FormElementPart CSS Class property to apply styling classes:

• Bootstrap classes: form-control, form-select, btn btn-primary, form-label.
• Custom CSS classes for project-specific styling.
• Wrapper classes for layout: mb-3, row, col-md-6.

Select Element Options

The Select widget options are defined as a list of text entries with one option per line. Each line uses the format value=Display Text or simply Display Text (where the display text is used as both value and label).

Button Types

The Button widget supports these types:

• submit - Submits the form.
• reset - Resets form fields to default values.
• button - A generic button for custom JavaScript actions.

Recipe Configuration for Forms

Creating a Contact Form via Recipe

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Feature",
      "enable": [
        "OrchardCore.Forms",
        "OrchardCore.Flows",
        "OrchardCore.Widgets",
        "OrchardCore.Workflows",
        "OrchardCore.Workflows.Http"
      ],
      "disable": []
    }
  ]
}

Content Definition for a Form Page

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "ContentDefinition",
      "ContentTypes": [
        {
          "Name": "FormPage",
          "DisplayName": "Form Page",
          "Settings": {
            "ContentTypeSettings": {
              "Creatable": true,
              "Listable": true,
              "Draftable": true
            }
          },
          "ContentTypePartDefinitionRecords": [
            {
              "PartName": "TitlePart",
              "Name": "TitlePart",
              "Settings": {
                "ContentTypePartSettings": {
                  "Position": "0"
                }
              }
            },
            {
              "PartName": "AutoroutePart",
              "Name": "AutoroutePart",
              "Settings": {
                "ContentTypePartSettings": {
                  "Position": "1"
                },
                "AutoroutePartSettings": {
                  "AllowCustomPath": true,
                  "Pattern": "{{ ContentItem | display_text | slugify }}"
                }
              }
            },
            {
              "PartName": "FlowPart",
              "Name": "FlowPart",
              "Settings": {
                "ContentTypePartSettings": {
                  "Position": "2"
                }
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}