CMS: Troubleshooting User Input Element Issues

1. In your editor, go to the page where your input elements are located.

2. Click the relevant input element (e.g. text input, dropdown).

3. Click the Connect to CMS icon

   

   .

4. Check that the element connects to the correct dataset that submits to the correct collection.

5. Check that the element connects to the collection field it should submit to.

Learn how to check the dataset connections between your input elements and your collection.

1. On your live site, go to the page with the input elements.

2. Enter data into the form and try to submit it.

3. Look for any error messages that appear.

1. In your editor, go to the page where your input elements are located.

2. Click the relevant input element (e.g. text input, dropdown).

3. Click the Connect to CMS icon

   

   .

4. Click Dataset Settings.

5. Check that the Dataset mode is set to the correct mode: Write or Read & Write

6. (If necessary) Click the Dataset mode drop-down and select the relevant mode:

   • Read: Page elements on your live site can read and display content from your collection. But site visitors cannot edit, add to, or delete any content in your collection

   • Write: Visitors can interact with user input elements and a submit button on your live site to add content to your collections. The Write-only mode cannot display content from a collection or allow visitors to edit data.

   • Read & Write: Visitors can interact with user input elements and a submit button on your live site to add to or edit content in a collection. Page elements can also display content from the collection.

7. Publish your site to make the changes go live.

To troubleshoot issues with custom CMS form submissions not saving to the collection, follow these key steps:

1. Check the dataset connection: Ensure that the dataset is connected to the correct CMS collection (e.g., the "Submissions" collection). Verify that the dataset mode is set to 'Write', enabling the data inputs to save as new items.

   Tip: If the form is meant to update existing items, use 'Read & Write' mode and choose 'Advanced' collection permissions.

2. Review collection permissions: Check the permissions of the collection in the CMS. Verify that the correct user roles are allowed to add content using the 'Collect content' or 'Advanced' permissions.

3. Validate input element connections: Click the Connect to CMS icon

   

   on each input element and confirm it's properly connected to relevant fields in the dataset. Ensure field types match the type of data you want to collect.

4. Check the 'Submit' button click action: Ensure the 'Submit' button is correctly connected to the dataset's 'Submit' action. Additionally, confirm that success/failure messages are set up correctly to track the submission's outcome.

5. Sync sandbox and live collections (if applicable): If you are testing the form in a sandbox environment, ensure that changes are synced with the live collection.

6. Preview and test: In the editor, preview the form and submit a test entry to confirm that data is saving to the collection. Debug any issues you encounter during this test phase.

Learn more about creating a form with input elements that submit to your collection.

Not without using coding. The text input element allows users to submit responses that get saved to your CMS collection. It's not set up to be used as a search bar or filter by default. If this is a feature you would like to see in the future, you can vote for it here.

Workarounds:

• You can use coding to allow visitors to enter keywords in the text input element and search for dynamic content that appears on the page. View a tutorial on using the text input element to search your collection content.

• You can add the Wix Site Search app to allow visitors to search throughout all of your site's content.

The input field may appear grayed out for multiple reasons. To troubleshoot, check the following:

• Dataset mode: Make sure that the dataset mode is set to 'Write' or 'Read & Write'.

• Collection permissions: Make sure that the collection permissions are set correctly to allow the relevant user types to add or update content in the collection.

• Text input element settings: Make sure that the element is set to collect the type of info you need it to (e.g. text, number, email). Also make sure it's connected to the relevant field type (e.g. text, number, URL). Click Settings on the element to set the type of content it can accept. Click the Connect to CMS icon

  

  to change the field that the input's value connects to.

To dynamically filter CMS content using a dropdown input element, add the element to the page with your connected repeater, gallery, or table. Connect it to the CMS and choose Filter content. Make sure to connect it to the same dataset and choose a collection field to filter by (e.g., "Category").

The dropdown will display unique field values, allowing visitors to filter content immediately after selection or only after clicking an optional "apply filters" button, depending on your setup. You can also customize filters with advanced conditions like "Is not" to exclude specific items. Learn more about using input elements to filter dynamic content.

Input elements set to filter content always display their options in alphabetical order (A-Z). Sorts you add to the dataset control the order of items in your repeater, gallery, or table, but they do not change the order of the filter options.

Input elements set to collect content work differently — there, the dataset's sort does control the order of a dynamic list of options.

Learn more about sorting the options in filter input elements.

Yes. With Wix Automations, you can choose from a variety of actions that occur when you receive new submissions. For example, you can receive an email, connect to third-party apps like Google Sheets, or automatically reply to the visitor.

Since your form submissions are saved as new items in your collection, use the Item added trigger to start your automation.

Learn more about creating automations for collection items.

If your upload button isn't functioning as expected, start by checking the connections of your input elements to ensure they are linked correctly to the appropriate dataset. Verify that the dataset mode is set to either 'Write' or 'Read & Write' to allow data submissions. Additionally, confirm that the collection permissions are set to allow the necessary user roles to add content. Learn more about working with dataset modes and collection permissions.

It's also essential to check for any validation errors that might be preventing the submission. If everything seems correct but the issue persists, consider syncing your sandbox and live collections if applicable.

You can connect multiple forms to the same CMS collection by connecting their input elements to datasets that all submit to the same CMS collection. Ensure that each form has a unique 'Submit' button and dataset to prevent conflicts. This setup allows you to gather data from various sources while maintaining a single collection for easy management.

Learn more about creating custom CMS forms with input elements.