Dynamics 365 Marketing provides multiple ways for companies to collect data from web forms and import submission data into Dynamics 365.

The primary way to do this is with Dynamics 365 Marketing forms. Dynamics 365 Marketing forms allow you to build and customize web forms that can be then hosted on landing pages that are also created in Dynamics 365 or embedded on external websites.

The other way to collect data through forms is to use the Dynamics 365 form capture feature in conjunction with forms created outside of Dynamics 365. This blog will walk through the capabilities of form capture and the reasoning behind using it in place of embedding Dynamics 365 forms.

Why use form capture?

Form capture capabilities in Dynamics 365 allow marketers to collect data from any form they like instead of needing to design a form in Dynamics 365 Marketing and embed it somewhere. Many CMS services like Squarespace and WordPress have pre-built form solutions that already match the design aesthetic of the website.

Marketers may find it easier to use these forms and install form capture capabilities from Dynamics 365 to submit submission values to Dynamics 365 Marketing instead of building a form from scratch in Dynamics 365. The one draw back of using form capture with external forms is that pre-fill is unavailable.

How it works

The first step to connect an external form with Dynamics 365 is to ensure that all fields on the form are correctly mapped in the Form Fields entity of Dynamics 365 Marketing. All fields on the form will need a Form Fields record in Dynamics 365 Marketing before data can be collected into Dynamics 365. To get to form fields, go into Dynamics 365 Marketing and select Form Fields entity from left navigation. If you need assistance with managing form fields, check out Microsoft’s helpful documentation on the topic.

Next, navigate to the Marketing Forms entity and click on the Capture form button. Once clicked, a wizard will launch that will guide you through the process of connecting the external form with Dynamics 365.

In the wizard, add the URL of the page that includes the external form and click Next. Dynamics 365 will launch the URL in a new window to check if an injected script for the form exists on the page. Leave this page open until the form capture process is complete.

If this is your first time using form capture on your website, you will need to copy and paste the generated tracking code at the top of the page HTML. Once this script is added, refresh the web page opened by the wizard so that the script is visible to Dynamics 365. The wizard should find and display all available forms on the web page that are able to be captured in Dynamics 365. Select the correct form and click Next.

Finally, the wizard will ask you to map the fields from the external forms with form field records in Dynamics 365 Marketing. This is why the first step in this process is to create and verify form fields in Dynamics 365 Marketing. If form fields aren’t mapped correctly, the form capture process may fail. To go live with the form capture select Save and Go live.

Post-Go Live

Once the form capture is live, it is important to test the process by submitting a test submission on the external form. After submitting, wait a minute and check the submissions tab of the form record in Dynamics 365. The data from the form submission should display there.

To edit a form capture that is already live, navigate to the form capture record in Dynamics 365 and select Edit. Even in edit mode, field mappings are still locked. If field mappings need to change, select Sync form on the command bar to open the wizard and unlock the field mappings. When editing is complete, click Save to ensure changes are kept.

Get started

Interested in learning more about how you can utilize Dynamics 365 Marketing forms and external forms to automatically submit data into Dynamics 365 lead and contact records? Schedule a call with our Dynamics 365 Marketing team to get started.