How to complete the application form

1. Application form screen layout

After you click Apply for the desired opportunity, the Application form screen opens. The following elements are available for all forms:

1. Header

   • Basic information about the call and your application form is displayed at the top of the work area.
   • The ? (question mark) next to Application Details is used to view general information about how to complete the application. 

2. Content menu

   • Allows you to navigate to the various sections and subsections in the form. The available sections vary depending on the Action you apply for. 
   • Initially all sections which require input display a red X. When a section has been correctly completed, the icon changes to a green check. 
   • Sections containing subsections can be expanded or collapsed by clicking on the down/up arrow.
   • A number in a blue circle shows how many entries/subsections are currently defined.
   • The buttons All and Red marks on top of the Content menu can be used to show all sections for the form or only the incomplete ones, meaning the ones with the red X. 
3. Content area 
   • Shows the content of the section or subsection you have currently selected in the Content menu. In the below example, the Content area displays the Participating organisations section of the form.
   • A red X or a green check before the title shows the status of the selected section / subsection (complete or incomplete, respectively). 
   • A number in a blue circle after the title shows how many entries/subsections currently are defined (same as in the Content menu).
   • The information icon next to the title of the content area is used to view additional information about the current section/subsection. 
   • Scroll to allows a quick scroll to a subsection of the current page.
   • Next/previous section buttons: to access the next or previous section or subsection of the form.
   • Full screen button: will open the currently selected section in full screen mode.
4. Submit button
   
   • Initially inactive, becomes active only when all sections are marked as complete.
5. PDF button
   • Click on the button to export the application form to a PDF file.

2. Header

The header in the work area of the application forms displays basic information about your form. By default, it only shows key details. Click on the arrow to expand and view further information.

Information displayed in the header:

1. Form ID - Unique identifier of your application form
2. General information on the selected application form: Programme, Call year, Round, and Action type and title
3. Status of the form (e.g. draft, submitted) and Submission deadline
4. Detailed information (available when the card is opened) such as Application owner and creator, creation, deadline and last modification dates, and a progress bar indicating the completion percentage of the form. 
   If the page is shared, sharing information is also available here.

3. Card layout and functionality

Cards are now widely used to define details in sections of a form with many input fields. Cards replace the previously used tables.

• When adding a subsection to a form, such as an activity or a flow, initially a card is displayed, containing empty fields to fill in. Multiple cards of the same type can often be added. 
• In some application forms cards are also used to display read-only budget details.
• Cards are preceded by a vertical bar indicating the status of completion of the details in that card (red for incomplete and green for complete).
• Cards may be expanded or collapsed by clicking the down / up arrow to the right of the card. Where a card includes subcards (e.g. Flow cards), you can close the details for all cards by clicking the up arrow on the top card. 
• Individual cards can also be opened by clicking on the Edit icon to the right of each card.
• Open each card in sequence and fill in the details. The form will adapt based on the information you provide, and you may need to fill in additional subsections or correct errors based on messages displayed on the screen.
• After completion you can close the card details, leaving only the header with the name, key fields and status visible.

Each card has a number of action icons which differ depending on the type of card, for example to edit the details, delete the card and a down/up arrow to expand/collapse the card details.

Some cards also contain a status label - incomplete in red or complete in green, and/or a result label, for example displaying the total grant for the card.

Here are examples of different types of cards from a KA153 application form:

4. Navigation through/within application sections

4.1. Content menu

To quickly access a specific section or subsection in the application, use the Content menu. The content menu also allows to easily check the progress of the completion of the sections and subsections of the application form.

The sections and subsections in the Content menu should be completed in sequence.

1. It is possible to collapse the Content menu using the dedicated arrows (<). Click > to restore the Content Menu.
2. The All button on top of the Content menu is selected by default, displaying all available sections of the form. Click on the Red marks button to display only sections that are incomplete.
3. Initially, all sections in the content menu which require input display a red X, which indicates the sections are incomplete. When all mandatory information in a given section and all its subsections is complete (all mandatory fields have been correctly filled in), a green check displays. 
4. Sections containing subsections display a Down arrow to the right of the section name when collapsed and an Up arrow when expanded. Click the arrow to toggle the view. By default, the entire menu is expanded when you open the form for the first time or after a period of inactivity.
5. Numbers in a blue circle next to a section/subsection name indicate the number of included elements, for example in the Annexes section.
6. The sections Sharing, which allows the sharing of an application form, and Submission History, which contains the Submission history for the application, do not display the red X or green check. 

Here are two examples of the Content menu for a KA131-HED - Mobility of higher education students and staff application form. The first image shows the content menu with all available sections where the Context section is marked as complete. The second image shows the content menu only displaying the incomplete sections and the Participating organisations section expanded to display the available subsection(s). 

4.2. Subsections in the Content menu  

Subsections are available for certain sections by default or are added dynamically when you add elements to your application form, such as organisations, activities, flows, etc. 

A number in a blue circle shows how many elements/subsections are currently defined. As a general rule, a subsection is added to the Content menu in the relevant section for each element you define.

Click on the available Down arrow next to the section title to see the available subsections to complete, if not visible. The title of a subsection can change to reflect the name of the element it refers to, such as an organisation name, to distinguish between different subsections of the same type within a section.

You can select any subsection directly by selecting it from the Content Menu, using the Scroll to button or by using the previous/next arrows in the Content area. See Special navigation and view functionalities below for further details.

The completion status of a subsection is indicated by a dot. A red dot displays for incomplete subsections and a green dot for completed subsections. 

4.3. Special navigation and view functionalities

1. In some sections you may scroll to a specific subsection in the current section by clicking on Scroll to and selecting a subsection from the drop-down list.
2. Alternatively you can use the previous/next arrows to navigate through the various sections and subsections in the application form.
3. You can use the Full Screen button in the content area to maximise screen area and view more information. The main menu and Content menu will be hidden but you can still navigate through the sections and subsections of the form by using the previous/next buttons.
   To revert to normal view, click on the blue X (Exit full screen) button.

5. Types of fields

Below are the most frequently encountered types of fields (the list is not exhaustive):

5.1. Text fields

• Text fields are basic fields where you can type your answers to the questions in the form. Text fields may have a character limit. The maximum number of characters that can be used for a specific answer is indicated in the top right corner of the text box. It is not compulsory to use the maximum allowed number of characters. The character limit will count down automatically when you start filling information. If the maximum number of characters has been used, a red 0 is displayed. No more text can be added.

5.1.1. Filling text fields in languages other than English

If you have selected to fill in your form in a language different from English, certain text fields need to be filled in both in the selected language and in English.

In our example, the Consortium summary is required in both the foreign language and English in a KA130-HED application form.

5.2. Drop-down lists

• Simple Drop-down lists are used where the user must select a single item from a list of predefined options.
  • In the following illustration there are two examples of simple drop-down lists. In the left one, click on the arrow in the drop-down field to change your selection. In the right one, first click on the X to remove the current selection, then click in the drop-down field again to select a different item.

• Multiple-choice drop-down lists - are used where the user can select more than one item in the list. Clicking on an item in the list will add it to the selection list which is displayed above or below the drop-down field.
  A selected item can be removed again by clicking on the X as shown in the image below.

5.3. Tick boxes and radio buttons

Tick boxes and radio buttons are used in some sections instead of drop-down lists.

• Tick boxes - are used to confirm completion of tasks (e.g. items in a checklist) or where you are asked to make one or more choices from a list of options (e.g. participant role), etc. 

• Radio buttons - are used where only one answer of several possible is allowed, for example where you are asked to provide an answer to a simple Yes/No question.
  If you are not allowed to change the predefined values, the radio buttons are greyed out. In our example, the values are populated from the Organisation Registration system and not modifiable in the application form.

5.4. Date, time and measures

• Calendar (date picker) - is available for editable date fields, offering only dates in a certain range in case there are duration restrictions. The default date in the date picker is today's date, unless otherwise specified. It is displayed in dd/mm/yyyy format above the calendar, and also highlighted in dark blue in the calendar. Pointing the cursor on a different date highlights that date in light blue, without changing the currently selected date.

• Date and number formats
  Dates in the application forms must follow the dd/mm/yyyy format, for example: 01/10/2023.
  The default currency used in the forms is the Euro unless otherwise specified. Currencies in the forms are displayed using the following formats: 1.300,00 / 23.140,05 / 1,20 / 0,50.

6. Mandatory fields and sections

Mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk. They must be filled in before you are able to submit the form. 

If a section is marked with a red X it means that mandatory information is missing, not all rules have been observed, or that one or more subsections are incomplete. 

In certain cases, even if each subsection is correctly completed, the main section cannot be completed due to an interrelated field, if for example the sum of fields from subsections exceeds a global value. 

If a section includes subsections, these are also marked with a green dot when all mandatory fields are filled in and all business rules are observed. All subsections in a section must be completed in order to mark the section complete.

7. Auto-saving, continue editing

All updates you make in your application form are automatically saved as you fill it in. You can therefore interrupt your work at any time during the process and come back to the form at a later time. Note that you may need to log in again using your EU Login credentials.

All the forms you have created or that have been shared with you can be found in Application forms by opening My Applications. Use the search function to quickly find a specific form, by example by searching for the Form ID. The Form ID is the unique identifier for your application and is specified in the form header.

Once the application form is complete, namely all sections are marked with the green check, you can submit it as explained on the page Submitting an application form.

8. Additional help and guidelines

8.1. Form-specific wiki documentation

A number of form-specific pages have been prepared in the wiki to assist you in completing certain sections of each form. They are all available under Specific information on how to complete your form.

For each application form a Key action overview page is available. Navigate to this page for the desired form as a starting point. The overview page provides a short description of the form and its structure and content. It also provides links to available pages for specific sections of the form, where a more detailed description can be found. 

Here is an example of how to find the available documentation for completing an ESC50 Quality Label application form. The bolded entry is the overview page for this application form, the children pages are pages for sections which may require further specific clarification.

8.2. Online guidelines

Click the ? icon next to the title Application form to open the online guidelines. Here you will find information and links to help you complete the form. Click the Close button to close the guidelines.

8.3. Section-specific guidelines

Throughout the form it is possible to find more information about the current section by clicking on the Information icon next to the title of the section in the Content area. The relevant Section information pop-up window opens. Click on OK to close the Section information window.

8.4. Field specific tooltips

Some fields contain tooltips to help you complete the form. Placing the mouse cursor on the field title opens the related tooltip. 

9. Warning and information messages

You might find notifications in certain parts of your form. Your actions in the form may also trigger certain warning messages. Read those notifications and messages carefully and, in the case of warning messages, make the appropriate corrections. 

Here are some examples: