I'd like some help to decide which type of form to choose before I start creating it

Hi JotForm team,

I need to make a form for my own use to fill out when performing residential home inspections. The idea is to have the form on my iPad or iPhone, and to fill it out while on-site, and then to have a saveable/exportable/emailable end result that I can print and show to clients. I'd also like to be able to save a form part-way through, in case I have to pause an inspection and return to it later. I will be the only person using the forms FYI, so using different email addresses for unique session URLs for the 'continue forms later' feature will not work really.

Can you help me by suggesting what type of form I should use for this use-case, and how exactly to solve the issue of saving incomplete forms for later and of printing completed forms for delivery to clients?

(I'm not sure whether to use a normal form, a card form, a ODF Editor form, or what).

Thanks! I look forward to your soonest response.

Take care,

Dave

Hello Dave,

Thank you for the details.

The idea is to have the form on my iPad or iPhone, and to fill it out while on-site - 

You can use a Classic form or a Card form for your requirement as all forms created are mobile responsive by default and can be viewed/filled on iPhones and iPads.

Few related guides:

How-to-Create-a-JotForm-Card 

How-to-Create-Your-First-Web-Form 

chapter-2-Create+Forms 

Have a save able/exportable/email able end result that I can print and show to clients - 

You can enable the PDF attachment option on your email settings, that will send you or your clients a PDF document containing the form responses

Related Guide: How-To-Include-Submissions-As-PDF-Attachment-In-The-Email-Notifications 

But, please do note that there is a limitation on the size of the attachment on emails. It is limited at 5 MB. If the attachment is over 5 MB, it will not be attached to the email. Then, you will need to download the PDF submission document from your Form Submission page, PDF Editor or JotForm Inbox.

I'd also like to be able to save a form part-way through, in case I have to pause an inspection and return to it later - 

You can enable the Continue Forms later option from your Form Settings page, which has now been merged with the Auto fill option:

How-to-Enable-Auto-Fill-on-Forms 

Enabling this will show a Save button on the form. During the course of filling the form, you can click on the Save button to save your changes. At the first instance, you will receive an email with the saved submission link similar to what is shown below:

You just need to click on that link received on your email to continue filling the form. For subsequent filling of the form, you just need to click on the Save on your form at all times. This will save the responses on that same saved link.

Do review and let us know if you need any further information or clarification and we will be happy to help you out.

Amazing, thanks for your help and quick response! What service :)

So the Classic Form or Card form are good options... but what about a PDF Editor form? Is that different and unrelated? Or does that tie in with the Classic / Card forms somehow?

Thanks!

Dave

what about a PDF Editor form? Is that different and unrelated? Or does that tie in with the Classic / Card forms somehow?

A PDF form can be used offline which means the user can fill the form offline and submit it when the internet is available or send the saved PDF form to you as an attachment. When a fillable PDF form is created, an online form shall also be created in your account to store the submitted information. Please see the following web page for more information.

https://www.jotform.com/fillable-pdf-form-creator/

If you want to import an existing PDF form, you may import to JotForm as well from Create Form -> Import Form wizard.

Please give it a try and let us know if you need any further assistance.