Form Builder

The Form Builder module allows you to programmatically define form layouts and submit them to the legacy iMedNet Form Designer. This bypasses manual drag-and-drop operations, enabling automated form creation and updates.

Warning

This module interacts with the legacy Form Designer endpoint (formdez_save.php). It requires session credentials (PHPSESSID and CSRFKey) scraped from an active browser session.

Core Concepts

The module mimics the “State Dump” architecture of the Form Designer and uses a Composite Design Pattern to represent the form structure.

Models and Architecture

The core building block is the Entity. An Entity can be a visual container (like a Table or Row) or a data entry element (like a TextField or DateField).

  • TableProps: Represents a section or table on a form.

  • RowProps: A horizontal arrangement of columns.

  • ColumnProps: A vertical container for fields.

  • EntityProps: A discriminated union of specific field properties.

This abstract structure is then serialized into the complex JSON hierarchy expected by the legacy server.

Process

  1. Layout Definition: You define the form structure using the FormBuilder class.

  2. Serialization: The code converts this definition into the required JSON payload.

  3. Submission: The payload is POSTed to the legacy endpoint using your browser cookies.

Note

This approach is “destructive” in the sense that it overwrites the current page state with the new layout. Always ensure you are working on the correct Revision number.

Usage

The primary way to use the Form Builder is via the Hybrid Script.

Hybrid Script (Headless)

For CI/CD or automated workflows, use the example script:

python examples/build_form_payload.py --preset "Demo Form" \
    --base-url "https://your.imednet.com" \
    --phpsessid "YOUR_SESSION_ID" \
    --csrf "YOUR_CSRF_KEY" \
    --form-id 12345 \
    --comm-id 999 \
    --revision 5

Presets

Forms are defined as “Presets” in imednet/form_designer/presets.py. A preset is simply a function that accepts a FormBuilder instance.

def build_my_form(builder: FormBuilder) -> None:
    builder.add_section_header("My New Section")

    builder.add_field(
        type="text",
        label="Subject Initials",
        question_name="INIT",
        required=True
    )

See imednet.form_designer.presets for more examples.

API Reference