This article is machine translated from english

What is FormSync OCR?

FormSync bridges the gap between offline participation and your digital platform. Imagine running a workshop, handing out printed surveys, or collecting handwritten ideas at a community event. With FormSync, those paper responses don’t stay stuck on paper.

Here’s how it works:

Generate a printable PDF version of your survey or ideation form
Distribute it offline: at meetings, events or door-to-door
Collect & scan the completed forms
Import them back into your platform using OCR (optical character recognition) or via an Excel template

The system reads responses, matches them to the original form, and lets you review and approve them before they appear online. That way, insights from residents who prefer pen and paper are captured alongside digital contributions, ensuring no voice is left out.

ℹ️ Availability depends on your subscription plan.

How to create a downloadable PDF?

Create a Survey or Collect input and feedback phase
Build the form in Edit survey or Edit input form
(Optional for survey) Enable Collect demographic questions by adding a new page to the end of the survey in Phase → Phase access and user data → Demographic questions asked to users to place registration questions on the last PDF page
Click Download as PDF (in the Survey builder or Survey form tab)
(Optional) Customize front and last page of the PDF template

⚠️ After downloading, do not change the online form or the PDF; they must remain identical for import.

How to upload a PDF via FormSync?

Go to Project → Results (for survey), Input Manager (for ideation) → Import → Import (top-right)
In Input Importer, click Import → Click to select a file
Choose PDF scans (one language per upload) and select the correct language
Wait for processing; items appear in the left panel.

Best practices:
Use the platform-generated PDF template only.
- Scan with a scanner or scanning app (not camera), same page size, ≤ 100 pages per upload.
- Exclude responses that deviate from the question format (e.g., handwritten notes next to MCQ).

How to review and approve imports? (see video above)

In Input Importer, select a response (left).
Review parsed answers (middle) and the scanned PDF preview (right, for OCR uploads).
Adjust email and User consent if needed.
Click Approve to finalize; proceed to the next item.
Approved ideas/inputs are created on the platform and tagged imported.

Limitations on FormSync

Supported vs. Unsupported Question Types

Supported (PDF download): All question types can be printed.

Supported (PDF upload/import): Be aware that while all survey questions types can be downloaded as PDF not all survey question types can be imported back using our scanning technology. The following question types are not yet supported for import: