I’m very happy to announce the release of XMod Pro 3.0. It has been in development for six months and is now available for free to current subscribers and for purchase from the DotNetNuke Store. The primary goals for this release were three-fold: 1) to make creating and editing data entry forms substantially easier; 2) to add core functionality that to greatly expand XMod Pro’s flexibility; and 3) to make it easier to learn how to use and leverage XMod Pro to build your custom DNN solutions. I’ll be discussing each item in a separate article. First up, the all-new Form Builder.

The Form Builder – Point-and-Click Power

This feature took the most time to conceptualize and build but it will greatly speed and simplify your form management tasks.

Now, creating and editing attractive data-bound forms is a simple point-and-click affair. Some of the highlights are:

1. Select DNN or External SQL Server as Your Data Source: The version 2 Form Builder allowed you to only work with tables in your DotNetNuke database. Version 3 enables you to select tables in external SQL Server databases. All you need is the connection string.
2. Auto Form Creation: Quite possibly the most time-saving button on the planet. Once you’ve selected the table you want to work with, just click a button and the Form Builder will create your form. From there you can add, remove, and edit controls as you see fit.
3. Populate List Controls With Data: From within the Form Builder, you can load list controls with data in your databases. Now you can create “picker” lists so your users can select from a pre-defined list of items – like a list of states or countries.
4. Control Previews: When you add a control to the form, you see an approximation of how it will look – including control type and dimensions.
5. Drag and Drop Re-Ordering: Just click and drag to change the position of a control within the form. 
6. Email Notification: Need to send an email when the form is submitted? Just add an Email control to the form.
7. Theme-able Forms: As with version 2 of the Form Builder, you can use basic built-in DNN styles or easily add professional styling to your forms, simply by selecting a pre-defined theme from the built-in list of themes. Or, roll-your-own theme (also a point-and-click affair) and upload it to your site. It will show up in the list of themes as well, ready to be selected. This allows you to get exactly the look and feel you need to match your forms with the rest of your site.
8. Easily Convert Your Forms: Forms which are editable in the Form Builder are called Auto-Layout forms. However, with a single click, you can convert them to Custom HTML Layout forms which give you complete control over the HTML, CSS, and Javascript in your form.

Do you want to see the Form Builder in Action? Here are a couple of videos:

XMod Pro 3 Form Builder Tour (video)

XMod Pro 3 – Creating Picker Lists in Your Forms (video)

If you’re a current subscriber, you get XMod Pro 3 for free.

If your subscription has expired, you can renew by going to your Subscription Management Page.

Purchase XMod Pro from the DotNetNuke Store.