What is a hidden field?
A hidden field is a type of custom field. You can add a hidden field to a form to attach a value to each transaction submitted through the form. The donor never sees the field.
What kinds of values can I attach?
Hidden fields help with reporting, so the value you attach should be something you want to find later.
For example, you might use one form for an email campaign and another for a print ad campaign. You could create a hidden field named Campaign and set the campaign type as the Field Value.
When you run a report of your transactions, you can see which campaign and form generated each one
Can I Set a Hidden Field's Value in the Form URL?
Yes, you can set or replace a hidden field's value by adding it to the form URL. This means you can pass different values to the same form from different links, which is useful for attribution. For example, use a custom field in your URL to associate a gift with the campaign or source that sent the donor to the form, without showing anything to the donor.
The form matches the hidden field by its Reporting Label, with spaces replaced by underscores.
For example: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/myformkey?customfields[Campaign]=spring_appeal
For the full syntax, encoding rules, and how to combine this with other pre-fill options, read Prepopulate Form Values Using a URL.
Important: If you set a value for a hidden field in the URL, that value replaces the hidden field's default value.
Can I use hidden fields to track which URL led a donor to a form?
You have two options:
Set a hidden field's value in the URL — Pass a value to a hidden field on the form so it's captured on the transaction. Read the previous section for how to do this.
Use Associated Info Parameters — Add a single tracking code to the form URL that appears in your reports. This is useful when you want one donation form to have several tracking URLs. Read Associated Info Parameter Tracking.
Will donors see the field?
No, the hidden field doesn't appear on the public-facing form.