"Loading..." indicator while waiting for external API response
Asked by Val Clark:

We are successfully making an external API call, using a custom application link, in a new intake form (the form uses lots of Confiforms macros). It does take like 10 seconds or so while the API backend code is working, before a response is received. Is there a way to have on the Confluence form, some kind of indicator like "Loading..." so the user can see something is happening?

I've been googling this, but not finding what I'm looking for yet.


Answers:
author: Val Clark
body: Thanks for the responses so far. To clarify, we are hitting one of our own API's, not Confiforms API.   

Just now I submitted the form again, and yes the Submit button is grayed out, but it does not show a "loading" icon. Is that maybe just a setting I need to enable?

comments: author: Alex Medved _ConfiForms_
body: There is nothing extra to be enabled to show the "loading" icon... It is shown for every form submit (not the case for server/DC where the button is (only) disabled)

(as far as I can see you tagged this question as for "cloud")


author: Val Clark
body: I assumed we were on Cloud, but I just checked and unfortunately we are on Data Center. Is there a solution for that, or a setting?  

(I tried to remove or change the Confluence Cloud tag, but didn't find a way. If I should resubmit this for Data Center, let me know)


author: Alex Medved _ConfiForms_
body: Are you using a dialog or an embedded form view?


author: Val Clark
body: I guess it is an embedded form view.

<br />

![confiforms embedded form view.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/307561i70F2B56E892B1261/image-dimensions/470x399?v=v2 "confiforms embedded form view.png")![image.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/307560iC4EA48D81B654986/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999 "image.png")


author: Alex Medved _ConfiForms_
body: No, this is a "dialog mode" that is triggered via the "Button". And indeed, the only indicator is a "disabled" save button when the user submits the form

It is a little bit better if you choose the "Embedded" in the "Rendering form as" parameter. On embedded forms we have more control over the HTML and also have the loading icons/indicators (in contrast to dialog modes where this is very limited to what the platform allows and supports)


author: Val Clark
body: Thanks for this tip. I did change it to "Embedded", but not yet seeing loading indicator. I didn't see any options related to this, that I could check. What would it take to get the loading indicator?


author: Alex Medved _ConfiForms_
body: Nothing extra is really needed

See the icon next to "Save button" briefly visible during the submit

<http://recordit.co/3RBmK6X6wG>


author: Val Clark
body: I can see the icon in your recording. But there is no such icon when I submit my form, just the disabled, grayed out button. We are on v7.19.17, which I'm told is not current version. Could that be the issue?


author: Alex Medved _ConfiForms_
body: Not sure it is about Confluence version, but what is the ConfiForms version you are using?


author: Val Clark
body: Took a while to find it: ConfiForms version **3.6.2**


author: Alex Medved _ConfiForms_
body: A bit behind, but the loading icon has been in-place for a very long time, since 2017 or something. Honestly, not sure why it is not visible for you when you submit the form


author: Val Clark
body: Today I tried Edge to see if it was a browser issue, but no. Same behavior in Chrome and Edge.

Do you know of a way to leverage CSS on the 'Registration' button to get some kind of "loading" indicator?  

![confiforms css on registration button.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/308415i10E21E171A340E86/image-dimensions/278x255?v=v2 "confiforms css on registration button.png")


author: Alex Medved _ConfiForms_
body: Hi [@Val Clark](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/5432409)

ConfiForms cloud disables submit button and shows the loading icon... is that not enough for your users to understand that the form is being submitted?

Alex


author: Marc - Devoteam
body: Hi [@Val Clark](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/5432409)

As I'm reading the documentation of Confiforms, you are using there API, correct?

That would imply that this is slow on handling the request and posting it to Confluence or its related to the amount of data you are posting in the call.

I don't see or think there is an option to adjust Confluence itself to have a loading option, as there is no possibility to have front-end changes implemented.

You could reach out to Confiforms and see if they are able to see what is causing the throughput on the API call you are making.


Tags: confiforms

confluence-cloud