Is it possible to include hidden field data in a Cognito Form confirmation email?

Question

We have a couple of fields that we don't want to display on the form, but will be used by back-end administrators to add extra bits of data to those hidden fields. We need to be able to include the hidden fields' data in a confirmation email whenever those hidden fields are updated/edited by an admin.

How can we do this? In my testing so far, I don't see a way to accomplish this without making the fields visible, which we don't want to do.

Answer 1

Here is one way to accomplish this in Cognito Forms:

1. Add your internal fields and mark them as Show This Field = Internally to ensure they only appear when managing entries.
2. Add a calculation field, whose calculated value is the value of the internal field you want to include in the confirmation emails.
3. Make these read-only calculation fields only appear when they have a value, using Show This Field - When.

Using this approach your confirmation emails will only show these values when they have been set. Furthermore, if you allow your customers to edit their submitted entries using secure edit links, these fields will also appear, but will be read only.