Using the Spec Input form

Spec Input is a small web form for writing down site-specification requirements — things one of the two sites needs to do, or needs to look like. Each entry you submit is saved as one row in a shared Google spreadsheet, and that is all the app does.

You open it in an ordinary web browser, on a phone or a computer. There is no login and no account: the person who runs it gives you the web address, and the address is kept private on purpose (see the Sharing and privacy page).

The page heading shows the name of the site you are currently filing specs for, with Spec Input underneath it.

Filing a spec

The form has three questions:

• Spec Type — a droplist with two choices, Design or Functionality. On a device that has never used the form before, it starts on Functionality.
• Description — a text box for the requirement itself. The hint inside it says what to write: “What it needs to do, and why.” It holds up to 4,000 characters; typing simply stops at the limit.
• Submitted By — a droplist of the people who use the form. Pick your own name. On a device that has never used the form, it starts on “Choose…” and you must pick before submitting.

All three are required — each is marked with a red asterisk.

What you do

1. Open the form in your browser.
2. Check the heading names the site you mean. If not, change it first — see “Choosing which site” below.
3. Choose a Spec Type: Design or Functionality.
4. Type the requirement into Description.
5. Choose your name under Submitted By.
6. Tap Submit.

While it saves, the button reads Saving… and the form is briefly locked. When it succeeds, a green Spec saved panel appears at the top — “Filed under (site name). Ready for the next one.” — the Description box is cleared, and the page scrolls back to the top so you can file the next spec straight away.

If something needs fixing instead, a red message appears and the problem field is marked — see When something goes wrong. Your text is not lost: whatever you typed stays in the box after a failed save.

The form remembers your usual choices

Spec Type, Submitted By, and the chosen site are remembered on that device the moment you pick them — even if you close the page without submitting — and are pre-filled next time. This is deliberate: when you file several specs in a row, only the Description changes. The Description itself is never remembered.

The memory lives in the browser on each device, so your phone and your computer each remember their own choices, and nobody else’s device is affected. If the browser blocks site storage (for example some private-browsing modes on iPhones), the form still works — it just will not remember, and you pick each time.

Choosing which site

Below the form is a panel labelled Filing specs for, with a droplist of the two sites: amapas353.com and traveller.org. Each site’s entries go to their own tab in the spreadsheet, so this choice decides where the row lands. The choice is remembered on the device until you change it.

What you do

1. Scroll below the Submit button to the Filing specs for panel.
2. Pick the site from the droplist.
3. Check the heading at the top of the page — it changes to the site you picked, so the heading always names where the next spec will be filed.

On an iPhone

The page is built to be saved to an iPhone home screen: it gets its own icon and appears under the name Spec Input, opening full-screen like an app.

What you do

1. Open the form in Safari.
2. Tap the Share button.
3. Choose Add to Home Screen, then Add.

A few things worth knowing

• Every successful submit adds one row. Submitting the same text twice adds it twice — there is no duplicate check.
• Submitting cannot overwrite or delete anything; the form only ever adds rows.
• A Open the spreadsheet panel sits just below the Submit button. Tapping it opens the spreadsheet in a new tab so you can see the rows land — see Where your specs go.