The checkbox field is typically used with yes/no or true/false values: “Yes, I want to subscribe to your newsletter” or “No, I don’t want to subscribe to your newsletter.”

Checkbox attributes and terminology

The checkbox field, like other Identity Cloud fields and forms, provides a number of attributes (options) that can be used when creating and formatting the field. Also like other Identity Cloud fields, the terminology used to represent these attributes in Console’s Registration Builder sometimes differs from the terminology required when using the Configuration APIs, which, in turn, sometimes differs from the terminology used if you view the underlying flow. 

Needless to say, that can be confusing at times. With that in mind, the following table shows the different checkbox attributes and how they are referenced in Registration Builder, the Configuration API, and the flow; click the appropriate link in the flow column for more information about that attribute. Attributes highlighted in yellow are auto-generated when the field is created, and shouldn’t be referenced when making an API call (and can’t be accessed in Registration Builder).

Create a checkbox by using the Configuration API

If you’re using the Configuration APIs to create a checkbox field, you must include all the desired attributes and attribute values within the request body of your API call. That request body will look similar to the one shown below (depending, of course, on the number of attributes you use). For example:

{
     "type": "checkbox",
     "name": "testFieldCheckbox",
     "schemaAttribute": "primaryAddress.country",
     "label": {
          "key": "352a99f1e9442568706468966749f1e9"
     },
     "tip": {
          "key": "352a99f1e9442568706468966749f1e9"
     },
     "preChecked": true,
     "value": true,
     "submitValue": "yes",
     "forms": [
           "traditionalRegistrationForm"
   ],
     "emptyMeansNull": true,
     "ignoreUpdate": false
}

If you’re using Postman, your request body will look like this:

There are at least three things to keep in mind when creating the request body:

• The request body must be formatted using JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). If you get the following error, that often means that your request body isn’t using valid JSON:

  **400 Bad Request**. The browser (or proxy) sent a request that this server could not understand.
  

• The label and tip attributes must be formatted as JSON objects; that is, you must start with the attribute name (e.g., tip) followed by a colon and a set of curly braces ({ }). Inside those curly braces, use the key member followed by the id of a translation key containing the text you want to use for the label/tip. For example:

  "label": {"key": "352a99f1e9442568706468966749f1e9"}
  

  Note that you must reference a translation key (i.e., a  previously-defined piece of text) when creating a label or tip. For example, suppose you try defining your text within the API call itself:

  "label": "Newsletter Subscription"
  

  That’s going to result in an invalid syntax error. Instead, use the ID of an existing translation key. If you don't have a translation key that uses the string value Newsletter Subscription, you'll have to create one before you can create the checkbox field.

• The forms attribute must be formatted as a JSON array, with the form names configured as a comma-separated list between square brackets. For example,

  "forms": ["traditionalRegistrationForm", "socialRegistrationForm"]
  

A complete Curl command for creating a checkbox should look something like this:

curl -L -X POST \
  'https://v1.api.us.janrain.com/config/79y4mqf2rt3bxs378kw5479xdu/flows/fieldExamples/fields' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic eTR4Zmc2ZjQ0bXNhYzN2ZXBqanZ4Z2d6dnQzZTNzazk6OTVjY3hrN2N6YnZ1eng2ZHB0ZTVrOXA2ZGo1Ynpla3U=' \
  --data-raw '{
     "type": "checkbox",
     "name": "testFieldCheckbox",
     "schemaAttribute": "primaryAddress.country",
     "label": {
          "key": "352a99f1e9442568706468966749f1e9"
       },
     "tip": {
          "key": "352a99f1e9442568706468966749f1e9"
       },
     "preChecked": true,
     "value": true,
     "submitValue": "yes",
     "forms": [
                 "traditionalRegistrationForm"
              ],
     "emptyMeansNull": true,
     "ignoreUpdate": false
}'