Summary

A trace of what happens between a user tapping Submit in the app and the server returning a result envelope plus dispatching any post-submission notifications.

End-to-end flow

User taps Submit in the app
        │
        ▼
POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=mam_gf_ajax_handler  (subaction=submit_form)
        │
        ▼
mam_gf_ajax_handler()
        │ ├─ do_action('mam_gf_processing_form')   ← no args, fired at the top
        │ ├─ $_REQUEST['formdata'] = file_get_contents('php://input')
        │ ▼
mam_gf_submit_app_form::submit_form( $form_id )
        │ ├─ resolve form id from $_REQUEST['formid']
        │ ├─ resolve user in the constructor (mam_user_id())
        │ ▼
mam_gf_standard_form_handler::gf_standard_form( $form_id )   (default branch)
        │ └─ pulls values via mam_gf_get_form_data → mam_form_manager_form_processor,
        │    where custom field types extend via
        │      apply_filters('mam_form_manager_process_field_type_{type}',
        │        $field_value, $form_field_value, $field)   (3 args)
        ▼
GF native validation runs (required, format, length)
        │
        ▼
GF native submission (entry inserted)
        │
        ▼
submit_form() picks ONE branch by has_filter(), in this order:
  1. apply_filters('mam_form_manager_form_submitted_{form-id}',
                    $this_response, $values, $formdata)
  2. mam_gravity_forms_after_form_processed_{form-id} present → standard handler
  3. apply_filters('mam_for_gravity_forms_form_submitted_{form-id}',
                    $form_id, $post_id, $values)   ← framework inserts the CPT first
  4. apply_filters('mam_for_gravity_forms_form_result_form_{form-id}',
                    $form_id, $response)
              │
              └─ Per-form result builder shapes the envelope returned to the app
  5. apply_filters('mam_for_gravity_forms_form_result', $form_id)  (reads global)
  6. apply_filters('mam_for_gravity_forms_form_result_v2', $form_id, $this_response)
        ▼
if process_normal && send_notifications:
  do_action('mam_form_manager_send_notifications', $entry, $form)   (2 args)
              │
              └─ Subscribers fire do_action('mam_notification_send_message', $msg)
                 → MAM_Notification_Dispatcher routes email/SMS/push per the type registry
        ▼
JSON response to the app  { status: success | failure, message: ..., redirect: ... }

Detailed phases

1. AJAX entry

mam_gf_ajax_handler is registered for both wp_ajax_mam_gf_ajax_handler and wp_ajax_nopriv_mam_gf_ajax_handler (some forms — registration, contact — accept anonymous submissions). It dispatches on $_REQUEST['subaction']; submit_form instantiates mam_gf_submit_app_form and calls submit_form( $_REQUEST['formid'] ).

The handler:

• Resolves the form id from $_REQUEST['formid']
• Resolves the current user in the constructor (mam_user_id(); anonymous users get user id 0)
• Reads the submitted formdata from php://input
• Hands off to the form processor

2. Pre-process action

do_action( 'mam_gf_processing_form' );   // no args

Fires once per submission, at the very top of mam_gf_ajax_handler before the form id is even resolved. Sibling plugins observe here for analytics, side effects unrelated to the form data, etc.

3. Per-field processing

Values flow through mam_form_manager_form_processor::map_values_to_fields() (reached via the mam_gf_get_form_data filter, which mam_gf_standard_form_handler::gf_standard_form() calls). Standard field types (text, hidden, date, time, name, list) have built-in handlers. Custom field types extend via:

add_filter( 'mam_form_manager_process_field_type_{type}', function ( $field_value, $form_field_value, $field ) {
    // your transform — return the processed $field_value
    return $field_value;
}, 10, 3 );

⚠️ A custom field type also needs a build-time counterpart — see Custom field types.

4. Per-form submission hooks

$this_response = apply_filters(
    'mam_for_gravity_forms_form_submitted_' . $form_id,
    $form_id, $post_id, $values
);

This is a common extension point for customer-specific CPT-backed forms — the framework inserts/updates the post and stamps its meta, then calls this filter. Note the args are ( $form_id, $post_id, $values ), not the entry/form/confirmation triple. The related mam_form_manager_form_submitted_{form-id} is not an alias — it is a separate, higher-priority branch selected first by has_filter(), and it receives ( $this_response, $values, $formdata ).

5. Result envelope

submit_form() selects exactly one branch by has_filter(); the result-builder branches are mutually exclusive (elseif), not chained:

// branch 4
$this_response = apply_filters( 'mam_for_gravity_forms_form_result_form_' . $form_id, $form_id, $response );
// branch 5 (only if 1–4 absent) — reads global $tsl_gravity_form_result
apply_filters( 'mam_for_gravity_forms_form_result', $form_id );
// branch 6 (only if 1–5 absent)
$this_response = apply_filters( 'mam_for_gravity_forms_form_result_v2', $form_id, $this_response );

The result envelope shape is up to your handler — typical keys are status, process_normal, send_notifications, type, and message.

6. Notification dispatch

do_action( 'mam_form_manager_send_notifications', $entry, $form );   // 2 args

This fires from the process_normal path only when the handler’s result envelope left send_notifications truthy. It is the contract between forms-manager and notifications-manager. Subscribers fire do_action('mam_notification_send_message', $msg) for whatever needs to be emailed/SMS’d/pushed:

• Confirmation to the submitter
• Alert to the listing owner
• Admin notification for moderation queues

Don’t fire mam_notification_send_message directly from your submission handler — go through mam_form_manager_send_notifications so admin overrides can intercept.

7. JSON response

The handler returns a JSON envelope to the app. The mobile client surfaces the message and follows the optional redirect.

Verification

• A failed submission returns status: failure with a message
• The per-form mam_for_gravity_forms_form_submitted_{form-id} filter fires once per submission (verify with a mamdebug log)
• Every notification visible in Mobile App Manager → Notifications → Outbox Viewer corresponds to a do_action('mam_notification_send_message') triggered from a mam_form_manager_send_notifications subscriber

Related articles

• Forms manager overview
• Custom field types
• Form cache and invalidation
• Hook: mam_for_gravity_forms_form_resultform{id}
• Hook: mam_form_manager_send_notifications
• Hook: mam_notification_send_message
• Hook: mam_gravity_forms_after_formprocessed{id}

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