Hello form builders!

 

Are you tired of sifting through and deleting form submission data? Try out the latest addition to Zoho Forms: Auto-Trash Submissions.

This new feature is designed to help you control and manage data collected through your forms. With this feature, you can automate the process of discarding old form submissions, streamlining your form data management process and saving the time and effort you'd spend manually deleting data.

 

For example, if you transfer form entries to your Zoho CRM account automatically, you may find storing the same entries in your Zoho Forms account to be unnecessary. Now, you can opt to trash form entries after a specific timeframe automatically. This helps free up space in your Zoho Forms account once entries have been transferred to Zoho CRM for further processing and management.

 

Let's take a closer look at this feature.

 

You might have multiple forms in your Zoho Forms account that serve different purposes and receive different volumes of submissions. Zoho Forms offers the option to auto-trash submissions at the form level, so you can set deletion intervals for each specific form.

 

You also get a temporary "safety net" before data is deleted permanently.

Let's say you set the auto-trash interval to every 7 days, starting on January 1st at 1:00 PM. The first set of entries will be trashed on January 15th at 1:00 PM and not on January 8th. This ensures that you always have a backup of entries that are 7 days old. The pattern continues with the second set of entries being trashed on January 22nd at 1:00 PM, and the third set on January 29th at 1:00 PM. This way, you can maintain a backup of form submissions, while still automatically trashing older submissions.

 

You can select either a 7-day or 30-day automatic deletion frequency.

No need to panic! When using the Auto-Trash Submissions feature, your deleted submissions are moved to the Trashed Entries section, where they can be viewed and restored for up to 5 days before they are permanently deleted.

And here's the best part: if you've taken the time to restore your entries, it's clear that they hold significance for you. We understand the value of your data, which is why we go the extra mile to ensure that restored entries won't end up in the trash during upcoming auto trash cycles.

At Zoho Forms, we understand the importance of ensuring your entries are not inadvertently trashed before they have been properly processed. To ensure that incomplete entries are not prematurely discarded, our Auto-Trash Submissions feature considers the status of form entries in relation to integrated services, approvals, and payments. If an entry has not been pushed to any integrated services, or if it still has pending approvals or payments, it will not be automatically trashed until they have been successfully processed. Once an entry has been successfully pushed to the required integrated services, received the necessary approvals, or completed the payment process, it will be subject to auto-trashing in the next auto-trash cycle.

 

Learn more about configuring auto-trash submissions.

Try this feature out and let us know how it helps you streamline your form submission data management process in the comments section below. We encourage you to continue exploring Zoho Forms and sharing your ideas. Together, we can shape the future of the platform and ensure it meets your evolving needs.

 

See you soon with our next enhancement!

Cheers,

Samhita