Stop the Workarounds: We Need Native Multi-Step Forms

Stop the Workarounds: We Need Native Multi-Step Forms

After over 17 years of community requests, I'm hoping the Zoho team can finally address the lack of native multi-page form support in Zoho Creator. This has been one of the longest-standing feature requests in the community, with threads spanning nearly two decades:
The Issue
Zoho Creator currently has no native support for multi-page forms (also known as wizard forms, step forms, or tabbed forms). When building applications with complex data entry requirements—employee onboarding, loan applications, patient intake, vendor registration—developers have no built-in way to break a single form into logical, digestible steps.
Meanwhile, Zoho Forms has had robust multi-page form support for years, including page breaks, progress indicators, conditional page navigation, and page rules. This creates an inconsistency within Zoho's own product ecosystem.
The Product Asymmetry
The disparity between Zoho Forms and Zoho Creator is striking:
Capability Zoho Forms Zoho Creator
Page Break field type ✓ Native support
Drag-and-drop page breaks
✗ Not available
Progress indicator / Step bar ✓ Built-in
Shows respondent progress
✗ Not available
Page navigation (Next/Previous) ✓ Automatic
Customizable button labels
✗ Not available
Conditional page skipping ✓ Page Rules
Skip pages based on answers
✗ Not available
Page-level validation ✓ Validates before advancing ✗ Not available
Single form, single record ✓ Yes ✗ Requires multiple forms
The irony: Zoho Forms—a standalone form builder—has more sophisticated form UX capabilities than Zoho Creator—a full application development platform. Developers building enterprise applications in Creator are stuck with inferior form experiences compared to a simple survey tool.
Example Use Case
Consider an Employee Onboarding Form with 40+ fields across these logical sections:
  • Step 1: Personal Information (name, contact, emergency contacts)
  • Step 2: Employment Details (position, department, start date, manager)
  • Step 3: Payroll & Banking (bank account, tax forms, direct deposit)
  • Step 4: Benefits Selection (health insurance, retirement plans)
  • Step 5: IT & Equipment (laptop preference, software access, badge photo)
  • Step 6: Policies & Acknowledgments (handbook, NDA, consent forms)
Desired behavior: User completes each step, sees their progress, and can navigate back to review previous sections—all within a single form that creates a single record.

Current reality: User is presented with a massive scrolling form with 40+ fields, or developers must implement complex workarounds using multiple forms, lookups, and Deluge scripts.
The Current Workarounds (All Suboptimal)
To achieve multi-page form behavior, developers are forced into one of these suboptimal approaches:
Workaround 1: Multiple Related Forms ("Form Chain")
Create separate forms for each "step" and link them via lookups. Use Deluge scripts to pass record IDs between forms and auto-populate fields.
// Step 1 form On Success:
step2_url = "#Form:Step_2_Employment?Employee_Lookup=" + input.ID;
openUrl(step2_url, "same window");

// Step 2 form On Load:
if(input.Employee_Lookup != null)
{
emp = Employee[ID == input.Employee_Lookup];
input.Name = emp.Name;
input.Email = emp.Email;
// ... populate all fields from Step 1
}
  • Problem: Data is scattered across multiple tables
  • Problem: Complex lookup relationships and Deluge scripting required
  • Problem: No "go back" functionality—user must start over if they need to edit Step 1
  • Problem: Reporting requires joining multiple forms
  • Problem: Breaks the single-record-per-entity principle
Workaround 2: Stateless Form Daisy Chain
To avoid creating "junk" records when users abandon the form mid-process, advanced developers use Stateless Forms for intermediate steps, passing all field values via URL parameters, and only writing to the database on final submit.
// Step 1 Stateless Form - "Next" button:
step2_url = "#Form:Step_2_Stateless?"
+ "Name=" + encodeUrl(input.Name)
+ "&Email=" + encodeUrl(input.Email)
+ "&Phone=" + encodeUrl(input.Phone)
+ "&Address=" + encodeUrl(input.Address)
+ "&City=" + encodeUrl(input.City)
+ "&State=" + encodeUrl(input.State)
+ "&Zip=" + encodeUrl(input.Zip);
// ... repeat for EVERY field
openUrl(step2_url, "same window");

// Step 2 Stateless Form - "Next" button:
step3_url = "#Form:Step_3_Stateless?"
// Pass ALL fields from Step 1 again...
+ "Name=" + encodeUrl(input.Name)
+ "&Email=" + encodeUrl(input.Email)
// ... plus all Step 2 fields
+ "&Department=" + encodeUrl(input.Department)
+ "&Manager=" + encodeUrl(input.Manager);
openUrl(step3_url, "same window");

// Final Form - actually saves the record
  • Problem: Stateless forms cannot use advanced field types including Subforms, File Upload, Signature, Image, and Audio—severely limiting data collection capabilities
  • Problem: Every single field must be manually mapped in URL strings
  • Problem: Adding one field to the schema requires updating scripts on every "Next" button
  • Problem: URL length limits restrict how many fields can be passed
  • Problem: No "go back" functionality—previous values are lost unless passed forward
  • Problem: Extremely brittle—maintenance nightmare for forms with 30+ fields
Workaround 3: CSS Hacks ("Fake Tabs")
Use Notes fields with custom HTML/CSS to create tab-like visual navigation, combined with hide/show field rules triggered by a radio button "step selector." This can work with individual fields or Section fields (to hide/show groups at once).
// Radio field "Current_Step" with options: Step 1, Step 2, Step 3...

// On User Input of Current_Step:
if(input.Current_Step == "Step 1")
{
show Section_Personal_Info;
hide Section_Employment;
hide Section_Banking;
}
else if(input.Current_Step == "Step 2")
{
hide Section_Personal_Info;
show Section_Employment;
hide Section_Banking;
}
// ... repeat for each step
  • Problem: Requires hiding/showing every field or section individually—maintenance overhead
  • Problem: CSS styling is fragile and may break with Creator UI updates
  • Problem: No native progress indicator—must build custom UI in Notes fields
  • Problem: Validation doesn't prevent "next step" navigation if current step has errors
  • Problem: All fields still load in DOM regardless of visibility, impacting performance
  • Problem: Collapsible sections are all visible simultaneously—not a true wizard experience with enforced linear progression
Workaround 4: Zoho Forms Integration
Build the multi-step form in Zoho Forms (which has native support), then push data to Creator via webhooks or integrations.
  • Problem: Requires additional Zoho Forms subscription
  • Problem: For in-app forms, users must leave the Creator application entirely, complete the form in Zoho Forms, then return to Creator—a jarring, disconnected experience
  • Problem: Data synchronization is not instantaneous—there can be delays before records appear in Creator
  • Problem: Loses Creator-specific field types (lookups to existing data, formulas, subforms)
  • Problem: Integration complexity and potential sync failures
  • Problem: Cannot use Creator's built-in workflows on form submit—must rely on integrations
Workaround 5: Custom JavaScript Widget
Build a completely custom multi-step form interface using a JavaScript Widget that handles the UI, then submits data to Creator via API.
  • Problem: Requires JavaScript development expertise—completely inaccessible to citizen developers and new users who chose Creator specifically for its low-code promise
  • Problem: Must build and maintain custom form validation, navigation, progress indicators from scratch
  • Problem: Loses all native Creator field types and behaviors—must recreate lookups, dropdowns, validations in JavaScript
  • Problem: API authentication and connection management adds complexity
  • Problem: Widget UI doesn't automatically match Creator's styling or theme changes
  • Problem: Significant development time for what should be a basic platform feature
What Should Happen Instead
Proposed Solution 1: Page Break Field Type
Add a "Page Break" field type to the Form Builder (matching Zoho Forms functionality):
Form Builder → Field Types → Page Elements → Page Break

Drag the Page Break field between sections to create multi-page forms.
Each page displays with Next/Previous navigation buttons automatically.
Proposed Solution 2: Progress Indicator Configuration
Allow developers to configure a progress bar or step indicator:
Form Properties → Multi-Page Settings:
☑ Enable progress indicator
○ Progress bar style
○ Numbered steps style
○ Named steps style

Step Labels:
Page 1: "Personal Info"
Page 2: "Employment"
Page 3: "Payroll"
...
Proposed Solution 3: Page-Level Validation
Validate required fields on the current page before allowing navigation to the next page:
// Deluge: On Page Change (new event)
if(input.Current_Page == 1 && input.Email == null)
{
alert "Please enter your email address before continuing.";
cancel page change;
}
Proposed Solution 4: Conditional Page Navigation (Page Rules)
Allow pages to be skipped based on field values (matching Zoho Forms' Page Rules):
Page Rules:
IF Employment_Type == "Contractor" THEN skip "Benefits Selection" page
IF Country != "USA" THEN skip "US Tax Forms" page
Real-World Impact
This limitation affects any application requiring:
  • Employee onboarding — HR systems with 30-50+ fields across multiple categories
  • Customer applications — Loan applications, insurance quotes, account opening
  • Patient intake — Medical history, insurance, consent forms, symptoms
  • Vendor registration — Company info, compliance documents, banking details
  • Event registration — Attendee info, session selection, dietary requirements, payment
  • Grant applications — Project details, budget, team info, supporting documents
  • Any complex data collection — Where form abandonment due to length is a concern

User Experience Impact: Research consistently shows that multi-step forms have significantly higher completion rates than single long forms. This is due to the "Goal Gradient Effect"—users are psychologically more motivated to complete a task as they see progress toward the finish line. A progress bar creates momentum; an endless scroll creates cognitive overload and abandonment.

Database Architecture Impact:
The workarounds described above force developers to fragment a single logical entity (e.g., "Employee") into multiple physical tables (Personal_Info, Employment_Details, Banking_Info, IT_Equipment) just to achieve visual pagination.
  • Reporting nightmare: Every report requires complex joins across multiple forms
  • Integration complexity: External systems expect a single record, not fragments across tables
  • Data integrity risk: Orphaned records when users abandon mid-process
  • API overhead: Multiple API calls required to fetch what should be one record
The desired state is simple: one logical entity = one database table, with the UI handling pagination visually—not structurally.
The Business Case for Zoho
Why this benefits Zoho:
  • Product consistency: Aligns Creator with Forms and other Zoho products that already support multi-step data entry
  • Competitive positioning: Platforms like Salesforce, Microsoft Power Apps, and OutSystems offer native wizard/multi-step form capabilities
  • Reduced support burden: Eliminates community posts and support requests for workarounds for this basic functionality
  • Enterprise readiness: Complex enterprise applications require sophisticated form UX—this is table stakes for enterprise adoption
  • Developer productivity: Native wizard capabilities remove the overhead of building UI workarounds from scratch, cutting development cycles by hours. Instead of troubleshooting custom flow-control scripts, developers can focus on optimizing user experience and accelerating time-to-market for core business features.
Request to Zoho Team

Can this finally be addressed?

After over 17 years of community requests, the need is clear and well-documented. The current implementation forces developers to choose between:

1. Poor User Experience
Present users with overwhelming, scroll-heavy single-page forms that increase abandonment rates
2. Excessive Complexity
Spend days implementing fragile workarounds using multiple forms, CSS hacks, or external integrations

We shouldn't have to make this choice—especially when Zoho Forms already has this capability built-in.

Community Input Requested: What workaround have you used in the absence of native support? Please add your voice to this long-standing request.


      • Recent Topics

      • Invoice template, how to change the text under "Notes" and "Terms and Conditions"

        In "Invoice templates", there are two text/info sections at the bottom:"Notes" and "Terms and Conditions". It is possible to change the names of these two headings, but how is it possible to change/alter the text under it. As a standard it says "Thank you for your business" under Notes - I need to change it into something different- How? Thank you.
      • Recurring Tasks and Reminders in Projects

        Recurring tasks are tasks that are created once, and then recreated automatically after a designated time period. For example, the invoice for your billable tasks is due every week. You can set that task to recreate itself every week. Also, the future
      • Unable to remove the “Automatically Assigned” territory from existing records

        Hello Zoho Community Team, We are currently using Territory Management in Zoho CRM and have encountered an issue with automatically assigned territories on Account records. Once any account is created the territory is assigned automatically, the Automatically
      • Improved Functionality PO Bill SO Invoice

        Hello, I need to enter over 100 items, it's frustrating to scroll a few item rows and wait for more to load, then scroll again. It would be nice to have buttons that scroll to the top or bottom with one click. Furthermore, these items I'm adding are VAT
      • Wishes for 2026

        Hello, and a happy new year 2026! Let's hope it's better for everyone. I'd like to share some thoughts on Zoho One and what could be useful in the short, medium, and long term. Some things are already there, but not applied to Zoho One. Others seem like
      • How to Integrate Zoho Books with Xero (No Native Connection Available)

        Hi everyone, I’m currently facing an issue with integrating Zoho Books invoices with Xero, as I’ve noticed Zoho does not provide a native integration with Xero at this time. I would like to ask: What are the common or recommended solutions for syncing
      • ZohoSalesIQ.Chat cannot send messages

        Chat cannot send messages. Our app implements the customer service chat window functionality by integrating the Mobilisten SDK. Recently, we encountered an issue: after successful SDK initialization and visitor registration, when the `startWithQuestion`
      • Markup instead of discount??

        Is it possible to have the discount field on an invoice or estimate be a markup instead? It's the very same functionality that I am looking for - to be able to markup an individual item by either a $ or a % and have that cost added (instead of subtracted) to the item cost.  Currently, I use the tax feature to accomplish this, but it's very awkward to have "Markup 15%" listed after the subtotal. Plus, if I want to markup items at different rates, I end up with several "markup" lines in the totals
      • Plan switch

        I thought I pressed the Free button, but after they set up the account, I see that I am on a Premium trial. Is this usual? How do I get onto the Free version?
      • 'Tax registration date'?

        The second question in setting up is 'Tax registration date'. My first question: which tax? My second question: why do you need the registration date?
      • What if we don't have an ABN?

        Australian business. Setting up. We have no ABN. It's not compulsory. Field not allowed to be blank. What to do?
      • Keeping track of project expenses

        I have talked to a few support techs and it is very hard for me to believe that Zoho's project accounting software can't keep accounts for my projects. I must not understand what they're saying. We get a contract to build something. So the project revenue
      • Linking Multi-UOM Barcodes to Products in Zoho Books

        Greetings, I'm using Zoho Books for retail shop and I'm running into a bit of a challenge with products that have multiple Units of Measurement (UOMs) and corresponding barcodes. For example, I sell cigarettes both as individual packets and in cartons
      • How to change "from" email address when invoicing.

        HELP! I'm new to Zoho Books and when I first set it up used a different email address than I currently want to use. I've tried to go to settings and change the default email address but when I generate an invoice it still shows the old email address (although I can't find it anywhere else). I really need to get this changed before I can use the program. Any help would be appreciated.
      • Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed

        Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was posted
      • Hide/Show Subform Fields On User Input

        Hello, Are there any future updates in Hide/Show Subform Fields "On User Input"?
      • Cloning Item With Images Or The Option With Images

        Hello, when I clone an item, I expect the images to carry over to the cloned item, however this is not the case in Inventory. Please make it possible for the images to get cloned or at least can we get a pop up asking if we want to clone the images as
      • Custom validation in CRM schema

        Validation rules in CRM layouts work nicely, good docs by @Kiran Karthik P https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/validation-rules/articles/create-validation-rules I'd prefer validating data input 'closer to the schema'
      • Adding Default Module Image into mail merge field

        As with most people finding their way to these forums i have a specific requirement that doesn't seem to be supported by Zoho I have created 2 custom modules to suit my purpose 1 is an inventory type module that lists aluminium extrusions, and all relevant
      • Is it possible to roll up all Contact emails to the Account view?

        Is there a way to track all emails associated with an Account in one single view? Currently, email history is visible when opening an individual Contact record. However, since multiple Contacts are often associated with a single Account, it would be beneficial
      • Managing credit cards

        Hi, I'm hoping someone on this forum can help me out managing credit card accounts.  Transaction are entered as expenses using the credit card account and, as expected, the card balance shows as a negative since this is clearly money I owe them.  Once I make a payment, of the full amount owed, I woudl expect the balance to become zero. It doesn't, the negative balance just keeps on increasing even though the payment is reflected correctly in my main operating account.  No-one at Zoho seems to understand
      • Free Training - Explore What’s New in Zoho One 2025

        Greetings! We hope you have all had a chance by now to get hands-on with the new features and updates released as part of ZO25. Yes, we understand that you may have questions and feedback. To ensure you gain a comprehensive understanding of these updates,
      • Quick way to add a field in Chat Window

        I want to add Company Field in chat window to lessen the irrelevant users in sending chat and set them in mind that we are dealing with companies. I request that it will be as easy as possible like just ticking it then typing the label then connecting
      • How to create a two way Sync with CRM Contacts Module?

        Newbie creator here (but not to Zoho CRM). I want to create an app that operates on a sub-set of CRM Contacts - only those with a specific tag. I want the app records to mirror the tagged contacts in CRM. I would like it to update when the Creator app
      • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

        Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?
      • How to import data from PDF into Zoho Sheet

        I am looking to import Consolidated Account Statement (https://www.camsonline.com/Investors/Statements/Consolidated-Account-Statement) into zoho sheet. Any help is appreciated. The pdf is received as attachment in the email, this document is password
      • Trigger Workflow, Approval Process, Blueprint by Deluge in Zoho CRM

        #Tips & Trick If you intend to activate your Workflow, Approval Process, or Blueprint through either the deluge script or Zoho CRM API during the creation, updating, or deletion of a record Try this Script mp = Map(); trigger = List(); // Workflow trigger.add("workflow");
      • Zoho Projects Android app: Integration with Microsoft Intune

        Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce that Zoho Projects now integrates with Microsoft Intune, enabling enhanced security and enterprise app management. We have now added support for Microsoft Intune Mobile Application Management (MAM) policies through
      • Cant't update custom field when custom field is external lookup in Zoho Books

        Hello I use that : po = zoho.books.updateRecord("purchaseorders",XXXX,purchaseorder_id,updateCustomFieldseMap,"el_books_connection"); c_f_Map2 = Map(); c_f_Map2.put("label","EL ORDER ID"); c_f_Map2.put("value",el_order_id); c_f_List.add(c_f_Map2); updateCustomFieldseMap
      • Admin asked me for Backend Details when I wanted to verify my ZeptoMail Account

        Please provide the backend details where you will be adding the SMTP/API information of ZeptoMail Who knows what this means?
      • Kaizen #223 - File Manager in CRM Widget Using ZRC Methods

        Hello, CRM Wizards! Here is what we are improving this week with Kaizen. we will explore the new ZRC (Zoho Request Client) introduced in Widget SDK v1.5, and learn how to use it to build a Related List Widget that integrates with Zoho WorkDrive. It helps
      • Set connection link name from variable in invokeurl

        Hi, guys. How to set in parameter "connection" a variable, instead of a string. connectionLinkName = manager.get('connectionLinkName').toString(); response = invokeurl [ url :"https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/freeBusy" type :POST parameters:requestParams.toString()
      • Possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox with Zoho Creator's Sandbox?

        We are making some big changes on our CRM so we are testing it out in CRM's Sandbox. We also have a Zoho Creator app that we need to test. Is it possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox to Zoho Creator's Sandbox so that I can perform those tests?
      • I Need Help Verifying Ownership of My Zoho Help Desk on Google Search Console

        I added my Zoho desk portal to Google Search Console, but since i do not have access to the html code of my theme, i could not verify ownership of my portal on Google search console. I want you to help me place the html code given to me from Google search
      • Timeline Tracker

        Hi Team, I am currently using Zoho Creator – Blueprint Workflows, and I would like to know if there is a way to track a timeline of the approval process within a Blueprint. Specifically, I am looking for details such as: Who submitted the record Who clicked
      • Primary / Other Billing Contacts

        If you add an additional contact to a Zoho Billing Customer record, and then mark this new contact as the primary contact, will both the new primary and old primary still receive notifications? Can you stop notifications from going to the additional contacts
      • Is it possible to enforce a single default task for all users in a Zoho Projects ?

        In Zoho Projects, the Tasks module provides multiple views, including List, Gantt, and Kanban. Additionally, users can create and switch to their own custom views. During project review meetings, this flexibility creates confusion because different users
      • [Free Webinar] Zoho Creator webinars - Learning Table and Creator Tech Connect Series in 2026

        Hello everyone, Wishing you all a wonderful new year! May 2026 and the years ahead bring more opportunities, growth, and learning your way 🙂 We’re excited to kick off the 2026 edition of the Learning Table Series and Creator Tech Connect Series ! Learning
      • Reply and react to comments

        Hi everyone! We're excited to bring to you a couple of new features that'll make your sprint process simpler. A cloud application brings with it an array of social media features that can be efficiently used in your organizational setup. As an agile scrum
      • Module Customisation - Lookup function not available

        Good evening, Within my business, I can have multiple customers, who have multiple mobile assets. When I set these assets up, I enter information such as vehicle registration, Vehicle identification number (VIN), Unit number, YOM, in addition to others.
      • Next Page