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

        • Passing the CRM

          Hi, I am hoping someone can help. I have a zoho form that has a CRM lookup field. I was hoping to send this to my publicly to clients via a text message and the form then attaches the signed form back to the custom module. This work absolutely fine when
        • Can I add Conditional merge tags on my Templates?

          Hi I was wondering if I can use Conditional Mail Merge tags inside my Email templates/Quotes etc within the CRM? In spanish and in our business we use gender and academic degree salutations , ie: Dr., Dra., Sr., Srta., so the beginning of an email / letter
        • Zoho Browser??

          hai guys, this sounds awkward but can v get a ZOHO BROWSER same as zoho writer, etc. where i can browse websites @ home and continue browsing the same websites @ my office, as v have the option in Firefox, once i save and close the browser and again when i open it i will be getting the same sites. If u people r not clear with my explanation, plz let me know. Thanks, Sandeep  
        • Let’s Talk Recruit: LinkedIn Cheatsheet

          Welcome to the first edition of Let’s Talk Recruit for 2026. We are kicking off the year by revisiting one of the most asked about topics in Zoho Recruit. How our LinkedIn integrations actually work and how recruiters can get the most value from them.
        • Zoho Forms API

          Is there any way to get all form entry list using API? Looking forward to hear from you
        • Ability to Set Client Name During Portal Invitation

          Hi Zoho Team, We would like to suggest an important enhancement to the Zoho Creator Client Portal functionality. Zoho Creator recently introduced the option to set a client’s display name in the Client Portal settings, which is very helpful for creating
        • Move email between inboxes?

          Is it possible to move emails from one team inbox to another? We would like to be able to have a single "catch-all" inbox for incoming requests, and then move the email to the appropriate department inbox. I was hoping we would be able to accomplish this
        • PDF Attachment Option for Service Reports

          Hello Team, I would like to check with you all if there is an option to attach PDF documents to the service reports. When I try to attach a file, the system only allows the following formats: JPEG, JPG, and PNG. Could you please confirm whether PDF attachments
        • 【Zoho CRM】データ一覧画面でのメモのバッジ機能リリースのお知らせ

          ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。2026年度もゾーホーユーザーコミュニティをどうぞよろしくお願いいたします! 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、新機能のデータ一覧画面でのメモのバッジ機能をご紹介します。 目次 概要 メモのバッジ機能について メモの作成について メモに関する様々な処理について 最近追加したメモについて メモのバッジの非表示について クライアントスクリプトの対応 概要  メモのバッジ機能について 既存の活動バッジに加えて、すべてのタブのデータ一覧表示画面に、各データごとに利用できる「メモのバッジ」(キャプチャ内の赤枠部分)が新たに導入されました。
        • is it possible to add more than one Whatsapp Phone Number to be integrated to Zoho CRM?

          so I have successfully added one Whatsapp number like this from this User Interface it seems I can't add a new Whatsapp Number. I need to add a new Whatsapp Number so I can control the lead assignment if a chat sent to Whatsapp Phone Number 1 then assign
        • Can’t find fsm in zoho one

          Every other app is available to me in Zoho one except fsm
        • Posibility to add Emoticons on the Email Subject of Templates

          Hi I´ve tried to add Emoticons on the Subject line of Email templates, the emoticon image does show up before saving the template or if I add the Emoticon while sending an Individual email and placing it manually on the subject line. Emoticons also show
        • Task Deletion Restriction & Strict Stage Control

          Hello Zoho Community, We have the following two issues currently pending and under testing, for which we require a workable and reliable solution: 1. Task Deletion Restriction We are testing ways to ensure that staff users are not able to delete tasks
        • Unable to mass update a picklist field

          Hello, I have the records within our Accounts module divided between two account types: Parent Accounts & Member Accounts. I am attempting to mass update accounts from one picklist value to the other (within other specific criteria in our custom fields)
        • Process checklist in CRM

          Hi We've created a new sales process that I'm mapping into the CRM - issue I have is that some of the tasks / milestones I would like to capture require very simple tick box responses but there are quite a few under a variety of sub categories so I don't
        • CRM project association via deluge

          I have created a workflow in my Zoho CRM for closing a deal. Part of this workflow leverages a deluge script to create a project for our delivery team. Creating the project works great however, after or during the project creation, I would like to associate
        • Holidays - Cannot Enter Two Holidays on Same Day

          I have a fairly common setup, where part-time employees receive 1/2 day's pay on a holiday and full-time employees receive a full day's pay. Historically, I've been able to accommodate this by entering two separate holidays, one that covers full-time
        • Where is the settings option in zoho writer?

          hi, my zoho writer on windows has menu fonts too large. where do i find the settings to change this option? my screen resolution is correct and other apps/softwares in windows have no issues. regards
        • File emails in Shared email folder

          Hi, I am unable to allow users to collaborate in Shared email folders: User 1 shares a folder let's say "SharedTopic" with full permissions Users 2 and 3 can see this folder but are unable to add emails to this folder or search in this folder. For example,
        • This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

          Hi Team, when I,m trying to create a email account (imagixmidia.com.br) it's showing this error >>  This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details plz help me  thanks
        • How to manage task lists in Zoho Desk?

          Hello, I use Zoho Desk for IT customer support. I have a list of standard operating procedures (SOPs), including SOPs for onboarding new users, offboarding users, losing a device, etc. These are lists of tasks to be performed depending on the situation.
        • User

          If user is already part of manage engine endpoint central , what hapens when i try to add them to another Zoho org / directory? Are these users added as external users?
        • Activating Zobot instead of chat

          Hi folks, I know this will be obvious, but I have not been able to locate the details on this via google or youtube. We've had SalesIQ life chat set up for a while now and it is working perfectly. I have just finished development of a Zobot (using codeless)
        • Adding a new section to the related details sidebar when creating a new ticket.

          Hello, I was wondering if you can add a new section to the related details sidebar when creating a new ticket. I was wanting to have it to where it also shows the account information related to the contact chosen as well. This is the section I am referring
        • Displaying only unread tickets in ticket view

          Hello, I was wondering if someone might be able to help me with this one. We use filters to display our ticket list, typically using a saved filter which displays the tickets which are overdue or due today. What I'd really like is another filter that
        • One Contact with Multiple Accounts with Portal enabled

          I have a contact that manages different accounts, so he needs to see the invoices of all the companies he manage in Portal but I found it not possible.. any idea? I tried to set different customers with the same email contact with the portal enabled and
        • Is Zoho Shifts included in the Zoho One plan?

          In case the answer is no: there's any plan to make it available via One? Thank you
        • Zoho Tracking Image location

          So we've been having an issue with tracking email opens. Specifically in Gmail. Our emails are not that long either, maybe 4 sections of image/250 characters of text/button per section.  But all my test accounts I used via Gmail we're showing opens. But then come to find out the tracking image is at the very bottom of the email. So If the message is clipped (It always just clips our social icons on the bottom) and the user doesn't click the show more button it never tracks the open.  Looking at other
        • Creating an invoice to be paid in two installments?

          Hi there, I own a small Photographic Services business and have not been able to find a way to fit my billing system into Zoho, or any other Accounting software. The way my payments work is: 1. Customer pays 50% of total price of service to secure their
        • Zoho Tables is now live in Australia & New Zealand!

          Hey everyone! We’ve got some great news to share — Zoho Tables is now officially available in the Australian Data Center serving users across Australia and New Zealand regions! Yes, it took us a bit longer to get here, but this version of Zoho Tables
        • Delivery and handling of documents e-stamped using Zoho Sign

          Hello everyone! Zoho Sign makes it easy to pay non judicial stamp duty online and automatically attach the digitally generated e-stamp challan to electronic documents. We also manage the delivery of physical e-stamped papers. We periodically receive these
        • Introducing Dedicated Modules for Plans, Addons, and Coupons in Zoho Billing

          We’ve enhanced the way you manage Plans, Addons, and Coupons in Zoho Billing. Previously, all three grouped together under Subscription Items. Now, each one has its own dedicated module, giving you a cleaner and more intuitive experience. This update
        • Sortie de Zoho TABLE ??

          Bonjour, Depuis bientôt 2 ans l'application zoho table est sortie en dehors de l'UE ? Depuis un an elle est annoncée en Europe Mais en vrai, c'est pour quand exactement ??
        • Drop Down Value

          Hi, May I know why Zoho Flow treat this drop down as number and not as string. If so, how can I fetch the right value for filtering. This field is from Creator, in Creator upon checking by default it is a string since it's not a lookup field.
        • Zoho CRM's mobile apps: A 2025 Recap

          2025 marked a year of steady progress for Zoho CRM's mobile apps. We rolled out several updates and features to improve usability and make everyday CRM work a lot easier to manage. Here’s a look back at some of the key releases from 2025. Android releases
        • Facebook follower count doesn't match FB Analytics

          Hi all, I am wondering if anyone else has issues with follower counts for Facebook not matching FB's native analytics tool. On the Zoho dashboard, it's showing 1,007, but FB shows 1,060. All the other channels match up. Any insights are much appreciated!
        • Meta and Facebook data report discrepancy

          I have been currently gathering manually facebook follower data thru meta. In zoho marketing plus the social media reporting only allows for page likes, and so there is a discrepancy with the data. please the difference in files attached. Is there way
        • Unlocking New Levels: Zoho Payroll's Journey in 2025

          Every year brings its own set of challenges and opportunities to rethink how payroll works across regulations and teams. In 2025, Zoho Payroll continued to evolve with one clear focus: giving businesses more flexibility, clarity, and control as they grow.
        • Can I export all attachments from Zoho CRM?

          Can I export all attachments from Zoho CRM?
        • Community Digest — Noviembre y Diciembre 2025

          ¡Hola, Comunidad de Zoho en Español! Cerramos el año de la mejor forma con nuestro último Community Digest de 2025, donde podrás encontrar las últimas novedades de nuestros productos. ¿Todo listo para empezar 2026 con el mejor pie? ¡Vamos a ello! Zoho
        • Next Page