I need to work with existing data

I need to perform some tasks with existing data and attachments. What are my options. The AI seems to indicate that I can only perform workflows on new submissions. Is that the case?

Hi Thomas,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. Let me help you with that:

Currently, workflows in Jotform are designed to trigger and operate on new submissions as they come in. This means that performing workflows directly on existing data and attachments from previous submissions is not supported in the same way.

However, you can still access and manage your existing data and attachments manually or through integrations outside of the workflow automation. For workflows, they primarily work with new incoming submissions to automate tasks.

If you need to update or adjust your workflows, you can edit them via the Workflow Builder either from the My Workflows page or directly from the Form Builder. This allows you to refine your processes for new submissions going forward.

Let us know if you want guidance on managing existing data or editing workflows.

For integrations, are there any options to manipulate/work with existing data? AI says there are no options for automatic bulk transfer of data.

Hi Thomas,

Regarding integrations and working with existing data, currently, there are no options for automatic bulk transfer or manipulation of existing submission data through Jotform integrations. Integrations typically work with new submissions as they come in rather than bulk processing of past data.

If you need to manage or transfer data, manual export and import processes or using third-party tools outside of Jotform might be necessary.

Thats really unfortunate.

Hi Thomas,

I understand that this limitation can be frustrating. While Jotform currently does not support automatic bulk processing of existing data through workflows or integrations, we continuously work on improving our platform and features.

In the meantime, if you have specific tasks or workflows in mind, I can help suggest possible workarounds or manual methods to assist you.

Your bulk download process uses the unique id to label the folders. Which forces me to create a relabeling process which is very cumbersome. I just want to download existing attachments with names that relate to the data collected.

Hi Thomas,

Regarding the bulk download process for attachments, Jotform currently labels the folders using the unique submission ID, which can indeed make it cumbersome to manually relabel them to match your collected data.

Unfortunately, there is no built-in option to automatically rename downloaded attachments to reflect the data collected in your submissions. The folder and file naming convention is fixed to ensure uniqueness and avoid conflicts.

One workaround could be to customize the filenames of PDF attachments in email notifications or exports by including form fields in the filename, but this does not apply directly to bulk attachment downloads.

If you want, I can help guide you on how to customize PDF filenames in notifications or explore other manual methods to organize your downloaded files more efficiently.

Hi Thomas,

Yes, you can export data from Jotform Boards. Jotform provides an Export Data feature that allows you to download your submission data as a CSV file, along with your forms as HTML files and uploaded files, all bundled in a single ZIP file.

To export your data, you can go to your Account page, select Data on the left panel, and then click the Download My Data button under the Export Data section. From there, you can create a new export, select the desired time frame and data to export, and prepare the download.

The process may take some time depending on the size of your data. Once ready, you can download the zipped data directly from the page or via a notification email sent to your registered email address.

where is my accounts page? Do you mean the main page?

Hi Thomas,

The Account page is where you manage your Jotform account settings and data. To access it, log in to your Jotform account and click on your profile icon or avatar in the top-right corner of the main page. From the dropdown menu, select Settings. This will take you to your Account page.

On the left side of the Account page, you will see a menu where you can select Data. Under the Data section, you will find the Export Data option where you can create and manage your data exports.

This is separate from the main My Forms page where you manage your forms.

I was looking to export board data, I don't see that option

Hi Thomas,

Currently, Jotform does not offer a direct option to export data specifically from Jotform Boards. The Export Data feature allows you to download your forms, submission data, and uploaded files as a ZIP file from your Account page, but this export includes all your data rather than board-specific data.

If you want to work with data from a particular board, you may need to manually filter or organize your submissions within the board and then export the relevant data using the general export option.

Your answer is internally inconsistent. You say you can't export and then offer way for me to export. which is correct

Hi Thomas,

Thank you for pointing that out. Let me clarify: Jotform does not have a dedicated feature to export data directly from individual Jotform Boards as a separate export option.

However, you can export your overall submission data, forms, and uploaded files through the Export Data feature found in your Account page. This export includes all your data and is not limited to specific boards.

So, while there isn't a board-specific export, you can still export your data in bulk and then filter or organize it as needed outside of Jotform.

I hope this clears up the confusion.

Hi Thomas,

To help you better, can you confirm what you mean by automatic bulk transfer of data? If you mean to export the data to a different platform, like Google Sheets, you can do that by integrating your form with Google Sheets. You can import data to an existing Google Sheet using our Google Sheets Integration. Let me show you how to set that up. First, let's connect your Google account to the form:

1. In Form Builder, in the orange navigation bar at the top of the page, click on Settings.
2. In the menu on the left, click on Integrations and select the Google Sheets integration.
3. Now, select Use an Existing Spreadsheet and click on Next.
4. Then, click on Authenticate and connect your Google account.

Then, let's set up the integration settings:

1. Once you connect your Google account, click on Add Action.
2. In the Select a Spreadsheet section, click on Select, and
3. Select your Google Spreadsheet in the window that opens and click on Select.
4. Scroll down, make sure Send Existing Submissions to the Sheet option is selected and click the on Save button at the bottom right of the settings. That’s it.

Once everything is set up, your existing submissions will be sent to your spreadsheet. Any new submissions to your form will also update your Google Spreadsheet automatically. Check out the screencast below to see how it'll work:

To keep the conversation organized, I moved your other question to its own thread, and someone from our Support Team will help you with it here.

Let us know if you need any more help.

Are there any options to export existing submissions other than google sheets? I don't use google sheets. The Zapier integration for excel seems to indicate it only applies to future submissions

Hi Thomas,

Yes, the Microsoft Excel integration through Zapier primarily works with new submissions and does not support automatic bulk transfer or export of existing submissions. Zapier triggers actions based on new form submissions rather than processing past data, so the workaround provided by my colleague is the best way to export bulk existing submissions.

Let us know if you need any other help.