How to manage form submissions

The **Submissions** page collects every response sent through your portal forms and lays them out as a spreadsheet, one row per submission. From there you filter the queue, correct a value in place, mark what has been dealt with, export the results, and merge a submission into a client record.

### Overview

- **What it is:** A spreadsheet view of the responses your portal forms have collected, with a detail screen behind every row.
- **Why it matters:** Centralizing form data removes manual re-keying, speeds up intake, and keeps a clear record of which responses have been dealt with.
- **Who uses it:** Staff who process incoming form data from clients or the public.
- **Expected outcomes:** Faster intake processing, fewer data-entry errors, and client records built from what was actually submitted.

### Prerequisites

- Access to **Admin** > **Portals** in the main navigation
- At least one form attached to a portal and collecting responses
- A role that allows updating submissions, if you plan to correct values, change statuses, archive, trash, or merge

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Open the Submissions page

1. Click **Admin** > **Portals** in the main navigation.
2. Click the **Submissions** tab.

The page opens on the every-form view. A counter under the heading reads how many rows are loaded out of the total matching your filters.

#### Step 2: Choose a form

1. Select a form in the **Form** picker at the top of the page. It filters as you type and sits on **All forms** until you choose one.
2. Click **View Form** under the picker to open the form itself.
3. Clear the picker to go back to every form at once.

With one form selected, the table shows that form's questions as columns. Across every form it shows the record level columns instead: **Name**, **Language**, **Client**, **Notes**, and **IP Address**, plus a **Form** column naming where each row came from. Both views carry **Open**, **Status**, and **Created** columns. The chosen form is written to the address bar, so the view can be bookmarked or shared.

#### Step 3: Search and filter

1. Enter a word or value in the **Search** box to match the answers inside a submission. The search runs on its own after a short pause, and the **Search** button applies it right away.
2. Click **Filters** to open the rest of the panel. The button carries a badge counting the filters you have set.
3. Set **Status**, **Created From**, **Created To**, **Portal**, **Email**, **Phone**, or **Client**.
4. Tick **Archived** or **Trashed** to review submissions that have been set aside.
5. Click **Apply** to run the filters, or **Clear filters** to start over.

**Email** and **Phone** match the whole value, so enter a complete address or number rather than part of one. **Created To** includes everything submitted on the day you pick, right up to 23:59:59. Choose **No status (historic)** under **Status** to reach older rows that were stored without one. Filters live in the address bar, so a filtered queue survives a reload and can be sent to a colleague as a link.

#### Step 4: Choose which columns to show

1. Click **Columns** and untick any field you do not want on screen.
2. Click **Show all** to bring them back.

**Columns** appears only when a single form is selected. Your choice is remembered per form in that browser, and hidden columns are still written to a CSV export.

#### Step 5: Review a submission

1. Click anywhere on a row to open the full submission, or click the button in the **Open** column.
2. Read each answer in the **Submission Data** card.
3. Click a file name in the files card to open an attachment in a new tab. Each one lists its size and type.
4. Click **Previous** or **Next** to move through the 100 most recent submissions on the same form.

The **Attached Form** card links back to the form the response came from, and a client card appears once the submission is linked to a client.

#### Step 6: Track what has been dealt with

1. Turn on **Edit mode** and choose a value in the **Status** column, or open the submission, set **Review Status**, and click **Save**.
2. Filter by **Status** to pull up everything still waiting on someone.
3. Check several rows, click **Mark In Review**, **Mark Needs Info**, or **Mark Processed**, then click **Confirm**.

The default statuses are New, In Review, Needs Info, and Processed, and there is one **Mark** button per status. To use your own list instead, go to **Admin** > **Settings** > **Statuses** and create statuses with **Type** set to submission. To choose where new responses start, set **Default Submission Status** in the form's **Submission Settings**.

#### Step 7: Correct a value

1. Select a single form in the **Form** picker, because the **Edit mode** switch only appears there.
2. Turn on **Edit mode**.
3. Click a cell and type. Enter saves and moves down, Tab saves and moves across, Esc cancels, and leaving a cell saves as well.
4. Click **Undo** on the bar that appears after each save to put the previous value back.

Cells holding a file or an image cannot be edited. **Name**, **Review Status**, **Default Language**, and **Internal Notes** are edited on the submission itself and saved with **Save**. While **Edit mode** is on, responses arriving in the background are held back and counted in a bar rather than shifting rows under your cursor. Click **Show**, or turn **Edit mode** off, to fold them in.

#### Step 8: Work on several submissions at once

1. Tick the checkbox at the start of each row, or the one in the header to take every row loaded.
2. Click **Archive**, **Trash**, or one of the **Mark** buttons.
3. Click **Confirm**.

**Deselect All** clears the selection and **Select All** takes every row currently loaded. Archived and trashed submissions leave the list. Tick **Archived** or **Trashed** in the filters to find them again, then use **Restore**.

#### Step 9: Export submissions

1. Apply the form and filters you want the export to cover.
2. Click **Export** at the top right.
3. Read the two lines at the foot of the menu. They state separately what CSV covers and what PDF covers.
4. Click **CSV** or **PDF**.

CSV writes every record matching the current filters, not only the rows loaded into the table, so a large form takes a moment to gather before the download starts. The file is named after the selected form and stamped with today's date, columns you have hidden are still included, and across every form it gains a **Form** column plus a column for each question found in those submissions.

PDF is different. It downloads one file per submission, up to the first 100 matching your filters, or exactly the rows you have checked. A progress bar counts the files as they arrive, and **Cancel** stops the ones that have not started yet.

To export one response on its own, open it and click **PDF** or **CSV** there.

#### Step 10: Merge a submission into a client record

1. Open the submission and click **Merge to Client**.
2. Enter a name, reference, phone, or email in **Search clients**, then pick the client from the results. To start a new record instead, click **Create a new client instead**.
3. Check the mapping table. It lists each **Submission field**, its **Value**, and the **Client field** the value will be written to.
4. Set any dropdown you want to carry across that is still on **Do not merge**.
5. Click **Merge to client**, or **Create client and merge** for a new record.

Answers whose labels match a client field are mapped for you, and the fields on offer are First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Client Reference, Date of Birth, Language, Group, Type, Notes, Email, and Phone. Email and phone values are added to the client as contact methods, and everything else overwrites the client field it is mapped to. If two answers point at the same client field, the confirm button stays disabled until you choose between them. Once merged, the submission is linked to that client and the button reads **Change Client**.

#### Step 11: Set up staff notifications

1. Go to **Admin** > **Portals** > **Forms** and open the form you want to monitor.
2. Enter a comma-separated list of email addresses in **Notify on Submission** under **Submission Settings**.
3. Click **Save**.

**Submission Settings** is hidden on a form that sends visitors to an external URL through **External Redirect**.

### What to Expect

New responses appear in the table as they arrive, without a reload. A cell edit saves shortly after you leave the cell, and the undo bar stays on screen for about ten seconds. Bulk status changes are sent one record at a time and reported once at the end, and any row the server refuses goes back to the status it had. Archived and trashed submissions drop out of the list straight away. Merged values reach the client record immediately, so anything that depends on client fields uses the updated information from then on.

### Best Practices

- Work the queue by status: filter to **New**, then mark each row as you deal with it.
- Hide columns you never read with **Columns**, so the answers that matter stay on screen.
- Turn **Edit mode** off when you are only reading, so a stray click cannot change a value.
- Archive submissions once they are processed, so the active list holds only what still needs attention.
- Check the rows you want before running a PDF export, because PDF otherwise stops at the first 100.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Can I edit a submission after it has been submitted?**

A: Yes. Turn on **Edit mode** to correct a cell in the table, or open the submission to change its **Name**, **Review Status**, **Default Language**, **Internal Notes**, and any answer in the **Submission Data** card.

**Q: Why does a CSV export hold more rows than the table shows?**

A: The table loads a page of rows at a time as you scroll, while a CSV export gathers every record matching the current form and filters first. The message after the download says how many rows went into the file.

**Q: Why did PDF give me a pile of separate files?**

A: PDF renders one file per submission rather than one combined document. With no rows checked it takes the first 100 matching your filters, so check the rows you want when you need particular submissions.

**Q: Why can I not see the Edit mode switch?**

A: **Edit mode** and **Columns** appear only once you select a single form in the **Form** picker. Across every form the table shows the shared record columns instead of one form's questions.

**Q: What can clients attach to a form?**

A: PNG, JPG, GIF, WEBP, PDF, TXT, DOC, DOCX, and XLSX files, up to 10 MB each. The form rejects anything larger or of another type.

**Q: What happens to the old value when I merge?**

A: Each client field you map is overwritten with the submitted value. Fields left on **Do not merge** are untouched, and email and phone are added to the client as contact methods.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** An email or phone filter returns nothing.

**Symptoms:** The results are empty for an address or number you know exists.

**Solution:** Those two filters match the whole value, not part of it. Enter the complete address or number, or use the **Search** box instead, which matches inside the submitted answers.

**Issue:** CSV and PDF cannot be clicked.

**Symptoms:** The **Export** menu opens but both options are greyed out.

**Solution:** The current filters match no records. Click **Clear filters**, or widen them, and try again.

**Issue:** Clicking a row does not open the submission.

**Symptoms:** Rows respond to the click but nothing opens.

**Solution:** Turn **Edit mode** off, since it turns row clicks into cell edits. A click that ends a text selection across cells is also treated as a copy, so click a single cell instead, or use the button in the **Open** column.

**Issue:** The merge cannot be confirmed.

**Symptoms:** **Merge to client** or **Create client and merge** stays disabled on the mapping step.

**Solution:** Map at least one field, and make sure no two answers point at the same **Client field**. A warning names any client field that has been mapped twice.

**Issue:** There is no Merge to Client button.

**Symptoms:** The submission opens but the merge button is missing.

**Solution:** The submission is archived or trashed. Open **Tools** and click **Restore**, then merge it.

### Related Articles

- [How to Create Forms](/how-to-create-forms)
- [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to review form submissions](/how-to-review-form-submissions)
- [How to Manage Clients](/how-to-manage-clients)