Saving progress in an online form prior to submission (need to save the data within the form)

[far_CF]

Hi there! 

Just wanted to get some suggestions or ideas if its even possible with Nintex forms.

I've been using the Responsive desginer to create an online form. The key requirement of the form is to be able to save the information once someone has logged on and accessed the form. It might take a couple of days to fill out all the questions in the form, I want to know if there is a way to save their progress within the form prior to sumitting the form?? and How can I acheive this? We can't afford to lose any data they have already added. Most of the questions are yes/no and some require an input box if "No".  

I'm not sure if this is something that can be done using Nintex workflow?? If so, how??

I'm fairly new to building forms and coding in Nintex forms. I'd appreciate any help or ideas!!! 

Thank you in advance 🙂 

[bamaeric]

Hi there.  Which version of Nintex Forms are you using?  Are you using the Responsive Designer or New Reponsive Designer?

[far_CF]

I am using the New Responsive Designer. The most current version (I think)

[bamaeric]

Thanks for the info.  Which version of Nintex are you using for your form -- SharePoint on-premise, SharePoint O365, or Nintex Workflow Cloud?

[far_CF]

I am using SharePoint O365

[bamaeric]

In the Responsive Designer and Classic Designer in O365, buttons have options for "Save", "Save and Continue", and "Save and Submit".  Using these options would be a good route to go.  Since you're using the New Responsive Designer, unfortunately those button options don't currently exist.

It's not for New Responsive Designer, but you could build something along the lines of this solution: Save as Draft button.  Add a "Submit form" checkbox control that users check and click the Submit button when they're finished and ready to submit the form.  If there are not ready to submit the form, leave the box unchecked and they can click Submit to "save" the form. They can then come back to it later to finish.  The "Submit form" checkbox could save to a list column and you could have a workflow only execute when it is checked upon submission.

Here's a list of current New Responsive Designer limitations in O365: New Responsive (Office365) - Current limitations

Also, be sure to check the Nintex User Voice site to provide feedback on this and other desired product features: Nintex User Voice 

[far_CF]

Would I need to create a new sharepoint list where the "Save" that information?
Can you explain how the workflow execution would work once they finish the form and are ready to submit it?

[bamaeric · Accepted solution]

If you're using SharePoint for O365 and the form is a list form, you could save the "draft" form to a list. The workflow could kick off when the item is created, then wait for the "Submit form" checkbox to be checked to proceed and execute the rest of the business logic. you could use the "Wait for Field Change in Current Item" action to accomplish this. If a user fills out a new form completely on the first try and checks the box, then the workflow will execute without waiting on this action. You could also have the first step of the workflow send the user a link to the form so they can open it back up later if they need to go back and complete it.