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Submissions & Analytics
Partial submissions
When someone answers some questions but never hits submit, formbase saves what they entered as a partial submission. Available on Pro and Business plans, it helps you understand drop-off and follow up with leads.
Pro feature
Partial submissions need a Pro or Business plan. On Free, formbase neither saves a draft on the server nor shows the filter.
When a partial is captured
formbase autosaves a partial about 1.5 seconds after the respondent’s last edit, then again after each later pause, keeping whatever they have answered so far.
If someone opens your form but never touches a field, formbase creates no partial.
A request saves a draft the same way, so a recipient who starts and walks away leaves a partial too. The Submissions table’s Channel column tells the two apart.
Viewing partials
Use the status filter at the top of the Submissions tab to switch between:
- Completed — only fully submitted responses. The default.
- All — every submission, regardless of status
- Partial — only unfinished responses
Each option carries its count. The filter also applies when you export, so you can download partials on their own for outreach.
What gets saved
- Every answer entered up to the last autosave, including file uploads and signatures
- The share link or request it came through, and the last save time
A partial’s Submitted at cell is empty, and it has no PDF — the download stays disabled until the respondent submits.
Signatures are saved but never shown before submission: the inbox marks the cell Hidden until submitted, and exported partial rows leave the signature blank. In the Summary tab, File upload and Signature cards show only their header stats in any case.
Use cases
- Drop-off analysis — find which page or question makes people leave. Often reveals confusing wording, sensitive questions, or a form that feels too long.
- Lead recovery — if a partial includes an email address, let the reminder schedule chase it automatically.
- A/B testing — compare partial-to-completion rates between form variants. The AI chat can help generate alternatives to test.
- Content optimization — use partial data alongside the Analytics tab to decide which questions to reorder, simplify, or remove.
Partials in Summary and Analytics
Both the Summary and Analytics tabs can be filtered to show partial-only data — answer breakdowns for people who dropped off, without mixing in completed responses.
Privacy and retention
formbase deletes partial submissions — and their uploaded files — 30 days after they were last saved. That window is a per-form setting, separate from the retention you set for completed submissions. See Submission retention.