Steps to recover deleted data

Hi,

What happened.

We deleted a column in our form (address Field) and replaced it with custom text fields to work with our integration of another software.

We didn’t realize that when the default address column was deleted from the form it also deleted all the associated data in the submissions for that deleted column.

Over the past 2 weeks since we made the change, we received 15 new leads

Problem.

We need to get our lost data (addresses) back from that column we deleted. Upon analyzing the history everything seems to be in there if we were to revert.

Solution. (Need your confirmation we are using the correct approach)

1. To be on the safe side we download all the current data which includes all submissions, but they are missing the deleted column which we are trying to get back.
2. We download all the images and signatures from the past 2 weeks.
3. We save all the comments made in the inbox for the leads from the past 2 weeks.
4. We then revert to the date we removed the column that still has the deleted address field (column) in the history.
5. Doing so we will lose the 15 new submissions from the past 2 weeks. from 11/14/2021 - 11/24/2021, but all the previous data prior to 11/14/2021 including the deleted column will now be back in our submissions table.
6. After that we will manually add the 15 submissions that got deleted from the past two weeks when we reverted to the previous date, we will attach the images and signatures, add the comments to their respective fields in the inbox for the 15 leads we will manually add back.
7. This will ensure we will have all the previous submissions along with the very important deleted column and also the 15 deleted submissions which we will add manually.

Confirmation we want before we proceed.

After reverting to the date of 11/14/2021 3:06pm, all the previous data, images, signatures from the form https://www.jotform.com/tables/53287918958173 will be in the submission table. In other words, whatever was in the form and all its submissions prior to 11/14/2021 3:06pm will appear once again in our submissions file which will also include the deleted address column that’s named “Student Address”, attached images, signatures and all the other 30 fields or so. We will only have to worry about adding the 15 new leads which is not a very big task.

Please confirm and feel free to look at our file and its revision history to confirm what we are planning.

Thanks

P.S. Can there be any other issues we should be aware of so we dont run into any future problems.

Your approach is correct. Download the data before reverting the form to the previous version for a backup purpose.

Please note that revert will not have an impact on all submitted data you received in the past two weeks. If you removed a field two weeks ago and added a new field, once you revert the form, you will see data from the previously deleted address field, but you will lose data you collected in the past two weeks with the new field. Data from all other fields that were not changed will still be there.

Followup. We will revert from the submissions tables, the form will update to its previous layout and fields based on the revert date in the submissions table, correct?

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply.

We recommend downloading the current version of submissions first. After that, you can then revert the form back to 11/14/2021 version, which will also restore all of the deleted submissions. You may refer to the hyperlinks below for instructions.

Also, you have an option to import the 15 new leads/submissions to Jotform tables if you like.

Related guides:

• How to download submissions
• How to revert forms
• How to revert submissions
• How to import data in Jotform tables

Please let us know if you have additional questions. Thanks

Regards,

One final question. I made the changes from this account, tis is a sub-user account thats read-only, but it allowed me to make the changes. Can I revert from this account or do i need to revert from the main account? Will reverting from this account mess anything up?

Hi there, 👋

If your sub-account has the only option "View-submissions" - you will need to use the main account or the account with Editing allowed to revert the changes.

Thanks,

Alex

1. Can you check and let us know please. Because we made the changes and deleted the field from this account so we should also be able to revert from this account, but i dont want to click that revert button before you can confirm we won't mess anything up.
   
   2. Since we deleted the column from this account, if we revert from our main account, does it matter? does it have to be reverted from the same account that made the change or is it to revert from the main account even if the changes were made when we used this sub account?
   
   I dont want to revert and if dosent update it wont allow us to revert again to date of 11/14/2021 3:06 pm

Hi,

All changes made to the form is recorded in the revision history including when you revert a form.

This is the revision history of my form before I revert my form to my first record:

This is the revision history of my form after I revert my form to the first revision history record:

As you can see the removal of the Full Name was recorded which is caused by the action of reverting back to my first revision record.

If you have any question, please let us know.

@Christopher_T thanks for the reply but this was not our question.

1. Can you check our account and let us know, please. Because we made the changes and deleted the field from this account we are currently messaging from so we should also be able to revert from this account as well, but i don't want to click that revert button before you can confirm we won't mess anything up and lose the data we are trying to recover.
2. Since we deleted the column from this account if we revert from our main account instead of this one here, does it matter? does it have to be reverted from the same account that made the change or is it OK to revert from the main account even if the changes were made from this account im writing from now.

Hello,

I've checked the account of the form owner and confirm that you are listed as a sub-user with full access to the forms. This means that whatever changes you made on the form and its data should take effect and won't cause any issue, as if your account is the owner of the form. It doesn't matter if you revert from the main account or this account as the results would just be the same.

Regards,

Thanks Harvey!

The change we made was in the form, we deleted a field in the form which is a column in the submissions.

Do we have to revert from the form page? or can we revert in the submissions table, screenshot attached?

The file below is current, after the email column was the "student address column" that got deleted in the form 11/14/2021 3:40pm or so. as you can see its missing now in the submissions.

The column below is from 3:06pm which we want to revert back to, so that the missing column "student address" will be back in our data with all the addresses.

(the pop up for these do not seem to work, please select open image in new window to see clearly)

so this change was made in the form, can we revert to get this info back in the submissions table pictured above by clicking restore when clicked on 3:06pm?

Hi,

You can restore your submissions in the Submissions table where all the information you need is available. But please make sure to get a backup of your current submissions so we can import them if we encounter some issues.

You can refer to this guide on how to revert your submissions:

GUIDE: how-to-view-and-restore-changes-made-in-your-jotform-tables-with-revision-history

Please give it a try and let us know if you need further assistance.

Thank you.

Thanks.
What will happen to the form, that will also go back to its original state, correct? so the update we will do from the submissions folder as outlined in the previous email will return the missing column in the submissions, and the form will change back from that revert in the submissions to its original layout before the change was made, correct?

Hi there,

Yes: you are correct.

Please let us know if we can assist further.

Jovanne_A in their reply wrote.

"please make sure to get a backup of your current submissions so we can import them if we encounter some issues."

We want to confirm, what he is referring to is the data that was submitted the past 2 weeks from 11/14/2021 after 3:06 pm to 11/25/2021 may get erased, correct?

but any data prior to 11/14/2021 3:06 pm will not be lost when we revert to 11/14/2021 3:06 pm, correct?

because thats the data we are trying to recover and we can't afford to lose that data from column "student Addresses" when we revert.

We saved the data from november 14 to november 25 which is ok to lose since we have that in the backup.

We cant afford to lose any data thats in the submissions that was submitted before 11/14/2021 3:06 pm which is what we must recover by reverting to the date of November 14// 2021 3:06 pm, as you can see in the attachment the column we must recover is "Student address".

Please confirm if he meant that the data after november 14/2021 3:06 pm is what he meant can get lost, which is ok, or, if the data before 11/14/2021 3:06 pm can get lost when we revert, which is a problem because we must have that data in column "student Addreses" and can not afford to lose that.

Thanks
You can see in the attachments the date we want to click to revert to, and the column we must recover.

Just to confirm, did you delete the column of the Address field on your Jotform Tables? Or, did you delete the Address field in the Online form builder?

If you're referring to the online form builder, I am assuming that you delete the address field and add a custom text form field. If yes, the custom text form field data will be gone when you revert it back to the previous form. It looks like everything has been discussed and answered by my colleague.

Note: Before doing this, you can test this by creating a test form on your account. Submit 2-3 test submissions. Delete a field and add a new field. Submit one test submission. Revert it back to when you delete the field to see the result.

Here's my suggestion if you're referring to the online form builder:

1 - Download the submission data. (Which you already done)

2 - Revert it back to the previous form.

3 - Hide the old address field - Add the custom text fields again.

4 - Please check the form settings and make sure that this feature is set to the "Don't clear" option.

5 - Go to the Jotform Tables and edit the 15 new submissions or all submissions and add the information you saved/needed/missing. Guide: https://www.jotform.com/help/325-how-to-edit-submissions-made-on-your-forms.

6 - Resubmit the form. After that, all information should have been saved to the Jotform Tables.

Let us know if you have any questions before you proceed. Also, please try my suggestion on a test form to see the result before applying it to the main form.