How can I export submission data for encrypted forms

  • tflores
    Asked on October 12, 2016 at 4:10 PM

    I encrypted a form but need to send the submission data to an assistant. When i export it to excel (or any other format) the data is not translated and it's just gibberish on the file.

  • Support_Management Jotform Support
    Replied on October 12, 2016 at 11:21 PM

    Hello @tflores, you can't export your submission data if your form is encrypted. The sole purpose of encryption is data security. With that in mind, only you can decrypt the form through your Submissions Page or through your Email Notifications. It can't be exported elsewhere, and we can't decrypt your data either.

    We mentioned this on the FAQ section of our detailed guide here: What-Are-Encrypted-Forms-and-How-to-Use-Them-as-Expert 

    Here's a snippet from that page:

    Important:

    Some of the features that are not available for Encrypted Forms* are:

    1. PDF Downloads,

    2. Reports (this includes downloading Excel and CSV files from within Submission Panel),

    3. Emails that contain form data in them.

    * All server side gathered and processed data can only be retrieved in encrypted form because your private key is never sent to our servers.

    If it's imperative for you to share the submission data to your assistant, the only way around this is to:

    - Have your assistant create his/her own free JotForm account https://www.jotform.com/signup 

    - Add him/her as a subuser

    - Allow him/her the privilege to View Submissions

    - Then share your private key with so he/she can view it from your Submissions Page

    Related guide: How-to-share-forms-with-a-sub-account-user

  • tflores
    Replied on October 17, 2016 at 9:10 AM

    Okay - well i really need to be able to pull down reports for other folks on staff. But when i turn the encryption off in the preferences, the data is unreadable by my completely.

  • Welvin Support Team Lead
    Replied on October 17, 2016 at 10:16 AM

    Yes, because the existing submissions remain encrypted. Disabling the encryption won't decrypt the old submissions. They will remain that way until you turn the encryption and provide the key. 

    But please try to share the submissions page, but this means you have to provide the staff your private key.

    https://www.jotform.com/help/199-How-to-Share-Form-s-Submissions-Page 

    I hope this helps.