Partial Response Recovery PRO

What is Partial Response Recovery?

Partial Response Recovery allows you to see responses from people who started filling out your form but didn't click the final submit button. These are often called "abandoned" or "incomplete" responses.

On Free plans, only completed submissions (where the user clicked "Submit") are saved. On Pro plans, partial responses are also saved and accessible in your Analytics dashboard.

Why Partial Responses Matter

Not everyone who starts a form finishes it. Common reasons include:

• Distractions: Phone call, notification, or other interruption
• Form too long: Users give up before completing
• Technical issues: Browser crash, lost internet connection
• Hesitation: User reconsiders before submitting

Partial Response Recovery lets you see what these users entered before they left, giving you valuable insights and potential leads you would otherwise lose.

How It Works

Autosave Behavior

SmarterForm automatically saves answers as respondents type (autosave). This happens in real-time:

• User enters text in a field → saved within seconds
• User selects a multiple choice option → saved immediately
• User closes the browser → partial data is still saved

Viewing Partial Responses

To access partial responses:

• Open your form in the Builder
• Go to the Analytics tab
• Click "View all responses"
• Use the filter dropdown to toggle between "Completed" and "Partial" responses

Partial responses are displayed in the same list as completed ones, but they're marked with a "Partial" badge.

What Gets Saved

Partial responses include:

• All answered questions: Any field the user filled out before leaving
• Timestamp: When they started the form
• Progress indicator: How far they got before dropping off
• Response ID: Unique identifier

Unanswered questions show as empty in the partial response view.

Common Use Cases

Lead Recovery

If someone entered their email or phone number but didn't submit, you can still see their contact info and follow up manually.

Form Optimization

Analyze where users drop off:

• If most partial responses stop at Question 5, maybe that question is too complex
• If users answer everything except the last field, maybe the submit button isn't clear
• Use drop-off data to shorten or simplify your form

Customer Research

Even incomplete feedback can reveal valuable patterns. If 20 people started your survey but only 5 finished, the partial responses still tell you something about your audience.

Limitations

• Not auto-restored: Partial data is saved to your dashboard but NOT restored if the respondent comes back later. They'll see a blank form.
• Pro-only: Free accounts don't save partial responses at all.
• CSV export: Partial responses are NOT included in CSV exports. Only completed submissions are exported.
• Analytics: Partial responses do NOT count toward your "Submissions" metric—only completed ones do.

Privacy Considerations

Be mindful that users may not realize their partial answers are being saved:

• Consider adding a note in your form description: "Your answers are saved as you type."
• Use partial data responsibly—don't spam users who didn't consent to be contacted.
• If collecting sensitive information, inform users about autosave in your privacy policy.

Can I Turn Off Partial Recovery?

Currently, Partial Response Recovery is enabled by default on all Pro accounts and cannot be disabled per form. If you don't want to see partial responses, simply don't view them in the Analytics dashboard—they won't interfere with your completed submissions.