Overview
This procedure describes how to save data from a form using Visforms. More detailed documentation on using Visforms can be found here.
Configuring a form to save data
- Log into the Joomla! administrator page for your web site
- Click on Components > Visforms (see #1 below):
- Select the Forms icon:
- Select the name of the form that should be configured to save data:
- Click the Result tab (see #1 below).
- Make sure Yes is selected next to Save Result (see #2 below).
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Under the Data Export options, make sure "Separator" is set to "Comma."
- Select Save & Close to the upper left:
Reviewing your form data
- Log into the Joomla! administrator page for your web site
- Click on Components > Visforms
- Select Forms
- Find the row corresponding to your form, and click on the number in the "Data" column (see below). If the number is "0," no data has been collected yet.
- You will see all the data collected by the form, with the column names indicating the form fields:
Exporting data to an Excel spreadsheet
- Follow the steps under "Reviewing your form data" above to view the form data. Take note of the number in the "Data" column for your form.
- Display all the data on the same page by finding the display select dropdown to the upper right (see #1 below), and increasing the number so that it exceeds the number shown in the "Data" column for your form.
- Select all the data by clicking the top checkbox above the column of checkboxes. This will check all the checkboxes (see #2 below).
- Select the Publish button (see #3 below). (Note: The data must be published before it is exported).
- Select all the data by clicking the top checkbox above the column of checkboxes (see #2 below).
- Click the Export button (see #4 below).
- A popup window will ask you if you want to open the form. Make sure "Open with Microsoft Excel" is selected, then select the OK button (see #1 below):
- The form data will open in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. You can then save the file to your computer.
Unpublishing form data
After exporting your form data, make sure you unpublish it to protect it from unauthorized access:
- Select all the data again by clicking the top checkbox above the column of checkboxes (see #1 below).
- Click the Unpublish button (see #2 below).
What's next?
Set up a ReCaptcha to prevent the form from being used for spam. See "Adding CAPTCHA to your form" in the "Visforms: Form Setup" page.