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4. Reading and exporting form submissions

 Reading and exporting form submissions
======================================

Updated 5 days ago · 2 min read

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Overview
--------

Every submission is stored on the site, whether or not anyone is emailed about it, so the record survives a lost inbox. You read it on the **Results** tab of the form.

Only forms with an email notification also send a copy, so on a form without one the stored record is the *only* record. See [**Confirmations, notifications and spam**](/articles/confirmations-notifications-and-spam).

> **⚠️ Important:** Submissions are an administrator's job. Content editors have no form permissions, so they cannot read what people have sent, even on a form sitting on a page they maintain.

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Reading submissions
-------------------

1. Go to **Structure**, then **Webforms**.
2. Press the number in the **Results** column beside the form. That column doubles as the link, and the number tells you how many submissions are waiting.
3. The **Submissions** sub-tab lists them, newest first.
4. Press the number in the **\#** column to open one submission in full.

![The Submissions list on a form, with the Submissions, Download and Clear sub-tabs and the table of three submissions outlined in red.](/storage/ZcQwvFiMbQkJHYM6Bpg6OtTLTN9LojtOLnEb6tw7.png)

Three sub-tabs sit above the list.

Sub-tab

What it does

**Submissions**

The list, and the way into any single submission.

**Download**

Exports the submissions as a spreadsheet.

**Clear**

Deletes submissions in bulk. There is no undo.

![An opened submission outlined in red, showing the answers grouped under Your details and Your request.](/storage/qgkFVv6tFqKGJzZBvXFJd3hCsUcrrbbYwzzLzWQr.png)

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Exporting to a spreadsheet
--------------------------

1. On the **Results** tab, open **Download**.
2. Leave the format as the default delimited text unless you need something else.
3. Choose which columns to include, if you do not want all of them.
4. Press **Download**.

![The Download sub-tab with its Format options outlined in red: Export format set to Delimited text, the formula-injection warning, the delimiter and the Excel-compatible switch.](/storage/xLogXCkAcOCFC0izaSYZQSe2cIIcwRNwGwhgMrlq.png)

> **💡 Tip:** Export before you clear. **Clear** removes submissions permanently, and the emailed copies are the only record left if you have not downloaded them.

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Clearing submissions
--------------------

Clearing removes submissions for good, so the screen makes you confirm before it will act.

![The Clear confirmation screen outlined in red, with the warning, what the action will do and the Yes, I want to clear all submissions switch.](/storage/Pw2SJtnv4hebDtiAyoLPMC2O1VQLTK99KxyAVGvh.png)

1. On the **Results** tab, open **Clear**.
2. Switch on **Yes, I want to clear all \[form name\] submissions**.
3. Press **Clear**.

> **⚠️ Important:** That confirmation toggle is required. The screen will not let you proceed without switching it on first.

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Handling what people send you
-----------------------------

Form submissions routinely contain names, addresses, phone numbers and sometimes more sensitive detail. Two habits matter.

- Download only what you need, and do not leave exports in shared folders.
- Clear submissions once the request is closed and the record is held wherever your organisation keeps its official records.

> **⚠️ Important:** Storing submissions indefinitely is a choice, not a default you have to accept. If a form collects personal information, agree with your records team how long it should be kept before you publish the form.

  Related articles 
------------------

- [ Forms on your site → ](/articles/forms-on-your-site)
- [ Building a form → ](/articles/building-a-form)
- [ Confirmations, notifications and spam → ](/articles/confirmations-notifications-and-spam)
- [ Testing a form safely → ](/articles/testing-a-form-safely)

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