Deleting and Restoring Forms

Learn how to safely delete forms you no longer need and understand what happens to your data.

What Happens When You Delete a Form?

When you delete a form in FormRobin, the form is removed from your forms list and can no longer receive new submissions. The form URL becomes inactive immediately and returns a 404 error to anyone who tries to access it.

How to Delete a Form

  1. Go to Forms from the dashboard
  2. Find the form you want to delete
  3. Click the ... (three dots) menu for that form
  4. Select Delete
  5. A confirmation dialog will appear: "Are you sure you want to delete this form? This action cannot be undone."
  6. Click OK to confirm deletion

Three-dot menu dropdown showing Delete option highlighted

Important: Always download your form responses before deleting if you need to keep the data.

What Gets Deleted?

  • Form structure - all fields and settings are removed from your dashboard
  • Form URL - the public link immediately returns a 404 error
  • Access - the form no longer appears in your forms list
  • Submissions - new submissions cannot be received
  • Integrations - connections to Google Sheets, SendFox, Zapier, and webhooks stop working for this form

Data Retention

FormRobin uses soft deletion internally, which means the form data is not immediately purged from the database. However, there is no user-facing way to restore a deleted form yourself. If you accidentally delete a form, contact support as soon as possible - recovery may be possible but is not guaranteed.

Best Practice: Export all form responses to CSV before deleting important forms. You can do this from the form's Responses page by clicking the Export CSV button.

Who Can Delete Forms?

  • Form owner - the user who created the form
  • Folder owner - the user who owns the folder containing the form

Cannot Delete a Form?

If the Delete option is not available or does not work, check the following:

  • You are not the form owner or folder owner
  • The form belongs to another user's folder
  • Try refreshing the page and attempting again

Solution: Contact the form owner or the folder owner for assistance.

Can Deleted Forms Be Restored?

There is no restore button or recycle bin in FormRobin's interface. However, because FormRobin uses soft deletion on the backend, it may be possible for the support team to recover a recently deleted form.

To request restoration:

  1. Contact FormRobin support immediately after the accidental deletion
  2. Provide the form name and approximate deletion date
  3. Support will check if recovery is possible

Important: Restoration is not guaranteed and depends on how recently the form was deleted. Always back up important data before deletion.

Alternatives to Deletion

If you are not sure about deleting a form, consider these options:

  • Unpublish - Toggle the Published/Unpublished switch on the forms list to make the form inactive. The form URL will return a 404 error, but the form and all its data remain in your dashboard for future use.
  • Move to a folder - Use Move to folder from the three-dot menu to organize forms you want to keep but not actively use
  • Disable notifications - Turn off email notifications in the form's settings without deleting the form
  • Export data - Download responses as CSV and keep the form for historical reference
  • Duplicate first - Use Duplicate from the three-dot menu to create a backup copy before making changes

Bulk Deletion

FormRobin does not support bulk deletion of multiple forms at once. You must delete forms individually using the three-dot menu on each form card.

Note: Bulk deletion is available for form responses (submissions), not for forms themselves. See the Managing Form Responses article for details on bulk deleting responses.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Accidentally deleted the wrong form

Fix: Contact support immediately to request restoration. Provide the form name and when it was deleted. Recovery is not guaranteed.

Issue: Delete option not showing in the three-dot menu

Fix: Verify that you are the form owner or folder owner. Try refreshing the page.

Issue: Form URL still works after deletion

Fix: The URL should return a 404 error immediately after deletion. If you still see the form, clear your browser cache and try again.

FAQ

Q: Can I undo a deletion?

A: There is no undo button in the interface. Contact support immediately - recovery may be possible if done quickly, but is not guaranteed.

Q: What happens to form responses when I delete a form?

A: Responses are no longer accessible through the interface after deletion. Always export responses to CSV before deleting.

Q: Is there a recycle bin or trash folder?

A: No. FormRobin does not have a recycle bin. Once deleted, the form can only potentially be recovered by contacting support.

Q: Does unpublishing a form delete it?

A: No. Unpublishing keeps the form and all its data in your dashboard. The public URL will return a 404 error, but you can republish the form at any time by toggling the switch back to Published.


Need help recovering a deleted form? Contact support as soon as possible for the best chance of recovery.

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