Auto Save State

Audience: Citizen Developer

Skill Prerequisites: Tokens, Form Events

The Auto Save State action prepares your form to automatically save user input in browser cookies using a specified key. Typically, you add this action to the Form’s ON INIT event, enabling the form to “remember” user data—even if the user closes the browser or navigates away. When paired with the Load State action (set to load from cookies), users can effortlessly continue filling out the form later with their previously entered information restored.

Typical Use Cases

• Let users resume partially completed forms after closing and reopening their browser.
• Share form progress across different forms or steps by using a consistent key.
• Improve user experience by automatically saving drafts of long forms or multi-step wizards in the browser.

Related Actions

Action Name	Description
Save State	Explicitly saves form data to the server session or browser cookies during submission.
Load State	Retrieves saved form data from the server session or browser cookies and repopulates the form.
Clear State	Removes previously saved data from session or cookies, clearing drafts or resetting progress.

Input Parameter Reference

Parameter	Description	Supports Tokens	Default	Required
Key	A unique identifier used to save and retrieve form data. Supports tokens for dynamic keys (e.g., including [User:UserID]).	Yes	(none)	Yes

Output Parameters Reference

This action does not produce output parameters.

How it Works

When you add the Auto Save State action to the ON INIT event of a form, it marks the form so that as users fill in fields, their data is automatically saved in the browser’s cookies. The specific Cookie key is defined by the Key parameter. No data is immediately visible or output—this simply enables persistent saving for the user session.

To restore saved data:

1. Place Load State later in your workflow (for example, on form load or a button click).
2. Set Storage Location on Load State to Browser Cookies and use the same key.
3. The form will repopulate with previously saved values.

Security and Data Expiry

• Data stored in browser cookies is accessible only to the user on that browser but may persist for extended periods unless manually cleared or expired.
• Avoid storing sensitive or confidential data, as browser cookie storage is less secure than server session storage.

Examples

1. Automatically Save Form Progress in Browser Cookies

Automatically enable saving for a form draft, using the user’s ID to keep form data separate per user.

{
  "Title": "Auto Save State",
  "ActionType": "AutoSaveState",
  "Parameters": {
    "Key": "myFormDraft-[User:UserID]"
  }
}

How to use:

• Add this action to the ON INIT event of your form.
• Later, to restore the data, add a Load State action with Key set to myFormDraft-[User:UserID] and Storage Location to Browser Cookies.

2. Enable Drafts for Anonymous Users

For anonymous (not logged-in) users, save state per browser (without using tokens):

{
  "Title": "Auto Save State",
  "ActionType": "AutoSaveState",
  "Parameters": {
    "Key": "anonymousFormDraft"
  }
}

How to use:

• Data will be saved and restored for anyone using the same browser but not shared between different browsers or devices.

See Also

• Save State
• Load State
• Clear State

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When is the data actually saved?
A: The data is saved automatically as the user fills out the form and any change occurs. No extra actions are needed after adding Auto Save State.

Q: How long is the data kept?
A: Typically, browser cookies persist until they expire (which may be set to a lengthy duration) or until the user manually clears their cookies.

Q: What if I want to clear the saved draft?
A: Use the Clear State action with the same key and set Storage Location to Browser Cookies or Any.

Troubleshooting

• If data is not persisting, ensure your form has the obsolete Reports feature enabled if required, and check browser cookie policies or privacy settings.
• Using tokens in the key (such as user ID) helps avoid users overwriting each other’s data.

Summary:
Auto Save State enables smooth draft-saving for your users, letting them leave and return to forms with their input restored. Pair it with Load State for a seamless user experience.