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How to View and Export Form Submissions in Joomla

Using WordPress instead? See How to View and Export Form Submissions in WordPress.

Joomla's built-in contact form (from the Contacts component) sends messages by email but doesn't save them in the admin. Most sites use a form extension that saves submissions. On our sites, that's usually RSForm! Pro, so we use it as the example here. Other form extensions work in a similar way.

Built-in contact forms

If your site uses Joomla's Contacts component for its form:

  • Messages go to the email address on the contact (Components > Contacts, open the contact, Email field on the Edit Contact tab).
  • There's no list of submissions in the admin, so watch that inbox.

View submissions (RSForm! Pro example)

  1. Log in at yoursite.com/administrator.
  2. Go to Components > RSForm! Pro > Manage Submissions.
  3. Pick the form from the list at the top.
  4. Click a submission to see the details.

You can search and filter by date to find a specific one.

Export submissions

  1. In Manage Submissions, select the form.
  2. Click Export and choose a format, CSV, OpenDocument Spreadsheet (ODS), Excel XML, Excel (XLSX), or XML.
  3. Choose all, selected, or filtered rows and the fields to include, then download.

Open CSV files in Excel or Google Sheets.

Change who gets notification emails

  1. Go to Components > RSForm! Pro > Manage Forms and open the form.
  2. Find the email settings (Properties > Admin Emails in the form).
  3. Update the To address, and add others separated by commas if needed.
  4. Save, then send a test submission.

Other form extensions

Look in Components for your form extension, then look for Submissions, Entries, or Messages. Settings for notification emails are usually inside each form.

Keep submission data safe

  • Form entries can include personal details. Only give access to people who need it.
  • Delete old submissions you don't need anymore.
  • Store exported files securely and delete them when you're done.

Not getting form emails?

Check spam folders first. If they're still missing, the site's email settings may need attention (under System > Global Configuration > Server, Mail Settings). See Domain, DNS, and Business Email Basics: Who Owns What, or open a ticket if you're a client.

Related

Prefer we handle it?

If you'd rather spend your time running your business, our boutique hosting, available to our clients, including sites moved over from another host, takes a proactive approach to security and monitoring, with nightly backups, 24/7 outage monitoring, and ongoing core CMS updates.

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