# Partial submissions

Formstep saves what people enter before they leave a form. See where they stop, and use reminders to bring back the ones who gave an email.

This needs the Pro plan or higher. [Compare plans](https://formstep.io/pricing/)

## When a partial is captured

Formstep saves a partial as soon as the respondent answers something, and updates it as they go. Opening the form without answering saves nothing. [Requests](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/overview/) save partials too, and the request’s page shows the answers so far.

## Viewing partials

In the Submissions tab, set the status filter to **Partial**, or **All** for both. The filter also works in Summary, Analytics, and exports.

## What gets saved

A partial holds every answer so far, including files, and the link or request it came through. A partial has no PDF, and its signatures stay hidden until the respondent submits.

## What to do with partials

Partials show the question where people stop and leave. If a partial has an email address, [reminders](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/invitations-and-reminders/#reminders) can bring that lead back.

## Send unfinished drafts to an integration

Most [integrations](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/overview/) can also receive partials: turn on **Unfinished drafts** when you set one up, and pick how long a draft must sit untouched first, from 12 hours to a week. Formstep checks once an hour and sends each draft once. Only drafts from a share link are sent; an unfinished request stays on the Requests page.

## Privacy and retention

Partials and their files are deleted 30 days after they were last saved. See [Submission retention](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/submission-retention/).

## Next steps

[Reminders](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/invitations-and-reminders/#reminders) — Email people who did not finish

[Email notifications](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/self-notifications/) — Get an email when submissions arrive

[Compare share links](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/analytics-insights/#comparing-share-links) — See which channel people finish from

[Exporting submissions](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/exports/) — Download CSV, Excel or PDF