Removed Uploads But Storage Not Freeing Up

I have tried to edit form submissions, and remove the uploaded files to increase my storage – however jotform does not reflect any increased storage capacity after my actions are taken. Am I missing a step? I've tried clearing the form cache and it made no difference. To be clear, I'm trying to free up storage space by deleting uploaded files while keeping the submission itself intact and saved on jotfom server.

Hi Dallas,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. Deleting uploaded files from submissions does not immediately free up storage space on your JotForm account. This is because even after the file is removed, the submission entry itself still exists and continues to occupy storage space, particularly if it once contained an uploaded file. I went ahead and manually recalculated your Upload Space and your current Upload Space is 51.96 MB / 100.00 MB.

To effectively free up storage, you need to delete the entire submission that contained the file upload not just the file itself. This can be done through JotForm Tables by selecting the relevant entries and moving them to the Trash. Keep in mind that items in the Trash still count toward your storage limit until they are permanently deleted.

You can easily delete your trashed submissions in Jotform Tables. Let me show you how:

1. In Jotform Tables, click on the Three Dots icon next to your form title in the tabs.
2. In the dropdown menu, click on Trashed Entries to open the Trash menu.
3. Then, in the Trash menu on the right, click on the Checkboxes to select the submissions you want to purge. To select all, click on the Select All button.
4. Now, click on Delete Forever, and in the warning window, click on the Delete button to confirm.

To avoid permanently losing submission data, it’s recommended to Download Form Submissions as Excel, CSV, or PDF. Purging deleted submissions will free up your Submission Storage and Upload Space but won’t affect other limits. You can also check out our guide about Account Usage and Limits for more information.

Give it a try and let us know if you need any help.

That's unfortunate. I was under the impression that I could save space by simply deleting the uploaded files and resubmitting the form.

Is there a way to have files uploaded to Google Drive instead of being routed through the jotform server? I would like to prevent using up all my storage space simply because the user might want to upload a file.

Hi Dallas,

Unfortunately, it is not possible to directly route the uploaded files to the Google Drive instead of Jotform Tables. But, you can use the Google Drive integration so, you will get the uploaded files there as well. But, you need to purge the attachments from the Jotform Tables regularly, to free up the space. Another helpful widget you can try is File Upload by Uploadercare and you can customize the size of the files you wish to accept when your form fillers are uploading their files. Let me show you how to use the File Uploader by the Uploadercare:

1. Open your form in Form Builder, and in the orange navigation bar at the top of the screen, click on Add Form Element. 
2. Select Widget, search for the File Uploader by the Uploadercare.
3. Drag and drop it on your form, on the right side of the panel, Enter the Public Key.
4. Make adjustments and click on the UPDATE button. That's it.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.