Serial Form Submitter (as in serial killer)

PharaK SupportServiceManager · 06/21/20

We are encountering one or two serial form submitters. They submit same personal information, not sure what is the reason for them doing so. We have constantly warned the one submitter of this duplication, but today as of writing he submitted 3 forms within a few minutes! I have re-checked all forms and verified that every form goes to a designated link upon submission. He is ignoring the next step and simply goes back to the website to submit another form.

Therefore I'm asking this as a question and also as a suggested feature. How can we detect the duplicate form on the basis of same personal information and reject it before it gets to a sheet? I know it takes only 2 clicks to delete a form, only when you recognise the information. Of course there are some duplicate forms beside these deliberate serial individuals.

The question is, is there a rule or alert or formula that can be used to detect row elements and automatically reject or delete/trash or the new duplicate entry? Or simply block this person basin on a specific entry - eg Mobile Number?

Sean Morgan · 06/23/20

Hello @director62476

As of now, there is no dedicated method for automatically deleting/rejecting duplicates. If possible, please can you raise an Enhancement Request using the quick links on the right hand side. I love this idea!

The only other solution would be to use a formula to identify duplicates using a checkbox column, and you can then also use conditional formatting to highlight duplicate rows.

Here are a couple of duplication formulas that could be used within your sheet:

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/67424/formula-to-only-count-unique-cells-no-duplicates

https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/66906/having-trouble-with-the-duplicate-formula-and-where-to-input

From here, you could then highlight the rows with Conditional Formatting for E.G If the checkbox is checked, highlight the row red.

Let me know if you have any questions

Regards

Sean

Andrée Starå · 06/23/20

Hi @director62476

To add to Sean’s excellent advice.

As a possible workaround, you could use two sheets. One for the form, and if it isn't a duplicate record, it would be copied over to the main sheet.

Make sense?

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå

Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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