The Update Database plug-in involves transferring new form responses to an existing database. This usually results in the replacement of old data in the database.
For instance, if you refer to step 3 of How To Use Add Database plug-in, Jessie initially requested an expense claim of $948. However, she may later on want to make changes to her request. In that case, we can:
Create a separate form e.g. "Updates on Expense Reimbursement" for employees to submit changes to their request. In this case, Jessie wishes to change her previous claim request to $900.
Then, use the Update Database plug-in to replace selected data from "Updates on Expense Reimbursement" form into the existing "Expense Reimbursement Database".
1. Double-click Update Database plugin & select your database
In the pop-up, the first dropdown requires you to select the database for which you wish to update data to.
2. Match database fields with form fields
Next, choose if you want to:
Update all rows in database — replace current database fields with new data by default.
Update database with condition — replace current database fields with new data only when a certain condition is met :
In this case, the condition is tied to the name of the form submitter, as indicated in pink below.
If Jessie submits the new form, the system will recognise that her name is already present in the database. Forma will then update the chosen fields in green into the data row containing Jessie's name. Refer to step 3 to visualise this.
3. Publish workflow and test it
After publishing the workflow and submitting the "Updates on Expense Reimbursement" form:
Under "Expense Reimbursement Database", the data row for Jessie has updated her claim amount to $900, along with her new receipt.
