TLDR: The Typeform status-quo is that un-submitted responses are deleted after 15 days. The Calendly app doesn’t follow the status quo, and is finalized immediately regardless of whether the Typeform is submitted or not. Existing workarounds are insufficient to resolve the inconsistency.
My situation is actually a combination of two common Typeform complaints: Calendly submissions ≠ form submissions (resulting in clients who think they’ve submitted both, when only having completed one), and partial completions are unavailable (except Calendly app submissions within partial completions).
Several solutions have been proposed.
- Solution 1:
@guyb spoke to this when commenting on the original announcement: “It would be even better if it could be adjusted so that the Calendly meeting is not actually scheduled until the Typeform has been submitted.”https://community.typeform.com/product-updates-24/under-the-hood-a-closer-look-at-our-calendly-application-3962?postid=20305#post20305 This solves my problem because submitters, Calendly, and Zapier aren’t misled to think the submission is done when they, in fact, are only partially done.
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Solution 2: Allow for partial completions to be actualized/submitted automatically after a delay. While this is a Qualtrics feature, it seems it may not be in line with the Typeform product vision.
A commonly suggested workaround is to break the Typeform into two, using a redirect on completion (and hidden fields, if needed). Let me explain why that doesn’t work in the context of integrations:
If I have two parts of my Typeform: the scheduling part and the free response part. I need everything to submit at once, otherwise it breaks integrations (tested via Zapier), and confuses both those being booked and those booking via Calendly.
Here’s why:
- The Calendly event, upon booking, triggers a Zapier integration that pulls information from the Typeform into actions that prepare materials for the Calendly meeting.
- If the Calendly event is booked before the Typeform is submitted, there aren’t any values in the Typeform for Zapier to pull out.
- Splitting the Typeform (via the workaround) may artificially allow for partial response collection inside the Typeform UX, but doesn’t allow for Zapier to collect any responses from the sections after the Calendly booking is submitted.
You might say “well, just move the Calendly booking to the end!”
We’re back to issue #1, where clients frequently confuse submitting the Calendly booking with submitting the Typeform. Once again we end up with a Calendly confirmation and no data in the un-submitted Typeform.
Additionally, in our situation (no longer hypothetical) Calendly can potentially have no availability, which would prohibit the submission. Moving the scheduling to the end results in their clients completing the lengthly free response questions, only to find that there are no openings to book. Not a good way to start a client relationship!
I’m looking for additional workarounds, or (if we’re lucky) an implementation of one of the solutions I’ve pulled from other Typeform users.
