Unique values, validation rule that creates an action - this has me stumped

App Development
1

I am hoping someone has some ideas, as this has me stumped.

Our users are delegates on trainng programmes. They each have a unique User profile and in the User table we have unique ‘email’ turned on. When registering with us we have to offer double opt-in (a GDPR thing), the delegate also agrees T&C’s and then gets an intro pack. This all works well. Each user has a record in the User table.

But we have multiple courses, and our Delegates can return for other courses.
They apply for a course using a public form to collect their name and email.

This form is connected to Users table and creates new user accounts as described above… BUT
For returning clients I need a better solution.

What I want to happen is that on submission the Form recognises that the email is not unique (its been used before) and takes the returning users on a different path from new Registrants (because we don’t need to repeat GDPR and welcome pack), but do need to register them for the course.

However I can’t see how to do this.

What actually happens is that the Form tries to directly update the User table, but fails as it rejects the non unique address. Returning users just see an error :frowning:

In the form, I’ve tried to use Validation rules, to check for the non-unique email, and this works. But validation rules have no action related to them other than a text messgae - I can’t use validation rules to do something different for returning users. The form will either validate or fail. Its no advance on where I was.

Other Form actions seem to happen after validation - so they won’t work for me either.

I guess I want to have an action thats started by a validation… but I can’t see how I can do that.

2

Martin, I have solved this, not so eloquent, by asking the user if they are recurring visitors (a button). If yes you take them on a different path, where you can send them back to the public form automatically if the email-address they give in the alternative form is not recognized @mtif

3

Thanks Peter

That will definitely work.

I have also realised that I can also amend the validation error to include a hyperlink to a ‘return user page’ if they fail on the public form.

But, still, its not the graceful solution I was hoping for.

I am now trying Zapier and have a solution that will work that way too - but its a shame to have to go ‘off platform’ again - I already have a few too many Zapier/Make workarounds for my liking.
Its a shame that a validation fail can only end in a message, and not an acrtion.

Regards
Martin