# Create, edit and delete a record

Create a record with New, let the form save itself or save it manually, edit it later, and use the Actions menu to duplicate, archive or delete it with a confirmation.

A record is one line of a list: a contact, an invoice, a request. Its form is where you create and change it, and the **Actions** menu of the form is where you duplicate, archive or delete it. Forms save themselves on Jaah, so this page also explains when a change is written and how to undo it. The example is a contact: reading contacts needs only a user account, while creating, editing or deleting them needs the **Contact** access right at **Creation**; other apps have their own rights.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- Open **Contacts**.
- Check that the list shows **New** at the top: without the right to create, the button is absent.
- Prefer archiving to deleting whenever the record may be needed again: a deleted record cannot be recovered.

## Steps {#steps}

1. Click **New**. An empty form opens, with the breadcrumbs ending in "New".
2. Choose **Company** or **Person** with the radio at the top, then type the name in the large field (placeholder **e.g. Lumber Inc** for a company, **e.g. Brandon Freeman** for a person). Fill the other fields you know, such as **Email** and **Phone**; the tabs below, **Contacts** and **Notes** among others, hold the rest.

![The name is typed; the cloud icon "Save manually" and the cross "Discard all changes" appear next to the breadcrumbs.](https://jaah.app/web/image/7136-991fb58c/essentials-record-new_contact-en.png)

3. Save. The form is written when you open another record, click a menu or leave the page. To write it now, click the cloud icon **Save manually** next to the breadcrumbs. The cross next to it, **Discard all changes**, throws away everything typed since the last save. A field that cannot be saved turns red and keeps the form open until you fix it or discard the changes.
4. To edit a record later, open it from the list and type directly in the fields; the same save rules apply, and the chatter keeps a trace of the changes on tracked fields.
5. Open the **Actions** menu, the gear button next to the breadcrumbs. On a form it offers **Duplicate**, **Archive** and **Delete**; apps add their own entries and reports here.

![The Actions menu of a form; Duplicate, Archive and Delete.](https://jaah.app/web/image/7138-0110031a/essentials-record-actions_menu-en.png)

6. Click **Delete**. The dialog **Bye-bye, record!** asks for a confirmation; **Delete** removes the record for good, **No, keep it** closes the dialog.

![The confirmation "Bye-bye, record!" with its Delete and "No, keep it" buttons.](https://jaah.app/web/image/7140-f96c66a2/essentials-record-delete_confirm-en.png)

7. After the deletion you are back on the list. To hide a record without destroying it, choose **Archive** instead: it disappears from the lists until someone ticks the **Archived** filter and chooses **Unarchive**.

## Result {#result}

You created a record, saw it save itself, found the **Actions** menu, and deleted or archived the record with its confirmation.

## FAQ {#faq}

### Where is the Save button? {#where-is-save}

There is none: the form saves itself when you leave it. The cloud icon **Save manually** saves immediately, and the cross **Discard all changes** cancels the unsaved edits. Both icons appear only while something is unsaved.

### Why is Delete missing from the Actions menu? {#delete-missing}

Either you do not have the right to delete this kind of record, or the record is not saved yet. The platform may also refuse a deletion because other records depend on this one; the message names them, and archiving is then the way.

### Can I act on several records at once? {#several-records}

Yes. In the list, tick the boxes at the start of the lines, or **Select all**, then open **Actions**: **Export**, **Duplicate**, **Archive**, **Unarchive** and **Delete** apply to the selection, with the question "Are you sure you want to delete these records?" before a deletion.

### What is the difference between Duplicate and New? {#duplicate-vs-new}

**Duplicate** creates a copy of the open record with its fields already filled, and opens it so you can adjust it. **New** starts from an empty form.

---

- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/essentials/create-edit-and-delete-a-record
- Updated: 2026-10-13
- Version: Essentials 19.0.2.0.5
- Verified: 2026-10-13