Saving form request as draft enforces mandatory field validation

[Rachit7168]

Description

When attempting to save a request (e.g., under Call for Exhibitors) using the "or save as draft for now" option, the application blocks submission and flags validation errors on mandatory fields (e.g., Organization name *).

Draft functionality should allow users to save partial progress without requiring mandatory fields to be completed. Strict field validation should only trigger when submitting the final request via Submit request.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open the Call for Exhibitors request form.
2. Leave required fields blank (e.g., leave **Organization name *** empty).
3. Optionally fill out optional fields or upload files (e.g., Promotional slides, Logo).
4. Click "or save as draft for now".
5. Observe the validation error prompt: "We could not save your changes. See below for details." and field highlight "This field is required."

Current Behavior

• Front-end and/or backend validation enforces required field constraints regardless of whether the user clicks Submit request or save as draft for now.

Expected Behavior

• Clicking "or save as draft for now" bypasses mandatory field validation, allowing users to save an incomplete draft.
• Full validation checks (requiring fields like Organization name *) should only execute when clicking Submit request.

Proposed Fix

• Update form submission handling to check the trigger action (draft vs submit).
• Disable required field validation rules dynamically on the front-end when the draft action is initiated.
• Adjust backend payload validation to mark fields as optional during draft state creation/updates.

Acceptance Criteria

• Allow form submission to succeed as a draft even when mandatory fields are left empty.
• Enforce required field validations only when submitting the request formally via Submit request.
• Display confirmation toast/alert when a draft is successfully saved without complete fields.

Screencast Reference

simplescreenrecorder-2026-09-15_17.41.11.mp4

[Aqil-Ahmad]

Organization name is required for draft save, form can still be saved with other required fields left empty. I noticed while testing, the Social media links are also required for draft save which is a recent regression, only that should be fixed.