Difference between revisions of "Microsoft Forms"

Revision as of 09:43, 30 April 2026

Microsoft Forms is a lightweight tool used to create surveys, quizzes, and polls. While easy to start, following these best practices ensures your data remains secure and accessible to your team.

## Step-by-Step Guides

Creating & Designing

Create a new form: Choose between a standard form or a self-grading quiz.
Add branching logic: Send respondents to different questions based on their previous answers.
Form Settings: Set deadlines, shuffle questions, or customize "Thank You" messages.
Using the Evergreen Form Template: Ensure your form meets college branding and security standards.

Sharing & Security

Adjusting Settings: Control who can see your form (Evergreen-only vs. Anyone with the link) and set closing dates.
Sharing for collaboration: Invite colleagues to help edit the form questions.

Collecting Responses & Attachments

When you are ready to go live, click the Collect Responses button. Consider these critical settings:

Shorten URL: Check the Shorten URL box to generate a cleaner, more professional link that is easier to share in emails or on printed materials.
File Uploads & Security: If you need to add a File Upload question, Microsoft requires the form to be set to "Only people in my organization can respond."
- Why? Because uploaded files are stored in a secure SharePoint or OneDrive folder, the system must authenticate the user to ensure the files are handled safely and mapped to the correct respondent.
- Note: You cannot collect attachments from "Anonymous" or external respondents.

Managing Responses

View results: See a high-level summary of charts and graphs directly in your browser.
Troubleshoot Sync Issues: What to do if your Excel file stops updating.

Best Practices

Collaborative Ownership (Don't Fly Solo)

A common mistake is creating a form under a personal account. If that person leaves the college or is unavailable, the form and its data become inaccessible.

Best Practice: Always Create a form in a Microsoft 365 Group or transfer ownership to a Team.
Why? This ensures that all members of your department or project team can manage the form and view responses, preventing "orphaned" forms.

Working with Results & Excel

Every form automatically compiles results into an Excel spreadsheet. You can view these in real-time.

⚠️ CRITICAL: Do Not Edit the Linked Spreadsheet

To keep your data syncing correctly, do not manually add columns, delete rows, or rename headers directly in the Excel file that is connected to your form.

Doing so can corrupt the sync connection, causing new form responses to stop appearing in your spreadsheet.
If you need to analyze or manipulate the data, Export a copy of the data or use a separate "Pivot" sheet to pull data from the original.

Forms from Microsoft Lists

If you are managing data within Microsoft Lists, you can create a form directly from the list to streamline data entry.

Create a Form from a Microsoft List (microsoft documentation)

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 |lead=
-[[File:Microsoft-Forms.svg|75px|left]] '''Microsoft Forms''' allows you to quickly create polls, quizzes, and surveys. Data is compiled in real-time and can be exported directly into a spreadsheet for analysis.
+[[File:Microsoft-Forms.svg|75px|left]] '''Microsoft Forms''' is a lightweight tool used to create surveys, quizzes, and polls. While easy to start, following these best practices ensures your data remains secure and accessible to your team.
 |content=
 <hr />
 <br />
-===Getting Started===
+===## Step-by-Step Guides===
-[https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-form-with-microsoft-forms-4ffb64cc-7d5d-402f-b82e-b1d49418fd9d Create a Form]
+====Creating & Designing====
+* '''[https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-form-with-microsoft-forms-4ffb64cc-7d5d-402f-b82e-b1d49418fd9d Create a new form]:''' Choose between a standard form or a self-grading quiz.
+* '''Add branching logic:''' Send respondents to different questions based on their previous answers.
+* Form Settings: Set deadlines, shuffle questions, or customize "Thank You" messages.
+* '''[[Using the Evergreen Form Template]]:''' Ensure your form meets college branding and security standards.
-=== [[Using the Evergreen Form Template]] ===
+====Sharing & Security====
-When conducting official college business, '''always use the Evergreen-approved template.''' This ensures the security of sensitive data (like user emails) and helps respondents verify that the form is an official college document.
+* '''Adjusting Settings:''' Control who can see your form (Evergreen-only vs. Anyone with the link) and set closing dates.
+* '''Sharing for collaboration:''' Invite colleagues to help edit the form questions.
-'''IMPORTANT:''' Start with the template first. You cannot apply Evergreen branding to an existing form later. If you’ve already started a form, you will need to copy and paste your questions into a new one created from the template.
+====Collecting Responses & Attachments====
+When you are ready to go live, click the Collect Responses button. Consider these critical settings:
-=== Quick Start Guide ===
+* '''Shorten URL:''' Check the Shorten URL box to generate a cleaner, more professional link that is easier to share in emails or on printed materials.
-#'''Access the Template:''' Please submit a [https://forms.office.com/r/N978eF6R9h technology support request] to receive the link.
+* '''File Uploads & Security:''' If you need to add a File Upload question, Microsoft requires the form to be set to '''"Only people in my organization can respond."'''
-#'''Create Your Copy:''' Click the '''More Options (...)''' icon on the template tile and select '''Copy'''.  This creates a duplicate for your own use.
+** '''Why?''' Because uploaded files are stored in a secure SharePoint or OneDrive folder, the system must authenticate the user to ensure the files are handled safely and mapped to the correct respondent.
-#'''Personalize:''' Open your duplicate and rename it to match your project.
+**''Note: You cannot collect attachments from "Anonymous" or external respondents.''
-#'''Build & Share:''' Add your questions and adjust branching logic. Once ready, you can share via:
-* Direct Link
-*Email Invitation
-* QR Code
-===Linked Spreadsheets===
+====Managing Responses====
-If you link a form with a spreadsheet to gather results '''do not modify the spreadsheet'''. Changing spreadsheet columns and rows can cause the form data to become unlinked.
+* '''View results:''' See a high-level summary of charts and graphs directly in your browser.
+* '''Troubleshoot Sync Issues:''' What to do if your Excel file stops updating.
+===Best Practices===
+====Collaborative Ownership (Don't Fly Solo)====
+A common mistake is creating a form under a personal account. If that person leaves the college or is unavailable, the form and its data become inaccessible.
+* '''Best Practice:''' Always Create a form in a Microsoft 365 Group or transfer ownership to a Team.
+* '''Why?''' This ensures that all members of your department or project team can manage the form and view responses, preventing "orphaned" forms.
+====Working with Results & Excel====
+Every form automatically compiles results into an Excel spreadsheet. You can view these in real-time.
+<div class="alert alert-danger" role="alert">
+⚠️ '''CRITICAL: Do Not Edit the Linked Spreadsheet'''
+To keep your data syncing correctly, '''do not manually add columns, delete rows, or rename headers''' directly in the Excel file that is connected to your form.
+* Doing so can corrupt the sync connection, causing new form responses to stop appearing in your spreadsheet.
+* If you need to analyze or manipulate the data, Export a copy of the data or use a separate "Pivot" sheet to pull data from the original.
+</div>
 === Forms from Microsoft Lists ===