Forms for Excel, new experience for Excel survey in Office 365
Published Sep 22 2017 01:23 AM 189K Views
Microsoft

Introducing Forms for Excel

Forms for Excel, in Preview for commercial customers, powered by Microsoft Forms, has replaced Excel Survey. This update, available for Office 365 Commercial and Education customers, comes with a modern experience to make it simple and easy to collect information from users in the same organization, to anyone in the world. Forms for Excel includes new features such as response time, responder name, images, videos, themes, and branching logic.

 

Create Forms for Excel

Use any of the following entry points:

  • OneDrive for Business: Click + New.
  • Document library of modern SharePoint team sites (O365 group backed): Click + New.
  • Excel Online: Click Forms > + New Form. The workbook is stored on OneDrive for Business or modern SharePoint team sites.

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Simple and easy to use

Create in minutes - Quickly build a form in your Excel workbook from Excel Online, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online.

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Send to anyone - Send your form to colleagues or go broad. Keep the Excel workbook response data safe on your OneDrive.

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See real time results - See summary result with charts in Microsoft Forms and check real time response data in your Excel workbook.

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Who can use "Forms for Excel"?

Office 365 Commercial and Education customers. No change for Office 365 Consumer customers. Learn more.

 

What does "Forms for Excel" mean for my existing Excel surveys?

All existing Excel surveys will continue to work.

 

What do I have for my classic SharePoint team sites?

You can still use Excel survey if "external sharing" is enabled for your classic SharePoint team sites.

 

Where is the data stored?

All data is primarily stored on servers of Microsoft Forms, and all response data is automatically stored in your Excel workbook. Get details about Security and Compliance for Microsoft Forms.

 

Does "Forms for Excel" depend on external sharing settings in my organization?

Forms for Excel can be used without changing your organization’s sharing settings.

 

How can I configure "Forms for Excel"?

Office 365 administrators can control how "Forms for Excel" is used in their organization through Microsoft Forms settings. Get more details about how to configure Microsoft Forms.

87 Comments
Microsoft

This is great! How can you get to the same live data with an existing MS Form? Is my only option to create a new form using the method outlined in the post?

Copper Contributor

is there a way to edit the respone once a form is submitted? I would like to add a link to Microsoft bookings so that once the form has been completed my team can book a conference call in my booking app.

Microsoft

@Jamie Boyce, after user submit a response, currently there is not way to edit user's response data in Forms.

However, the form owner could open the connected Excel workbook, to add extra annotation columns or edit response data in cell. Please be aware, the data change in Excel workbook won't be wrote back to Forms.

 

Regards,

Zhongzhong

Microsoft

Hi @Shawn Roland,

Yes, you're right. Currently, you could only get the live data connection from "Forms for Excel" or "Forms for Microsoft Teams".

Enable live data connection is one of top feedbacks, and it is a high priority item for us. However, there are still several technical challenges for us to solve, before we could enable live data connection for all forms.

 

Regards,

Zhongzhong

Copper Contributor

Hi, 

I need to add about 1000+ questions and related answers to the form. Is there a way I can import these from an existing excel file. 

I do not want to manually enter each questions which will take lot of time

Microsoft

Hi @Mohammad Faisal,

In Forms, you could only create around 95 questions for each single form.

 

Regards,

Zhongzhong

Copper Contributor

Hi @Zhongzhong Li

Is there a way to pre-populate a field on a form in Microsoft Forms using a parameter that is attached to the form's URL? 

 

Idea/scenario behind this: We could send out personalized links to people from whom we'd like to gather some information, e.g. https://[my-form-url]?IncidentID=27

 

Result: When the receipient opens the link in the browser, the field "IncidentID" would already be filled with the value 27 without the need to enter the number manually.

Brass Contributor

This entire product is insanity... In Survey I could provide default values, make it a drop down menu and more. But in Forms I can make QR codes, and it displays on screen as mobile friendly. I can still USE my surveys, but cant create new ones if I need features that existed there but not in Forms... I can't even describe how insanely frustrating this roll out has been for its IDEAL CUSTOMER. We are a 30 person company with 365 business premium licenses. I flat out don't know which product to use, can't make a uniform experience, can't make it efficient on screen, can't continue to create Surveys (while also not being forced off them).. its... I just can't even. We use them for safety logs (think daily forklift checks) and also for customer follow up. How did you manage to destroy an old product, not replace it with the same functionality, and then allow both of the products to work in totally different ways at the same time?? Do you listen to customers at all? Something as simple as drop down menus, which existed in the old product, have hundreds of user voice comments going back a year and still nothing. Im flabbergasted. You think Forms need Teams integration more than drop downs and default answers???

Copper Contributor

Hello! Do you know when the option to upload files into form will be available?

thanks in advance, 

Copper Contributor

Dear Microsoft Forms Team,

Thank you for a great tool for easy surveys!

There is one simple task I cannot find how to achieve:

I need to ask the skills and for that create a DropDown menu (all good so far) and have a 15.000 list of alternatives and need to somehow import those into the form so it is filled. Since this seems a simple task and so many integration to excel is there I believe this has to be an option.

 

Any feedback appreciated.

Best regards,

AJ

Microsoft

Hi @Andres Justiniano,

 

Do you mean 15K options for the dropdown control?

Do you mind to votes and leave your requirements for Dropdown control in our UserVoice site, then you will receive notification when we are working on it.

 

Regards,

Zhongzhong

Copper Contributor

Hi @Zhongzhong Li

this form is nice because it is simple and output in excel file, but it would be nice if it can added more features, such as:
1. file upload form, max size for scanning / document photos, and storage on OneDrive.
2. result form from 1 respondent only in 1 line, if one respondent can have option in row and column without limit.
3. there is a login option for the respondent on the form.

hopefully my advice can be done by the microsoft team.

Copper Contributor

@Zhongzhong Li

Is there any update on this one and where can I go to monitor progress on roadmpa?

"We do have plan for Power BI directly connection in our backlog after we improve the feature in Excel / OneDrive / SharePoint."

Microsoft

@null null

For file upload, it is a top ask from our UserVoice website. We are working on it.

For your item 3 - "there is a login option for the respondent on the form." if you setting the form to "Only People in my Org could response", then form will ask them to login first, then fill in the survey.

 

@Kali Madden

Yes, we do have engineers investigate on Power BI integration. However, it requires data source level integration, so it will take longer time.

 

Regards,

Zhongzhong

Copper Contributor

@Zhongzhong LiI really like the "Forms for Excel" integration it is very useful being able to quickly see real time response results in our online Excel at any time. As some of our forms will have quite a lot of branching I have been trying to find a way to fill blank cells in Excel as a result of the skipped questions in the forms. Can you please advise if there is a way to do this so that all blank cells receive a default 'no response' or similar? Thanks!

Microsoft

@Kali Madden, could you help us to understand why do you want to fill "no response" in the empty cell which is skipped by branching?

Copper Contributor

Is there a way you can use forms for excel on a form already created without this. For example, I would like a form I have create to now have the excel spreadsheet, but when I go to excel or on the form it seems that the only way I can use this feature is to create an new form. I have already sent the link out so a way to create the responses in excel without changing the form would be great?!

Deleted
Not applicable

The Sharepoint site that I use does not have the "Forms for Excel" option available via any of the 3 entry points mentioned in your article. However, I've noticed that other sites do have it.

 

Question #1: Why do some sites have the option and others don't?

Question #2: How can I add the "Forms for Excel" option to a Sharepoint site?

 

Thanks!

Deleted
Not applicable

Hi @Deleted  - 

 

Question #1: Why do some sites have the option and others don't?

Forms for Excel only appears on OneDrive sites and modern SharePoint sites (in our environment this means sites that are part of an Office 365 Group or Team).

 

Question #2: How can I add the "Forms for Excel" option to a Sharepoint site?

If you don't see the option in the new menu, then you cannot use that SharePoint site to store a Form.

Copper Contributor

Hi - just wondering when the functionality will be expanded to allow survey participants to input number and for questions to be allowed to be more hierarchical. i.e. 1. Question1:       …….. response box

                          1. 1 Question 1a) ……. response box?

 

So it could more easily mimic survey monkey or other 3rd party survey creators? Thanks. 

Steel Contributor

If I create a Form in MS Teams, does this create the excel spreadsheet in the SharePoint team site?

Microsoft

@David Gorman  yes, the Excel workbook will be stored in the SharePoint doc library of that Teams.

I am trying to use the collected information (form1) in a sheet (sheet1) to create a report. When copying my formulas linking to form1 everything works okay. But if I am linking to the next empty cell and somebody inputs new data into Form the referencing cell changes the formula to point to the next empty line below, resulting in that all new data is missing. If I type it in manually into Form1 it appears as it should.

 

=Form1!G12  (First-time copy cells)

=Form1!G13  (First-time copy cells)

=Form1!G16  (If Form1 gets data from Forms)

 

Strange and annoying, any tips???

Copper Contributor

@Zhongzhong Li   I am trying to run formulas on the data collected from my Forms, however the data from the Form is being recorded as text instead of numbers (even though I have the responses restricted on only accept numbers), and must be converted to a number before the formulas will work.  Is there a way to correct this so that my formulas will work without the added step?

 

Thank you!

Brass Contributor

I've made a form in Office 365 business in a team site and when I click there to open in Excel it doesn't open, comes a message telling was not possible.

I tried to re-synch to a new workbook but still happens... any hints on how to solve this? We need tyhe answers in a workbook

Copper Contributor

I found difference between forms and forms for excel.

eg. if I create form for excel I am unable to "review answers" in responses section, which I need to print test with positive and megative answers

so in forms for excel I can only get "view results"

is this option a bug or something else?

tnx

Copper Contributor

As a teacher I would like to export my quiz with all my provided answers to a document, for example an excel document. At the moment I only export of the students responses. Is there any way to export my forms?

Copper Contributor

@Zhongzhong Li 

I have create a document using Forms for excel. All form functions work and data gathered is accurate. When I attempt to us functions and formulas in the excel document in O365(browser) or when I open my excel document in desktop app. The reason is because forms is inserting a " ' " in all cells before the accurate data.

Example:
numbers only from form 206953, shows in the designated cell as  '206953

 

is there a fix for this?

Copper Contributor

Hi,

 

Is it possible to add a Question Type that will allow users to upload and image and/or documents?

 

- Jesus 

Copper Contributor

Forms for Excel is great, but it defaults to a new Survey. I need to create a Quiz instead, then the worksheet will continually populate with new responses, like a Google Sheet that is linked to its Google Form/Quiz.

Brass Contributor

@Zhongzhong Li 

 

I had never seen this before and still don't really see the difference between this and a general form.  That said, can one convert and regular form into a form for excel?  I have many issues making the Excel sheet available to Team members when the form is not a group form, just shared by me.  I cannot make it a group form because group members keep overwriting the questions.

Copper Contributor

Microsoft should really reconsider making this available for O365 Consumer customers. I actually pay Microsoft for O365 annually, but connecting a form to an online worksheet is actually supported for non-paying Google Forms customers. It pains me to do this, but off to Google I go. 

Copper Contributor

please can I ask whether there is any intention to make this feature available to personal or family users of 365?

 

thanks.

Copper Contributor

I made a forms for Excel and it is working but I cannot access the form to edit it. I can access the form to fill it out, and I can access the Excel to see the responses, and they are still connected. However, the form does not show up anywhere in my forms, on one drive, or one sharepoint, and I cannot find any links to edit the form within the Excel (I have spent hours looking). I need to update our form for what information our food pantry attendees need to input to register. Thank you for your support. 

 

@Zhongzhong Li 

Copper Contributor

I can only access the results of forms if I enter the forms app and open the file in excel, when I open the file directly in excel, it do not appear the answers of the forms,

if a want to change the answers of one person, can i? permanently change the answers

Copper Contributor

Can I create a Power Automate flow with a Forms for Excel which was created from a Team SharePoint site of which I am an owner? The Form doesn't show up in the Form Id dropdown box. 

 

I want to add new responses to a spreadsheet and send a notification email to someone other than me. I thought of creating my own Form and creating the flow for that, but I thought Forms for Excel would be better so it can still be used if I leave the company. What do you suggest? 

 

Never mind...

UPDATE: At this link How to do more with forms in Power Automate - Power Automate | Microsoft Learn, I found the following solution -

 

Add a group form to a flow

If a group is the owner of the form you want to add to a flow, Power Automate doesn't list it in the Form Id.

Go to the form. Copy the Form Id from the URL of the form, and then add it as a custom value.

Copper Contributor

In my form I ask for a number. When I see the results in the live Excel the number is 'text' and I need it to be a real number so that I can sum the numbers. Do i need to adjust a setting? 

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