Service overview
With Microsoft Forms, you can create surveys, quizzes, and polls, invite others to respond using almost any web browser or mobile device, see real-time results as they're submitted, use built-in analytics to evaluate responses, and export results to Excel for additional analysis or grading.
Common uses for Microsoft Forms:
- General surveys and polls
- Anonymous surveys
- Registration forms
- Document collection
- Auto-graded quizzes
- Embedded feedback forms
- Multilingual Forms
Definitions:
- Individual forms and/or quizzes:
- An individual form/quiz belongs to the individual that created that form/quiz.
- Group forms and/or quizzes:
- A group form/quiz is one that belongs to a specific Office 365 group. The members of that group can view and edit it. You can create Office 365 group forms in the Forms portal, SharePoint team sites, or Microsoft Teams.
Who can use it
Active McGill students, faculty and staff who have access to the Microsoft 365 portal.
How to request & access the service
Access Forms from the Microsoft 365 portal
Log in to https://office.com using your McGill Username and Password.
Click the Forms icon from the waffle menu.
Basic steps to get started:
To create an individual form or quiz:
Step 1: Click new form or create a new quiz. Continue with Step 2 (below).
To create a group quiz or form:
Step 1: Scroll down to the bottom of the page; Select the Group you want the form to belong to; Click new group form or create a new group quiz. Continue with Step 2 (below).
Step 2: Adjust the settings for your form or quiz.
Step 3: Send your form or quiz to others and collect responses.
Step 4: Check the responses submitted.
Cost
There is no cost associated with this service.
Availability
The service is available 24 X 7. Check the home page of the IT Support site or the Microsoft 365 website for maintenance announcements or unexpected downtime.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a survey form that is anonymous?
Yes. Just click the three dots at the top right corner to open the Form Settings; then uncheck the box labeled Record name. This will make the form anonymous. Note that you can still require the responder to be a McGill person or member of a specific group.
What is the difference between a group form and a group quiz?
A group form is used to collect information or conduct a survey while a goup quiz is meant to test the participants, and each answer can include a specific number of points.
Another difference lies in the location the form or quiz is stored in. Group forms are stored in SharePoint, while group quizzes are stored in MS Forms.
In addition, a group form can be created from either Microsoft Forms or Excel for the Web, while group quizzes can only be created from Microsoft Forms.
The results of my form or quiz have disappeared from my OneDrive. Where can I find them?
This chart summarizes how different MS Forms configurations store your results.
| Individual | Group | ||||
| Microsoft Forms | OneDrive for Business | Excel for the Web | Microsoft Forms |
Excel for the Web/SharePoint | |
| Quiz | Results will be in MS Forms (an offline, standalone workbook will be downloaded to Excel desktop) | N/A | N/A | Results will be in MS Forms (an offline, standalone workbook will be downloaded to Excel desktop) | N/A |
| Form | Results will be in MS Forms (an offline, standalone workbook will be downloaded to Excel desktop) | Results will be made available in your local OneDrive | Results will be made available in your local OneDrive |
Results will be in the SharePoint site of the Group. Note: The results of group forms are no longer available in OneDrive. |
Results will be in the SharePoint site of the Group. Note: The results of group forms are no longer available in OneDrive. |
Even though I check the option “Get email notification of each response”, in Form/Quiz Settings, I don’t receive email notifications. Is it a known issue?
The “Get email notification of each response” works only for individual, not Group Forms/Quizzes. If a user creates an individual Form/Quiz and then “Moves it to Group” of a specific SharePoint site, by default, the email notifications will be sent only to the user who created the Form.
To set up email notifications for Group Forms/Quizzes, follow the instructions outlined in this Microsoft article. Once you enable the “Let people outside the organization email the groups” and “Members will receive all group conversations and events…” options in Group Settings and the Group Form/Quiz “Get email notification of each response” setting is selected, all users in the Group will receive email notifications when a response to the Group Form/Quiz is submitted.
If you need to set up a Form/Quiz email notifications for a resource email account or if you have any other additional set-up questions, please, book a “Personal Q&A – Microsoft Forms” session with IT Services – Collaboration Solutions team.
Best practices & policies
To ensure the Form/Quiz you create is accessible to other members of your team so they can help you manage it when you are away:
- Create a Group Form/Quiz
or - Share the individual form you created by Moving it to Group associated with a specific SharePoint Site.
A Group Form/Quiz can be managed by other McGill users even after you leave the university and your McGill account gets deleted.
- You may also Duplicate your Form/Quiz to share it with others as a template that can be reused or adapted.
See Sharing and collaborating on Microsoft Forms for more details.
Training & documentation
Attend a Lunchtime Learning workshop on Office 365 Forms and Surveys.
Additional resources
Find instructions on the Microsoft Support site: What is Microsoft Forms?
Forms new features
- Quickly create a form/quiz from existing templates: More dedicated templates are available now. With this feature, users can quickly select and create templates including feedback surveys, daily workflow request forms and assessment quizzes based on different needs.
- Convert Word/PDF form or Quiz to a Microsoft Form: You can now import and convert Word/PDF forms or quizzes into Microsoft Forms by using the latest “Smart convert” functionality. You can still change or modify after importing, you can still edit the Quiz following the suggestion before sending it out.
- Quiz is fully supported across all devices, including mobile: Forms on mobile now has full-feature functionality including Quiz creation, grading, and commenting, so you can use Forms on the go. You can even start from mobile, edit and distribute via desktop, then go back to mobile to check the results data. Refer to the blog for more information.
- Keep track and remind non-response people by one click: If you want to share a form or quiz directly anyone in your organization, you can easily use the invitation channel. An invitation email message with dedicated template will be sent via Outlook on behalf of yourself. To keep track and remind non-response people, you can easily check the periodic notification email sent from Forms service and send reminders with one click.
Enhance your form
Add a logo to your form or display pictures or videos next to quiz questions.
- Change a form theme
- Add a picture or logo to a form header
- Add a picture to a question
- Change your picture size
- Delete a picture
- Add a video to a question
Use Microsoft Forms in other Office products
Insert quizzes, surveys, polls, and other types of forms into other Office products you know and love.
- Embed a form in a Sway
- Insert a form or quiz into OneNote for the web
- Create a form in OneDrive for work or school
- Create a form in Excel for the web
- Insert a form or quiz into PowerPoint
- Create, edit, and collaborate on a form in Microsoft Teams
- Use the Microsoft Forms web part
Support
For access/authentication issues, contact the IT Service Desk.