Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is a data gathering tool that allows you to create forms and share them with others.  Using a simple web-driven interface, you can create simple surveys with branching questions, quizzes or polls.

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Microsoft Forms provides the following benefits:

  • It is easy to set up and share a form.
  • You can choose a variety of question types.
  • The forms can be completed by Nexus365 users or by external or anonymous users.
  • You can store the data directly into an Excel spreadsheet on your OneDrive for Business or Excel Online.

You can create Forms in a number of ways:

Create a new form:

  1. Access Microsoft forms in one of the following ways:
  2. Follow these simple steps to create and share a form or quiz.

 

Create a new form directly in your OneDrive for Business:

  1. Log in to OneDrive
  2. Click New
  3. Select the Forms for Excel option.
  • This will take you to the same forms design screen you will see in Forms, but all data collected will be put directly into an Excel spreadsheet in your default OneDrive for Business folder.

 

You can do the same in Excel Online:

  1. Log in to Excel Online
  2. Click New
  3. Select New blank workbook
  4. Select Insert Forms New Form to insert a Microsoft Form into your sheet.
  • Data will be collected directly in the newly created Excel worksheet.

 

You can also use Forms within Teams:

  1. Add a new tab
  2. Select the Forms option

Microsoft Forms passes GDPR compliancy, with Microsoft hosting data held in forms within UK / EU Datacentres as of May 2018.  Our Information Security team have approved Microsoft Forms for Nexus365 users, while emphasising the University's rules for retention and disposal of any personal data gathered using the app.

You can create up to 200 forms within the Microsoft Forms hub or within your own OneDrive for Business or Excel online areas.

Quizzes allow you to add an extra layer of correct answers to each question in the form, and a number of points to be kept in a tally as your users fill in their answers.  Several answers can be included in each question and Microsoft Forms will use these as the basis for scoring.  In comparison, forms do not allow scorekeeping but request either Choice, Text, Rating Date inputs using a date picker or a ranking.

Not currently, though Microsoft have had requests for it.  Each response is considered 'standalone / one-shot' so Microsoft Forms is unsuitable for scenarios where you may need people to edit or part-complete their entries.

Microsoft Forms is not meant to be a direct replacement for more complex forms solutions such as those offered by Nintex or via Infopath (offered as part of the current On-Premises Nexus SharePoint Service).  However, there are cases where Microsoft Forms can be used in place of 'flat' forms (forms that do not need file attachments or complex rules or validation.  For example, you could use Forms to gather quick survey or poll data to be exported to Excel or a spreadsheet hosted in your OneDrive for Business.

Microsoft Forms allow attachments as a special question type, storing the attachments in the Form owner's OneDrive for Business instance. Attachments are not available in Anonymous / externally-facing forms however, so you will need to make other arrangements or use other services if this is a requirement for your use case.

Microsoft Forms Pro is a separately priced product and is not available under Nexus365 as it is a 'per user' subscription cost.

Microsoft Forms are normally created against an individual's user account, but business-critical forms can be moved to a Team or Office 365 Group to ensure that the form continues functioning after a user leaves. 

See the Microsoft Help Page on moving a Microsoft Form to a Group or Team - Move your form to a group (microsoft.com)

Form responses will be 'moved' to the Team or Group site, appearing under a folder in Apps > Microsoft Forms > The Name of your form. 

Attachment data will NOT be moved (you will need to move this yourself) but any new responses with attachment data will also be surfaced in your Group or Team SharePoint Site in the same location, marked with the name of the person submitting the data. Consider setting up forms against groups or teams BEFORE gathering responses to ensure that data is located in one place, rather than spread between the original Form owner's OneDrive for Business instance or a group / team). 

Note: All Group / Team Members will have access to the form to see responses and to change / edit the form, so ensure that you only move Forms to a Team or Group where you want all members to have that level of access (consider setting up a group or team specifically to manage Microsoft Forms in your unit to facilitate this). 

Microsoft provides the following information:

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