Google Forms allows you to create and completely customize forms and surveys to send out to anyone. It’s great for tests, surveys, event registration, event planning, and more. For a walkthrough, read on and check out the full video tutorial here.
Creating & Customizing A Form
There are three ways to create a new Google Form document:
- Navigate to the Forms app on Google (on the top right side of any Google site)
- On Google Drive, hit New > More > Google Forms
- Go to forms.google.com and create a new form from there
Once you create a new Form and title it or do any work on it, it will show up in your Google Drive.
To change the color or add a photo, click Color Palette to customize the look of the form.
Creating Questions in a Form
Each question will have the option to choose between a short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, linear scale, or multiple choice grid.
Another option you have is selecting Required on the question. This makes sure that the question must be answered before submitting the form.
The settings on each answer will have the option to show a hint for the answer or data validation.
On Multiple Choice, Checkboxes, and the Dropdown questions, you can add an “Other” answer. This will let a user add in another answer that isn’t on your list.
Short answer – allows for short answers to questions.
Paragraph – allows the user to fill in a larger space for an answer.
Multiple choice – you can add as many options as you want here, and only one response is possible.
Checkboxes – this is similar to a multiple choice question, but the user is allowed to select one or many responses to the question.
Dropdown – this lets a user choose an answer through a dropdown selection.
Linear scale – this is a good method for a scale from “Good” to “Bad” or whatever scale you choose.
Multiple choice grid – This allows for several multiple choice questions to appear sequentially. This can work for a linear scale or repeating multiple choice questions.
Date & time – this is good for any event planning to see what time your guests are available.
If you don’t want your form to drag down the entire page, you can use the Add section button to create another page.
Once you’ve hit “Add section,” a new section will be created. When a user is filling out the form, each section will be available on different pages. They will have to fill in any required questions and hit “Next” to continue to the next section.
You’re also able to preview your Form through the Preview button. This will show you how the form is visible to anyone you send it to.
Adding Images and Videos
Images and Videos are very easy to add in your Form. This will make it easy for users to easily access any images or videos that are referenced in the question.
Insert an image through uploading from your computer, taking a snapshot on your web camera, upload a photo through a URL link, add a photo from your Google Drive, or search for a photo using a Google Image web search.
Once you’ve inserted your image or video, you can add any questions or descriptions to the image.
A video can be inserted through a YouTube search or a URL link. The video must be uploaded to the internet for it to be accessible to anyone filling out the form.
Additional Settings
Message for respondents: write a message or leave it as is. This will show up as a confirmation for anyone who’s done completing the Form.
You can also choose for respondents to submit another response to the form, edit their response, or see a summary of their answers.
Under Presentation Options, you can shuffle the question order. This is useful if you are creating any tests. However, keep in mind that images and videos will not be linked to the questions and will be shuffled differently if this setting is on.
Add-on extensions
Under the Menu on the top right corner, the Add-on extensions can be helpful if you want to create anything that is beyond the basic question and answer found on a Form. There are lots of free options available, from math subjects to syncing with apps like SmartSheet for businesses.
Viewing Responses to your Form
As soon as your participants have filled out their response, it will be visible on your end.
Navigate to the Responses tab on your Form, and you will be able to see the Summary of all responses and each Individual response that’s been submitted. If you have multiple responses, you can transfer the response data to a spreadsheet as well.
You’re also able to toggle email notifications for any new responses that are submitted.
Templates
There are lots of templates available on Google Forms for any type of form. This can be a real time-saver if you don’t want to start from scratch.
You can access them whenever you hit “New form” on the Google Forms webpage. You can also navigate to File > New > From template.
Uploading Files in Google Forms
A great feature in Forms is the ability for users to upload files when submitting their response.
If you’re using it for a school account, for example, having students submit files, simply change your question structure to a File Upload question. It will give you an option to allow for a minimum number of files and the maximum file size.
File upload is not available for a personal Gmail account. It will only work for a business or school organization that is under one domain.
If you want to make a file upload form for a business account, it might not be available to your organization. This can be fixed in Settings under Restrict to “organization” users. This will make sure that the form is only available to someone within your organization, making file uploading available in Forms.
When a user sends a file, they need to be logged into their organization’s Gmail account. Otherwise, the form won’t allow them to submit any files.
Using Google Forms in Google Sites
Using the tools available to you in your G-suite, you can enhance your Google sites by using Forms.
If you’re on your Google site webpage editor, you can insert a Google Form in the Insert menu. This can be a premade Google Form that exists in your Drive already.
If you want to include an area on your website where users can submit files, Google Forms can also be used for this. Just set up a page that allows users to fill out a form where they can add a file. Any files they upload will be sent to your Google Drive.
To view the files responders have submitted, Google Drive will automatically create a folder with the file submissions. If you open your spreadsheet of the Forms responses, every file is tracked in the spreadsheet with a timestamp and the Drive link to the file.
Using Forms to Grade Quizzes
If you’re a teacher or you’re creating a quiz to send out, a Google Form can be an easy way to do this. Forms allow you to create many types of question responses.
If you want to switch your Form over to a quiz, open up a new Forms document and click on the Settings gear on the top right page. Under the Quizzes tab, just click Make this a quiz to switch it over to a quiz-style form.
With quizzes, you can turn on options like when to release the grade, if the respondent can see missed questions, correct answers, or if the answers have point values.
When you create questions, make sure to fill in the answer. Click on Answer Key and choose the correct answer.
You can also add answer feedback if the responder answers incorrectly or correctly. Here you can explain and give any feedback on the answer and also link to any websites as well.
Keep in mind that the answer key feature only works for multiple choice, checkboxes, and dropdown types of questions.
When you release answers, the responder will be able to open up the Google Form (or will receive an email) to see how they scored.
Sharing a Form
Once you’ve completed your form, you’ll want to share it with your necessary contacts. Hit the Send button and type in any groups and contacts you’re sending it to. There’s an option to send as a shareable link if you want to send it as a link as well.
If you’re using Google Classroom, a great way to send a Form to your class is by making a Gmail email group. That way, you can send it to every student without having to send each of them an individual email.
You can also add a Form to your Google Classroom site by creating a new Assignment. Attach a Form that’s saved in your Google Drive, and your new assignment will be created. Students can navigate to the Classroom’s page, click on the assignment, and submit a response through your Google Form.
