Google Docs has long been the number one choice to create Word documents online. The service is free and available to any Google user, and while it's bundled with features, once you start expanding your creative ideas, Google Docs' limitations will catch your eye. Creating surveys in Google Docs is one such task and here's everything you need to know about it.
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Can you create a poll in Google Docs?
No, you cannot create surveys natively in Google Docs. However, if you prefer, you can create survey forms manually and format them to your liking.
The problem mainly arises when you decide to share it with your audience. Google Docs is collaborative by nature, so changes to a document can be made by anyone when the document is shared with them.
You can of course restrict this behavior, but this in turn will prevent your target audience from filling out their forms.
If you decide to give them editing rights? Well, everyone will be able to see and edit each other's answers. How do you prevent this? You can use the workarounds mentioned in the following section.
Related: How to superscript and subscript at the same time in Google Docs: step-by-step guide
Creating a survey in Google Docs: How does it work?
Creating a survey in Google Docs mainly consists of the following two steps.
- Step 1:Create your form
- Step 2:Share your form with the audience
As discussed in the section above, the real problem arises once you decide to share your form. You can bypass the limitations of Google Docs and share your survey form in two main ways, either by asking users to return with a completed copy, or by assigning specific placeholders that users can then use to enter comments or their choices hold true.
The only caveat is that this can only work for small surveys. If you have an audience that's 10 or fewer, asking them to reach out to you with a completed copy of the survey form is your best option. Use the instructions below to create polls in Google Docs.
Related: How to insert footnotes in Google Docs: step-by-step guide
How to bypass the problem and still create a survey in Google Docs
Here's how to create and share your survey using Google Docs.
Step 1: Create your survey form
You can create the following types of survey forms in Google Docs. These are outlines, of course, and you can use Google Docs' built-in tools to create your custom survey forms. Follow one of the sections below based on your current needs.
Table overview
You can create a tabular survey form by adding a table to your document and then formatting it to suit your own needs.
Tabular survey forms can come in handy when you have a lot of yes/no questions to answer. It can also be useful when you have multiple questions for multiple users in a selected group.
Each user can have their own individual column which can then be used to fill in the required details.
Such forms allow you to share your survey with your audience with permission to comment. To add a spreadsheet to your Google Docs file, go toInsert > Tableand then select the desired size of table that best suits your needs.
Text-based survey
Text-based surveys are fairly basic with simple questions and placeholders for answers. You can fill in your questions and use Google Docs to make your text survey form more attractive.
We recommend using the following tools to your advantage in Google Docs.
- watermark
- Headings (text style)
- Images/Brand Logos
- page numbers
- delimiter
Text-based polls are also relatively easy to share with your audience by giving them comment rights. You can just leave a line with the name of the person who should fill in their answer. See the image below for more information.
Multiple Choice Polls
Multiple choice polls are much more compatible polls that make it easier for you to reach a wider range of audiences. However, this works better if you share via email instead of allowing everyone to comment.
However, you can always create individual checklists for each participant if necessary to bypass this restriction. Just type the question in your poll and then go toFormat > Bullets & Numbering > Checklists.
You can now add your answers to the checklist and repeat the process for all questions in your survey.
Related: How to draw in Google Docs: step-by-step guide
Now comes the tricky part, sharing your survey. As discussed above, you can either share a non-editable poll that can be duplicated and sent back to you, or send out a poll with placeholders for your audience. Depending on your choice, use a relevant section below to share your survey.
Open the survey you created and click "Share" in the top right corner of your screen.
Now click on “Switch to someone with the link”.
A shareable link will now be created for your survey. Click the Permissions dropdown menu and ensure Viewer is selected for your survey. This allows your audience to only view and duplicate the document.
Click "Copy Link" to copy the link to your clipboard. Once copied, you can now share the link with your email list via the desired service.
Here's how you can share a non-editable survey created in Google Docs.
instructions for your recipients
If you think your audience will have trouble navigating and completing the survey, you can add instructions similar to the one below to your email to assist them in the process.
Click and open the link shared with you, then click "File" in the upper-left corner of your screen.
Select "Make a copy".
Enter a name for your copy.
Now choose a location for the copy of your survey by clicking on the next option.
When you are finished, click "Ok".
An editable copy will now open on the screen. You can now fill out the survey as needed.
Related: How to track changes in Google Docs: step-by-step guide
Once you've created a poll with placeholders, you can share it with your audience with comment rights. This allows them to post their replies in the doc without having permission to edit the doc or other replies.
Open your poll inGoogle documentsand click "Share" in the top right corner of your screen.
Click and select "Change to anyone with the link".
Click the Permissions dropdown menu and select Comment.
Now click on "Copy link" to copy the link to your clipboard.
You can now paste the link and send it to your audience through whatever medium you want.
Other ways to create and share surveys online for free
We recommend using Google Forms as you probably have a Google account at this point. The service is free and you can use the guide below to help you with this process. Google Forms is an online survey management tool. Here's how you can create one using your own Google account.
Visit Google Forms in your desktop browser and click "Blank" at the top to create a survey from scratch. You can also use the template gallery provided by Google to choose a relevant template for yourself. However, we will be using the Blank template for this guide.
Click the title above and choose a title for your survey.
In the next section, enter a description for your survey so your users can learn more about it.
Click and enter your first question in the next section.
Click the dropdown menu next to the question and select the answer range you want to make available to your users.
You can now click the image icon and add an image for your question or answer section if you want.
Also, turn on the Required toggle below if you want to make the question mandatory.
If you think the question needs a description, you can enable it using the 3-dot menu icon in the lower-right corner.
You may have noticed the "Go to section based on View..." option. This option allows you to direct your audience to a specific section in the poll based on the answer they chose. Click and select the same if necessary.
Once selected, use the dropdown menu next to the answer to select a section to redirect the user to.
You can now format the question as needed. When you're done, click the "+" icon in the right sidebar to add another question. Let's get acquainted with the sidebar so that you too can finish creating your survey.
- Plus-Symbol (+):Add a new question
- File icon:Import questions from another Google form into your survey.
- Text/Font Symbol:Let's add an additional title and description in the same survey. Useful when you have different subsections in your survey.
- Icon:Add an image to your poll.
- Videosymbol:Add a video to your poll.
- Separator:Adds another custom section to your survey.
You can now use the sidebar and finish creating the poll. When you're done, use the "Send" option in the top right corner to share with your audience.
frequently asked Questions
Here are some commonly asked burning questions about creating surveys using Google services to help you get up to speed.
Is Google Forms free?
Yes, like most Google Workspace tools, Google Forms is free. You only need a Google account to sign up and access this service.
Which third-party services should you use?
There are tons of third-party survey form services out there. Some offer free plans, others offer comprehensive unique features as part of a paid subscription. If you're looking for third-party services to create your survey, we recommend checking out the following as well.
We hope this post helped you create a poll in Google Docs easily. If you encounter any problems, you can leave us a comment below.
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FAQs
How do you make a voting poll on Google Docs? ›
- Navigate to https://docs.google.com/forms/ and click Blank. ...
- Name your survey. ...
- Tap on Untitled Question and write a question.
- Click Multiple choice.
- Select an option for how the question will be answered. ...
- Click the side menu icons to add to your survey.
Select the “Required” button to make a question required. The (More) button allows you to shuffle the order of questions and go to a new section based on a question answer. You can change the form color or theme by clicking the (Color Palate) button in the top right corner of the page.
How do I create a question with multiple answers in Google Forms? ›The multiple-choice option you see asks one question and gives a list of possible answers. Instead, what we want is a number of questions that all have the same answer options. You can create that by clicking the dropdown in the upper right-hand corner of the form that currently displays Multiple choice.
Does Google have a polling feature? ›Create a poll
Click Start a poll. Enter a question and add options for the poll. Tip: You can let users respond anonymously to Polls. Before you save or launch your poll, turn on Responses appear without names .
Google forms can be used to create an in-class multiple-choice poll that can be reused indefinitely or even for multiple classes.
How do I get Google Forms to show all answers? ›Navigate to the Responses tab and click the Google Sheets icon in the top right corner. This will open a spreadsheet of all of your collected answers. Viewing your responses as a spreadsheet ensures you can access all of your answers from one place.
How do I make Google Forms answerable by anyone? ›- Open the form you'd like to make public in Google Forms. ...
- Under the Settings tab, click on Responses.
- Under Requires Sign In, toggle all options to the off position, including Limit to 1 response.
- To share the form, click the Send button in the top right.
All free users of the Google Forms add-on can send up to 20 form responses per day. Please note that this sending limit is based on “email recipients per day” rather than on form responses.
Can you have multiple answer types on Google Forms? ›You can include up to 2,000 total choices and collect several types of answers in your form or quiz. Learn how to add a question to a form.
How do you make multiple choice questions on Google Docs? ›- Introduction. ...
- Click the copy button.
- We are going to create several questions. ...
- Click the substitutions section.
- Click inside the first field on the right. ...
- Click in the field on the left. ...
- Replace the letter A with B. ...
- Paste the character into the box on the right.
How do you Create a poll Everywhere question? ›
To create an activity, click on the blue Activity button at the top left side of your screen. 3. Select the activity you wish to create for the audience. You can choose to create a Multiple-choice poll, Open-Ended Questions, Q &A, Rank Order, Clickable image, Survey, or Open-Ended activity.
Does Google Docs have a survey template? ›Step 1: Navigate to Google Forms. Forms is where Google Drive keeps many of its interactive tools, allowing you to build a variety of forms for the topic – including surveys. Like Docs, it's free if you have a Google account. You can start by visiting this webpage and selecting Go to forms.
How do you Create a team poll with multiple questions? ›- In Teams, select Calendar.
- Find the meeting you've scheduled for which you want to add polls and click or tap it.
- Select Chat with participants.
- Select. ...
- Select Save. ...
- Select. ...
- Add your question options and your answer options.
Google Forms are a great way to get started creating polls. However, the free poll feature with Doodle is fast, easy, and totally free to get started! From the Doodle dashboard or from the homepage you can select 'Create a Doodle' on the top of the page.
Are Google Doc polls anonymous? ›If your name or email address aren't asterisked questions that require a response, your Google Form responses are anonymous. Test your Google Form before sending it out by posting it via an Incognito Window to ensure respondents can submit anonymously.
Are Google polls free? ›Google Surveys are priced on a price per completed response basis, with the price based on the audience you want to reach. Below we've outlined the price per completed response for different types of surveys, with prices differing for surveys with 1 question and surveys with 2 to 10 questions.
Which tool is best to create polls surveys and quizzes? ›- 1- Google Forms. Google Forms allows you to easily create polls and surveys using a wide variety of forms and question types. ...
- 2- Plickers. ...
- 3- Kahoot. ...
- 5- GoSoapBox. ...
- 6- Quizalize. ...
- 7- GoFormative. ...
- 8- Poll Everywhere. ...
- 9- Micropoll.
Google Forms: Best 100% free tool. SurveyMonkey: Best for short surveys.
How do I get all the answers on Google Forms 2022? ›Open your form in Google Forms > Click Responses > Click Question to view the answers by question.
Can Google Forms Show questions based on answers? ›- Open a form in Google Forms.
- At the bottom right, click More. Go to section based on answer. You can also choose Submit form if you want the survey to end based on an answer.
- Choose specific sections to send people to.
Is there a way to email everyone who filled out a Google form? ›
With Email Notifications for Google Forms, you can automatically send email messages every time a respondent submits your Google Form. You can notify the form respondent, your team members, or create notification rules and send emails to different people based on the form answers.
How do you manipulate responses in Google Forms? ›- In Forms, open a form or quiz.
- Click Settings. Responses.
- Turn on Allow response editing. After people submit their answers, a confirmation page appears. They can click a link to reopen the form and change their answers.
Google forms do not generally have a direct way to prevent someone completing a form. Anyone who has the link will be able to complete it. If you are a paid G-suite user (business /education etc) you can set the form to require an email address from inside that domain.
How do I limit responses on Google Forms to 100? ›- Open the Google Form in your browser.
- Click the Settings cog.
- In the General tab, click 'Limit to 1 response'
- Click Save.
- It is necessary to have internet to be able to use this tool.
- The design customization is very limited. ...
- There are some security concerns. ...
- There are certain limitations regarding the capabilities of this tool.
Some of the limitations of Google Forms include:
Its maximum file size limit is 10MB per form.
- In a meeting, at the bottom right, click Activities. click Polls.
- Click Start a poll.
- Enter a question and add options for the poll. Tip: You can let users respond anonymously to Polls. Before you save or launch your poll, turn on Responses appear without names .
- Choose one: To post your poll, click Launch.
- Step 1: Authenticate Google Forms and BotatBot.
- Step 2: Pick one of the apps as a trigger, which will kick off your automation.
- Step 3: Choose a resulting action from the other app.
- Step 4: Select the data you want to send from one app to the other.
- That's it!
If you don't see Groups, tap See more. Scroll down and select Poll. Enter a question and then tap Add a poll option... to enter options for group members to select. Tap Post.
How do I create a multiple choice poll in Google Docs? ›- Introduction. ...
- Click the copy button.
- We are going to create several questions. ...
- Click the substitutions section.
- Click inside the first field on the right. ...
- Click in the field on the left. ...
- Replace the letter A with B. ...
- Paste the character into the box on the right.
Which app allows you to create quiz poll or Google? ›
Get insights quickly, with Google Forms. Easily create and share online forms and surveys, and analyze responses in real-time.
Is creating a Doodle poll free? ›Google Forms are a great way to get started creating polls. However, the free poll feature with Doodle is fast, easy, and totally free to get started! From the Doodle dashboard or from the homepage you can select 'Create a Doodle' on the top of the page. From here you have different options for creating Doodle polls.
Does Google have a bot? ›Googlebot is the generic name for Google's web crawler. Googlebot is the general name for two different types of crawlers: a desktop crawler that simulates a user on desktop, and a mobile crawler that simulates a user on a mobile device.
How do I automate responses in Google Forms? ›- Step 2: Go To Settings. ...
- Step 3: Click On “Autoresponder” ...
- Step 4: Pick From “Autoresponder Emails” ...
- Step 6: Turn “On” The Autoresponder Switch. ...
- Step 7: Click On “Save Changes”
Select the Google Docs Bot from the library of automation and integration Bots. Try searching by name or browsing the Bot categories. Add the Google Docs Bot to your workflow and start configuring it without coding or APIs. Add conditions that define how and when the Google Docs Bot will run.
How do I make a poll post? ›Tap to take a new photo or video. Tap in the top right, then tap Poll. Type your question, then tap Yes or No to customize the answers. Tap Done in the top right.
Why can't I create a poll in a group? ›Only group members and admins can vote on polls. Note: If you don't see a post option available in your group, it could be because the group admins don't allow this kind of post in your group. If you're an admin, learn how to manage this feature in your group.
How do you create a poll on a post? ›- Step 1: Open a Group Chat or Create a New One.
- Step 2: Tap the “+” at the Bottom of the Messenger Window Next to the Text Box. This will pop open another window.
- Step 3: Select the Facebook Poll Icon and Type in Your Question.
- Step 4: Add Your Options and Tap “Create a Poll”
- Paper-based methods.
- Machine voting.
- Online voting.
- Postal voting.
- Open ballot.
- Other methods.
- In person.
Short answer: no! Only people that need to collect more than 25 responses per month need a Polly license.
Is there a polling app in Teams? ›
Polls is a newly released app in Teams meetings, aims to provide an intuitive and easy-to-access experience when you are searching for a polling tool in Teams meetings. You can find it in multiple locations in Teams via top navigation bar, message extension, sidebar navigation (“…” button) and Teams app store.