Creating Forms in Google Docs – by Brian Burchanowski

Today’s topic is an overview of Forms in Google Docs. If you’re a Google Apps user who has not yet tried Forms, you’re missing out on one of the best/most unique features of Google Docs. Google Forms makes it a easy to create professional surveys, questionnaires, order forms, and more!

Not sure how to make a Form? Follow along as we give you an overview of how to create a basic Google Form.

Creating a Form:

Navigate to Google Docs.

Click Create New, then select Form.

Now that you’ve created the Form, you need to choose a title, create questions, etc. In this example, we’re creating a survey. Create a title and enter instructions or a description as indicated below:

Next, select the Question Type. You can choose from the following formats:

  • Text
  • Paragraph text
  • Multiple choice
  • Checkboxes
  • Choose from a list
  • Scale
  • Grid
Let’s make the first answer based on a scale of 1 – 5 by selecting Scale.

After choosing Scale we are prompted to enter labels, which indicate to the survey-taker the direction the scale climbs.


Click Done to save your changes.

Notice how the question appears in the Form:

Add additional questions by navigating to the top of the page and clicking Add Item, then choosing the type of question you would like to add.


You can continue adding as many questions as you need. For long surveys or order forms, you can insert Section headers or Page breaks (see above). Additionally, you can make changes to the questions on the form at any time by rolling your mouse over the desired question, then clicking one of the buttons below. They are, from left to right, Edit, Duplicate, and Delete.

Once you have completed the Form to your satisfaction, you can distribute it from the Forms interface by clicking Email this form, or you can simply send an email yourself containing the URL.

Now, just sit back and wait for the responses! All data will populate into a Google Docs Spreadsheet which you access in the same way as a normal Spreadsheet.

Hopefully, this post has encouraged you to explore Google Forms. Stay tuned for a future post on Forms, where we will cover themes to improve your Form’s visual appeal, collection of data gathered with Forms, and more detailed information on how to distribute Forms effectively.

What kinds of forms would you be creating? Let us know in the comments section below!
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