MS Forms Creating a Form
Unlike other Microsoft 365 products that exist as individual files, Microsoft Forms are cloud-hosted databases and cannot be stored directly within SharePoint sites.
MS Forms Landing Page
With Microsoft Forms, you can create a form, invite people to fill it out, see real-time results, evaluate responses with built-in analytics, and export results to Excel for further analysis or grading.
Whether you need a web form or something that can be filled out on paper, we've got you covered with fully customizable form templates.
The MS Forms landing page is broken into 3 sections:
Creating a Form
Log into MS Forms with your SUNY Geneseo credentials.
Click New Form to begin.
Use a MS Form template or create your own form.
To create your own form add a title to your form and add a description.
Form titles can have up to 90 characters.
Descriptions can have up to 1,000 characters.
Your form is saved automatically while you create it.
Select
Add New to add a question to your form.
Choose what question type you want to add.
You can format the text by double clicking the text to show the text menu.
Questions can be required by toggling the required button at the bottom of the question.
Form Question Types
Choice: Presents options for single or multiple answers, using radio buttons (single) or checkboxes (multiple).
Text: For open-ended responses, allowing for short (one-line) or long (multiple-line) text input.
Rating: Uses stars or numbers (e.g., 2-10 levels) to gauge opinions or satisfaction.
Date: Prompts users to enter a specific date, often with a calendar picker.
Ranking: Asks respondents to drag and drop options to order them from highest to lowest.
Likert: Uses a scale (e.g., 5-point) to measure agreement, importance, or satisfaction (e.g., Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree).
File Upload: Allows respondents to upload files, useful for applications or submissions.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures loyalty on a 0-10 scale (Not at all likely to Extremely likely).
Creating Sections
If you're creating a lengthy questionnaire, it can be helpful to organize your questions into pages—or "sections".
To add a section:
Press the green + sign.
Select More Question types (chevron symbol)
Select Section
Add a Section title and Subtitle (optional).
Add your questions.
To rearrange the order of your sections:
Select the ••• to the right of the section's title. This will bring up the Settings menu.
Choose Move section.
Press the ↑ and ↓ keys to move the section.
Press Done.
To remove a section but leave the questions on the form:
Select the ••• to the right of the section's title. This will bring up the Settings menu.
Choose Remove section --> Just section
To remove a section along with the questions it contains:
Select the ••• to the right of the section's title. This will bring up the Settings menu.
Choose Remove section --> Section and questions
Branching Logic
Design forms that allow you to direct respondents along different conditional paths based on their responses to preceding questions.
Form Settings
In your form, click on the settings button 
Who can fill out this form
This section controls access and how user data is collected.
Anyone can respond: Best for public surveys; users do not need to sign in, and responses are anonymous.
Under Send and collect responses, select the audience from these options:
Only people in SUNY Geneseo can respond: (Selected in image) Restricts the form to your organization. Users must sign in with their school credentials.
Record name: Automatically tracks the name and email of the person responding.
One response per person: Prevents individuals from submitting the form multiple times.
Specific people... can respond: Allows you to limit access to up to 100 specific individuals or groups within your organization. (individuals or groups within SUNY Geneseo)
Send and Collect Responses
Open: your form in Microsoft Forms.
Click the “Collect Responses” (usually at the top right).
You can also select who has access to this form on this pop out.
Select a sharing method:
Link: Copy the URL to share in chats, emails, or documents.
QR Code: Scan to open the form on mobile devices.
Email: Send directly from Forms to specific people.
Embed: Get code to embed the form on a website.
Options for responses
These settings manage the timeline and behavior of the form.
Accept responses: Keeps the form active. Unchecking this "closes" the form.
Start/End date: Schedules the exact date and time the form opens and closes.
Set time duration: Limits how long a person has to finish once they start (e.g., a 30-minute timed quiz).
Shuffle questions: Displays questions in a random order for each person.
Show a progress bar: Provides a visual indicator of how much of the form is left (only available for multi-section forms).
Customize thank you message: Allows you to write a personalized message that appears after they click "Submit".
Allow respondents to save/edit: (Checked in image)
Save: Allows users to save their progress.
Note: In 2026, users usually must submit once to "save" their responses in the "Filled forms" section of their account.
Edit: If enabled, users can revisit the link to update their answers as long as the form remains open.
Email Notifications when a form is submitted:
In MS Forms, go to Settings (three dots
...).Under Response receipts, check "Get email notification of each response."
In the Add recipients box, enter email address.
Note: Uncheck your own name if you only want the department to receive alerts.
Response Notifications & Receipts
User Receipts: Check "Allow receipt of responses after submission" to let respondents download or print a PDF of their answers.
The owner of the form will be added automatically to receive the responses.
The owner can then click on the 3 dots ... to add others to review response notifications..