When you need to gather information from multiple people, which tool do you turn to? Do you just send an email and then collate the data into a spreadsheet or document based on the different responses?
While this method has probably worked for you over the years, it’s not exactly the most effective. The more people you need to gather information from, the more this method is likely to slow down your productivity.
What to do then? Use forms.
To put it simply, a form is a way to easily collect information from multiple people and collate it into a single file, where you can then use the collected data for whatever purpose.
Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? This is not the case. Thanks to Google, creating a form is so easy you’ll wonder why you haven’t done it before.
How to Create a Form in Google Workspace to Simplify Information Gathering
Prerequisites
The only thing you will need is a valid Google account. Google Forms can be used with both free and paid accounts.
1. Connect to Google Drive
The first thing you need to do is sign in to your Google account.
2. Access the Forms tool
Once logged in, click on the nine dots at the top right and look for the application Forms. You can also go to forms.google.com.
Image: Jack Wallen
3. Create a new form
There are two ways to do this. You can either select a pre-made template from the gallery or start from scratch.
For those who have never created a form, I suggest you browse the gallery to find a template that can be used as a base. Locate and click on the template that suits you to open it in the editor.
Image: Jack Wallen
4. Customize the form
As we use a pre-made template, you will only have to go through the pre-made elements of the form and modify them if necessary. If you find that the form needs additional questions, click + (the plus sign), and you can add answers, paragraphs, multiple choices, checkboxes, dropdowns, file uploads, multiple choice grid, date or time.
Fill in the necessary information and you are ready to publish your form. You can also move items up and down, add images and videos, and add sections. Also be sure to customize the form header and include your own information.
Image: Jack Wallen
5. Share the form
Once the form is ready, click on Send in the upper right corner. A new pop-up will appear where you can choose to submit the form via email, shareable link, or HTML code.
If you choose to send by e-mail, you will have to add the recipients manually. Once you’ve shared the form, recipients will fill it out and the results will automatically be collected in the tab Answers of the form.
Image: Jack Wallen
Source: “ZDNet.com”
Source: www.zdnet.fr
