Forms data sync to Excel is now fully available with more functionality

We’ve been gradually rolling out Forms data sync to Excel since early this year. During this process, we actively collected user feedback and iterated to enhance the feature for various use cases. I’m excited to announce that this feature is now fully available for all customers, complete with additional capabilities. Let’s explore these updates together. You can also try it from this template.

Create from Excel for the web

If you prefer to keep all your data in Excel and are used to starting your data collection journey there, you can now create a form directly from Excel for the web – no need to visit Forms. Simply click "Insert" and select "Forms" in the ribbon. This will open a new form in Forms where you can add questions. All the questions you add and responses you receive will automatically sync to Excel.

Create from Excel for the web

Create from worksheets in OneDrive and SharePoint

The “create from Excel” experience supports worksheets saved in OneDrive and SharePoint. Depending on your needs, you can choose where to start. For personal forms that you want the answers accessible only to yourself, start from OneDrive. For collaborative forms involving your team, start from SharePoint to ensure all team members stay updated.

Start from Excel saved in OneDrive

New data sync experience for group form

We've also updated the group form data sync experience to be smoother and more stable for greater reliability. For forms where you need all team members to easily check responses, you can create a group form in Forms. As new responses come in, everyone on the team can see them sync to Excel. The Excel worksheet for the group form will be saved in SharePoint.

Create a group form in Forms

Share the Excel link to collaborate on up-to-date data

If you want your coworkers to check the new responses and do some further analysis, you need to share the Excel link. When they open it, responses will automatically sync whenever responses are received. (Please note that Forms collaborators don’t have access to the syncing Excel sheets from response page - you must share the Excel link.)

Share the Excel link with others

We are currently rolling out to commercial customers and expect to be fully deployed to commercial by mid-July. We’ll also start rolling out to Microsoft account holders in the near future.

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