Working with Data

So, you created a form, and got people to use it, so what's next?

First, look in your document list to locate your form. Over time you will get used to the color/icon scheme Google uses to help identify document types. The graphic to the right demonstrates some of the most commonly seen documents.

When you create a form, you are really creating a spreadsheet that has a "form" interface. When you click on the icon for your form, you will find that instead of the form opening, you will see the spreadsheet instead. This is normal.

The spreadsheet's column headings correspond to each of your form's questions.

The "Form" menu is where you want to go to work with forms.

From the form menu, you can:

              • Edit the form (not a good plan once you have begun collecting data)

              • Send the form via email

              • See what the live form looks like - once there you can copy the link's url for use in an email or elsewhere

              • Under "Embed form in a webpage..." you will find html code and instructions for adding a form directly into a web page. (For a Google web page, you are better off just using the "Insert" menu at the top of a web page you are editing. Under the "Insert" menu, you will find "Spreadsheet Form" as a choice...)

              • "Show summary of responses" will take you to the page of responses already formatted into pretty graphs and charts.

              • "Accepting responses" is your way of turning your form on and off. The check mark indicates that the form is currently open for data input.

              • Delete form does exactly that, BUT it does not delete the spreadsheet of data that has been collected. You might use this if you are sure you are done with the data input part of your data collection.

Keep in mind that the spreadsheet is the same as any other spreadsheet. You can add data to it manually (not through the form). You can sort your data, add formulas for calculations and much more. Just remember; Your form is tied to the spreadsheet, and if you change the spreadsheet's layout (move columns, delete columns, insert columns, etc.) you can cause your future data collection from the form to be disrupted and data to be corrupted.