File Sharing Problems

How to Keep Microsoft Forms Responses When the Excel File Owner is Deleted

Emma Brown Oct 1, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to preserve Microsoft Forms responses and the associated Excel workbook when the current owner's Microsoft account is scheduled for deletion.

How to Keep Microsoft Forms Responses When the Excel File Owner is Deleted

Product: Microsoft Forms, Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Transferring form ownership to ensure data continuity before an employee or account owner is removed from the organization.
Observed behavior: If the owner is deleted, the form and its linked Excel workbook will be lost unless ownership is transferred and responses are synced to a new shared workbook.

Before you start

Ensure you have admin rights or sufficient permissions to move the Microsoft Form to a Microsoft 365 group, and verify that the destination group already exists in your organization.

Solution 1Recommended

Move the Form to a Microsoft 365 Group and Sync to a New Workbook

Transferring ownership to a Microsoft 365 group ensures that all group members can access the form and its data, even after the original owner's account is permanently deleted.

By moving the form to a group, the form becomes co-owned by all members of that Microsoft 365 group. The associated response data must then be synced to a new Excel workbook housed in the group's SharePoint directory to guarantee access.

Locate the form

Move to a group

Click the 'More form settings' (three dots) on the top right corner of the form tile, select 'Move', and choose the appropriate Microsoft 365 group to transfer the ownership.

Re-share the form

Generate a new sharing link from the newly moved group Form and distribute it to your respondents so they can continue submitting answers.

Sync to a new workbook

Open the Form, navigate to the 'Responses' tab, and click 'Sync all responses to a new workbook'. The new Excel file will automatically be stored in the group's shared Documents folder.

Formatting Note: The new Excel workbook will retain all previous and future responses, but any custom formatting, charts, or formulas applied to the old workbook will not carry over and must be recreated.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Manage Your Exported Spreadsheet Data with WPS Office

While transferring Microsoft Forms ownership requires a Microsoft 365 group, you can seamlessly open, format, and analyze the resulting exported Excel workbooks using WPS Office. It is a lightweight, free alternative that offers full compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats and a familiar user interface.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website and download the free WPS Office suite for your device.
2. Open your synced workbook: Locate the new Excel workbook generated by your group Form and open it directly in WPS Spreadsheets.
3. Apply custom formatting: Use WPS Spreadsheets' rich formatting tools to recreate any highlights, tables, or charts that were lost during the Microsoft Forms sync.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx, .xls, .csv) formats.Recreate custom spreadsheet formatting and charts lost during the form transfer easily.Free, lightweight, and easy-to-use interface with a familiar layout.Seamless migration and powerful offline editing capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the old respondents' links still work after moving the form to a group?

While old links might redirect temporarily, it is highly recommended to generate a new sharing link from the group form and distribute it to your respondents to ensure continuous access without interruptions.

What happens to the old Excel workbook after transferring the form?

The old workbook remains in the original owner's personal OneDrive. Syncing the responses from the group form creates a brand new Excel workbook in the group's SharePoint Documents folder, which is completely independent of the old file.

Why is my custom Excel formatting missing in the new workbook?

When you select 'Sync all responses to a new workbook', Microsoft Forms creates a fresh Excel file with default tabular formatting to ensure data integrity. Any custom charts, colors, or formulas from the original file are not copied and will need to be rebuilt in the new workbook.

Document & File Issues