How to Collect Email Addresses Using Microsoft Forms and Excel
Question details
The user needs to collect respondent email addresses using Microsoft Forms and correctly view the tracked data in Excel.
- Product
- Microsoft Forms and Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Distributing a survey or form where tracking the respondent's email address is necessary for follow-up or identification.
- Observed behavior
- Anonymous responses do not automatically record email addresses unless specific sharing settings are enabled or manual question fields are added.
Determine whether your form respondents are internal members of your organization with Microsoft accounts, or external users who will respond without logging in.
Automatically Record Emails for Internal Users
Use this method if all respondents are within your organization and will sign in to complete the form.
By restricting the form access to authenticated organizational users, Microsoft Forms can automatically capture the respondent's account details, eliminating the need for an explicit email question.
Open your Microsoft Form and click on the 'Collect responses' button or navigate to the sharing settings.
In the 'Send and collect responses' pane, select 'Only people in my organization can respond' or 'Specific people in my organization can respond'.
Ensure the 'Record name' checkbox is ticked. This setting automatically captures the user's name and linked email address upon submission.
Once responses are collected, navigate to the 'Responses' tab and click 'Open in Excel' to view the automatically recorded names and email addresses.
Manually Collect Emails for External Respondents
Since external users do not sign in, you must manually add a required question to gather their email addresses.
Use WPS Forms to Easily Collect Data and Export to Spreadsheets
WPS Office offers a built-in Forms feature that allows you to easily create surveys, collect respondent information, and seamlessly export all responses into a highly compatible WPS Spreadsheet for further analysis.
- 1. Create a WPS Form: Open WPS Office, navigate to the 'Apps' section, and select 'Forms' to start a new blank form or choose a pre-designed template.
- 2. Add an Email Field: Add a text question asking for the respondent's email address and mark the field as 'Required'.
- 3. Share and Collect: Click 'Share' to generate a unique link or QR code and distribute it to your target audience.
- 4. Export to Spreadsheet: Go to the 'Responses' section of your form and click 'Export to Spreadsheet' to instantly organize the collected emails in a WPS Spreadsheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are email addresses showing up as anonymous in my Excel export?
If your form is set to 'Anyone can respond', Microsoft Forms does not require users to log in, making their submissions anonymous. To fix this, you must either restrict access to internal people in your organization or manually add a required text question asking for their email.
Does Microsoft Forms have an automatic email collection option for external users like Google Forms?
No, Microsoft Forms does not automatically collect email addresses for external, unauthenticated users. If 'Anyone can respond' is selected, you must explicitly add a question to your form asking for the respondent's email address.
How do I view my Microsoft Forms responses in Excel?
Navigate to the 'Responses' tab within your Microsoft Form. Click on the 'Open in Excel' button to download an .xlsx file or open it in Excel for the web, which will contain all submitted data including any collected names and emails.
