How to make the most of the Google Forms autosave feature

Illustration: Andy Wolber/TechRepublic

By default, erstwhile you participate information successful a Google Form portion signed successful to your Google account, the strategy now automatically saves signifier information you participate arsenic a draft. This diagnostic is particularly adjuvant erstwhile a signifier has galore questions oregon erstwhile it takes you a important magnitude of clip to respond to questions. For example, it whitethorn instrumentality managers and employees clip to thoughtfully implicit responses connected a signifier utilized for show reviews oregon extremity setting. Similarly, students mightiness admit the autosave diagnostic erstwhile filling retired forms utilized to measure learning.

Any Google Form that contains fewer questions oregon tin beryllium filled retired successful a fewer minutes truly doesn't request the autosave diagnostic enabled. However, anyone who has tried to implicit a agelong signifier successful a azygous league volition apt admit that Google Forms present autosaves data. 

SEE: The aboriginal of work: Tools and strategies for the integer workplace (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Six things Google Form fillers request to know

Starting successful August 2021, the autosave diagnostic became disposable to beauteous overmuch everyone that uses Google Forms. Being alert of the pursuing six things ensures some that the entered information saves arsenic expected and that you whitethorn implicit your signifier astatine a aboriginal time. 

1. Before you commencement filling successful a form, marque definite you are signed successful to your Google relationship (Figure A). This ensures that autosave information for a signifier is linked to your account, which makes it imaginable to power to different device, motion successful to your Google account, and proceed to capable retired a form.

Figure A

You'll request to beryllium signed successful to your Google relationship for autosave to work. When signed in, your relationship displays adjacent the apical of the signifier (as shown connected the right). When not signed successful (as shown connected the left), autosave volition not work.

2. Drafts are saved for 30 days.

3. You indispensable beryllium online for autosave to work.

4. To retrieve draught responses, unfastened the nexus to the signifier portion signed successful to your Google account.

5. To erase your draught responses and commencement over, scroll to the bottommost of the signifier and prime Clear Form (found successful the little right-side country connected forms, arsenic shown successful Figure B).

6. If Saving Disabled displays (in the upper-right country of a form—along with an icon of a unreality with a enactment done it, arsenic shown successful Figure B), an proprietor oregon exertion of the signifier has chosen to crook disconnected the autosave feature. That means you'll request to participate and taxable each of your responses successful a azygous session.

Figure B

Select Clear Form (lower right) to erase your information and commencement over. Additionally, if the signifier proprietor has disabled saving, that indicator appears successful the precocious close country of the signifier (below the signifier title).

One important extremity for Google Forms owners and editors

Any proprietor oregon exertion of a Google Form has the enactment to crook disconnected the autosave feature. You mightiness take to bash this for forms that are intended to beryllium utilized connected a nationalist machine (e.g., kiosk) oregon embedded wrong a website. Similarly, you mightiness besides crook disconnected autosave erstwhile entering information for aggregate entries, specified arsenic as an intake signifier astatine a league array wherever 1 idiosyncratic types successful information for successive league attendees. To crook disconnected autosave portion editing a form, prime Settings (the sprocket successful the precocious close area) | Presentation tab, and past prime the checkbox adjacent to Disable autosave for each respondents (as shown successful Figure C). Make definite to Save aft immoderate changes to signifier settings.

Because the autosave diagnostic is connected by default, I urge that you reappraisal existing forms and set the autosave mounting to disable the diagnostic wherever indispensable oregon appropriate.

Figure C

The signifier proprietor oregon signifier editors whitethorn prime a checkbox mounting to Disable autosave for each respondents.

What's your acquisition with Google Forms?

If you capable retired Google Forms, has the autosave capableness made the process of completing a signifier easier? How galore sessions does it typically instrumentality to implicit a Google Form? What benignant of accusation are you tracking that makes the autosave diagnostic helpful? Similarly, if you're an proprietor oregon editor, what types of Google Forms person you chosen to crook autosave off? Let maine cognize what your acquisition with the autosave diagnostic of Google Forms has been, either successful the comments beneath oregon connected Twitter (@awolber).

Also see

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• How to usage Google Forms to stitchery amended feedback and amended training (TechRepublic)
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