How to create a fillable form in Google Sheets

You can create fillable forms through a variety of different software and services. While Google Sheets may not be the first platform that comes to mind for doing that, it has quite a few features that make it possible. For some, especially those with experience using spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets offers an excellent opportunity to create a form that you can customize to your exact specifications.

Before you can create a fillable form in Google Sheets, though, you’ll need to learn more about how to allow others to fill in the data on your spreadsheet or form in the platform. Once you understand the steps, your forms will take on all the appearances of a standard form or PDF file while giving you access to the data-management features of Google Sheets.

There’s no one right way to collect information online — it’s about finding a pain-free method that works for you. Here’s a breakdown of how to do it with Google Sheets (and an alternative that might work better for you).

What Google Sheets does

You’re probably familiar with Google Docs, the online word processing platform from Google. After the success of Google Docs, the international tech company branched out with other office-related services; one of them was Google Sheets. With all the same features that you’d expect from more established spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets allows you to collaborate more easily through its cloud-based platform.

Because spreadsheet software is so versatile and customizable, you can use it for a nearly endless variety of tasks and activities. That includes collecting data, which you can do by creating a fillable form in Google Sheets. With a fillable form, you can set up fields and tables and ask users to fill them in. For example, you can use a fillable form to

• Take attendance for a classroom or event
• Create purchase orders for a small business
• Conduct an informal survey for a class project
• A collaborative database for a remote team
• Logbooks for record keeping

How to create a fillable form in Google Sheets

Google Sheets is primarily a spreadsheet software, so you’ll need to customize your table in a specific way to build a form others can fill out. Here’s how to create a fillable form in Google Sheets.

1. Create a blank spreadsheet.

Go to the Google Sheets website and click on the Blank option under Start a new spreadsheet. You can also select one of the various templates available in the template gallery. In this example, we’ll start from a blank sheet.

2. Determine your fields.

What information do you want to collect? Map out your form fields before you start building your form. When you have that sorted out, you can create fields with a label for each type of data. You might want to use labels like the following:

• Name
• Phone number
• Address
• Date
• Email address
• ID number

The fields you choose to include in your form are entirely up to you.

3. Customize the look.

Before things get too complicated, take a moment to personalize your form with fonts, colors, and images that represent you or your brand. You want to give the impression that filling out your form is quick and easy. A blank spreadsheet rarely suggests ease or simplicity, so add some pops of color and friendly fonts to make your respondents feel welcome (as long as you stay consistent with your branding).

4. Customize your fields to collect data.

You can customize your fields with a number of different functions. This step will need a personal touch, so return to what you’ve decided you want from your form. That will help you decide whether you want to ask multiple-choice questions or receive fill-in-the-blank responses.

For multiple-choice questions, you can convert cells in your spreadsheet into dropdown menus. Go to the Data section of your toolbar and click on the option marked Data validation. From there, you can add the options you want respondents to choose from. If you want them to input their own, unique responses instead, you don’t need to go through this step.

5. Set permissions and share.

Once you have your form set up, you can customize your fields to send information to a separate database. Then, you just need to protect your database so respondents can’t alter it. You can do that by using the protect cell feature. You can share this form with anyone you send it to. Google Sheets gives you the option to provide a sharable link or to send your sheet via email using the Share button.

How Jotform works as a Google Sheets alternative

If the steps to create a fillable form with Google Sheets seem too clunky, you might consider an alternative like online form builder Jotform to create, host, and share fillable forms. Instead of creating a whole spreadsheet for your fillable forms, you can use Jotform’s PDF Editor to easily collect data by adding customized fields to PDF forms.

Try making your own fillable PDF form with the same fields you used when you worked to create a fillable form in Google Sheets. If you’ve already completed your form, you can also upload a PDF and convert it to an online fillable form. Then, you can share it through any platform or device, including tablets, desktops, laptops, and smartphones.

Digital forms make it easy to collect data without all the hassle of printing, storing, and disposing of hard copies. You can accomplish so many common tasks with fillable forms, from taking attendance to purchasing from a small business. There’s no better time to use the resources available to you to help your organization run more smoothly.

Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA