Logical conditioning or branching is perhaps one of the most practical solutions if you want to keep your form as short and concise as possible. And Microsoft Forms lets you do just that. This feature prevents you from crowding out your forms and also saves your viewers from filling out long and boring responses.
The good thing is that it’s pretty easy to implement. As long as you have the basic structure of the form, you can run it easily.
Now that this is solved, let’s see how to add branching to Microsoft Forms.
Before we begin, let’s say that creating a long form with multiple branches can be a daunting task. This is because Microsoft Forms lets you create and add questions in a linear fashion. And very soon you may lose track of the flow.
It is therefore recommended that you get a rough outline of the questions in the form of a flowchart before proceeding. This will eliminate confusion and pave the way for a smooth process.
Method 1: How to Branch into Individual Sections
Sections facilitate the drafting of forms. Once you’ve created several sections, you can link questions directly to them.
Another advantage is that all the questions in a section appear together, thus saving respondents from clicking the Next button unnecessarily.
Stage 1: To get started, open a blank form and add the first set of common questions. When finished, click New > Add Section to add a section.
After that, name the Partition.
Step 2: Now add all the questions under the relevant sections. Also, keep a dedicated section for general questions.
For example, on our form, we asked people to choose Sea or Mountain. That’s why we created a separate section for the sea and the mountains.
Also, there is another section for frequently asked questions: number of contacts, name, etc.
Stage 3: After adding all the partitions, click the three-dot menu of the first question and select Add branching.
The next part is pretty easy. Select relevant sections for options.
For example, if respondents choose Option A, they will be directed to Marine.
Step 4: Then click the option next to Go under the relevant sections and select the common Section.
Finally, select Finish from the list of options.
The above method is useful for simple question and answer scenarios. However, if you have a lot of questions that may have different answers, it’s better to have individual branching options.
How Does It Branch into Individual Questions?
Stage 1: Establish the basic structure of the form with all the necessary questions, including introductory questions, common questions, and questions for different disciplines.
For example, the first question on my form asks participants whether they have long hair or short hair. And if they have long hair, they prefer to keep it tied or open.
If they choose a draw, more information will be given in the poll about the type of bands they prefer.
Step 2: To add branches, click the three-dot menu next to your first question and select Add branching.
As stated earlier, you will need to guide the questions according to your flowchart.
Stage 3: To do this, click on the question to view the branching options next to it.
Select Next if you want the next question to come. Or you can choose one of the questions from the drop-down menu.
For example, in our form, if the participant chooses Long Hair, the form will open Question 2. If they choose Tied it will move on to Question 3. Otherwise, it will be redirected to End of form.
However, if they choose Open, it will show the End of the form (you’ll see few options). Here you can add other branches depending on the structure of your form.
Step 4: After adding all the questions to the relevant branches, go to the last question and select End of Form.
This ensures that all responses on this form are submitted.
Now that you have everything set up, run a test to see if the flow of the form meets your expectations. And that’s it.
Branch Exit
As stated earlier, branching solves one of the main problems – long and boring questions. Instead, you graph clear and concise questions that are helpful to both your respondents and you.
The key is to mix and match both partitions and individual branches so you don’t get confused. And don’t forget to add an attractive theme to the overall setup.
