How to Add Branching in Microsoft Forms

Logical packaging or branching is perhaps one of the most practical solutions if you want to keep your form as concise and short as possible. And Microsoft Forms lets you do just that. This feature saves you from overloading your forms and also saves your viewers from filling out long and boring responses.

The good thing is, it’s pretty easy to implement. As long as you have the basic structure of the form, you can run it easily.

Now that’s done, let’s see how to add branches to Microsoft Forms.

Before you begin, let us tell you that creating a long form with multiple branches can be a difficult affair. This is because Microsoft Forms allows you to create and add questions in a linear fashion. Well, you may soon lose track of the flow.

Therefore, it is advisable to have a draft of the questions in the form of a flowchart before proceeding. This will eliminate confusion and pave the way for a transparent process.

Method 1: How to Create Individual Sections

The sections facilitate the drafting of forms. And once you have created multiple sections, then you can link the questions directly to them.

Another advantage is that all the questions in a section appear together, thus preventing respondents from clicking the Next button unnecessarily.

Step 1: To get started, open a blank form and add the first set of common questions. When done, click Add New> Section to add a section.

After that, name the section.

2nd step: Now add all the individual questions under the respective sections. Also keep a section dedicated to common questions.

For example, we asked people about their preferences for the sea or the mountains in our form. We have therefore created an individual section for the sea and the mountains.

In addition, there is another section for common questions: number of people, name, etc.

Step 3: Once you’ve added all the sections, click on the three-dot menu for the first question and select Add Branch.

The next part is pretty straightforward. Select the respective sections for options.

For example, if respondents choose option A, they will be redirected to the Sea section.

Step 4: Then click on the option next to Go to under the respective sections and select the common section.

And finally, select End of From from the list of options.

The above method is useful for simple question and answer scenarios. However, if you have a large set of questions that may have a different set of answers, it is best to have individual branching options.

How to move on to individual questions

Step 1: Create the basic structure of the form with all the necessary questions, including introductory questions, common questions, and questions for the different branches.

For example, the first question on my form asks respondents if they have long hair or short hair. And if they have long hair, do they prefer to keep it tied up or open.

If they choose tied, the questionnaire will ask them in more detail what type of bands they prefer.

2nd step: To add the branches, click on the three-dot menu next to your first question and select Add branch.

As stated earlier, you will need to redirect the questions according to your flowchart.

Step 3: To do this, click on the question to display the connection options next to it.

Select Next if you want the next question to appear. You can also select one of the questions from the drop-down list.

For example, in my form, if the respondent chooses Long hair, the form will open question 2. If they choose Attached, they will go to question 3. Otherwise, they will redirect to the end of the form.

However, if they choose Open, it’ll display the end of the form (out of options, you see). Here you can add the other branches, depending on the structure of your form.

Step 4: Once you have added all the questions to the respective branches, go to the last question and select End of form.

This ensures that all responses in this form are submitted.

Now that everything is set up, run a test to see if the form flow matches your expectations. And that’s all.

Branch Out

As stated before, hooking up solves one of the key problems: long, boring questions. Instead, you get a table of clear and concise questions, which is useful for both your respondents and you.

The key is to mix and match the individual sections and branches so you don’t get confused. And hey, don’t forget to add an attractive theme to the general setup.