How to Create a Poll Using the Voting Buttons on Microsoft Outlook

Whether you are a student or run your business independently, you may need to collect data at some point. For this, you should consider using online tools to create polls or surveys as the best alternatives. These days, surveys no longer need to be taken on physical paper or assembled manually as there are several tools that can do this. One of these tools happens to be Microsoft Outlook.

With the voting buttons on Microsoft Outlook, users can create a poll. Once this poll is sent, recipients can click the buttons to vote. Of course, survey recipients must use Microsoft Outlook. This is how it works:

Inserting voting buttons in Outlook mail

The voting buttons in Microsoft Outlook make it easy to set up a poll. Users can choose to use the default voting button names or create custom names.

Using Default Button Names to Create a Poll

Microsoft Outlook comes with three types of voting button names by default. These default buttons can be used when a survey requires a simple Yes or No or Accept or Reject response. Here’s how to create a poll using these default button names:

Step 1: Launch Microsoft Outlook on our computer by typing Outlook in the search box after clicking the Start button

2nd step: Click Home then select New Email to compose your survey question.

Step 3: In the new message window, click Options.

Step 4: Select Use Voting Buttons.

Step 5: From the options listed, you can choose from the following options to use the default button names:

• Approve; To reject.
• Yes; No.
• Yes; No; May be.

Step 6: Once you are done selecting your voting button and writing the survey question, enter the recipient’s address and click Submit.

To note: Recipients of an email with a vote button will see it in the message bar ‘This message includes voting buttons. Click here to vote. ‘

Creating custom button names for a survey

If you want to use more diverse button names in your survey, Microsoft Outlook offers a more flexible option. Here’s how to create custom button names for your survey:

Step 1: Launch Microsoft Outlook on our computer by typing Outlook in the search box after clicking the Start button.

2nd step: Click Home then select New Email to compose your survey question.

Step 3: In the new message window, click Options.

Step 4: Select Use Voting Buttons.

Step 5: From the options listed, choose Custom to launch the Properties dialog box.

Step 6: Under the group labeled Voting and Tracking Options, select the Use Voting Buttons check box.

Step 7: Remove the default button names next to the Use Voting Buttons field and enter your preferred names.

To note: When entering your custom button names, be sure to separate each distinct name with a semicolon (;).

Step 8: Click Close to close the Properties dialog box.

Step 9: Compose your email in the message box and send it.

Track and export survey results

After submitting the survey, you are expected to receive responses. If you have several recipients, no need to wait for their individual emails to see their responses. Microsoft Outlook provides a follow button for recording votes.

The tracker can also be exported to a data analysis tool or printed. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: On Outlook, check the Sent Items box.

2nd step: Select the original message containing the voting buttons.

Step 3: Open this message and go to the Message tab.

Step 4: Click Follow up in the Show group to see who responded and their responses.

To note: The follow-up option won’t appear until someone responds with a vote.

Step 5: Select the voting responses by pressing CTRL + a shortcut. Copy them using CTRL + C shortcut and paste them on any data analysis tool to analyze the results.

Best Apps to Create Surveys on iOS and Android

Creating a poll in Microsoft Outlook using the voting buttons is pretty straightforward. However, this method has a downside in that only one survey can be used per email. So, if you want to send multiple questions, you may need to send multiple emails.

If you want to create more diverse surveys outside of Microsoft Outlook, you can consider using other third-party apps on iOS and Android devices.