Microsoft has rolled out a brand new SharePoint modern forms editor! I’ve been trying it out for the last couple of days, and it’s got some interesting functionalities. My favorite part is that now you can have end users at your company fill out forms, without needing to have permissions or access to the list at all!
Here’s how it works.
First of all, there are a couple of important things to know:
- This new interface only exists in Microsoft Lists, and you won’t see it in the list in SharePoint.
- This new modern form does not replace the existing “New” and “Edit” experience in a list.
- This is only for a new item form, not for editing existing items
Don’t worry, even though this setting only exists in Microsoft Lists, Microsoft lists ARE SharePoint lists. They’re the same thing. So, from the MS Lists interface, you’ll be able to get to any of your SharePoint lists to set this up.
Here is my maintenance request list in SharePoint:
Here is the link to that same list, over in Microsoft Lists:
When I go to my list, here is what it looks like to fill out a new maintenance request:
I want to be able to allow all of the users in my company to fill out maintenance requests, but I don’t want them to be able to see or access the whole list of requests. I also want the maintenance technician to be able to make notes and change the status later. This form is not going to change when I use the modern forms editor.
Modern forms steps
1. Click the new FORMS button at the top of the list. (you can see it in the toolbar in the screenshot above, and keep in mind that it may not have rolled out to your tenant yet)
As the interface indicates, you can create multiple forms for a single list.
2. Click the New form button.
3. Here, you have a slick and customizable form editing interface. Give your form a title and description at the top. Importantly, you can uncheck boxes on the right, if you don’t want some fields to show on the form. In this example, the maintenance team will be filling out the status later, and they will be adding their own notes later.
You can directly add and edit the names and descriptions of fields directly in the interface, and even change column settings. Drag columns up and down to rearrange them.
4. Click Themes on the right. Pick a color theme, and even create your own style (with a few limited options)
5. Click Settings on the right. This allows you to accept responses or not. If you don’t want people submitting any new items with this form, simply turn it off. You can also edit the confirmation message that shows when someone submits a request. Notice in this screenshot that you can also add new fields (columns) from here, with the Add new field button.
6. Click Send form. Click Copy link.
Back to the forms screen from step 1. Notice that I created another one and simply named it “second form”. There is an ellipsis menu on each form that gives you a few more options as well.
After clicking to copy the link, when you send it to someone or paste the link in your browser, it looks like:
Now, anyone in your organization can fill out this form, and they don’t need to have access to the list. They do need to be in your organization, though. This is not an anonymous form. The new item will arrive in the list, with the user’s name in the “Created By” column, although that user may not have access to the list itself. This way, you can collect data with forms easily and not have to give people permissions, so they can’t see the whole list. Keep in mind that this does not edit the default form for the list, and is unrelated to it. This form is only for filling out a brand new form and NOT going to the list. For users that go to the list and click the NEW button, they will get the usual default SharePoint form.
My tip for using these modern forms: Add a quick links web part to any SharePoint page, and use this as the link!
Resources: Collect information like a pro – New Microsoft Lists forms experience
My Microsoft Lists course: Microsoft Lists online course