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How to ensure your form and workbook are in sync

If you're having sync issues with your Microsoft Forms and Excel workbook data, there are a few things you can do to avoid these errors.

What happened?

An error occurred in your Excel workbook. Recover the workbook by opening it in the desktop version of Excel. To get a complete set of the most current responses, sync the data to a new workbook.

How can I avoid this?

To ensure you always have the most complete set of responses, open your workbook in the desktop version of Excel. Learn more about how to repair a corrupted workbook and open file links directly in Office apps. You can also learn about the differences between using a workbook in the browser and in Excel.

What happened?

An error occurred in your Excel workbook. The workbook is too big to open in Excel Online, so data can't sync to the current workbook. To get a complete set of the most current responses, sync the data to a new workbook.

How can I avoid this?

A smaller file size is less likely to thrown a data sync error. Learn more about file size limits for workbooks in SharePoint Online and how to reduce the file size of a workbook.

What happened?

An error occurred in your Excel workbook. The workbook has been locked or checked out, so data can't sync to the current workbook. To get a complete set of the most current responses, sync the data to a new workbook.

How can I avoid this?

If you're collaborating on a form that is stored in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint, make sure someone else from your organization hasn't locked the file or checked it out. Learn more about Excel files that are locked for editing by another user.

What happened?

An error occurred in your Excel workbook. If you added a table to the workbook since the last sync, this may be the reason why it won’t currently sync. To get the most current responses, delete the manually added table and try to sync again, or sync the data to a new workbook. Note the new sync won’t include any table you manually added to the previous workbook. To get a complete set of the most current responses, sync the data to a new workbook.

How can I avoid this?

If you've previously exported your form results to an Excel workbook, that workbook should stay in sync with the form unless you make manual changes to the workbook. For example, if you add your own table to the workbook or a formula to a cell, Forms won't recognize the new content and throw a sync error. Don't add additional content to your Excel workbook to ensure the data stays in sync with your form.

What happened?

An error occurred in your Excel workbook. The current workbook can't be opened in Excel Online due to your company policy, so data can't sync to the workbook. To get a complete set of the most current responses, sync the data to a new workbook.

How can I avoid this?

Your company policy may be preventing you from opening the current workbook you previously synced to. Check with your IT administrator to ensure you can access both form and workbook and learn more about files that have restricted permissions.

See Also

Troubleshoot exporting form data to Excel

Microsoft Forms and Excel workbooks 

How to get missing data in Forms

Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Forms

Get started with Microsoft Forms

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