Possibly lost or erased a file on Forms / survey

Question

Yesterday I logged in and saw my results on a survey that was taken with the results. I printed up the response overview and clicked on the Excel version. I did nothing else. Logged out. Today I went into forms and cant find the survey that was done, other than the original survey questions with 2 responses. Did I erase the survey? OMG. I am panicking. What can I do?

[Moderator's note: PII removed]

[Moved from Windows for home | Other | Accessibility]

Answer 1

Hi, Tammie Nyce

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.

Sorry for this frustrating experience that you're encountering. Simply opening “Open in Excel” does not erase a form, so what you’re seeing today usually means you are either looking in the wrong place (personal vs group location), or the form was deleted or moved, or responses were deleted.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Check the Forms recycle bin (most important first).

In Microsoft Forms, go to the Deleted forms tab, find the missing form, and choose Restore. Forms stay there indefinitely unless someone permanently deletes them. This brings the form back to All forms.

Use the Excel file you opened yesterday as your safety copy.

When you click Open in Excel, Forms creates an Excel workbook that is stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, depending on where the form was created. That workbook can still contain the response data even if the form view looks wrong today. Search OneDrive or SharePoint for the workbook name you downloaded or opened.

Look in the correct storage location (personal vs group).

If it was a personal form, Microsoft’s guidance is to check your OneDrive for the form related files.

If it was a group form, check the related SharePoint site, typically Documents > Apps > Microsoft Forms. This works because group forms store their workbook and artifacts in the group’s SharePoint.

Know the hard limit: deleted responses usually cannot be restored inside Forms.

Please bear in mind that if responses were deleted, they are permanently deleted from Forms and can’t be recovered there. That’s why the Excel workbook matters.

Hope this helps. Feel free to get back if you need further help.

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Answer 2

Answer not clear enough and i have to speak with a person. Im not the best as computer, so one on one is better for me. I checked the recycle bin and nothing there.