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Yes, but the direction matters. Google Forms can send submitted answers to a linked Google Sheet through its built-in response destination. To use spreadsheet rows as choices in a form—for example, to populate a dropdown from Google Sheets—you need a separate Apps Script integration; linking a response sheet alone does not make form choices update from it.
What “pull data” means in Google Forms
There are two different workflows that can sound like “pulling data”:
| Workflow | Data direction | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Save form responses in a spreadsheet | Google Forms → Google Sheets | Choose a new or existing spreadsheet as the form’s response destination. New submissions are stored there. |
| Use spreadsheet values as form choices | Google Sheets → Google Forms | Use Apps Script to obtain values and set a question’s choices. This requires code, authorization, and a way to run or refresh the script. |
The first workflow is built into Forms. The second is a small integration to create and maintain; it is not an automatic two-way link.
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- Open the form and select the Responses tab.
- Open the response-destination control.
- Choose Create a new spreadsheet to make a new response file, or Select existing spreadsheet to use an existing one.
After the destination is linked, new form submissions are sent to that spreadsheet. You can still view responses in Forms, and Google also supports downloading responses as a CSV.
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Permissions and unlinking
Form collaborators may also have access to a newly created response spreadsheet. However, later changes to access on the form do not automatically synchronize with the spreadsheet, so manage permissions for each file separately.
If you unlink the response destination, future responses stop going to the sheet, but data already in the spreadsheet remains. Google allows the response destination to be connected again later.
Populate a Google Forms dropdown from Google Sheets
To base question options on spreadsheet values, use Apps Script to read or otherwise obtain the values and update a Forms choice question. In the Apps Script Forms service, a ListItem represents a dropdown question, and setChoiceValues(values) sets its visible choices from an array of strings.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe choice-setting method is only one part of the integration. Your script must also obtain the intended values, handle blank or missing entries appropriately, and run whenever you want the choices refreshed. A script that uses the Forms service needs Forms authorization. The documented method throws an exception if the supplied choices array is empty, so the script should not pass an empty array as if it were a valid set of options.
In practice, this approach is useful when choices come from a maintained list, but it is not a live spreadsheet-to-form connection by itself. The choices change when the script successfully updates them, not merely because a response spreadsheet is linked.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which approach should you use?
- Choose the built-in response destination when your goal is to collect answers in a spreadsheet for review or analysis.
- Use Apps Script when your goal is to make question choices reflect values maintained in a spreadsheet.
- Use both if needed when you want spreadsheet-managed choices and a separate destination for submitted answers; they solve different directions of data flow.
For more involved ingestion and data handling, Google also documents Apps Script and the Sheets API as flexible options. The appropriate route depends on whether you are sending responses out of Forms or using data to shape a form.
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