Which route you want
| What you need | Format | Where |
|---|---|---|
| One submission as a record | Either product generates a PDF of a submission | |
| One submission as data | Excel (.xlsx) | Forms 365 Web |
| Every submission, for analysis | CSV | Forms 365 Web |
| A live view your team works in | SharePoint list | Either: submissions are already list items |
A single submission, as a document
For a receipt or a signed record, export the submission to PDF. Forms 365 Web also has a per-form PDF designer, so you can lay out how that document looks once and every export follows it rather than dumping fields down the page. The branded PDF guide covers that side properly.
When they want the numbers, not the document
Sometimes the person on the other end wants numbers, not a document. In Forms 365 Web a submission can be exported to Excel as an .xlsx file, which suits handing one record to someone who is going to do their own sums on it.
Everything at once
For analysis across a whole form, Forms 365 Web exports all its submissions to CSV. That is the file you want when you are pivoting responses or charting a trend.
On the internal side, Forms365 Workspace covers the per-submission PDF route. For reporting across many records there, work from the SharePoint list itself, which is what the next section is about, or point Power BI at that list.
The route people forget
If the form writes to a SharePoint list, you may not need an export at all. The submissions are already list items, which means SharePoint views and filters apply, you can group on any column, and Excel can connect to the list directly. Before you build a recurring export process, ask whether a saved view on the list does the job with nothing to keep in sync.
Common questions
Is the export automatic or on demand?
The exports described here are ones you run when you need them. If you want submissions pushed somewhere automatically as they arrive, use a webhook on submit or the REST API rather than an export.
Does exporting change the data?
No. An export is a copy. The submission stays where it is, and if the form writes to SharePoint the list item is untouched.
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