Make a pre-filled Microsoft Forms link

Short answer: Microsoft Forms has a "Get Pre-filled URL" feature. You open your form, turn on pre-filled answers, fill in the answers you want, and copy the link it gives you. Anyone who opens that link sees the form with those answers already in place. Make one link for each site, client or person so each reader starts with the right answers. The exact names of menus and buttons may differ from what is written here, because Microsoft changes its screens from time to time.

What a pre-filled link is for

Say you run a form for site visits. Ten sites use the same form. Without help, every person must type the site name, and some will misspell it. With a pre-filled link, the "Site" question already says "Site 4" when the person opens the form. They only answer the rest.

Good uses:

A site, client or room name that the person would otherwise type.
A department or request type.
A form you send to a known list of people, where the first answers are already known.

You can open Microsoft Forms at https://forms.office.com. Use the form you already have. You do not need a second form for each site.

Step 1. Plan which answers to fill in

Pick only the answers you know ahead of time. Leave the rest blank for the person to answer. Write a short list before you start:

Which question will be pre-filled?
What value goes in it for each link? For example "Site 1", "Site 2", "Site 3".
How will each link be sent? Email, a Teams post, a QR code on a wall, or a link on a page.

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: use short, plain values with no extra spaces at the end. A trailing space in a value can stop a link from matching a choice, as a Microsoft Q&A thread below shows.

Step 2. Get the pre-filled link

Microsoft's Forms team announced the feature on the Microsoft Forms Blog. The post says: "After creating your feedback survey, click on the "..." icon in the upper right corner and select "Get Pre-filled URL" to start setting your pre-filled answers." It also says: "Before setting pre-filled answers, you need to first activate "Enable pre-filled answers" in the top section of the form."

One way to start:

Open https://forms.office.com and open your form in edit mode.
Open the "..." menu near the top right of the form and select "Get Pre-filled URL". A Tech Community reply calls it "Pre-filled link", so the name may differ on your screen.
Turn on "Enable pre-filled answers".
Fill in the answers you want pre-filled. Leave the others empty.
Microsoft's post says you then "click the "Get Pre-filled link" button at the bottom of the form to copy/paste the URL for distribution." Copy the link.

Test it right away. Paste the link in a private browser window and check that the answers show up.

Step 3. Make one link for each site or person

The Microsoft Q&A answer describes the order: "On the pre-fill form page, fill the form for User A, click on "Get Prefilled Link" and send it to User A." It then repeats the same steps for User B and User C: go back to the same pre-fill form page, fill the form for that person, and click "Get Prefilled Link".

For sites, that means:

Fill in "Site 1" and get the link. Save it.
Go back to the pre-fill page. Change the value to "Site 2" and get the link. Save it.
Repeat for each site.

Keep the links in a list. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: use a SharePoint list with a Title column that holds the site name and a Link column that holds the URL. The Title column is required by default, so use it for the site name. Add a column named Link of the type "Hyperlink". You can also keep a plain list in a shared file. One place means nobody asks "which link is the right one?".

Step 4. Send or post the link

Put each link where the right people will find it:

Email: send each person only their own link.
A page or Teams channel: post the link next to the site name.
A QR code on a wall or a sign: make one code for each site, so the person scans and starts with the right answers. Use a QR code maker you already trust. Check the code by scanning it with a phone before you print.

Name the link in plain words, such as "Report a problem at Site 4". A raw URL looks odd and some people will not click it.

A second way: build the link yourself

Microsoft Forms also accepts answers in the web address. A Microsoft Q&A answer gives this format: "Microsoft Forms allows pre-filling answers using query parameters in the URL. The format looks like this:" and then shows an address that starts with https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id= followed by the form ID and then pairs of field names and values.

The same thread does not say how the field names map to your questions. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: do not guess the field names. Get one link from the "Get Pre-filled URL" screen first and read how the question is written in it. Then copy that link and change only the value.

A person asking on Microsoft Q&A describes a plan: get one link from the pre-fill tool, paste it into Excel, and use concatenation (&) to make a personal link for each person. That is one way to make many links from a list. Check the result on a few links before you send it to everyone.

If you want a flow to send these links by email, see "Get a Microsoft Forms alert sent to more than one person". If you want to save the answers in a list, see "Save Microsoft Forms answers to a SharePoint list".

Limits to know before you rely on it

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: assume the person can change the answers. If the value must not change, check it in the results after it arrives.
The values are in the link. A Microsoft Tech Community reply says the field identifiers were unreadable but the values were readable in the URL. Do not put private information in a pre-filled link.
Trailing spaces matter. A Tech Community reply says: "the categories can contain spaces at the end of the values," so a link may not match a choice. That reply suggests adding "%20" to the link to match the space. If a pre-filled choice does not show up, look here first.

What to avoid

Do not use one link for everyone and expect the site to change. Each site needs its own link.
Do not send a link that has another person's answers in it.
Do not put names, phone numbers or other private data in pre-filled values.
Do not skip the test. Open each link in a private window before you send it.
Do not change the question wording after you make the links. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: if you rename a question or a choice, make the links again and test them.

Keep the links working

When you add or rename a question, test one link. When you add a site, make one more link and add it to your list. When a site closes, remove its link from the page where you posted it. If the form is new, a short test with two or three people is a cheap way to find problems.

If you need a record of who answered, add a question for the person's name or a Title style field in your list. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: do not rely on the link alone to show who sent the answer, because a link can be forwarded.

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs to build". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

Where do I find the pre-filled link option in Microsoft Forms?

Open your form in edit mode at https://forms.office.com and look in the "..." menu near the top right. Microsoft's Forms blog calls it "Get Pre-filled URL". A Tech Community reply calls it "Pre-filled link". The exact name may differ on your screen.

Can I make a different link for each person?

Yes. A Microsoft Q&A answer shows the steps: fill in the form for one person, select "Get Prefilled Link", then go back and repeat for the next person. Each person gets a link that holds their own answers.

Can the person change the pre-filled answers?

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: test a link in a private window and see. If the answer must not change, check it in the results after it arrives.

Is it safe to put private data in a pre-filled link?

No. A Microsoft Tech Community reply says the values are readable in the URL. Keep names, phone numbers and other private data out of the link.

Why does my pre-filled choice not show up?

One Tech Community reply says a choice can have a space at the end of its text, so the link does not match. Add "%20" to the end of the value in the link as that reply suggests, then test again. Also test each question type you use on your own form.