Updated . Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. How we check this lesson
If someone in your business copies form answers into a spreadsheet by hand, this is the automation to build first. In this free Make.com tutorial you build a scenario for Brookside Dental, a small dental practice: each time a new patient fills out the request form, Make adds their name, email, phone number and reason for visit as a new row in Google Sheets. Nobody retypes anything.
At a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What you build | Build your first Make.com scenario: every new Google Forms response becomes a new row in Google Sheets. Trigger, connection, mapping, Run once and a schedule. |
| Tools | Make |
| Time | About 12 minutes, 40 steps in 8 parts |
| Level | Beginner, no coding needed |
| Cost | Free |
| Ways to learn it | Practice it step by step |
The 8 parts, in short
- New scenario: Create a scenario.
- The trigger: Add the first module, Search for Google Forms, Google Forms, Watch Responses.
- Connect Google: Create a connection, Sign in with Google, Choose your account, Allow access.
- Pick the form: Open the form, Copy the ID, Paste the Form ID, Save the trigger, and 2 more steps.
- Add the sheet: Add another module, Search for Google Sheets, Google Sheets, Add a Row, and 4 more steps.
- Map the answers: Name (A), Map Full name, Email (B), Map Email, and 5 more steps.
- Test it: Run once, See what happened, Check the sheet.
- Turn it on: Back to Make, Save the scenario, Every 15 minutes, Keep 15 minutes, and 1 more step.
In the course: Part 8 · Make.com Automation Basics (Module 32 of the full course)
What you will build
You will build a two-module scenario in Make, the visual automation tool that used to be called Integromat. The first module is a Google Forms trigger called Watch Responses. It checks the practice's New patient request form for new answers. The second module is Google Sheets Add a Row, which writes each response into a spreadsheet called New patient requests, one column per question.
Along the way you learn the handful of ideas every Make scenario is built on: a trigger that starts the run, a connection that lets Make into your Google account, mapping that carries data from one module to the next, the Run once button for testing, the bubbles that show what each module did, and a schedule that keeps it running without you.
Who this Make.com tutorial is for
This module is for office managers, front-desk staff and small business owners who have never built an automation. You do not need to code. If you use Google Forms for contact requests, bookings, quotes, job applications or event sign-ups and then move the answers somewhere by hand, the same steps work for you. It is the first module in the Make.com Automation Basics course, and the later modules build on this exact scenario.
Why mapping is the part that matters
A Make scenario is really about one thing: moving the right piece of data into the right place. When you click a field in the Add a Row module, Make opens a mapping panel listing everything the trigger returned: the response ID, the time it was submitted, and the answer to every question. Clicking an answer drops a tag into the field. That tag is not text. It is a placeholder that is filled with the new answer each time the scenario runs.
That is why the column headers in row one matter. With Table contains headers set to Yes, Make reads the headers and labels each box with the header name and column letter, so you can see exactly which answer lands in which column.
Testing, schedules and credits
Run once runs the scenario a single time, right now, whether or not it is active. After the run, a small bubble above each module shows how many times it ran. Clicking it opens the inspector, which shows the bundle of data that went into the module and what came back from Google.
The Watch Responses trigger does not fire the instant a form is submitted. It checks on a schedule. The default is every 15 minutes, and each check uses credits from your Make plan, so a faster schedule uses up your credits faster. For a form that gets a few responses a day, every 15 minutes or even hourly is plenty.
How to use this in your business
Swap in your own form and your own sheet. Put one header in row one for each question, build the same two modules, and map each answer to its column. Once the rows are arriving on their own, the next modules in this course show you how to add filters and routers to send urgent requests one way and routine ones another, how to have ChatGPT write a personal reply that Gmail sends, and how to send a daily summary from the sheet.
Try it yourself, free
Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive module walks you through every click in a practice copy of Make, checks each step, and never touches your real accounts.
Start “Your First Make.com Scenario: Google Forms to Google Sheets”Step by step: Your First Make.com Scenario: Google Forms to Google Sheets
All 40 steps of the interactive module, in order. In the module you watch each one, then do it yourself in a practice copy that checks your work.
1. New scenario
- Create a scenario. On the Scenarios page, click + Create scenario in the top right.
Brookside Dental has a Google Form where new patients ask for a first visit. Right now someone copies every answer into a spreadsheet by hand. Let's have Make do it. In Make, a workflow is called a scenario.
2. The trigger
- Add the first module. Click the big + in the middle of the canvas.
This is the scenario builder. Each step is a round module. The first one is the trigger, the thing that starts the scenario.
- Search for Google Forms. Type google forms in the search box at the top.
Make connects to thousands of apps, so search.
- Google Forms. Click Google Forms.
- Watch Responses. Under Response, click Watch Responses.
These are the things Make can do with Google Forms. We want to know when someone fills out the form, so click watch responses.
3. Connect Google
- Create a connection. Make needs permission to read your forms. Click Create a connection.
The module settings open next to it. First, Make needs permission to read your forms.
- Sign in with Google. Keep the name My Google connection and click Sign in with Google.
The default name is fine.
- Choose your account. Pick the Google account that owns the form.
- Allow access. Leave the permission boxes ticked and click Continue.
Google shows what Make will be able to see: your forms and their responses. Leave the boxes ticked and click continue.
4. Pick the form
- Open the form. Make needs the form's ID. Click the Google Forms tab.
You're connected. Now Make needs to know which form to watch. Switch to the Google Forms tab.
- Copy the ID. The Form ID is the long code in the address bar, between /d/ and /edit. Go back to the Make tab.
The form ID is the long code in the address bar, between slash d and slash edit. In your own account, you'd copy it from here. Now go back to the Make tab.
- Paste the Form ID. Paste the ID into Form ID.
Leave the limit at two. That is how many responses Make picks up each time it checks.
- Save the trigger. Click Save.
- Start from all responses. Make asks where to start. Pick All.
Make asks where to start. The form already has one test response from Maria, so pick all. That way the first run has something to work with.
- Save. Click Save.
5. Add the sheet
- Add another module. Click the small + on the right side of the Google Forms module.
The trigger is ready. Now, what should happen with each response?
- Search for Google Sheets. Type google sheets.
- Google Sheets. Click Google Sheets.
- Add a Row. Click Add a Row.
Add a row puts a new line at the bottom of your sheet.
- Choose the spreadsheet. Your Google connection is already filled in. Under Spreadsheet ID, click Click here to choose file.
Make already picked your Google connection. If yours is empty, create one the same way as before. Search method and drive can stay as they are. Under spreadsheet ID, click the button to choose a file.
- New patient requests. Click New patient requests.
This sheet already has four headers in row one: name, email, phone and reason.
- Sheet Name. Open the Sheet Name list.
Now pick the tab inside the spreadsheet.
- Sheet1. Click Sheet1.
6. Map the answers
- Name (A). Click the Name (A) field.
Because the table has headers, Make shows one box for each column.
- Map Full name. In the mapping panel, under Full name, click Value.
A panel opens with everything the form trigger gives you. Under full name, click value. It turns into a purple tag.
- Email (B). Click the Email (B) field.
That tag is not text. It is a placeholder that gets filled with each new answer.
- Map Email. In the mapping panel, under Email, click Value.
Under email, click value.
- Phone (C). Click the Phone (C) field.
- Map Phone number. In the mapping panel, under Phone number, click Value.
Under phone number, click value.
- Reason (D). Click the Reason (D) field.
And the reason box.
- Map Reason for visit. In the mapping panel, under Reason for visit, click Value.
Under reason for visit, click value.
- Save the module. Click Save.
Every column has an answer mapped to it.
7. Test it
- Run once. Click Run once in the toolbar at the bottom.
Time to test. Run once runs the scenario a single time, right now, so you can check it.
- See what happened. Each module shows a bubble with how many times it ran. Click the bubble on Google Sheets.
Both modules got a bubble with a one in it. Each bubble shows what that module did.
- Check the sheet. Input is what went in, output is what came back. Open the Google Sheets tab.
Input is what Make sent, output is what Google sent back. Maria's answers went into row two.
8. Turn it on
- Back to Make. There's the row. Go back to the Make tab.
There's Maria, in row two, and nobody typed a thing. Go back to Make.
- Save the scenario. Click the Save icon in the toolbar.
Saving a module does not save the whole scenario.
- Every 15 minutes. Click Every 15 minutes to see the schedule.
Right now it only runs when you click run once.
- Keep 15 minutes. In Schedule settings, keep At regular intervals, every 15 minutes, and click Save.
Every fifteen minutes, Make checks the form for new responses. Each check uses credits from your plan, so do not set it faster than you need.
- Activate scenario. Click Activate scenario.
Last step.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a scenario in Make.com?
- A scenario is Make's name for an automated workflow. It is a chain of modules, each one an action in an app, that runs on a schedule or when something happens. This lesson's scenario has two modules: Google Forms Watch Responses and Google Sheets Add a Row.
- Is there a free Make.com plan?
- Make has a free plan with a monthly allowance of credits, which is enough to try this scenario. Check Make's pricing page for the current limits, since plans change over time. The practice copy in this lesson needs no account at all.
- Why did my scenario not pick up an old form response?
- When you save a new trigger, Make asks where to start. If you choose From now on, only responses submitted after that moment are processed. Choose All if you want existing responses too, or right-click the module and pick Choose where to start again.
- How does the interactive lesson work?
- Each step is shown to you first on the left (Watch), with a short voice-over. Then you do it yourself on a practice copy of Make on the right (Your turn), and every click is checked. If you get stuck, press Do it for me. Nothing touches a real Make or Google account.
More in Make.com Automation Basics
Connect OpenAI to your Make scenario, have ChatGPT write a personal reply from each patient's form answers, and send it with Gmail.
Free · Live ~12 min
◷On a Schedule: A Daily Summary Email from a Google Sheet in Make.comBuild a Make scenario that runs every day at 5 PM, finds today's rows in Google Sheets, combines them with a Text aggregator and emails one summary with Gmail.
Free · Live ~12 min
Webhooks: Connect a Website Form to Make.comStart a Make scenario with a Custom webhook, paste its URL into your website form's webhook setting, send a test so Make learns the fields, and save every request to…
Free · Live ~12 min
All 5 modules in Make.com Automation Basics
Terms in this lesson
Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.