MS Forms branching

Dear @Susan,

Good day, and I appreciate the clear explanation of your concern.  

In Microsoft Forms, branching helps guide respondents forward, so they only see questions that are relevant to them. Since branching moves ahead in the form, the best results come from organizing related questions together. 

For your scenario, this works well by grouping all guest related questions in one place. When a respondent selects "No" for “Will you be bringing a guest?”, you can simply branch them to the next non guest question or section. This way, respondents who aren't bringing a guest will smoothly skip all guest specific questions without seeing them. 

Here are some workarounds you can consider: 

Step 1: Create all questions in your form first. I recommend finalizing questions before applying branching. 

Step 2: Group every guest only question into a single section.  

For example: Create a section called “Guest Details” and place all guest related questions there, such as the guest dietary restrictions question. 

Step 3: Keep non guest questions outside of this section. 

Step 4: On the question “Will you be bringing a guest?”, open the More options menu and select Add branching. 

Step 5: Set the branching rules as follows. 

• If the answer is "Yes", branch to the Guest Details section. 
• If the answer is "No", branch to the next non guest section or question that appears after all guest content. 

With this setup, respondents who answer "No" are redirected past the entire guest section and will never see those questions. 

You can use the example layout below as a reference: 

• Section 1: Attendee information 

Q1: Do you have dietary restrictions? 
Q2: Will you be bringing a guest? 

• Section 2: Guest details (guest-only questions) 

Q1: Does your guest have dietary restrictions? 

• Section 3: Remaining non guest questions 

Branching rule on “Will you be bringing a guest?”: 

• Yes directs the respondent to the Guest Details section. 
• No directs the respondent to the next non guest section. 

I completely understand how these limitations in Microsoft Forms can feel disruptive. It’s not just about aesthetics; these differences can genuinely affect how smoothly you work and navigate your day. 

I’m really sorry, I know this isn’t the outcome you were hoping for. As a forum moderator, I hope you understand that I don’t have the ability to modify or escalate product issues directly. However, I strongly recommend submitting your feedback through the Microsoft Forms · Community. This is the most effective way to ensure your voice reaches the product team and can be considered for future improvements.  

Once you've submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here in the comments. I’ll be happy to upvote it to help bring more visibility. If you prefer, I can also submit this great idea on your behalf. Just let me know, and I’ll post it for you and share the link once it’s published. I’m here to help ensure your feedback gets the attention it deserves. 

Additionally, as other users have raised similar concerns and may not be aware of where to share their feedback, I hope this response helps clarify the situation and suggests a potential next step. Highlighting this information can make it more visible to others in the community who may be facing the same issue, making it easier for them to find guidance and contribute their feedback as well. 

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. 

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Branching in Microsoft Forms can only go forward to a consecutive question (or to End of the form), not to a non-sequential or earlier question.

To skip multiple guest-related questions after “Will you be bringing a guest?” = No, set up branching like this:

1. Create all questions first, in the order they should appear.
   • Q1: Will you be bringing a guest?
   • Q2: Do you have dietary restrictions?
   • Q3: Does your guest have dietary restrictions?
   • Q4: Next non-guest question (for example, “How will you be traveling?”)
2. Open More settings for question on Q1 → Add branching.
3. In the branching options for Q1:
   • For answer Yes: branch to Q2 (so they see both Q2 and Q3).
   • For answer No: branch directly to Q4 (the first non-guest question).

Because branching can only move forward, the way to “skip several questions” is to:

• Place all guest questions together in a block.
• Branch the No answer from the guest question to the first question after that block.

If needed, repeat this pattern with sections: put all guest-related questions in a section and use More settings for section → Add branching to send “No guest” respondents to the next relevant section.

References:

• Use branching logic in Microsoft Forms
• Use branching logic in your form
• Add sections to your survey or questionnaire