The Google Sheets integration creates a spreadsheet for your form and appends one row per submission.
Permissions: why only drive.file
When you sign in to FormSubmit we only ask Google for your name and email. When you click Connect Google Sheets, Google asks for one additional permission: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file — "See, edit, create and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this app."
That means FormSubmit can only access spreadsheets it created. It can't list, read or modify any other file in your Drive. This is also why you can't pick an existing spreadsheet — by design.
Setup
- Open your form → Integrations → Google Sheets.
- Click Connect Google Sheets and approve the
drive.filepermission. - FormSubmit creates a spreadsheet named after your form in your Drive, with a frozen header row.
- Optionally click Send existing submissions to backfill rows for submissions you already have.
Row format
| Column | Value |
|---|---|
| Submitted at | ISO 8601 timestamp (UTC) |
| Submission ID | FormSubmit submission id |
| One column per field | Added automatically the first time a new field name appears |
| Files | Signed links (one per line) when files were uploaded |
Values are written as plain text (no formulas are evaluated), which protects you from spreadsheet formula injection.
Things you can do safely
Rename the spreadsheet, move it to a folder, share it, add new tabs, charts and formulas in other columns. Avoid renaming or deleting the "Submissions" tab and the header cells FormSubmit manages.
Troubleshooting
- Deliveries failing with a Google 403/404 — the spreadsheet was deleted or access was revoked. Reconnect Google Sheets from the integration.
- Revoking access — remove FormSubmit from your Google Account's third-party access page at any time. The spreadsheet stays in your Drive.