Opening and closing
A survey can open at a time you choose and stop on a date, at a number of responses, or whichever comes first. Each state has its own page, so nobody fills in something that will not be accepted.
Opening at a set time
Settings → Voting & results → Opens at. Leave it empty and the survey accepts answers as soon as it has a question. Set it, and until that moment the public page shows the title, “not open yet” and the opening time — no questions. You can share the link in advance without anyone answering early.
Closing
Two limits, both under Settings → Advanced:
- Stop after this date — closes at the end of the day you pick (23:59 UTC).
- Stop after a number of responses — closes once that many have been accepted.
Set both and the survey closes at whichever comes first. Your plan’s response limit per survey always applies as well, so a cap above it has no effect.
A typo cannot lock a survey
A date that cannot be read is ignored rather than treated as “closed” or “not open”. A mistake in a setting is not a reason to stop collecting answers.
What a visitor sees
- Not open yet — the title, a notice and the opening time.
- Open — the questions.
- Closed by date — the title and a notice that it has closed, with a link to the results if you have made them public.
- Full — the questions still load, and a submission is refused with a message saying the survey is no longer accepting responses.
The rule is applied on the server when a response arrives, not only on the page: a response sent directly to a closed survey is refused just the same.
Publishing results on close
Set results to After voting closes and give the survey a closing date. Until the date the results page tells visitors when results will be published; once it passes, the page opens to anyone with the link. See Live results.
Your own dashboard marks each survey as Open, Scheduled, Closed or Draft (no questions yet), so you can see at a glance what is collecting.
Common questions
- How do I close a survey on a date?
- Settings → Advanced → Stop after this date. The whole of that day is included, up to 23:59 UTC. After it, the survey page says it has closed and submissions are refused.
- Can I reopen a closed survey?
- Yes. Clear the closing date or move it into the future and save. Responses already collected are untouched.
- What time zone are the dates in?
- The opening time is entered in your own local time and stored as an exact moment. The closing date runs to the end of that day in UTC, which may be a different local hour for you — if the exact minute matters, close a day later and say so.
- What happens to the response that reaches the cap?
- It is accepted. The next one is refused. If your plan’s own limit is lower than the cap you set, the plan’s limit applies.
- Does closing a survey delete anything?
- No. Closing only stops new responses. Responses, results and the export all remain until you delete the survey.