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Group Poll
How do I create a group poll?
How do I create a group poll?

Learn how to create a group poll with Doodle using this video and guide. Choose meeting type, provide information, add times, and more.

Updated this week

Check out the short video below, or keep reading for detailed instructions on how to create a group poll with Doodle.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Choose meeting type

  1. From your Doodle Dashboard, click on 'Create' in the top right corner

  2. Select 'Create' from the 'Select your Doodle' screen

Provide meeting information

  1. Set the Title, Description, and Location of your meeting

  2. Toggle on Video Conferencing if the meeting is taking place remotely

    • Note: If your default connected calendar is a Google Calendar, Google Meet will also be connected to your Doodle account. If you want to use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Webex instead, select it as the main conferencing tool in your account settings.

    • In the case of hybrid meetings, you can set an physical location in addition to providing a video conferencing link.

Add your times

When creating your poll, you can select either 'Week' view or 'Month' view.
​Tip: Use 'Month' view for more flexible starting times, for example, at 10:25, 10:47, etc.

Want to add time slots using multiple durations (e.g. 30 minutes and 60 minutes)? Click here to learn more.

Week view:

  1. Confirm you are using 'Week' view. 'Week' will be underlined.

  2. Select the duration of the times you would like to select.

    • You can select multiple time slot durations.

    • To add all-day sessions to your group poll, select 'All day' and click directly beneath the date in the calendar grid.

    • Click 'Custom' to define a specific event duration. The minimum custom event duration is five minutes, and the maximum custom event duration is eight hours.
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  3. Check your time zone at the top right corner. Your default time zone will be automatically applied. Make sure that this time zone selection is YOUR time zone. The group poll will automatically adjust according to the time zone of your participants.

  4. Check for conflicts with other calendars from the menu at the bottom left corner. If you connected your calendar, it will be selected automatically, but you can also select any other calendar that you have connected to your Doodle account, or that you subscribe to (for example, shared calendars).

  5. Click anywhere on the calendar to create time slots.

When adding time slots to your group poll:

  • All time slots will be added for the duration indicated in the menu

  • If you change the duration, only the new time slots will be for the new duration

  • You can delete a time slot by hovering the cursor over the time slot and clicking on the little 'x' in the top right of the cell

  • You can click and drag a time slot to a different spot on your calendar

  • In 'Week' view, your start times can only be set to begin in 15 minute intervals (e.g. 9:00 AM, 9:15 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:45 AM, 10:00 AM, etc.)

Month view:

  1. Confirm you are using 'Month' view. 'Month' will be underlined.

  2. Click on the days for which you would like to offer time slots.
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  3. Set the start time and duration for each time slot you wish to offer.

  4. You can also add more time slots on a specific date by clicking "Add times".

Please note:

  • In 'Month' view, your start times can be set with complete flexibility. To indicate a start time, select from the menu or type into the text field

  • If you choose to type your start time, you must follow a precise convention when typing your start time(s). For example, to indicate a start time of 1:00 PM, you will need to type it exactly as shown, including the colon and the space between the minutes and AM/PM

Enable special settings (requires a Doodle Professional Plan):

You can enable a few special settings for your group poll. All the special settings require a Doodle Professional Plan.

To enable the settings, tick the corresponding box under 'Settings'.

  • Set a deadline (requires a Doodle Professional Plan): after this date and time, no new responses can be submitted for your group poll, and existing participants will not be able to change their votes.

  • Limit participants (requires a Doodle Professional Plan): set the maximum amount of participants that can select the same time slot.

    • Note: This feature can only be activated during the initial setup of the group poll. It is not possible to activate it after the group poll has been created.

  • Set automatic reminders (requires a Doodle Professional Plan): we will send out reminders to the participants who still have not voted after a given time. Read here for more information about how automatic reminders work.

  • Hide participant list (requires a Doodle Professional Plan): only you will be able to see the list of participants and their votes.

Finish up your group poll

  1. Click 'Create and share' at the bottom right corner to finish your group poll setup.

Share your group poll invitation

Now it is time to invite your participants. All Doodle users can send their group poll invitation using the 'Share invite' button.

Share with link sharing:

  1. Click 'Copy link'

  2. Paste the poll link into an email, or share it via Slack, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and many other applications.

Please note:

  • Free Doodle can receive up to 100 participants per poll

  • Paid Doodle can receive up to 1,000 participants per poll

  • Poll organizers cannot un-invite someone after they have been invited to participate in your poll

  • Poll organizers cannot delete or change a response of a poll participant

  • Poll organizers cannot delete a participant from the list of poll participants

Send the invite directly from Doodle (requires a Doodle Professional Plan):

  1. Click 'Show poll details'

  2. Click on 'More'

  3. Click on 'Email invitation'

  4. Enter the emails of your participants

  5. Edit the invitation message if needed

  6. Click 'Send'

Make sending invitations even easier by adding your Google or Outlook contacts to your Doodle account. Now when you start typing the emails of your contacts, Doodle can auto-fill their email.

Good to know

  • As the organizer, you will automatically have voted for all suggested meeting times in the group poll. However, you can change your participation at any time. Read about how to change your vote here.

  • Once you have the votes you need, select the final option and click 'Book it'. Read about selecting the final option here.

  • With your calendar connected to your Doodle account, your booked event will appear automatically in your calendar, and a calendar invitation will be sent to your participants.

    • Note: if you do not connect your calendar, you and your participants will receive an email notification about the final date and time for an event, but everyone will need to manually add the event to their calendars.

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