This guide explains how to create polls to gather votes from fellow Local Guides.
This guide is part of the Transition Tutorials.
Summary
Now you can interact with your readers on Connect in a more engaging way. Your readers can let you know what they think or know. It is quite easy to insert a poll in your topics where users can answer or vote on questions you formulate. Just keep reading to learn how.
Create a poll with the poll builder
The easiest way to create a poll is to use the poll builder. Start by typing your question in the composer. It could be “Do you like the new Connect?”. Then go to the next line and hit the 3-dot icon in the composer menu and select Build Poll. See below.
First select the poll type. Single or Multiple choice.
Single Choice
- Users can select a single choice from the poll
Multiple Choice
- Users can select more than one answer option.
Then enter the different answers your readers can choose from. Please do not repeat your question in the first possible answer.
You can also specify whether the profile images of the individuals who voted should be made public.
Before you insert the poll, you can fine-tune the poll if you hit the cog wheel shown below:
You can select the type of poll: Single Choice, Multiple Choice, Number ranking, or Ranked Choices. This is the same as shown above, but here you have more options.
Further down under the detailed poll settings, you can choose bar graphs or pie graphs and when the poll will end. What happens after the poll expires can also be specified.
Then hit the blue Insert Poll button.
In the composer, you will then see something like this:
This is the Markdown code specifying your poll. It can seem a bit cryptic. Just open the preview below the composer, and you will see what the poll will look like once published. However, polls are not active prior to publishing your topic.
You can make changes to the Markdown code if needed. I don’t think you can return to the poll builder once you have inserted it. Instead, you will need to create a new poll.
Please note that all votes will be deleted when a poll is edited after data collection has started. This is to ensure the poll creator can’t change the choices a user voted for. You only have 5 minutes to edit a poll after you publish it.
Fun fact: You can add images to each answer if you want.
Create polls manually
In the composer, you can also create and edit polls without using the poll builder. You will need to use Markdown code to do so. Here is an example:
Using the Poll Builder is often a lot easier.
You have now reached the end of this tutorial. Below is a live poll you can try:
Do you like the new Connect?
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Sure
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Maybe
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Not really
Learn more
This is the end of this tutorial.
Credit: The oil painting shown at the top is Beach at Trouville by Eugène Boudin. Painted in 1864/5. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.