Updated August 15, 2025
Crowdsourcing map data through form submissions is one of the most powerful and popular ways to use Mapme. With no coding required, you can easily create interactive, crowdsourced maps.
Try it out with our live demo: fill out the form and watch your submission appear on the map in real time.
Mapme’s form integration works with most form builders. We’ve created dedicated guides for some of the most popular ones, including:
If you’re using a different form builder, reach out to our support team via the chat button at the bottom right of your screen or the support request form.
Which Form Builder Should You Use?
Mapme works with most modern form builders that can send data to Google Sheets. The best choice depends on your needs and budget:
- Google Forms: Free, easy to set up, and great for simple forms with basic styling.
- JotForm, Typeform, and others: Perfect for advanced needs such as branded layouts, conditional logic, file uploads, or map-based questions. These platforms offer more design flexibility and integrations.
You’re not limited to these examples—Mapme supports any form builder that can send data to Google Sheets directly or via an integration tool like Zapier or Make. Not sure if your form tool works? Ask our team—we’re happy to help.
Implementation Guide
The integration process is similar for most form builders. Here’s a general overview. For platform-specific instructions, see the guides linked above.
1. Create Your Map
Start by creating a new map or opening an existing one. If your map uses categories (e.g., Hotels, Restaurants), set them up in the Mapme Editor before creating your form.
2. Build Your Form
Use your preferred form builder to collect the data you want to display. Recommended fields include:
- Name: Location name.
- Address: Full address or separate fields (Street, City, Country). You can also let users drop a pin on a map to capture coordinates.
- Description: A short description of the location. You can combine fields in Google Sheets for a formatted description.
- Categories: Match options exactly with your Mapme categories. Use dropdowns, multiple choice, or checkboxes.
- Website: For action buttons. Require URLs starting with
https://. - Media: Allow uploads or camera input for images and videos.
Tip: Use clear, specific wording for questions. For example: “Please provide a short description of this location.”
3. Connect Your Form to Google Sheets
Most form builders connect to Google Sheets by default or offer a simple integration. This is required for syncing with Mapme.
4. Install the Map to Sheets Add-On
Get it from the Google Workspace Marketplace and follow our setup guide.
5. Configure Map to Sheets
When linked, you’ll have two sheets:
- Form Responses: Raw submissions from your form.
- Map to Sheets: Processed data sent to Mapme.
In Form Submission mode, entries are removed from the Form Responses sheet once sent to Mapme. This improves performance and keeps your sheet manageable.
Setup steps:
- Open the Map to Sheets sidebar.
- Click Use Case Configuration.
- Select Form Submission.
- Choose the Form Responses sheet.
- Select the Map to Sheets sheet.
- Choose a submission action (see below).
- Click Save.
Submission Action Options
- Manual Update: Review and moderate entries in Google Sheets before adding them to the map.
- Push: Automatically send entries to Mapme and moderate in the Mapme Editor.
- Push and Publish: Add and publish entries automatically with no moderation.
6. Add Formulas
Use formulas to sync and transform data from Form Responses to Map to Sheets. Add ArrayFormulas in Row 3. Remove labels from C3 to N3 to avoid errors.
Mapme automatically handles latitude/longitude. If your form provides coordinates, combine them as lat,long for the address field.
Tip: Use formulas like VLOOKUP or FILTER for advanced logic.
Example Formulas
- Copy one column:
={'Form Responses'!E1:E} - Copy multiple columns:
={'Form Responses'!B1:E} - Concatenate description:
=ARRAYFORMULA('Form Responses'!B1:B & " - " & 'Form Responses'!D1:D) - Set fixed category:
=ARRAYFORMULA(IF(LEN(TRIM(C4:C))>0, "Category 1", "")) - Set fixed zoom level:
=ARRAYFORMULA(IF(ISBLANK(Form Responses!A1:A),, 17)) - Lat/Long as address:
=ARRAYFORMULA(IF(ISBLANK(H4:H),, G1:G & "," & H1:H)) - Media embed:
=ARRAYFORMULA(IF(ISBLANK(Form Responses!G1:G),,"embed;url\""&Form Responses!G1:G))
7. Test Your Setup
Submit a test entry. It should appear in the Map to Sheets sheet and update your map according to the chosen submission action.
8. Share Your Form
Add a link to your form on your map’s homepage using the Action Button (with modal view for a seamless experience), embed it on your site, or share it via email/social media.
Moderation
Moderating user submissions helps keep your map clean—avoiding duplicates, errors, or spam.
Two moderation methods:
- In Google Sheets: Use Manual Update mode. Edit or delete rows in the Form Responses sheet, then click Send to Map to send approved entries to your map.
- In Mapme Editor: Send the data manually or automatically to the map (without publish). Filter for Draft status in Locations, edit as needed, then Publish the map.
Updates
After publishing, you can update your data either in the Mapme Editor or in Google Sheets.
To edit in Google Sheets, click Pull in the Map to Sheets extension to load your current map data into a new tab, make your changes, and then click Push to send the updates back to Mapme.
Wrap-Up
With this integration, collecting and displaying crowdsourced content on your map is fast and flexible. Whether you’re creating a local guide, community resource, or event map, Mapme’s no-code workflow makes it easy.
If your data is stored in business systems such as CRM platforms, learn more about the different ways you can connect data to your map.
Need Help?
Visit our Support Center or contact us.