Example polls
Paste any of these into the message box in Slack.
Choice poll. The basic form. Question and options in double quotes.
/poll "Where should we hold the team offsite?" "Lisbon" "Berlin" "Stay remote"
Free
Choice poll. Modifiers after the last quote, here a one-vote limit and an automatic close.
/poll "Which launch date works for you?" "Next Tuesday" "Next Thursday" "The Monday after" limit 1 close after 1 day
Premium: vote limits, closing automatically
Limit votes: 1 per personClose automatically: after 1 day
Q&A. A different poll type, an anonymous Q&A, from the same command.
/poll "What questions do you have for the leadership team?" q&a anonymous close after 3 days
Premium: closing automatically
AnonymousClose automatically: after 3 days
How /poll works
/poll works two ways:
- On its own. Type
/polland press Enter to open the Simple Poll modal, a form with every setting, including scheduling and recurring polls. - With text. Type the whole poll in one line and Simple Poll shows you a preview to post. This is the fast way once you know the grammar.
The other command you might need is /simplepoll trial, which starts the free 14-day
Premium trial for your workspace.
The /poll grammar in brief
- Put the question and each option in straight double quotes:
/poll "Lunch?" "Pizza" "Tacos". - Put modifiers after the last quote, separated by spaces:
anonymous,limit 1,close after 1 day,ranked,scale,short text,q&a. - Spelling matters. A misspelt modifier like
anonymusis ignored, and you'd get a poll that isn't anonymous. Check the preview. - No double quotes inside an option. Use single quotes or reword.
- No options means voters add their own:
/poll "What should we call the new bot?".
limit, close after, reminders, schedule, more than five options and surveys are
Premium. The full reference is in how to use the /poll command.
The mistake people make
Typing the options without quotes. The quoted form is the reliable one: it keeps multi-word options together and stops words being read as settings.
Questions
What happens if I type /poll with nothing after it?
It opens the Simple Poll modal, where you fill in the question, options and settings in a form.
Why didn't my /poll modifier work?
It was probably misspelt or written inside the quotes. Modifiers go after the last closing quote, spelt exactly.
Related
- How to use the /poll command in Slack
/poll is Simple Poll's slash command. Typed on its own, it opens the poll form. Typed with a question, options and a few keywords, it builds the whole poll in one line, shows you a preview, and posts it. This page is the reference for the one-line version.
- How to create a poll in Slack
To create a poll in Slack, add the Simple Poll app to your workspace, then type /poll "Your question" "Option 1" "Option 2" in any channel and press Enter. Check the preview and click Create Poll. Everyone in the channel can vote with one click, and the totals update live. It is free for polls with up to 5 options.
- What is a straw poll?
A straw poll is an informal, non-binding vote that shows which way a group is leaning before a real decision is made.
- How to make an emoji poll in Slack
"Emoji poll" means two things in Slack. One is a message where people vote by reacting with an emoji, which needs no app. The other is a proper poll where each option carries an emoji, which reads faster and still counts votes properly. This page covers both, plus the poll emoji themselves.