A poll is the quickest way to settle a question in a channel: where to hold the team lunch, which date suits for the launch, which design to take forward. In Tandem App a poll is a message with options people click to vote on, and the results update as votes come in. This guide shows the two ways to start one and the options you can choose.
Option 1: the Poll button
- In the channel or conversation, click Poll under the message box.
- Type your Question.
- Fill in the options. Two boxes are there to start with; click + Add an option for more, up to 10.
- Tick Allow more than one choice if people may vote for several options.
- Tick Anonymous if nobody should see who voted for what.
- Send it. The poll appears in the conversation for everyone.
Option 2: the /poll command
If you'd rather not leave the keyboard, type the question and options in double quotes:
/poll "Where shall we eat on Friday?" "Pizza" "Sushi" "Thai"
The first quoted text is the question and the rest are the options. You need a question and at least two options. A poll started this way allows one choice per person and isn't anonymous; use the Poll button when you need either setting.
Voting
- Click an option to vote. Your choice is ticked and highlighted.
- In a one-choice poll, clicking another option moves your vote. Click your current choice again to take your vote back.
- In a poll that allows more than one choice, click each option you want.
Each option shows its number of votes and its share. Under the question you can see whether it's Choose one or Choose any, whether it's anonymous, and how many people have voted. Unless the poll is anonymous, the names of the people who chose each option are shown underneath it.
People with read-only access in a channel can see a poll and its results but can't vote.
Closing a poll
When you have your answer, click Close poll under it. Nobody can vote after that, and the results stay visible. The person who started the poll can close it, and so can owners and admins in a channel.
Things to know
- Polls are started in the main conversation, not inside a thread. People can still discuss the options in a thread on the poll.
- An anonymous poll stays anonymous: nobody, including the person who started it, can see who chose what.
- Deleting a poll's message removes the poll too.
- Polls are included when an owner exports the workspace's data.
Tips for good polls
- Say in the question when you'll decide, for example "Vote by Thursday noon".
- Keep options short and distinct so the results are easy to read.
- Pin the poll if it will run for a few days, so it doesn't scroll out of sight.
The /poll command is one of several built-in commands; see slash commands for the rest.