---
id: "google-form-title-vs-name"
title: "Google Forms - title vs name vs documentTitle"
description: "Recently I had to clarify some confusion around the title and name
  of a Google Form. Here is a quick explanation of the difference between the
  two."
pubDate: "2024-10-29T00:00:00.000Z"
tags:
  - "code"
  - "google"
  - "google workspace"
  - "apps script"
  - "google forms"
syndicate: false
faq:
  - question: "What is the difference between a Google Form's `name` and `title`?"
    answer: "The `name` is really the file name in Drive (`documentTitle` in the
      Forms API). The `title` is the visible heading on the form. If I don't set
      a specific `title`, the UI automatically uses the `name`."
  - question: "How do the Forms API, `FormApp`, and `DriveApp` represent the `name`
      and `title`?"
    answer: "In the Forms API, `documentTitle` is the form's `name`.
      `FormApp.getTitle()` gives me the form's `title`. Both
      `DriveApp.getName()` and the Drive API's `name` property refer to the
      form's `name`."
  - question: "What happens if a Google Form's `title` is not set?"
    answer: "If I leave the `title` unset, the form UI just shows the `name`
      instead. The Forms API will show the `title` as `undefined`, and
      `FormApp.getTitle()` returns an empty string."
  - question: "How can I change the `name` of a Google Form programmatically?"
    answer: "To change the form's `name` programmatically, I have to use the Google
      Drive API or `DriveApp`. The Forms API doesn't let me modify the `name`."
canonicalURL: "https://justin.poehnelt.com/posts/google-form-title-vs-name/"
relativeURL: "/posts/google-form-title-vs-name/"
markdownURL: "/posts/google-form-title-vs-name.md"
---
Recently I had to clarify some confusion around the title and name of a Google Form and some inconsistencies between Apps Script, Forms API, and the Forms UI. For some background, the following image shows the name and title of a Google Form.

[![Google Forms name, title, documentTitle](https://justin.poehnelt.com/images/google-forms-name-title-documentitle.jpg)](https://justin.poehnelt.com/images/google-forms-name-title-documentitle.jpg)

Google Forms name, title, documentTitle

The below table show the different ways the title and name are returned in the Forms UI, the Forms API, the `FormApp`, `DriveApp`, and the Drive API.

|   | `name` UI       | `title` UI      | `title` Forms API | `documentTitle` Forms API | `getTitle()` `FormApp` | `getName()` `DriveApp` | `name` Drive API |
| - | --------------- | --------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------- |
| 1 | “Untitled form” | “Untitled form” | `undefined`       | “Untitled form”           | ""                     | “Untitled form”        | “Untitled form”  |
| 2 | “Name”          | “Name”          | `undefined`       | “Name”                    | ""                     | “Name”                 | “Name”           |
| 3 | “Name”          | “Title”         | “Title”           | “Name”                    | “Title”                | “Name”                 | “Name”           |
| 4 | “Untitled form” | “Title”         | “Title”           | “Untitled form”           | “Title”                | “Untitled form”        | “Untitled form”  |

## Case 1 - Default form[](#case-1---default-form)

When you first create a form, the name is `Untitled form` and the `title` is unset but defaults to `Untitled form` in the UI. The Forms API does not have a `title` property and the `documentTitle` is `Untitled form`.

## Case 2 - Name set, title unset[](#case-2---name-set-title-unset)

If you change the name of the form, the `title` in the application will render as the name. However, the name is still unset in the Forms API and the `documentTitle` is the name as shown in the UI.

## Case 3 - Name and title set[](#case-3---name-and-title-set)

If you set the `name` and `title` of the form, the `title` in the application will render as the `title`. The Forms API will have the `title` set to the title and the `documentTitle` set to the `name`.

## Case 4 - Title set, name unset[](#case-4---title-set-name-unset)

If you set the `title` of the form and the name is still the default, the `title` in the application UI will render as the `title`. The Forms API will have the `title` set to the title and the `documentTitle` set to the default `name`.

## Drive API and DriveApp[](#drive-api-and-driveapp)

The Drive API and DriveApp have a `name` property that is always the same as the `documentTitle`.

## Takeaways[](#takeaways)

* The UI `title` has a fallback to the `name` if the `title` is unset.
* The Forms API `documentTitle` is equivalent to the UI `name` and the Drive API `name`.
* The Forms API `title` is undefined if unset, but the `getTitle()` method in `FormApp` will return the empty string if unset!
* To change the `name` via the API, you need to use the Drive API or `DriveApp`.

## Example code[](#example-code)

Here is an example of how to get the title of a form using the `FormApp` API:

```js
function myFunction() {
  const title = FormApp.openById("10Fb...").getTitle();
  console.log(title); // if unset, it will be ""
}
```


[Google Forms - title vs name vs documentTitle](https://justin.poehnelt.com/posts/google-form-title-vs-name/) © 2024 by [Justin Poehnelt](https://justin.poehnelt.com/) is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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