Date & Time Limits

Alongside per-choice limits, Choice Eliminator can open and close your whole Google Form automatically at the dates and times you choose.

Setting a Schedule

1. Open your Google Form
2. Click the Add-ons (puzzle piece) icon → Choice Eliminator → Start
3. On the Form tab, turn on Limit form by date
4. Set an Open date and time, a Close date and time, or both
5. Click Save

You can pick times in 5-minute steps (for example 8:50, 9:15, 17:30) — you're not limited to whole hours. Set only a close time to close a form that's already open; set only an open time to keep a form closed until it should start; or set both for a fixed window.

Timezone Handling

Choice Eliminator uses your Google account's timezone. Make sure it's set correctly in your Google account so your form opens and closes at the times you expect.

Minimum window

When you set both an open time and a close time, they must be at least 1 hour apart. If you set them closer together, the add-on shows an error and won't save until you widen the window.

This is a Google platform limit, not a Choice Eliminator choice: Google runs a Forms add-on's scheduled check at most once per hour, so a window shorter than an hour can't be enforced reliably. Setting only a close time (with no open time) has no minimum — the form simply closes at that time.

How precise is it?

The form opens or closes at the time you set, or shortly after — never before. Google runs the scheduled action through its own timer, usually within a minute of your set time, but it doesn't guarantee an exact-to-the-second moment — so allow for a small delay at the boundary. Choice Eliminator never closes a form early, so set your close time at (or a moment after) your real deadline.

How It Works with Choice Limits

The schedule closes the whole form; per-choice limits remove individual options as they fill. You can use them together — whichever applies first takes effect:

• A choice hits its limit → that option disappears, the form stays open
• The close time arrives → the whole form closes

Use Cases

Timed Sign-Up Windows

Open a sign-up sheet at a set time and close it at another, while each option still respects its own capacity.

Class or Event Registration

Open registration at 8:50 and close it at 10:20 — the times you actually need, not just whole hours.

Tips

• Set your close time a few minutes after your real deadline to allow for last-minute submissions.
• Enable notifications to confirm when your form opens and closes.
• Need a window shorter than an hour, or exact-to-the-second control? That's on our roadmap for a dedicated hosted-form product — contact us if it's important to you.