Group Polls Export

Activity polls work in BuddyPress groups and provide CSV export for data analysis. This guide covers group-specific polling features, vote data export, and best practices for running effective activity polls.

Group Polls

Activity polls work in BuddyPress groups. Group members with appropriate permissions can create polls in the group activity stream. Polls posted to a group appear only within that group’s activity feed.

Creating Polls in Groups

Group polls follow the same creation process as regular activity polls:

1. Navigate to the group’s Activity tab
2. Click the Poll icon in the activity composer toolbar
3. Enter your question and add options
4. Configure settings (multi-select, close date, media)
5. Click Post to publish to the group

Who Can Create Group Polls

Poll creation in groups follows two permission layers:

Permission	Controlled By
Group membership	BuddyPress group settings (public, private, hidden)
Poll creation role	“Poll User Roles” in WB Polls > Community settings

A member must satisfy both conditions. For example, if Poll User Roles is set to “Editor and above,” only group members who are also Editors or Administrators can create polls in the group.

Group Poll Visibility

Group Type	Who Sees Polls
Public group	All site members
Private group	Group members only
Hidden group	Group members only

Group polls do not appear in the sitewide activity feed for private and hidden groups.

CSV Export

Administrators can export activity poll vote data to CSV files for analysis.

Accessing the Export

1. Navigate to WP Admin > WB Polls > Logs
2. Find the poll you want to export
3. Click the Export CSV button

The Logs page also provides the Poll Graph widget with an export option. Navigate to Appearance > Widgets, add the “(BuddyPress) Poll Graph” widget, and use the Export CSV button visible to administrators.

CSV File Contents

The exported CSV includes the following columns:

Column	Description
Voter Name	Display name of the person who voted
User ID	WordPress user ID
Selected Option	The answer option they chose
Vote Date	Timestamp of when the vote was cast
Poll Question	The original poll question text
Activity ID	BuddyPress activity ID containing the poll

Export Customization

Developers can customize the CSV export using these filters:

Filter	Purpose
bpolls_csv_export_filename	Change the download filename
bpolls_csv_export_settings	Modify delimiter, enclosure, date format
bpolls_csv_export_header	Add or modify column headers
bpolls_csv_export_row	Modify each data row before export

Use Cases for Exported Data

• Analyzing voting patterns across your community
• Creating reports on poll engagement
• Archiving poll results for record-keeping
• Importing data into spreadsheet tools for further analysis
• Comparing participation rates across different groups
• Identifying your most engaged community members

Standalone Poll Logs

Standalone polls also maintain vote logs accessible from the admin area. Navigate to WB Polls > Logs to view voting activity for standalone polls. Each log entry records the poll, voter, action taken, and timestamp. Administrators can delete individual log entries or use the logs for audit purposes.

Best Practices

Writing Good Poll Questions

• Keep questions clear and concise
• Provide distinct, non-overlapping options
• Enable user additional options for brainstorming polls
• Set reasonable expiration dates for time-sensitive topics
• Avoid leading or biased questions
• Limit options to 4-6 choices for best engagement

Group Poll Tips

• Use polls to make group decisions democratically
• Pin important polls by mentioning them in the group description
• Set close dates for decision polls so members know the deadline
• Use multi-select for “select all that apply” group questions
• Follow up on poll results with an action plan post

Engagement Tips

• Post polls during peak activity hours for maximum participation
• Include a brief description explaining why you are asking
• Use thank you messages to acknowledge participants
• Follow up by sharing what you plan to do with the results
• Attach images to poll options for higher engagement rates
• Tag relevant group members to boost participation