Survey123 Connect - hidden relevant now() function not working

Question

I've found that an hidden now() function that is relevant of a select_one button is responding with the start time of the form instead of the "when button is hit" time.

If I use exactly the same functions, but replacing the hidden type by a time type than it works properly. I've got the right "when button is hit" time (but without the seconds, that's why I prefer the hidden type...!)

Any ideas? Maybe hidden field-type can not be relevant of another field?

BrandonArmstrong · Answer

Thank you for the information Pierre, we will let you know when the behavior related to these issues changes.

Best,

Brandon

pvolte · Answer

Hi Brandon,

Thank you very much for your concern, I'm glad my experience can be useful for the project.

Actually it's not necessary to have the seconds, it's just better. We are using specific protocols for lizards, so I'm picking the start time and the end time of the protocol (start = x and end = x + 30 min). Each time we see a lizard, it's marked on the form with its relative effective prospecting time (time from x). When applying statistical analysys, it's more reliable/accurate having more than 30 timestamps.

Regards,

Pierre

BrandonArmstrong · Answer

Hi Pierre,

At the moment, you are correct, relevant calculations are not being applied to hidden questions.  We do have an open request for this to be implemented, and I have added your experience to it.

Ideally, you could use the format-date function to extract the seconds from a time or dateTime question, however, currently this will be reflected as '0' for the seconds regardless of the true seconds at time of relevancy.  I have also added your experience to an open issue that we have regarding this behavior.

Having shared that information, is there a particular use case for needing the seconds?

Thanks,

Brandon