Issue with query parameter not working in search() appearance in Survey123 Connect

Question

Hi all,

I’m currently developing a survey in Survey123 Connect, and I’ve encountered an issue when trying to use query parameters in the REST URL within the search() appearance for a select_one question.

According to the documentation, it's possible to filter results from a feature layer by adding a query string directly to the REST URL. However, any filter I apply using the where clause is completely ignored. For example:

search("available?url=https://services2.arcgis.com/xyzxy/arcgis/rest/services/BoatSchedules/FeatureServer/0/query?where=Reservation_Date > CURRENT_TIMESTAMP", "matches", "ScheduleQuery", ${ScheduleQuery}, "Trip_Type", "Public")

This URL returns all records, not just the ones where Reservation_Date > CURRENT_TIMESTAMP.

Curiously, when I add an orderByFields parameter:

search("available?url=https://services2.arcgis.com/xyzxy/arcgis/rest/services/BoatSchedules/FeatureServer/0/query?where=Reservation_Date > CURRENT_TIMESTAMP&orderByFields=Reservation_Date", "matches", "ScheduleQuery", ${ScheduleQuery}, "Trip_Type", "Public")

…the list does return ordered by date, so I know the query string is at least being passed. But the where clause is still not being honored—all records are returned regardless of the date filter.

I’ve confirmed that the query works as expected when tested directly in the REST endpoint, so the issue seems to be specific to how the search() appearance handles the URL in Survey123 Connect.

I checked the request send by the search() appearance on the browser and noticed two QUERY tags appended to the request, both with the query parameters. See attached screenshot. I guess if this is expected behavior.

Also worth noting: the official documentation for search() at
https://doc.arcgis.com/en/survey123/desktop/create-surveys/xlsformsappearance.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_46A700D2AABF47F1AE4D5004762DB372
has incomplete or incorrect examples for how to properly structure REST query parameters. This may be contributing to the confusion.

Has anyone experienced similar issues or found a workaround? Is this a known limitation or possibly a bug?

Thanks in advance!

MJ

Screenshot 2025-06-29 16.24.47.png

JakeSkinner_22-1620293912024.png

Neal_t_k · Accepted Answer

I am just going by this:

It seems querying directly from REST and in Survery123 have different syntax,  I just tried a where clause with 2 arguments with sample data and it worked in survey123 Connect.

MiltonSolano · Accepted Answer

@Neal_t_k,

Thanks for not giving up and suggest a new idea. It worked... with caveats. It worked on the web but not on the app itself. In the Survey123 app, the list shows empty, no records. On the webapp, the list is correctly filtered. Because my project will use the webapp, I can move on like this but surely someone will need this fixed for the app.

And for those looking for the straight answer, I changed my REST URL request from:

/FeatureServer/0/query?where=", ${now_epoch},"&orderByFields=Reservation_Date"

to

/FeatureServer/0?where=", ${now_epoch},"&orderByFields=Reservation_Date"

Where "now_epoch" is calculated field with the datetime field and a timestamp.

MJ

Neal_t_k · Accepted Answer

Curious, did you try making that "?" an "&".  I see I misread that from the post I went off of, but it did work for me in connect with the "&".