Default Repeat Answers

Question

I work for a state agency that collects water quality samples, and currently we have a survey set up to have a repeat where each repeat ("addition" may be a better word)  represents one specific sample bottle. Within this repeat it ask 3 major questions: What is the bottle size and material, what preservatives are added, and which analytes are going to be tested. In some cases we can collect 6+ different bottles. So I am looking into ways to have a set of default answers for a repeat. Or something similar.

I am not opposed to changing the format. But at the moment we are hoping to have a select one question for a specific project, which when answered, can prompt the repeat to have a set of default answers.

For example, if the select one question is answered for "Horse Creek Study", the repeat will autofill with the bottles/analytes we typically collect for that study. We want to keep a User-defined option if possible, in case we make unexpected changes in the field.

dougbrowning · Answer

No a set repeat count is a set count.  I have had other issues with repeat count since it preloads all the repeats sometimes the calcs get messed up.

So now what I do is set a constraint or a a note warning based on the count from position(..).  A made a font red note that warns them they have say gone to far or have not collected enough points.  So it is a soft stop like you want.  You can show a warning or have a question appear when the count is too much or little and have them log why it is low (like being short handed).  This method has worked better than repeat count in a number of forms.

For another project we added a question at the top of each repeat that asked Did you collect this location? That would hide or show the fields.  Seems weird but it worked great for projects when they collect at set intervals but sometimes hit an area they can not access.  So they can just hit Not Accessible and move on to the next repeat.

Hope that helps

RobertAnderson3 · Answer

Hi Doug,

I got this solution working beautifully and I gotta thank you for that!

My only issue with it is I noticed with the way repeat_count is set up that it makes the count set in stone, where the user can't add or remove repeats as needed, if they're short-handed one day or have an extra person working with them, is there a way to make the repeat_count have a default value from that calculation but still be flexible?

Thanks!

Anonymous User · Answer

Hello Doug! So I tried using your method of using the once(count()) and pulldata() funtions in a test survey, but I am running into some errors. In my test survey I am only trying to pull my container  size/type information, using the repeat_count method that both refer to my sample_suite.csv

First, whenever I try and load the survey it tells me there are Dependency Cycle errors, that I narrowed down to the pulldata() calculation in my ${container} question.

Second, the repeat_count only seems to work properly for 2 of 4 Study's in my ${sample_suite} question.

I'll attach both files below. Thank you for your help!

Test_template.xlsx

sample_suite.csv