idea Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions in ArcGIS Survey123 Ideas

Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

RobertMcLeod — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 20:43:24 GMT

Adding autocomplete as an option for select_multiple questions would be very helpful, particularly for large lists where scrolling through all the options isn't feasible.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

GuyEiserman — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 18:08:03 GMT

I agree. I have a species list that is 4000 records long. The autocomplete functionality works great for a select_one scenario but we need to be able to pick multiples in a given area.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

RheannaNeidinger — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 13:49:43 GMT

Yes I agree also I have the same situation as above and this function would help greatly.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

HélèneTouyéras — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 11:05:09 GMT

Thanks for this good idea, @RobertMcLeod ! My organization has the same need in a forestry context.

The aim is to pick out a list of parcels selected for forestry works.

I have a select_multiple on the forest parcels list ; users request an autocomplete behaviour to avoid loading the screen with potentially thousands of parcel names and tick boxes.

Many thanks, ESRI, for helping us help our users 🙂

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

nspittlemeister_LCFPD — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 17:14:46 GMT

I also have plant species list that is 4300 records long and it would greatly helpful to have an autocomplete or some type of search function available for select multiple questions.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

jwelty_USGS — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 15:28:28 GMT

Same here, we have incredibly long species lists in a multiple select form and autocomplete in a multiple select list would be incredibly helpful.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

SusanPollard — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:49:33 GMT

Agree. Autocomplete has been requested by our team. We have species list that are extremely long to have to scroll through.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

StevenSGIS — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 22:02:29 GMT

Bump.

There is still interest in this feature ESRI!

It's 2024 and it still hasn't been implemented...

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

GeorgeF — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:20:32 GMT

This is an extremely important functionality as in 2024 all modern digital forms support this.

Data needs and options only increase. In the construction industry we have 1000s of drawings and reference numbers that our engineers need to access quickly.

This prevents GIS adoption.

May I ask the community what alternatives they have looked at? I am thinking of a repeat function

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

RheannaNeidinger — Wed, 08 May 2024 18:32:09 GMT

I agree that this function would be very helpful! We have several long species list. I have come up with a work around by using repeat sections and then hidden line items that join all the species into 1 list by a formula in the calculation column. It creates a separate tab in the export but all observations are in 1 list and we are able to use the autocomplete function.

begin repeat	avian_obs
select_one_from_file avian_choice_list.csv	birds_observed
text	birds_observed_other
end repeat
hidden	bird_obs_list
hidden	bird_obs_list_ot
hidden	bird_obs_list_all

join(",",${birds_observed})

join(",",${birds_observed_other})

${bird_obs_list}+","+${bird_obs_list_ot}

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

BenCapell_NWTF10 — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 20:09:29 GMT

I'd like to see this added to the product as well!

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

Data_TA — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 15:23:53 GMT

This would be very helpful to my organization as well. Can ESRI staff comment on this feature at some point?

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

ZenMasterZeke — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 20:40:08 GMT

This is a great idea, but I wonder about the processing overhead. Maybe it would slow the app too much? Sometimes you can use cascading selects to partially achieve this effect, depending on your data structure.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

ToddW_stl — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 20:06:05 GMT

If you're in the Early Adopter program, it appears this is available now in the Feb 2026 beta version of the Next Generation of Survey123.

Multiple choice appearances:

autocomplete - Ready for testing (NB: now available for select multiple as well as select one)

The expected public release of Next Gen Survey123 is by end of March 2026.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

ThaissadeCastroAlmeidaCaino — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 16:27:01 GMT

Thanks @ToddW_stl

Can we use this release yet? I couldn't find where.

Re: Survey123: Add autocomplete to select_multiple questions

ToddW_stl — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:44:21 GMT

@ThaissadeCastroAlmeidaCaino - unfortunately not yet. It sounds like a decision was made to release Next Gen Survey123 as new apps, which introduced some coordination issues with ArcGIS Online to get everything registered, and delayed the release until after the next ArcGIS Online release (middle/end of July - planned for right after the User Conference)