topic Re: Bug: Vector graphics don't work with repeats in ArcGIS Survey123 Questions

Bug: Vector graphics don't work with repeats

LaurenceTait — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 07:42:58 GMT

Vector graphics don't work in repeats after the first loop.

For the initial run through, they work fine, as can be seen in the image "first_repeat" below.

On any subsequent loops through the repeat, the Vector graphics question appears to be selecting as intended. However it is not actually registering as a selected answer, as can be seen in the image "second_repeat" below.

This bug has resulted in the loss of a large amount of data. Not only has the data for this question not been saved by the app, but any subsequent questions that had "relevant" or "hidden" conditions that were dependent on the vector graphics questions were never displayed, and thus never answered.

A user can force the vector graphics answer to be selected by changing the answer from that given in the previous loop through, and then selecting the correct answer again.

For example, if the answer in the first repeat is "Yes", then to enter "Yes" for the second repeat, the user needs to first enter "No" as an answer, and then enter "Yes".

This behaviour makes the problem worse, since it results in intermittent and unpredictable "correct" behaviour that makes it very hard to isolate the source of a problem, or even realise that a problem is occurring.

This is not a work around, since it completely screws up any questions that use the "Once" condition in the calculations. It is also incompatible with questions that lose their relevance or visibility in response to the question being answered.

If a field with a Vector graphics question is "required" the app will display the question as having been selected, but will refuse to let the user move on, as can be seen in the image "required_repeat" below. This behaviour leads to some users asking why the survey allows the choice of multiple answers, when they are required to choose only one. The implication is that users are interpreting this behaviour to mean that they are required to answer ""No" even when the correct answer is "Yes".

Re: Bug: Vector graphics don't work with repeats

BrettStokes — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 00:58:41 GMT

Hi Laurence,

Thanks for identifying this issue, I can reproduce the problem and understand the frustration it would cause. I've already created an internal dev issue, but I strongly encourage you to submit this as a bug via support.esri.com. You will be assigned an official bug number which can be used to search for and subscribe to the bug on the Esri Support site. If the same problem is reported by other customers it will be attached to the same bug number, which helps us assess the impact and prioritize accordingly.

Thanks again,

Brett

Re: Bug: Vector graphics don't work with repeats

LaurenceTait — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 00:33:28 GMT

Thanks for the reply Brett.

I tried to report this, and other issues, as bugs, but there doesn't appear to be any way to do so. A Google search for "bug report Survey123" and similar returns nothing that actually allows a bug to be reported.

The page that you linked to in your reply never uses the word "bug" and the only uses of words such as "error" or "problem" are in the "featured content" section.

Following the links on that page through what are, to me, the logical pathways that might lead to the bug report page yields nothing.

"Apps" > "Mobile apps" > "Product support" yeilds nothing.

"Apps more" > "Survey123" yeilds nothing and so forth.

"Suport and services" > "Technical support" > "Mobile apps" yields nothing.

"Other resoucres" > "ESRI support services" yields nothing.

Even putting "report a bug" into the search bar of that page only yields a lot of previous bug reports on discussion/question pages for other ESRI products.

I'm glad to hear that there is some way to report a bug in Survey123, but just figuring out how to do so will take me far more time to find than I can afford given the likely benefit. This is the reason I have been reporting bugs on the discussion page: I'm giving it my best shot.

I'm probably I'm not the only user who has run into this particualr wall. If ESRI wants users to utilise the bug report function, then it needs to be made accessbile to the users. I would suggest that it should be located in one of the obvious places that users would look for product support of this kind. It should also be at least locatable via a search using ESRI's own support page search function.

Making it locatable via a Google search would also presumably increase the number of users. Literally every other app on my tablet or phone return the bug report page as one of the top 5 hits on a Google search with the terms "Appname bug report". In contrast, the only returns with such a search for Survey123 link to pages that unhelpfully begin with "To report or learn more about bugs in Survey123, visit Support", which is page that neither uses the term bug not has any obvious method for reporting a bug. I'm not sure why ESRI doesn't follow the example of other App producers, but their idiosyncratic approach is not conducive to users actually reporting bugs.

It would also be more useful, for me at least, if staff would link directly to the bug report page, rather than to the generic support page and which leaves users to navigate dead end links to try to find the report feature. Considering that users interested in reporting bugs have probably already spent some time searching through dead end links from that page, it's not likely to be helpful.

Thanks for your time,

Laurie

Re: Bug: Vector graphics don't work with repeats

BrettStokes — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 04:13:44 GMT

Hi Laurie,

Thanks for taking time to respond. Apologies for not providing more information, the process for reporting an issue will vary depending on your country/region and also your account so we usually keep it general for GeoNet responses. Please go to support.esri.com and click on 'Contact Support'. If you're in the United States (for example) you will see the Report Bug link, otherwise you could call or email the contact details provided for your country/region.

You could also select the Request a Case option but your user account will need to be connected to an Organisation with My Esri access. Alternatively, you could just contact your account manager directly via whatever method you choose and let them know. If you include details of the issue (as you have done in this post) they will be able to guide you through the process, or more likely, do it for you.

Hope this helps,

Brett

Re: Bug: Vector graphics don't work with repeats

LaurenceTait — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 06:00:16 GMT

Seriously? I can make make multiple telephone calls to a call centre and be put on hold ? Or I can have my organisation set up specific connection just so I can gain access to a webpage that forces me to provide my personal telephone number?

I'm sorry, but I have no intention of going to these sorts of lengths to report a bug for the beneit of ESRI, and I find it hard to believe that anyone else would either.

ESRI customers pay money for these products. We then then further do ESRI a service by reporting bugs we find in ESRIs products. Rather than making this convenient, ESRI seems determined to make this as difficullt, convoluted, threatening and time consuming as possible.

Every other major software developer on the planet has a simple and efficient online bug reporting process that doesn't require mutilpe emails and telephone calls, doesn't require customers to divulge personal information and works via an internationally standardised web interface. I can see no reason that why ESRI cannot manage the same.

If your customers can provide all the required information via this discussion page, which you have said that I have, then what possible reason need could there be for us to have our IT departments set up special accounts, make telephone calls and divulge our personal contact information before ESRI will take any action to deal with the mistakes in ESRI software?

I can see no possible justification for having regionally variant methods of reportings software errors. Does the Survey123 software sold in South Africa have completely different coding, and coders, to that sold in the USA, and thus a bug that affects South Africa won't need to be reported to the software development team in any other region?

I can only conclude that ESRI does not want customers to report bugs.

Demands that customers make phone calls, divulge peronsal information or send multiple emails for every bug they want to report seems completely incompatible with an organistaion that wants customers to report bugs (much less appreciated customers donating their time reporting errors that ESRI had made in in software that ESRI charged thousands of dollars for).

A very dissapointing, user hostile system.