Is it possible in Survey 123 to prevent repeat selections?

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6
05-22-2018 05:18 AM
JohnTruong
New Contributor III

I currently have a repeat question in my form that allows users to select a specific saplingID. Once they select a saplingID they must answers measurements questions specific to that saplingID. I am wondering if there is a way to restrict that saplingID from appearing in the dropdown as the user moves through the repeat question.

I have saplingIDs generated from a choice list of all the saplingIDs with an additional field called group. Group is set as the choice filter for the select_one sapling_id in my main survey. Let me know if I can clarify anything.

1: I select 101

2: As I move onto the next repeat question I would want 101 to disappear, because it's not possible for 1 sapling ID to have two different measurements.

6 Replies
JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi John,

Currently, this is not possible in Survey123.

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JohnTruong
New Contributor III

Hello James,

Do you know if this will be part of the July update (I read somewhere in this forum that there may a potential update in July)?

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JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi John,

It's unlikely that we will be able to provide support for this in our next release.  While we are working on improving repeats (specifically, enabling nested repeats), there are other functions that would probably be needed to provide support for this capability.

JohnTruong
New Contributor III

Okay, thank you for that bit of information. I'll work around it by using a series of notes to remind the surveyor to validate their information before submitting the surveys.

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AnthonyRyanEQL
Occasional Contributor III

John,

Are you able to explain the workflow you are doing as I would have thought the measurements you are taking for each sapling would be individual surveys and not using repeats

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JohnTruong
New Contributor III

Hello Anthony,

The reason the saplings are not individual surveys is that they are located within one microplot. The hierarchy goes:

Plot>Subplot>Microplot>Saplings. A one to many relationship between the microplot and sapling surveys, which is why I've decided to use a repeat. Each sapling will require the same fields to be filled out every year, however, each sapling also is assigned a unique ID so that measurements can be compared yearly to evaluate growth, trends, and patterns. These unique IDs are gathered and assigned to each sapling from years back. 

Currently, in my survey, I generate a list of IDs based on the users choice of plot and subplot. From there the users can select a sapling ID to update. However, as I move through the repeat question sapling IDs that already have measurements still appear. Ideally, I would like them to dissapear after a user has updated that information, to avoid duplication. For example, Plot A subplot 1 has three saplings (101,102,103) a user finds sapling 101, performs all the required measurements and hits next on the repeat questions scroller. I was hoping to have it so that sapling ID 101 would not appear again, leaving the user with only sapling 102 and 103. This would be a great way to reduce human error if possible in the future.