Preserve required for select_one or other

[RyanBohan]

Preserve required for select_one or other question type.

The Select Venue Name is required, however if other is selected, the Specify other is not required.  Is there a way to make the Specify other as required?

[abureaux · Accepted solution]

Don't use specify_other. It is just a wonky parameter. Add a custom "other" field and set it to required. This gives you soooo much more control.

[DougBrowning]

Yes and we tend to use the 3 field trick so that all the values are in one field in the end.  Having data in 2 fields gets annoying fast.

Field 1 is the list with a extra option of Other

Field 2 is a text field with a relevant of Field 1 = Other

Field 3 is if(Field 1 = other, use Field 2, else use Field 1)

Hope that helps

[abureaux]

Yep. 3-field approach for selects with an "other" option is a fantastic approach. Just wanted to add an alternative to the IF() statement approach. You can also use COALESCE() for this.

coalesce(${field1},${field2})

Your calculate using this formula will prioritize ${field1} if it contains data (e.g., the 'other' field), or ${field2} is there is no data in ${field1}. Here is a slightly more relevant example:

[RyanBohan]

Thank you for all your quick responses.  I agree Or_Other is wonky.  I inherited a couple surveys and was hoping for an easy way to mark it as required.  I will take your advice for the next version of this survey.  Thank you..