Question about spaces in Survey123 Connect "name" fields of choices

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04-18-2018 12:11 AM
Kanin
by Esri Contributor
Esri Contributor

Based on this document about integrating Survey123 with other apps, there is currently a bug in Survey123 where the labels and name fields of choices in choice lists need to be identical in order to pass filled values into another app, such as Collector e.g. arcgis-survey123://?itemID=36ff9e8c13e042a58cfce4ad87f55d19&field:surname={name}.

Therefore, I tried to design a form where the name and label are identical with spaces between words for readability and a user-friendly experience for end users. However, I received a warning where the form is converted with warning that choice names should not contain spaces. Since this is a "should not" warning and not a "must not" error. I would like to know will there be performance issues if I publish a Survey123 form whose choices have spaces?

Alternatively, I could make the choices and labels both do not have spaces e.g TypeA-18 as opposed to Type A-18 to avoid this warning. However, it is not very user friendly to do so, especially in cases when there will be lots of choices to choose from.

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15 Replies
JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Kanin,

According to the XLSForm specification, spaces are not allowed in a choice; this is due to the use of a space as a delimiter within XLSForm.  As you note, you will generate a warning on publishing of the form.  This issue will be more fully addressed by the next version of Collector, which will support Arcade for pop-ups.

Kanin
by Esri Contributor
Esri Contributor

Hi JTedrick-esristaff,

Thank you very much for your response. It is greatly appreciated. As you have mentioned that the aforementioned issue will be addressed by the next version of Collector, could you please kindly provide an estimate timeline? Since the blog regarding the Aurora Project for Collector does not explicitly mention this functionality.

Thank you once again!

Kanin

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JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

I don't have a timeline for support in the new version of Collector; in the blog post, this functionality is under the general heading of 'Arcade Expressions'.

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Kanin
by Esri Contributor
Esri Contributor

Thank you very much for the clarification. Appreciate it!

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RobBlash
Occasional Contributor III

James,

Can you go into a bit more detail on this, and how it's a Collector issue? Is it a problem with Collector passing the domain description instead of the coded value? Or is the issue with Survey123 interpret the value from the URL as the choice label instead of the choice name?

I'm in the process of designing a valve form that will be launched from collector which will pass a subtype to S123 for verification. Ultimately I need to see the valve type on the S123 form for the user to verify, so I'm wondering if there's a workable (albeit less than perfect) solution for the time being?

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JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Rob,

The issue is that the URLs generated in pop-ups normally display the domain description (i.e., what a human reads), not the domain value (what is submitted and stored in the database). In a single language context, it might be possible for Survey123 to reverse match the description to the value (assuming the form choice labels are the same as the domain descriptions, which they do not have to be), but it would be more authoritative to receive the domain value.  

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RobBlash
Occasional Contributor III

I agree that passing & receiving the domain value would be best, and I had assumed that was the case before I stumbled on this thread, so I am glad to find this out now!

So how does Survey123 interpret the domain description value it receives via the URL? As the choice label or the choice name?

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JamesTedrick
Esri Esteemed Contributor

Hi Rob,

Survey123 would attempt to interpret this as the choice name; as I mentioned above, an attempt to interpret the choice label breaks down quickly as complexity in the form design is introduced.

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RobBlash
Occasional Contributor III

Ok I understand now. My plan was to have my form choice lists exactly the same as the domains that collector would see. Now I just need to figure out if we can live with no spaces across the board.

I appreciate the help!

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