Survey123 Multiple Select Issues with Arabic Labels and 'Other' Value Storage

[KhamisBaroud]

I am currently developing a form using ArcGIS Survey123 Connect in Arabic and have encountered two technical issues related to multiple select questions.

First Issue: Arabic Option Naming Restrictions
I am using Arabic language for the survey, including the choices sheet. The Arabic text is written in both the label column (for display) and the name column (for stored values). However, Survey123 does not allow spaces within values in the name column. When Arabic options contain multiple words, I am forced to use underscores (_) between words. This creates readability and data quality challenges, as stored values do not match natural Arabic formatting and complicate data analysis and reporting workflows.

Second Issue: "Other" Value Storage in Multiple Select Questions
In multiple select questions where the "Other" option is enabled, Survey123 stores the word "other" as part of the selected values while also storing the user-entered text in a separate field. I implemented a calculation field to merge the selected values with the user-entered "Other" text into a single hidden field that is stored in the feature layer. However, the stored result still includes the literal value "other" along with the final answer.

The calculation expression currently used is:

if(
 selected(${Ext_Dmg},'other'),
 concat(join(' ',${Ext_Dmg}),' - ',${Ext_Dmg_other}),
 join(' ',${Ext_Dmg})
)

I would like to know if there is an official or recommended approach within Survey123 to:

1. Properly support Arabic multi-word option values without requiring underscores in the name column.

2. Prevent the system from storing the literal "other" value when merging user-entered responses with selected multiple choice answers.

Thank you for your support.

Kind regards,

[Neal_t_k]

For question 1: You may be able to use jr:choice-name to return your list with spaces in it.  It will likely depend on how many choice options you have if it is  feasible or not.

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-survey123-questions/using-jr-choice-name-for-multiple-selection...

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-survey123-blog/survey123-tricks-of-the-trade-xlsform-functions/...

For question 2, there isn't a good way to "find and replace" text.  IF "other" always came at the end of the list it may be possible to use substr() to truncate, but in a select multiple it records the answer in the order they were checked, so other is not in a consistent place.

If your final form is not intended for the web app and not public, you could use this Javascript for find and replace. 

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-survey123-questions/find-and-replace-character/td-p/836707

https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-survey123-blog/extending-survey123-smart-forms-with-custom-js/b...

[TylerGraham2]

The no spaces rule in the name column isn't limited to Arabic, it is the same for English, and I suspect for every other language too. 

Select Multiple questions are a constant struggle since there aren't really any good functions in Survey123 that let you work with individual choices in it.  Best practice to is to pass the choices out to other fields with a field for each choice and work with those fields instead of the select multiple.  Granted if you have lots of choices it is going to be a headache. 

I included an example form of how I would set this up to create a combined list of choices, including other text, that could be easily read by a person. It dynamically displays the choices and is set up in a way that won't give you orphan commas the final output in case some choices aren't selected.