Selecting an answer to a cascading select question does not display answer options for the next question in ArcGIS Survey123

Description

Configuring cascading selects in ArcGIS Survey123 restricts the list of available answers in the next question based on the answer to a previous question. This feature is useful, as only relevant answer options are presented.

However, due to certain configurations in the XLSForm, selecting an answer to a cascading select question does not display any answer options for the next question, as shown in the image below.

Cause

1. Cascading selects are configured using the select_multiple type instead of the select_one type questions. This is a known limitation, and is described in ArcGIS Survey123: Cascading and external selects.

2. Special characters are used in the name field of the XLSForm. This is a known limitation, and is described in ArcGIS Survey123: Special characters.

Solution or Workaround

If cascading selects are configured with select_multiple questions, choose one of the following methods as a workaround.

Note:
With the September 2019 release of ArcGIS Survey123, it is not possible to configure cascading selects using the select_multiple type question. As an alternative, use the select_one type question or any of the workarounds described below.

Configure select_one type questions with cascading selects in repeats

Use this method for multiple records of a one-to-one relationship to select one answer to a question, and subsequently one answer to the next question. Follow the steps below to configure the XLSForm.

1. Open ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and create a survey using an Advanced template.
2. In the survey tab, create a repeat section.
3. Create the previous question using the select_one type. In this example, the name field is Area, and the choice list is area.
4. To create cascading selects, create the next question using the select_one type. In this example, the name field is Defect, and the choice list is defect.
5. Configure the choice_filter field for the next question. The choice_filter is area=${Area}, where the area attribute refers to the area field in the choices tab (in Step 7) and ${Area} refers to the Area value selected in the previous question.

6. In the choices tab, define the choice list. In this example, the choice list for the previous question is area, and for the next question is defect.
7. Create an additional column to relate the next choice list to the previous choice list. In this example, it is the area column. This is the column defined in choice_filter.

8. Save the XLSForm.

   In the survey form, selecting an answer to a question determines the related answer options for the next question. Click the add icon to add more repeat records.

Configure select_one and select_multiple type questions with the relevant field in repeats

Use this method for multiple records of a one-to-many relationship to select one answer to a question, and subsequently multiple answers to the next question. This method uses the relevant field to restrict answer options based on the answer to the previous question, instead of the choice_filter. Follow these steps to configure the XLSForm.

1. Open ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, and create a survey using an Advanced template.
2. In the survey tab, create a repeat section.
3. Create the previous question using the select_one type. In this example, the name field is area2, and the choice list is area.
4. Based on the number of answer options in the previous question, create the same number of next questions using the select_multiple type. There are four answer options to the previous question (Walls, Tiles, Doors, and Pipes). So, four select_multiple questions are configured. The choice list of each select_multiple question is based on the answer options in the previous question, namely Walls, Tiles, Doors, and Pipes.
5. Configure the relevant column for the next questions according to the formula below.

selected(${the name of the previous question}, 'the name of the related answer selection in the previous question')

6. In the choices tab, define the choice list. The choice list for the previous question is area, and for the next questions are Walls, Tiles, Doors, and Pipes.

7. Save the XLSForm.

   In the survey form, selecting an answer to a question determines the related answer options for the next question. It is possible to select multiple answers for the next question. Click the add icon to add more repeat records.

Configure select_multiple and select_multiple type questions with the relevant field

Use this method for a many-to-many relationship to select multiple answers to the previous and next questions. This method uses the relevant field to restrict answer options based on the answers selected in the previous question. Follow the steps below to configure the XLSForm.

1. Open ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and create a survey using an Advanced template.
2. In the survey tab, create the previous question using the select_multiple type. In this example, the name field is area3, and the choice list is area.
3. Based on the number of answer options in the previous question, create the same number of next questions using the select_multiple type. There are four answer options for the previous question (Walls, Tiles, Doors, and Pipes). So, four select_multiple questions are configured. The choice list of each select_multiple question is based on the answer selections in the previous question, namely Walls, Tiles, Doors, and Pipes.
4. Configure the relevant column for the next questions.

5. In the choices tab, define the choice list. The choice list for the previous question is area, and for the next questions are Walls, Tiles, Doors, and Pipes.

6. Save the XLSForm.

   In the survey form, selecting multiple answers to a previous question determines the next sets of questions with the related answer options.

If cascading selects are configured with special characters in the name field, follow the workaround described below.

In the XLSForm survey and choices tab, remove any special characters in the name field. For more information on special characters, refer to ArcGIS Survey123: Special characters.