Name of Form

[Johnny Knox]

When filling out a form is there a way to auto fill nae in the "name this form" section with data from within the questions.  For example I would name it FORM TYPE - STUDENT #.  Form Type would be the same for all forms, but student number would change based on their answer to the first question which is to ask for their student #.  Is it possible or must it always be done manually?

[Tino Kreutzer]

Hi Johnny,

Yes, that's definitely possible! It will require making a change in the XLS Form version of the file. Add another column called instance_name. Below that you can write dynamic code how the instance should be name. For example: 

concat(${lname}, ‘-‘, ${fname}, ‘-‘, uuid())

This combines the name fields and UUID of the form as the instance name. 

Best,

Tino

On Mon, Jul 25, 2016 at 4:27 AM Johnny Knox <knoxj...@gmail.com> wrote:

When filling out a form is there a way to auto fill nae in the "name this form" section with data from within the questions.  For example I would name it FORM TYPE - STUDENT #.  Form Type would be the same for all forms, but student number would change based on their answer to the first question which is to ask for their student #.  Is it possible or must it always be done manually?

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[Johnny Knox]

Thanks so much. Once I add the column instance_name in which row do I add the formula?

Also where can i learn the dynamic code?  i want it to be.  ST14A - NAME - 52

ID = Text: applicant_student_id_

Name = Text: name_of_applicant

## = Calculation Number: poutofp_calculation

[Johnny Knox]

Ok i found more information on http://xlsform.org/ and I now understand it needs to be on the settings page.  However I'm still confused..  It says to add a column in settings, but the example also has a form_title and form_id column and I'm not sure what those are.

[Johnny Knox]

Also is the 

concat()

code something from xlsform.org or is that javascript?

[Tino Kreutzer]

Hi Johnny,

Just add the formula in the second row, right below it (same as for form_title and other fields, see xlsform.org). You can use the example I sent earlier and then replace the question names ‘lname’ and ‘fname’ based on your needs. Just create a regular Note question to test the output more quickly. 

concat(${lname}, ‘-‘, ${fname}, ‘-‘, uuid())

Best,

Tino

[Johnny Knox]

Thanks, does the concat() expression work in all cells?  Is that Javascript?

[Tino Kreutzer]

No, it's xform calculation syntax, same as + - div mod, etc. Check the documentation on http://support.kobotoolbox.org/customer/en/portal/articles/1656563-how-to-use-calculate-questions and xlsform.org but also https://opendatakit.github.io/odk-xform-spec/#xpath-functions if you're interested in more advanced calculations you can use. 

[Johnny Knox]

Thank You, this is the information I was looking for.  Appreciate the help!