Duplicate field options

[Ben]

Hey Dan,

I understand that in most cases, you would not want to duplicate values, but I don't think this is uncommon, is it?

Actually, yes! Unfortunately, this won't really work for any script. Here's the problem. Imagine your dropdown has these values:

Code:

<select name="example">
  <option value="0">Zero option 1</option>
  <option value="0">Zero option 2</option>
  <option value="0">Zero option 3</option>
</select>

Passing the values is fine - Form Tools will happily store "0" for the field, but when it comes to re-populating the field within the UI, it won't know which one was originally selected since they all had the same values. Multi-option fields - dropdowns, checkboxes & radios - all must have unique values for each option in their group.

Do the Field Values in each Field Options Group defined in FT forms need to match the form field values declared in the form itself? Would changing those to different values fix my issue or mess up submissions?

They *can* be different, but it's generally simplest if you keep them the same. Sometimes I change the labels for the options, to make them more descriptive within the Form Tools UI, but generally I keep them the same. The important thing is that the values are the same. That's what's uniquely identifies each option. So if they're different, any values in the form that aren't in the field option group won't be displayed.

Is there a way to view and send the entire form (field names, selection, etc.) like you see when you view then edit the submission? I don't understand why the view doesn't contain the selections, just the value of the selection. The selections are there when I view then edit - how do I get transfer all of that data?

I actually don't quite follow you here... would you mind explaining this one again?

Thanks!

- Ben