Option list problem editing records

[gabunt]

Strange problem.

We created a form with a field called category as an option list. After a little use we added an additional option value to the form.

When we go to edit or view a record we do not see the added option value.

I have gone to the Option List, found the field and chosen edit, chosen the import option list at the bottom. When I do that the new option value appears in the list. However, when I click the Update button I receive the error message saying "Sorry, this option list name is already taken. Please choose a new name."

Any ideas what the error message is telling me and/or how I get my added option value into the database?

Thanks in advance.

GAB
gabunt@yahoo.com

[kououken]

We created a form with a field called category as an option list. After a little use we added an additional option value to the form.

I am having a problem I think is related, but with the opposite effect. Removing options from an option list hides those values when viewing previous form submissions (though they are still there in the database fields).

In my use case I am using form tools to manage simple faculty/staff job applications, and am trying to set it up as follows...

"Jobs" Option List:

• Job 1: Part-time Lecturer (Marketing)
  
• Job 2: Professor (Management)
  
• Job 3: Associate Professor (Korean Language Education)
  

"Applications" Form:

• Field 1: ID
  
• Field 2: Job Field <- This is a checklist showing the "Jobs" option list
  
• Field 3: Name
  
• etc...
  

The problem is, once a job position is filled and new jobs become available, ie:

• Job 2: Professor (Management)
  
• Job 3: Associate Professor (Korean Language Education)
  
• Job 4: Tenured Professor (Economics)
  

...I update the option list, but this disturbs all previous applications which still have text from "Job1". Although the new Job 4 work fine, the existing entries no longer show the text for the removed job (though it is still present in the database), and there is no way to view or update that data anymore.

I also tried setting the Job field dropbox options to show "Form Field Contents" from another form which is just a list of jobs, but I have the same problem: Either I have an ever-growing list of all jobs in one long drop box, or I delete the old jobs and lose existing data.

Am I going about this the wrong way, or is this a limitation of the option lists?

[Ben]

Hey guys,

gabunt:

I have gone to the Option List, found the field and chosen edit, chosen the import option list at the bottom. When I do that the new option value appears in the list. However, when I click the Update button I receive the error message saying "Sorry, this option list name is already taken. Please choose a new name."

Strange. On the main Option Lists page, could you sort by Option List Name - do you see multiple records with the same name? If so, that shouldn't have been allowed, so there's a loophole in the code somewhere.

But don't wouldn't worry about renaming it - any fields that reference the Option List do so by the ID, not the name, so changing the name won't cause anything to break.

kououken:

I am having a problem I think is related, but with the opposite effect. Removing options from an option list hides those values when viewing previous form submissions (though they are still there in the database fields).

Yup! This is actually intentional. Any time you change an Option List, all form fields that reference it will be updated to show the changes. Otherwise I think it would get pretty confusing and out of hand... any time an Option List changes there would be multiple versions assigned to the same field, so depending on when it was first submitted, it would show different options. Bit weird and very hard to keep track of.

But I see your problem. Are you using the same form again and again for multiple years / events / whatever? We do this a lot for our own work. Since each year brings about changes to the fields and Options Lists, we always make a copy of the entire form each year, effectively "archiving" the old form. Then with the new form, we make copies of any Option Lists that need to be changed, thus keeping the old data for previous years intact.

Not sure if this helps in your scenario, though...

- Ben

[kououken]

Yup! This is actually intentional. Any time you change an Option List, all form fields that reference it will be updated to show the changes. Otherwise I think it would get pretty confusing and out of hand... any time an Option List changes there would be multiple versions assigned to the same field, so depending on when it was first submitted, it would show different options. Bit weird and very hard to keep track of.

Thanks Ben. You are right and this functionality does make sense.

But I see your problem. Are you using the same form again and again for multiple years / events / whatever?

I had hoped to use the form builder to manage a single "job application" form with a slowly changing list of available positions, allowing applicants to apply for multiple positions with one application.

The way you describe the long-term management of this data, however, maybe it would be better if we create a separate copy of the form for each job, submitting to the same database?

I will give that a try, thanks!

Best regards,
Daniel

PS. I can't enable my "translator account" (I'd like to help out with Japanese!). It shows a "cannot find database" error. Is the system not online yet?