 |
 |
|---|---|
| Waiting for text | Main choice selected |
With this field plug-in, when a specific choice is selected, a text box appears where the enumerator can enter a text response. This is helpful for fields that have an "Other" choice, so the enumerator can enter the "Other" response right on the same page. This works with both select_one and select_multiple fields.
| Important: Make sure you add a field to retrieve the metadata, or the text box data will not be available in the data export. See Data format below for more info. |
To learn more about "other" responses in SurveyCTO, check out our support article on creating an open response field after a multiple choice question that asks users to "specify other".
- Able to enter a text response when a specific choice is selected (often called the "Other" choice).
- Customize which choice will make the text box appear.
- Text box appears right below "Other" choice when selected.
- All of the capabilities of the select_one-select_multiple field plug-in.
Android: Android 7 or up
iOS and web browsers: Because web browsers and iOS devices are kept more up-to-date with the latest features, nearly all web browsers and iOS devices should support the field plug-in, but test it on your collection device beforehand to be sure.
The field value will be the selected choice.
The data in the text box will be stored in the field plug-in metadata. To retrieve that text box data, use this expression:
item-at('|', plug-in-metadata(${basic_hint-so}), 1)
You can add a calculate field with that calculation. Check out our documentation on using expressions to learn about the functions used.
The item-at() function is used because other data is stored in the metadata for internal purposes. You can use the above expression to retrieve just the text box data.
The metadata will store the data in the text box, even if the text box is hidden (such as if "Other" was previously selected). If you'd like, you can give that calculate field a relevance expression so that it is only relevant if the "Other" choice was selected. For example, if the "Other" choice has a choice value of "97", you can give the calculate field that retreives the metadata this relevance expression:
selected(${crop_most}, '97')
To use this plug-in as is:
- Download the sample form from this repo, as well as the media files ZIP file. You can use the sample form as-is, or adjust the parameters to change the behavior (see below).
- Download the specify-other.fieldplugin.zip file from this repo, and attach it to the sample form on your SurveyCTO server.
- Upload the sample form to your server, with the media files ZIP file and the field plug-in attached.
Note: For simplicity, in the sample form, the field plug-in metadata is only retrieved for the first field. However, if multiple fields use this field plug-in, you can absolutely add multiple calculate fields that use the plug-in-metadata() function, so you can retrieve the "Other" data for each of those fields.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
other (optional) |
The value of the choice where if it is selected, then the text box will appear. For example, if this parameter has a value of '97', then when the choice with a value of "97" is selected, the text box will appear. If this parameter has no value, then the last choice in the choice list will be used. |
required (optional) |
Normally, if the text box appears, then the enumerator cannot move forward until they enter data into that text box. If this parameter has a value of 0, then they can leave that text box blank, since it is not required; it will also say "(optional)" in the placeholder text. |
If you plan on giving the field with this field plug-in a required value (different than the required parameter) of "no" or blank, check out our documentation on leaving the text box blank. If the field will always be required, then there is nothing to worry about.
| Feature / Property | Support |
|---|---|
| Supported field type(s) | select_one, select_multiple |
| Default values | Yes |
| Custom constraint message | Yes |
| Custom required message | Yes |
| Read only | Yes |
| media:image | Yes |
| media:audio | Yes |
| media:video | Yes |
quick appearance |
Yes (select_one only) |
minimal appearance |
Yes (select_one only) |
compact appearance |
No |
compact-# appearance |
No |
quickcompact appearance |
No |
quickcompact-# appearance |
No |
likert appearance |
Yes (select_one only) |
likert-min appearance |
Yes* (select_one only) |
likert-mid appearance |
No |
label appearance |
Yes |
list-nolabel appearance |
Yes |
*Note: this plug-in works well for the likert-min appearance when the field label is short, and does not contain an image, audio, or video. This is currently a known limitation.
-
Developer documentation
Instructions and resources for developing your own field plug-ins.
https://github.com/surveycto/Field-plug-in-resources -
User documentation
How to get started using field plug-ins in your SurveyCTO form.
https://docs.surveycto.com/02-designing-forms/03-advanced-topics/06.using-field-plug-ins.html