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Updated last month

Submission Numbers Generation

Ideas
At a glance

The community members are discussing the issue of submission number generation in a form. The original poster (OP) wants to change the submission number generation to occur after the form has been submitted, as the current system results in submission numbers being "all over the place" due to staff opening forms but not submitting them. The other community members provide feedback, noting that this approach has some complexities, such as the inability to display a submission number while filling out a draft form, and the potential for gaps in the number sequence if responses are deleted. They suggest alternative approaches, such as not deleting the used submission number, but ultimately conclude that the current implementation seems to work better in more scenarios.

TTom

Hey,


Is it possible to change Submission number generation to occur after the form has been submitted. Our current problem is the Submission Numbers are all over the place, we're guessing this is because staff are opening forms but not submitting.

This is creating issues from an auditing and logging point of view

E
T
1 comment·4 replies
EErin Dwyer

Hi Tom,

I see a few complexities with this approach but would certainly be open to ideas on how this could work.

  1. Many responders like to see a submission number visible in their form as they fill it out. This provides an easy to reference number to quote if they don’t know where to find their responses (particularly for public facing forms).

    This is achieved using the “submission number” component. However if this number is generated when the user submits then no submission number can be displayed as you fill out your draft.

  2. If you’re trying prevent gaps in submission numbers then this does not completely solve the issue. For example if a response is deleted you will still have missing numbers. If you re-use deleted numbers then your numbers are no longer chronological.

TTom

Hi Erin,

Thanks for the response.

If the response is deleted before a submission number is generated, wouldn’t the next newly submitted form simply take that number?

EErin Dwyer

Hi Tom,

That is an ideal situation, however a response could easily be deleted from a long time ago. For example in the scenario below:

  • User1 submits a response using submission number 100

  • A week passes and the submission number has now incremented to 150 due to other users submissions

  • User 1 deletes there submission 100

You now have a gap in your number sequence. If you re-allocated that number to a new submission you end up with number jumping from 150 to 100 then back to 151.

TTom

Can it be programmed to only delete the submission but not the used submission number? therefore it can continue the count

EErin Dwyer

Yep that could certainly be the behaviour but then we are back at square one of our initial problem where there can be gaps within the submission numbers. Not to mention the new issue of not being able to display a submission number when filling out a draft. Overall I think the current implementation seems to work in more scenarios.