Easy Form Access for Non-Literate Users in KoboCollect

User Support Data Collection
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Hello KoBoToolbox/ODK Community,

I’m developing a data collection tool for a project in the Amazon region. We are creating a survey with strong visual support (icons/images) using XLSForm, as many of our data collectors and participants from indigenous communities are non-literate.

My primary technical hurdle is the initial setup of the KoboCollect application on the Android devices.

The standard setup process requires the user to manually enter the Server URL, Username, and Password to download the forms. Since our field staff are non-literate, they cannot perform this essential configuration step accurately.

The Problem:

How can I simplify or bypass the manual entry of the KoboCollect server configuration (URL and credentials) so that non-literate field staff can easily connect the app to the server and access the visual forms?

Desired Outcome / Potential Solutions I’m Seeking:

  1. QR Code Generation: Is there an easy, reliable way to generate a QR code (or similar visual code) that contains all server configuration details, allowing the user to simply scan it and connect instantly?

  2. Pre-Configuration: Are there best practices for pre-configuring the KoboCollect app (or the device itself) before it is distributed to the field, perhaps by modifying configuration files?

  3. Alternative Setup Method: Does anyone recommend an alternative, highly visual or non-text-based method for form access?

Any guidance on established protocols, custom scripts, or modifications within the ODK/KoBo ecosystem to solve this accessibility issue would be highly appreciated.

Thank you for your valuable insights.

Ronny

2

You can certainly generate the necessary QR code image for KoboCollect; see Settings QR codes - ODK Docs
However, this does require some degree of programming skill; specifically, the ability to install and run a custom python program.

So it may be easier to instead manually configure one phone, with all your desired settings, and then capture a screenshot of the QR code off that phone, to then share - and scan - with any other devices that you want to link up to the same account:

Screenshot_20251008-184933_KoboCollect
Screenshot_20251008-184933_KoboCollect720×1600 124 KB

then

Screenshot_20251008-184952_KoboCollect
Screenshot_20251008-184952_KoboCollect720×1600 56.5 KB

and then here’s the QR code with all the current KoboCollect settings encoded:

Screenshot_20251008-185014_KoboCollect
Screenshot_20251008-185014_KoboCollect720×1600 107 KB

This is the QR code image that will configure any device with all the same settings as your current device.

:warning: WARNING:warning:
If you initially configured your phone with your own username and password, to login to your Kobo account, BOTH YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD WILL APPEAR UNENCRYPTED IN THIS QR CODE. That is to say, share these QR codes exactly as you might share your account username and password.

[in case you are wondering, the above QR code will hook you up to the default Kobo demo user account]

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Thank you so much, @Xiphware. This option will be useful for me.

Best regards,

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