It would be useful to have a feature that allows the user to delete all the data from specific fields, but keep the rest of the row level data.
For example: We have a project that contains fields with Personal Identifiable Information. After data collection is complete, we want to remove the PII from the Kobo server and store it on our own server for our institutions data security protocol. However, it would still be really useful for us to keep the Kobo project active and have the rest of the non-PII data remain in the kobo server.
From what I can tell, there are two current options to “sort of” delete data from specific fields with PII after the data has been backed-up and stored elsewhere.
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Delete the PII questions from the form to remove the coresponding fields in the data table. However, it appears to still be possible to export the data by selecting “Include data from all XX versions” in the data export settings.
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Bulk edit the forms and delete the responses in the fields that contain PII. In theory this does the trick, but you can only bulk edit all the records shown on one page at a time, so 500 records max. If your database has 10’s of 1,000’s of records this can take a very long time to go through, especially since the bowser seems to get very slow with this many records in the data table and if you have a lot of PII fields to go through.
A simpler solution for the user would be to add a Delete Field Button in the data table located in the field header drop down menu. Could add the same warning message you get before you delete an entire record.
If someone knows another way to already do this that I’m not aware of, please let me know!
Also FYI for laughs, ChaptGPT said it’s possible to do this by making up an Import Data button.
