Hidden Groups in Edit Mode Wipe Previously Saved Data – Serious Issue in Multi-User Workflow

User Support Data Management
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Hi everyone,

We used KoboToolbox to support a multi-stage medical outreach program, where different health consultants fill in sections of a single form at different times (e.g., Registration, Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar, etc.). Each section is on a separate group/page and we use a navigation dropdown to show only the relevant group using relevant conditions.

Here’s the issue we encountered:

A consultant fills the Blood Pressure section and submits the form.

Later, another consultant opens the same record to fill the Blood Sugar section.

Because of the navigation logic, the Blood Pressure section is now hidden.

When the Blood Sugar section is filled and submitted, the previously saved Blood Pressure data is erased and saved as blank.

This is a serious data loss issue.

After some testing, we realized that any group or field that is hidden (via relevant logic) during edit mode is submitted as blank—even if it was previously filled. So the edit process essentially overwrites past data unless all sections are visible during every edit.

We’ve had to disable the navigation logic entirely, which makes the form harder to use.

Has anyone found a workaround for this behavior in KoboToolbox/Enketo? Or is this something that could be addressed in a future update?

Thanks in advance for any insights, and I’m happy to clarify or share examples.

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This is the “normal” behaviour with relevant! On save, the data are cleaned.
Relevant cannot be used to dynamically switch navigation or hide/unhide data parts (like a filtered view), as in your use case.

A workaround might be:to

  1. use the standard navigation panel
  2. not use pages style (groups showing closed initially)
  3. link separate forms
  4. dynamically set data elements of a group to read_only, based on a select value.
  5. use a relevant filter during the edit, but set it back before saving (based on another variable / user action), A bit risky approach.

In ODK working with an integrating entity, would offer further options.

Hint: Wouldn’t it be useful that a user can also see the medical data already entered for the person.

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