Older submissions export as numeric values while newer submissions export labels after adding Swahili default language

User Support Data Collection
, ,
1

Hello everyone,

I am experiencing an issue with my project on the Global KoboToolbox server (kf.kobotoolbox.org) and I would appreciate your help.

I am using the Online Form Builder. During data collection, I added Swahili (sw) as the default language because I wanted the data to display in Swahili.

Since making this change:

  • In the Data Table, all submissions display the correct Swahili labels.

  • However, when I export the data to XLSX, the older submissions are exported as numeric XML values (e.g., 1, 2, 3), while the newer submissions are exported as Swahili labels.

  • I have already selected Swahili (sw) under Value and header format during export, but the problem remains.

This project has more than 18,000 submissions, so manually replacing numeric values is not practical.

My questions are:

  1. Is this expected behavior after adding a default language during data collection?

  2. Is there a way to regenerate the export so that all submissions (old and new) are exported using labels instead of numeric values?

  3. Can removing the default language resolve this issue, or is there another recommended solution?

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

2

Hi @LucasLyimo welcome back to the forum.

Changing the default language does not retroactively update previously submitted data. Older records will continue to show the original XML values because that is what was stored at the time of submission.
You can try generating an export that includes all form versions

image
image1400×722 50.4 KB

Removing the default language will not resolve the issue, as it does not modify historical submissions.

To fix the data, the only reliable approach is to map the numeric XML values to the Swahili labels using an external tool such as Excel, Power Query, or a scripting language.