Data in XML file of instance but not in exported CSV

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1. What is the problem? Be very detailed.

When I view the raw instances of my survey data (the xml files in the instances) all of the variables seem to be there.

Once I pull the data using ODK briefcase v.18.0, and then export the csv file, some of the variables are missing.

This is the case across two survey forms for a particular set of questions that is repeated in both survey forms.

2. What app or server are you using and on what device and operating system? Include version numbers.

Data collection: GeoODK 2.0.4
Device: Samsung Android Tablets (various models)
ODK Briefcase v.1.18.0

3. What you have you tried to fix the problem?

I tried recompiling the form. Filling out the new form. Pulling that new instance with a new ODK Briefcase and exporting that csv. I confirm the data is in the instance xml and but not in the exported csv.

4. What steps can we take to reproduce the problem?

5. Anything else we should know or have? If you have a test form or screenshots or logs, attach below.

I have added a screenshot of the data in the XML file (xmldata for a missing variable). The example missing variable is j_rand_persona_age. I have also included a screenshot of what is exported in the csv file for that variable (most of other variables show up).

xmldata for a missing variable
xmldata for a missing variable1978×1380 469 KB

csv data for that variable
csv data for that variable1526×876 151 KB

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Hi @Sara_Lowes! GeoODK, despite its name, was not made by the ODK team and has never been an official ODK tool. For that reason, we can't provide support for it.

According to the Play Store reviews, it's buggy and I'm guessing you've run into one of those bugs. Also, it has not received an update since 2017, so please consider it abandoned. You can try http://geoodk.com/contact.html and see if the developer can help.

Most of the functionality that was in GeoODK is now available in ODK Collect and is stable and well-supported, so consider using ODK Collect for your next project.

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Hi Yaw. Thanks for your quick response!

As far as I can tell, I don't think the issue is from GeoODKt. The variables that I am mentioning are in the XML files that are produced by GeoODK. The data just isn't being imported by ODK Briefcase.

Once I change the naming scheme for all of the variables, then the data is in both the instance xml file and is properly exported by Briefcase. We have implemented this solution for moving forward, but we are still stuck with the issue of having instances with data that was not retrieved by the ODK Briefcase.

Do you have any thoughts on what the issue may be and how we can at least retrieve these missing variables?

(Re future projects: yes that makes sense! We had used GeoODK because it can be fully offline -- we work in a place with basically no functional internet -- and had not figured out how to use ODK Collect in a fully offline manner).

Thank you!!

Sara

4

I haven't had a chance to think about this deeply, but things you can try...

  1. Open up the CSV in a text editor (e.g., Notepad++ on Windows, BBEdit on Mac, SublimeText on either) and confirm that the the variable is indeed missing and not just hiding due to some CSV processing issue in Excel.

  2. Try an older version of Briefcase (e.g., https://github.com/getodk/briefcase/releases/tag/v1.8.0) to see if it works better.

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