Make the 'Edit Saved Form' screen better for non-named forms

What is the general goal of the feature?

To make retrieval of partly completed forms easier. Currently the forms are identifiable only by their most recent save date (unless they have named the form, but this is (a) unlikely as it appears at the end of the questions and (b) not very useful as the form name is not uploaded, so any unique reference must be repeated in the form). I'd like to add something meaningful to the 'Edit Saved Form' list to that users can identify the form they wish to continue on.

What are some example use cases for this feature?

If the data I am collecting is collected over a period of time, and multiple forms are being filled at once, the 'Edit Saved Form' screen is nearly useless as it is impossible to find the form you need to continue entering.

In my case we're entering hospital admission data. Someone might be admitted, then they might have a diagnosis, then treatments, and so on. Currently they will have to record this data outside the app, then enter it in one go, as retrieval will be impossible.

What can you contribute to making this feature a reality?

I can't think of a generic way to implement this. I was planning to make the title in that screen use the answer to the first question, but that could be the IMEI code, as those questions are put at the top. An alternative might be putting several lines in that small grey text containing the first 5 answers that are not automatic (so skip IMEI, SIM number, etc if present). But ideas welcome.

Really really really nice, but probably pretty hard to implement in a generically useful way, would be to scan a QR code into the form. Then later the user could navigate to the 'Edit Saved Form', click QR to display the scanner, scan that same QR code, and ODK Collect retrieves the appropriate form for further entry.

I have a little funding to implement something, and this would be very useful functionality for us, so the more input the better please.

Could this be done with an Intent? (My Android knowledge is below basic.) Could a scanning app trigger an intent that ODK Collect serves by searching for the code in its unsaved forms? Would that be a way of making some of this development useful for the broader community if we have to go bespoke?

I think you can achieve what you need by using dynamic form submission names. If you're using XLSForm to build your form, see this documentation. That will give you the ability to use the first 5 answers that are not automatic or any other answers you want. In Collect, you can tap on the magnifying glass at the top right to search that name.

If that doesn't work, please describe why and we can explore some of your other ideas!

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I will try that and comment here, looks like a perfect match. That is fantastic thank you very, very much Hélène, tips like this are so helpful when putting together a project design!

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