Thanks to everyone who joined the @Insiders call yesterday.
We talked about what’s currently in beta and gave an update on work in progress. We’re continuing the conversation here to dig deeper into a few key questions that came up.
Proposed XLSForm for opting in
Form versions & controlling edits
Can client_editable in the settings sheet that enables edits be dynamic?
Although we recognize that some projects may want to make it dynamic (limit certain regions or user groups), we imagine that this might be better fit for Entities. However, you could achieve this goal by either only sharing with specific individuals or that has logic in the form to determine who can and can’t edit certain fields.
Do edits use the current form definition or the one from data entry?
Edits use the form version used during data entry. You can’t add new fields and then edit old submissions to fill them in. If you need new fields, use a new form or consider using Entities.
We also spoke about allowing users to switch to the latest form definition. A few people mentioned it would be useful for the data collector to be able to capture that new information with the latest form definition instead of creating a new form.
Can I stop edits after a certain point?
Once a submission is on the device, it can always be edited locally. You can update the form to prevent new submissions from being editable.
What other alternatives do I have for stopping edits?
Editing a submission in Central locks it from further device edits. You could also “Close” the form in Central to stop both new submissions and edits, which would prevent server-based edits. Or you could revoke App User access.
Looking forward
These ideas out of scope for now, but let us know what you think as you're testing your forms, and if your workflows would benefit from these features:
- Clone or make a copy of a draft or submission
- Limit editing by:
- Date (e.g., edits allowed before Dec 31st)
- Time (e.g., edits allowed up to 4 hours after submission)
- Count (e.g., 3 edits allowed per submission)
- Send back submissions with comments for revision
If you have feedback or thoughts on any of these points we would love to hear it.