ODK Validate Error: group has no children

Support
1

Hi all,

I've made a form on xls for Kobo Toolbox and it checks out when I use preview in Kobo. When I try to deploy it, it comes up with the below error message.

ODK Validate Errors: Group has no children! Group: ${cpclinic8count}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyworkshop7hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyhv12hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyblock1hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyblock2hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyblock3hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyblock4hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyblock5hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthlyoutreach6hours}. The XML is invalid. Group has no children! Group: ${total_monthgroup6hours}. The XML is invalid. >> Xform is invalid! See above for errors and warnings. Result: Invalid

All the errors seem to relate to my calculating time spent on activities, but I can't work out why just the last calculations in each group 'have no children' (monthlycpclinic, monthlyworkshop, monthlyhv, each block, monthly outreach and monthly group).

I've attached the xls here, also would it be an issue if I have over 500 questions??

Thanks guys! (I don't want my questions and calculations to feel like they've lost their children!)

Gabrielle

MONTH. PF timesheet and expenses test 4.0.xlsx (94.3 KB)

2

Hi @MO

the problem is that you use empty groups, I mean groups that only contain calculation not real questions. So you need to get rid of them.

3

really? So if I put a note in the group (e.g. the sum of the calculation) it will resolve?

4

Probably, but why do you need to keep those calculations in groups?

5

My calculations are in groups because they don't seem to work without being in groups. I'm not exactly sure why.

I'm trying to calculate the hours spent on different activities, and each of those activities may happen multiple times. So the activities are grouped and have skip settings set up so that as soon as a field worker selects 'no', the form moves onto the next grouping of activities.

The calculations are in their own groups as I've read that calculations can't be in the same group as the questions that they're referencing.

I have found that without the matching calculations being grouped also, they don't work out - i get an error message saying 'NaN'.

I don't really want to make the form even longer by adding more questions/notes in with each of the calculations. Do you have any ideas of how I could get around this?

6

So you probably need to find out why, because they should work I've never heard that calculations must be placed in groups.

That's not true.

No, groups just can't contain only calculations

7

Thanks for your help. I've put a note in each group of calculations and it has worked perfectly.

RE: the calculations needing to be outside of the groups of the question that they're referencing, this may be specific to Kobo Toolbox