What is the problem? Please be detailed.
I want an alternative to this type of coding( ${4rw}=1, or ${gdd}=2, or ${jff}=3). I want a shorter code that will just give the range form 1 to 3
What ODK tool and version are you using? And on what device and operating system version?
ODK Collect v1.8.1
What steps can we take to reproduce the problem?
What you have you tried to fix the problem?
Anything else we should know or have? If you have a test form or screenshots or logs, attach here.
You can use make a group with begin group-end group. And if you can give your form if you don't mind than this will be more helpful for us to resolve your problem.
If the things you are checking are in three variables (e.g., ${4rw}, ${gdd}, ${jff}), there is no way to reduce that code.
What you can do is store the result of that in a separate calculate variable and refer to that at a later point in the form.
There was some discussion around adding a convenience function like this at the XLSForm level a while ago here. Expressing interest there and providing feedback on how the function should be structured would be helpful.