Unify Responses from Different Questions to Appear in a Single Field

Select Your String

First, you'll need to determine which fields you'd like to unify, and what string of characters from their field names can be used to identify them. The JavaScript expression will use this string of characters as it automatically selects which fields should be consolidated into your combined field.

To begin, you may wish to consult the Field Dictionary. This is a tool that allows you to find information about the fields available to work with in Outcomes. For example, if you'd like to combine the desired entry term field across several programs, you can search the Field Dictionary to identify what the field names look like.

In the example above, each of the fields contains the text cq_please_select_your_desired_entry_term_XXXXXXXXXX. So, a common string of characters is please_select_your_desired. If you use that string in your JavaScript expression, this configuration will locate all fields with please_select_your_desired in their field name, and unify those responses into one field. Be careful not to be too indistinct with the string you select (e.g., cq_please), as that could result in unwanted fields being included.

Build the Custom Property

Next, create a new Custom Property using the Calculated Property option. Set the Data Type as String. In the Expression area, paste the following JavaScript code. Click the view source icon at the top right to copy the code snippet.

{
    // This is the partial question property string to match on when scanning custom forms
    let qString = "cq_partial_name_of_custom_question";

    // This is the value that will be returned if no answer is found.
    let defaultResponse = '';


    // NOTE: Function below does not need to be updated
    let returnArray = Object.keys(forms)
        .filter((formName) => {
            return formName.includes('cas') || formName.includes('ps') ;
        })
        .map((formName) => {

            let localqs = Object.getOwnPropertyNames(forms[formName]).filter(function(prop) {
                return prop.includes(qString)
            });

            return forms[formName][localqs]
        })
        .filter((formResponses) => {
            return formResponses != null;
        });

    return returnArray.length? returnArray[0] : defaultResponse;

}

The resulting field will look like this:

Modify the Code

Next, you'll need to modify the code so that your new Custom Property will identify which fields it should combine. To do this, find the let qString = line of code and replace "cq_partial_name_of_custom_question" with the string that you selected earlier. In the example above "cq_please_select_your_desired" was used. To ensure the field is working correctly, you may use the Try it feature to test the expression with your current applications.

Click Add to save your new Custom Property. This property will scan your fields to find any that include the string you selected in their field name.