Suggestion to change field alias on Specify other questions

[DougBrowning]

When using a select list with the other option a second field gets created.  (This is a bummer since now you have to code around having two fields but I am guessing this is because domains do not allow any other values.)  

But my suggestion is about the field alias naming.  All the other option fields get named Specify other. in the attribute table.  This means I now have several columns all with the same name.  It would be nice to have something with the field name in it instead.

Example

Thanks

[DougBrowning]

Another related issue is that the word "other" gets put into the first field.  My plan was to add both fields to the layout view on top of each other.  That way whichever one is not blank shows.  But with the word other in there... no bueno.  

How are people handling this?  Thanks for any ideas.

[IsmaelChivite · Accepted solution]

Hi.  Using select_one or other is a handy shortcut, but it has some limitations: the label and name are set for you. If you want to set the label (to change the text or to support multiple languages), you should not use or other.  Instead, you should:

1. Add a new choice to your list to represent the 'other' value
2. Add a new question for the user to type the 'other' value and use a relevant statement (${myQuestion}='other') to hide and show appropriately

Here is a related discussion https://community.esri.com/message/609146  which even includes a sample XLSfile showing the technique.

[DougBrowning]

Yea that is the classic way to do it but it causes the two fields issue which then becomes a constant pain when doing symbology or any type of reporting or when I use my technique to kick out a pdf.  I was hoping that using the built in function would get around this.

I still think having all those fields named Specify other. should be changed.