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Duplicate names in Form Designer

  • May 6, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 69 views
Rachael Smith

I am a very new user so please be patient with me here. I am creating a form that has multiple sections that cover different topics but the fields in these sections are exactly the same from section to section. My publish check list is telling me that I am unable to publish because the fields all have the same name, which is by design. Is there a way to bypass this? I assume I can just reformat the questions but in a survey that is over 100 questions this will be an incredibly laborious task. 

Here is an example: 

Cheese

Do you like it?

Yes

No

Do you eat this regularly?

Yes 

No

Salami

Do you like it?

Yes 

No

Do you eat this regularly?

Yes 

No

Best answer by Julio Arnaldo Rolon-Mendez

Hello Rachael! 

Sadly, there is no way to bypass the duplicate question checklist. I recommend numbering the questions or adding the product you are asking for (ie., cheese, salami) to each related question. That way, you were able to differentiate between the questions when creating a report using these form fields. If you do not do that, you will have a hard time finding the fields you want to use.

    4 replies

    Julio Arnaldo Rolon-Mendez

    Hello Rachael! 

    Sadly, there is no way to bypass the duplicate question checklist. I recommend numbering the questions or adding the product you are asking for (ie., cheese, salami) to each related question. That way, you were able to differentiate between the questions when creating a report using these form fields. If you do not do that, you will have a hard time finding the fields you want to use.

      AnnieNovacek
      Forum|alt.badge.img+1
      • AnnieNovacek
      • Community Manager
      • May 7, 2026

      Hi Rachael, this is correct. You have to use unique field / question names because otherwise in reporting it would be impossible to tell which question was which. I understand that editing these questions may take time, but the proper setup in the long run will pay off. Numbering is certainly an option, but that would likely not be very clear in reporting either. I would recommend adding the item to the question like this:

      Cheese: Do you like it?
      or

      Do you like Cheese?

       

       

        Naomi Katz
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        • Naomi Katz
        • First Timer
        • June 1, 2026

        ​@AnnieNovacek  - what would it take to have a matrix-type field added to our field types? Here’s what it would look like. That would solve this issue. There are a few other survey / assessment platforms that have this field type but we don’t have it in Apricot yet.

         

        It could even bee a simpler version of this where the overall question is “do you like it?”, the answers across the top are “yes” and “no”, and the rows are “cheese”, “salami”, etc. That would bring this down to just 2 fields instead of 2 fields per food type.

          AnnieNovacek
          Forum|alt.badge.img+1
          • AnnieNovacek
          • Community Manager
          • June 2, 2026

          Thanks for sharing this example ​@Naomi Katz ! It’s helpful to have a visual.

          This is not currently an option within Apricot’s form designer, but please feel free to share in the Ideas Portal if you haven’t already so our Product team can review for future enhancements.

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