LS 3/latest

I have a custom.js script that parses the URL query string to pre-populate hidden fields in the survey. This works fine if the fields are not set in Display:Always hide this question.

When I do that, I guess I don't know how to access the field value to make changes. To access the field in javascript I'm using $('#answer99999X1X1') just fine, but when the Always hide is on, this no longer exists on the form--it gets changed to 'java999999X1X1' and I can't find any documentation on that.

For now I just don't use the Always hide and in my theme's custom.js I just do a $('#group-0').hide(); to hide the group with the hidden fields that store the parameters passed to the survey. Is this the correct/suggested method?

Is there a way to access the field values whether they are hidden or not, in case a change is made I don't have to change the script.

Background: I have a survey that passes information to the form via the queryString. The value is Base64 and converted into separate field values and used to populate fields I don't want the survey taker to see or be able to change, etc. The logic in my custom.js script checks to see if values have been stored in the hidden fields via the #answer99999X1X1 selector so it skips recalculating/parsing the original query string. However if the form submission is attempted and fails, the query string is now gone/removed when the page refreshes so I needed a way to make the original calculations (base64 conversion) from the original query string persistent.

I have probably overly-complicated things. I can't find a function that accesses the field value no matter what its status is (hidden or visible).

LS 3/latest

Please always post the full version, because even if your version is "latest" today, tomorrow it might not be.

Anyway, with Javascript you can only access field that are actually there in HTML. But the "always hide" feature eliminates the text field from HTML completely. You can use this hidden field with expressions, but not with Javascript.

If you need Javascript, you will need to hide the question with CSS. You can apply a CSS class ".hidden" (if I remember right) to hide the question via CSS (there is a field where you can apply custom CSS classes to questions in the GUI of each question.

(3.27.6+210629) Okay thanks. So hiding the hidden field group is the acceptable method. Probably instead of using JS that gets loaded after the page renders, it would be best to do as you say and use a style so that the group isn't displayed at all while the page loads.

When the visitor clicks the survey submit button, the original URL is gone--so the query string is gone. Is there a way to keep the submit from replacing the original URL? Just curious.

Thanks!

Is there a way to keep the submit from replacing the original URL?

No.

If you need the URL parameters in later groups, access them with ExpressionScript referring to your hidden questions.

If you don't use the save-and-return feature, you can load the URL parameters into the browser local storage for later use.