Guide to case management part 5: Multiple cases datasets

This article is part 5 of a series on case management. See the bottom of this article for the other parts in this series.

By default, when using case management, all users on a SurveyCTO server use the default cases dataset ID, "cases". While it is possible to use a single cases dataset for different projects using case assignments, you can also have multiple cases datasets. Each new cases dataset can be used to organize data collection for a different project, or you can have multiple cases dataset for the same project, with a different cases dataset for each distinct part. You can have as many cases datasets as you'd like, so be sure to use them to organize your data collection in the best way possible.

This works by assigning a different cases server dataset to a customized user role. That way, all users who are assigned that user role will use that cases dataset instead. Keep in mind a user role can only be assigned a single cases dataset, so once they are assigned a different cases dataset, they cannot use the default "cases" dataset ID for their case management (of course, it can always be changed back later).

Multiple user roles can be assigned the same dataset for case management. However, only customized user roles can be assigned an alternate cases dataset (that is, the user roles that are not provided by default, i.e. the blue user roles, not the green ones).

To set up (or assign to a user role) an alternate cases dataset, follow these steps:

1. Add a new cases server dataset with a different dataset ID. Like all cases datasets, make sure it has the 'id', 'label', 'formids', 'users', and 'roles' columns.
2. On your server console, go to the Configure tab.
3. Under User roles and permissions, either create a new user role, or edit an existing user role by clicking the triangle to the right and clicking the Edit button that appears.
4. Under Please provide the dataset ID for case management (optional), enter the dataset ID of the new cases dataset.
5. Scroll down and click the Update role button.

With the above steps complete, when collecting data, any users assigned to the user role you've prepared will use the non-default cases dataset you specified for managing cases.

Users assigned to the user role "example_team_COLLECTOR" will not be able to view cases in the server dataset "cases". Instead, they will see cases in the server dataset "cases_example_team".

More on case management

Be sure to check out the other articles in this series on case management.

1. Introduction: Why it is a good idea to use case management, and examples of where it can be used.
2. Creating and managing cases: How to create a server dataset that can be used for cases, and how to add and edit your cases.
3. Collecting data using case management: How to fill out cases forms on both a mobile device and in web forms, and creating automated workflows with case management
4. Case management workflows: How to identify form instances as being part of a case, and how to publish to and pull data from the cases server dataset.
5. Multiple cases datasets (this article): How to assign different server datasets to different user roles for case management.
6. Tips, tricks, and troubleshooting: Additional tips about what can be done with case management, as well as how to troubleshoot when something is not working.
7. Example - Publishing to a case, and retrieving from that case: Walking you through a case management example, including pulling from and publishing to a cases server dataset.

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