List Form Submission Required Questions Issue

Question

Hello all,

I created a list based on a form with branching. Basically, respondents have to select their specific category and then are directed to complete specific required questions for their category. The issue I am running into is, because of the branching, it skips over all the other required questions for other categories, which should technically be fine.

However, once the responses are recorded into Lists, I am getting an issue that required fields are now missing... even though those fields aren't required for the specific category. Is there any way to get Lists to ignore those blank required fields? Or, am I stuck just removing the requirement on the form itself. My concern with that is I want to avoid respondents submitting blank or incomplete responses though.

Honestly, I don't understand the support for branching in the forms if it doesn't also apply to the list itself...

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

It seems that the issue you're experiencing with required fields in Microsoft Lists is related to how the branching logic in your form interacts with the required fields in the list. When using branching, the form should ideally only require fields that are relevant to the selected category. However, if the list is enforcing required fields that are not applicable to the selected category, it can lead to errors when submissions are recorded.

To address this, you have a couple of options:

1. Adjust the Required Fields: You may need to adjust the required fields in the list to ensure that they align with the categories in your form. This could involve making certain fields optional in the list, depending on the category selected in the form.
2. Form Configuration: If you want to maintain the integrity of the data and avoid blank submissions, consider configuring the form to ensure that only the relevant required fields for each category are enforced. This way, when respondents select their category, they are only prompted to fill out the necessary fields.

Unfortunately, if the Lists application does not support ignoring blank required fields based on the branching logic of the form, you may have to either remove the requirement from the list or ensure that all necessary fields are included in the form for every possible category.

It's important to test the configuration thoroughly to ensure that it meets your needs without allowing incomplete submissions.

Answer 2

Dear @Snarksu1t, 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.   

I understand how inconvenient it must be when required fields in Microsoft Lists cause missing data errors because branching logic in Forms doesn’t carry over. 

Here’s why this happens: 

• Branching in Forms only controls what users see during form completion; it does not alter the underlying schema or validation rules of the destination list. 
• Required fields in Microsoft Lists are enforced at the SharePoint data layer, meaning every item must include values for all required columns, even if those fields were hidden in the form. 

As a result, when Forms skips certain questions, Lists still expects those required fields to be populated, which causes the issue you’re experiencing.  

To achieve the outcome you’re looking for, an advanced approach using Power Apps may help. Power Apps allows you to: 

• Dynamically control visibility and required fields based on user selections. 
• Handle validation within the app, bypassing rigid SharePoint requirements. 
• Provide a richer, customizable experience with advanced logic and conditional validation. 

Additional information is available in the following resource: Power Apps Guide – Conditional Required Fields   

Since this is a specialized topic, we recommend posting your question in the Microsoft Power Automate Community. This forum is dedicated to Power Automate and will connect you with experts and partners who can provide accurate guidance and best practices.  

 

Apologies for redirecting you to a different community as the members of the posted category focus on users with Microsoft 365 concern and have limited knowledge about Power Automate, so to get a quick and better assistance, we redirect you in the correct way.  

As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have visibility into performing deeper backend analysis, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.   

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.     

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.  

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