Project Name (if applicable, otherwise just type n/a)
AAPHREM Weekly Diseases Reporting Form
Question
Sometimes, many entries in Epicollect5 contain incorrect values in a specific variable. As the project creator, I prefer to download the dataset, correct the values in bulk, and re-upload the data. However, doing so causes the original “Created At” timestamp to be overwritten with the current upload date, and the data collectors lose access to their original entries—the system treats them as new entries, even when I include the original EC5_UUID during upload.(to avoid duplication)
While server-side editing preserves timestamps and user access, it’s not practical due to the large volume of records. Is there any other option for bulk-correcting data without losing the original metadata or data collector ownership?
Thank you!
I confirm I have read the User Guide at docs.epicollect.net
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I confirm I have searched for an answer in this community.
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I confirm I have tried asking the same question to Perplexity AI with the tag #epicollect5, but it did not help.
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Thank you for reporting the created_at issue
We can confirm it is a bug, and it will be addressed in an upcoming update.
Can you elaborate on the
and the data collectors lose access to their original entries
The bulk upload process does not affect entry ownership. Moreover, entries are never duplicated if the entry_uuid is provided.
Thank you
As the project creator, I downloaded the entries and re-uploaded them without modifying the “ec5_uuid, created_at, uploaded_at, created_by and title” values to preserve collector access. However, the original collectors are still unable to view the entries on the server. It was happening after the recent update of epicollect5. Even the created_at and uploaded_at become the same (today).
Thank you for your post and for providing the necessary context.
We have looked into the issue regarding the AAPHREM Weekly Diseases Reporting Form project, which was created by the user with the email a*******c@gmail.com.
Based on the entries shown in your screenshot, we can confirm that the data is still owned by the original collectors. For example:
97c16b91-a5d8-4f09-8c75-e3d6ad6a07a9 is owned by a*********27@gmail.com4f6524f8-ccd2-479e-81a4-492636b7031a is owned by b*********a@gmail.com- and so on.
This confirms that editing or re-uploading entries does not alter their original ownership. Ownership is preserved by design and is tied to the account that originally submitted the entry.
It can easily be observed by looking at the downloaded csv; a private project will have a created_by column to identify the owner of each entry.
Regarding your concern that original collectors are unable to view their entries on the server:
Please ensure that they are logging in with the exact same email address they used when submitting the entries. If they are using a different account (even slightly different, e.g. due to typos or account changes), they will not be able to access entries tied to their original email.
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Thank you for your understanding.
