freealberta/influence/BUGFIX_VERIFICATION_FIELDS.md

Bug Fix: Response Verification Data Not Populating

Issue Description

Verification fields were not being saved to the database when submitting responses through the Response Wall. The fields (Representative Email, Verification Token, etc.) were being created as null values.

Root Causes

1. Missing Field Mapping in NocoDB Service

File: app/services/nocodb.js

Problem: The createRepresentativeResponse() and updateRepresentativeResponse() functions were missing the mappings for the new verification fields.

Solution: Added proper Column Title mappings following NocoDB conventions:

// Added to createRepresentativeResponse
'Representative Email': responseData.representative_email,
'Verification Token': responseData.verification_token,
'Verification Sent At': responseData.verification_sent_at,
'Verified At': responseData.verified_at,
'Verified By': responseData.verified_by,

// Added to updateRepresentativeResponse
if (updates.representative_email !== undefined) data['Representative Email'] = updates.representative_email;
if (updates.verification_token !== undefined) data['Verification Token'] = updates.verification_token;
if (updates.verification_sent_at !== undefined) data['Verification Sent At'] = updates.verification_sent_at;
if (updates.verified_at !== undefined) data['Verified At'] = updates.verified_at;
if (updates.verified_by !== undefined) data['Verified By'] = updates.verified_by;

2. Representative Email Coming as Array

File: app/public/js/response-wall.js

Problem: The Represent API sometimes returns email as an array ["email@example.com"] instead of a string. This caused the form to submit an array value.

Solution: Added array handling in handleRepresentativeSelect():

// Handle email being either string or array
const emailValue = Array.isArray(rep.email) ? rep.email[0] : rep.email;
document.getElementById('representative-email').value = emailValue;

3. Anonymous Checkbox Value as String

File: app/controllers/responses.js

Problem: HTML checkboxes send the value "on" when checked, not boolean true. This was being stored as the string "on" in the database.

Solution: Added proper checkbox normalization:

// Normalize is_anonymous checkbox value
const isAnonymous = responseData.is_anonymous === true || 
                    responseData.is_anonymous === 'true' || 
                    responseData.is_anonymous === 'on';

4. Backend Email Handling

File: app/controllers/responses.js

Problem: The backend wasn't handling the case where representative_email might come as an array from the form.

Solution: Added array handling in backend:

// Handle representative_email - could be string or array from form
let representativeEmail = responseData.representative_email;
if (Array.isArray(representativeEmail)) {
    representativeEmail = representativeEmail[0]; // Take first email if array
}
representativeEmail = representativeEmail || null;

Also added support for "on" value in verification checkbox:

const sendVerification = responseData.send_verification === 'true' || 
                        responseData.send_verification === true || 
                        responseData.send_verification === 'on';

Files Modified

1. ✅ app/services/nocodb.js - Added verification field mappings
2. ✅ app/public/js/response-wall.js - Fixed email array handling
3. ✅ app/controllers/responses.js - Fixed checkbox values and email array handling

Testing Performed

Before Fix

• Representative Email: null in database
• Verification Token: null in database
• Is Anonymous: String "on" instead of boolean
• No verification emails sent

After Fix

• ✅ Representative Email: Correctly stored as string
• ✅ Verification Token: 64-character hex string generated
• ✅ Verification Sent At: ISO timestamp
• ✅ Is Anonymous: Boolean true or false
• ✅ Verification email sent successfully

NocoDB Best Practices Applied

Following the guidelines from instruct.md:

1. Use Column Titles, Not Column Names: All field mappings use NocoDB Column Titles (e.g., "Representative Email" not "representative_email")
2. Consistent Mapping: Service layer properly maps between application field names and NocoDB column titles
3. System Field Awareness: Avoided conflicts with NocoDB system fields

Deployment

No database schema changes required - the columns already exist from the previous deployment. Only code changes needed:

# Rebuild Docker container
docker compose build && docker compose up -d

Verification Checklist

After deployment, verify:

• Submit a response with postal code lookup
• Select representative with email address
• Check "Send verification request" checkbox
• Submit form
• Verify in database:
  • Representative Email is populated (string, not array)
  • Verification Token is 64-char hex string
  • Verification Sent At has ISO timestamp
  • Is Anonymous is boolean
• Check MailHog/email for verification email
• Click verification link and confirm it works

Related Documentation

• IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md - Full feature implementation
• DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md - Deployment instructions
• instruct.md - NocoDB best practices

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Date Fixed: October 16, 2025 Status: ✅ Resolved