I have a similar problem - but the next step.

I have multiple survey questions. IF a user chooses "N/A" then I do not want that question to be in the count of valid answers.

My value list is, right now, all numeric, with N/A as the last item (over 300 questions, some as EDIT boxes, and others, with over a dozen different value lists). However, the count function for a set of, say, 5 questions, returns 5 regardless of the answer.

How can I count only questions where the the response is NOT N/A?? Almost every value list I have has an opt out N/A optional response that would change the calculations (the average of responses NOT N/A)

I have this working, in what has got to be a far more difficult, and inelegant way - another 300 fields with just N/A as the option, that SET FIELD "" on the value list question field. It appears visually to the user as one question set. Painful, but workable.

Got to be a less painful approach.

Most of the survey stuff on the forum points to a common response set for all questions, and a join table. As the response set varies with questions into a couple dozen groupings, the question set is a single table of about 300 fields.

Your approach is about as good as the typical one, which would be to create a calculated field:

Substitute( theField ; "N/A" ; "" )

You'd still need one of those for every field, and then you'd count the calc rather than count the original field. Still a pain.

I kind of like your solution better anyway, because if you think about it, you've given yourself the option to count the N/A responses separately should you decide to do so.