I need to set up a survey where faculty are submitting information about their various scholarly activities over the last few years. We will also be collecting other information in this survey, so this appears perfect for a loop and merge scenario:

• Block 1: Intro and "demographic" type of questions


• Block 2: Activity questions


• Block 3: Closing questions

The issue comes in that some individuals have been quite prolific, and with the length of time and the number of different types of activities we are asking about, some individuals will easily have hundreds of entries for the loop in block 2. I have no desire to click about 1,000 times in Field 1 in the Loop and Merge dialogue box. And while I can create a question in block 1 that is prepopulated with and locked into the number I want then use loop based on a question, this question apparently needs to be visible in order for the number to be fed into the loop and merge block, and this just looks sloppy for someone taking the survey.
So, I guess I am looking for a solution that either allows me to create a large number of Field 1 entries or that allows me to populate a question with an answer without showing the question to the respondent.