Set Default Value
When adding a new record, you can set a default value for the field, which can automatically fill in the field, improving efficiency. You can consider default values for fields when the following scenarios occur.
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When the contents of the fields are likely to be the same each time a new record is added.
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When the field needs to reference other fields or data from other worksheets.
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When a field needs formatted processing in accordance with other fields, such as math operations, text processing, etc.
I. Use Case
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1. For Commmon Fields
As shown below, when creating an order, the contract sales defaults to the current user; when adding order details, the unit price of the product defaults to the unit price in the product record, and the discount rate defaults to 1.
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2. For Fields in Subform
When inspecting the equipment, after scanning the code to select the equipment, the relevant inspection items and methods are obtained from the Equipment Inspection Template worksheet according to the equipment type, and then they are automatically filled into the subform.
When collecting data, you can preset some data in the subform, which will be perfected and modified by the filler.
II. How to set default value
1. Entrance to Set Default Value
On the form editing page, select the field and set the default value on the right side of the page.
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As shown in the figure above, click 1 to set a fixed default value, which is a static default value.
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Click 2 to set a dynamic default value. The dynamic default values can be as follows:
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1) Current Date/Current User/Current Department
The default values for specific fields can be set to these, for example, the default value for the date field can be set to the current date; the default value for the member field can be set to the current user; and the default value for the department field can be set to the current user’s department.
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2) [Other Field Values]
The default value can be the value of another field, the value of a field in the worksheet, or the value of a field in an associated record.
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3) [Query Worksheet]
Depending on the query criteria configured, you can query a record from a worksheet and fill in the value of a field in the queried record into the current field.
In case of subforms, you can query multiple data of a worksheet and automatically fill it into multiple subforms.
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4) [Function Calculation]
Based on the value of other fields, you can get a value by mathematical operations, text processing, etc., and fill it into the field automatically.
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2. Controls that can be set default values
- Text, Number, Amount, Telephone, Email, and Date
- Members, Department, Single-select, Multiple-select, Level, Region/City, Positioning, and Check items
- Relationship
- Subform
3. Fixed (Static)/Dynamic Default Value
Fixed default value:
For example, if the default value of the discount field is set to 1, every time a new record is added, it is automatically filled with 1.
The manually entered values are fixed default values. If a fixed default value is set, it is only valid when adding a new record and no longer valid when editing an existing record.
Dynamic default value:
For example, if the default value of the unit price field is set to the unit price of the associated product record, when Product A is selected, the unit price is automatically displayed as the unit price of Product A; when Product B is selected, the unit price is displayed as the unit price of Product B.
The default values set through [Other Field Values], [Query Worksheet] and [Function Calculation] are all dynamic default values.
4. Availability of Default Value
Fixed default value: It is valid only when adding records, and no longer valid when editing existing records.
Dynamic default value: It is valid when adding records or editing records on details page. Once the referenced fields or the fields involved in the calculation have changed, the default values will also change.
Therefore, dynamic default values are not effective in the following scenarios.
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Dynamic default values do not take effect when editing data in batches.
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Dynamic default values do not take effect when a record is updated or created by importing an Excel file, through the API or a workflow. If a cell is empty or the field is not assigned a value, the field will be empty after the record is created.
5. Differences between [Dynamic Default Value] and [Foreign]
Both the dynamic default value and the foreign control can help display the value of the field in the associated record, but the difference is that the foreign control is related to the associated record in real time and update automatically once the associated record changes. Dynamic default value, on the other hand, only helps display the content of the associated record when editing, not in real time.
Example: The unit price of the product is frequently adjusted, and the unit price of the product in Product worksheet is up to date. When you create an order, once the order takes effect, the unit price can no longer be changed. In this case, you cannot choose the foreign control to help display the unit price in an order, otherwise the unit price will change every time you open an order. Instead, you can choose the amount control and set a dynamic default value.
The difference between these two methods is shown in the figure below.
