Set Default Value in Form that is NOT a Dropdown Value

Hi!

I have a sheet that has two form that feed into it. This is to report on Closures due to Staffing, Weather, and Facilities. One team submits closures for Staffing and Weather, while another team only submits Facilities.

When I created this set up I have it so the one team gets asked "Reason?" then they can select "Staffing" or "Weather". I have the "Reason?" field included in the Facilities form, but hidden with a default value of "Facilities". The column is set to not restrict values to the dropdown values only.

I went to make another form that will go to a team that will only submit one reason type, and this ability is gone! Did this feature go away? My facilities form still works just fine.

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Accepted answers

jjg279

Good morning @AmarK - I just got this to work for me, fingers crossed for you! Copy/paste your dropdown to something like notepad, change the column type to "Text/Number"; type in the default you want; then swap the column back to dropdown and paste your options back in.

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[Deleted User]

@kaanz This feature hasn’t been removed. You can still hide a form field and set a default value so the user doesn’t see it but the value is submitted to the sheet.

If it’s not working when creating a new form, check these things:
• The column allows the value you’re setting (dropdown restrictions)
• The field is included in the form and marked Hidden
• No form logic is affecting that field

Hidden fields with a default value should still automatically populate the column when the form is submitted.

Amark

@kaanz

If the column type is Text/Number instead of Dropdown the default value behavior may appear different.

kaanz

Thanks, all of those are good and it won't let me do it! I am attaching screenshots. The first is of the column properties. The second and third are of my form showing that I have it hidden with a default value that is not a dropdown list option. The fourth is me trying to do a different text value on another form and it not letting me type or save a value that is not a dropdown value. These forms are both attached to the same sheet. I don't know why this worked in the past and no longer allows me to.

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jjg279

kaanz

That worked! Great job tricking the system!!

jjg279

Awesome! Glad it worked for you! And hope the week goes well!

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