Default a value in dropdown list??

mmurphy14986

I was just asked if there is a way to have one of the values in a dropdown list be the "default" value.  My gut says there is not, or I've had done this a long time ago, but wanted to ask the community before I say No.

Mike Wilday

You can, in essence. If you are using a form to populate the dropdown list you can put that value in a hidden field, and then change it after the form is submitted. 

If you're talking about when you add a new row - right from in smartsheet? Maybe not. When I create my templates for new projects in our project sheet I have the template rows already set at my default value before copying them into my sheet. So it kind of depends on how you are using them. 

Chris McKay

Hi Mike,

When configuring forms, there is an option available for dropdown lists to select a default value.

Kind regards,

Chris McKay

Mike Wilday

Gotcha, I didn't check that. However, it still depends on where you are wanting to see that default value. If you want the value to be default when you create a new row in Grid layout, that option doesn't currently exist. AND if you don't want people to adjust that default option in the form, you would want to hide that field! 

Chris McKay

Yep, the grid functionality doesn't exist yet.

I am a believer in keeping users at or below Editor permissions and then locking columns. That prevents them from accessing the underlying form configuration while still having the right level of access to change values in the sheet (even in locked columns).

Daniel Stein

You could create a default value in the grid using a formula. For example, if you fill ="default value" in an entire column, then any new rows will have that value auto-populated.

Chris McKay

Hi Daniel,

The issue you have there is that when it comes to formulas, Smartsheet does not see sheets as having "entire columns".

So if we have 50 rows visible and paste the ="default value" into the visible rows, eventually you'll reach a stage where users overwrite the last instance of the formula you created as Smartsheet will not keep copying the formulas down the sheet if users are overwriting existing rows.

Kind regards,

Chris McKay

Daniel Stein

Thanks Chris. Indeed, I agree with you that the formula method isn't foolproof. You could lock the column, but an admin may still overwrite a value. I expect it would still help with some solutions, though.

Relatedly: the concept of formulas that apply to an entire column is something we are investigating.

Best regards,

Daniel