Preset answers
Some questions belong to the form, not to the person filling it in: the landlord's name, the property address, the office a request goes to. Asking every applicant to type them invites typos and wastes their time. A preset answer is given once, by you, and every submission carries it.
What happens with a preset
| Where | What people see |
|---|---|
| The fill page | The answer already in place and locked. They can read it but not change it |
| The submission | The preset answer, exactly as you set it |
| The fillable PDF of an imported form | The answer already written in |
A preset is applied again when the form is submitted, so nothing the browser sends can override it. A required question with a preset counts as answered.
Setting one
Two places set the same thing.
In the builder
Every field has a Same on every submission (optional) box under it. Type the answer (or choose it, for a dropdown or checkbox) and save the form.
| Field type | The preset is |
|---|---|
| Text, paragraph, email, phone, number | Whatever you type |
| Date | A date from the picker |
| Dropdown | One of the field's options. Rename or remove that option and the preset is dropped |
| Checkbox | Yes or No |
From the forms list
On a published form, Prefill, then the Permanent tab. Every question
that can take a preset is listed; fill in the ones that never change and press
Save answers. The dialog confirms how many answers every submission now
carries.
Changing presets on a live form
A published form's questions are locked, but its presets are not. A preset changes what the form answers, not what it asks, so it does not disturb the submissions already filed. You can start filling in the landlord's name on a live lease application without taking it back to draft.
Submissions filed before the change keep the answers they were filed with.
How presets meet other answers
A preset always wins.
| Competing answer | Result |
|---|---|
| A prefilled link that answers the same question, even a locked one | The preset. A link is one recipient's half of the form; the preset is the form itself. The Prefill dialog shows these questions as already answered by the form |
| Something the filler typed earlier and left saved on their device, before you set the preset | The preset |
Limits
- Sensitive fields cannot have a preset. A preset is stored on the form and shown to everyone who opens it, which is the opposite of what a sensitive answer is for. Ticking Sensitive on a field clears its preset, and the Permanent tab leaves sensitive questions out.
- Repeatable sections: the first entry only. A preset inside a section with multiple entries fills Vehicle 1. It does not create a Vehicle 2 nobody filled in.
- Archived forms cannot have their presets changed, like everything else about them. See Archiving.