Use data from another table to populate Dropdown options

I would like to have a dropdown question in my form that looks up on a specific column of a JotForm table.

For example, I have a Customers table with their name and ID.

In my form, I want my dropdown question to look up on the records of my Customers table and make Customer Names my options in the dropdown list. As I create new customers, they would be automatically added to my dropdown options.

How do I achieve that?

Hi heavenlycleanersnz,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I'm afraid what you are trying to do is not possible. There is no option to query a table and populate dropdown options. We do have the Spreadsheet to form widget that you can use to populate form fields; however, it cannot populate dropdown options. Let me show you how it works and see if this will work for you:

• Create a spreadsheet that includes your data in the structure you see below. It's important that the column names in the spreadsheet and field names on the form are the same.

• In Form Builder, click on the Add Form Element menu on the left side of the page.
• Under the Widgets tab, search for the Spreadsheet to Form widget and add it to your form.

• In the Widget Settings window that opens up, upload your data file and customize the other options. 
• Then, click on Update Widget.

• In the final stage, add the fields to view values and name them the same as on the spreadsheet.

Give it a try and let us know if this works for you.

Hi there,

Sorry but Spreadsheet to Form does not achieve that at all, I've tried already.

To be honest, it is extremely disappointing that this great form automation tool doesn't have such very basic feature!

I was very excited about JotForm and was going to use it for all my businesses and recommend it to other clients for automation, but without this feature it's just impossible. This is something I use on EVERY SINGLE business case (seriously) and simply cannot give it up. All the other form automation tools I've tried do offer that.

It would be awfully clunky to have a choice field on the form that cannot be a lookup to a table that has its records updated very often. I would have to update the choice values every time on every form that use the same information and keep them all in sync! What a nightmare!

Please consider implementing this fundamental improvement ASAP, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to buy and use this tool. All the other features are great but without this one it's just simply a no-no. I've just seen quite a few other support tickets of people asking and wanting for the same thing.

Thank you.

Leonardo

Hi Leonardo,

I agree that it would be very helpful you can look up a specific column of a table to populate a dropdown options. In fact, I see some users are also requesting it. I've gone ahead and escalated your request to our developers. Exactly when or if it's developed depends on their workload, how viable it is, and how many other users also request it. If there are any updates, we’ll circle back to this thread and let you know.

Thanks for your patience and understanding, we appreciate it.



Hi Sonnyfer,

Any update on whether this feature will be implemented?

I'm assessing form tools at the moment, and I need to know this to decide whether or not our businesses will be able to use the Jotform solution.

Lookup on forms is a critical, fundamental, and very simple feature that we need for every single business case we will build forms for. We just simple cannot live without it, there is no way around it.

Please let me know asap so we are able to move forward.

Thanks. Leonardo

Hi Leonardo,

Our Developers are working on this as fast as they can. As soon as we have an update, we'll let you know.

Hi there,

Any update on this?

I'm still keen on using JotForm in my business but I'm not able to without this basic and essential feature.

It's been 2 months now and an awful load of users are asking for the same thing.

This should not be too hard to implement.

Thanks.

Leonardo

Hi Leonardo,

There haven't any updates yet, I'm afraid. Also, keep in mind that we can't provide an ETA for implementation for Feature Requests as it highly depends on our developers' workload, how viable the request is and how many users are requesting it. Rest assured that you'll get notified on this thread once it's implemented.

Meantime, let us know if there's anything else we can help you with.