Enterprise Form Default Value Issue: Approval Category Not Showing Default 0 in Dropdown

Hello. I am a coordinator for Flex for our college. We created and have been using a jotform to collect this data from our faculty, but there are elements that only I see and edit when it comes to approving hours.

After using this form, I realized that I want to have the default value for approval of a category be set to 0 instead of needing to be chosen from a drop down menu. I went in and set this up, but as of yet I have been unable to see those appear when I go to edit and evaluate the form, with it continuing to begin with the drop down menu.

The file appears to show in each category the default of 0, but when I edit so that I can evaluate the hours it is not loading that default value of 0. I did this change last week and have many submissions since then.

I did go through some steps suggested by the AI helped to clear my cache, but even after this I did a test run and it still shows that the drop down menu is set to "Please Select".

This will greatly speed up my process, so it would be very helpful to see this working as intended. Thank you

Hi James,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I'm an AI assistant here to assist you.

Regarding your issue with the default value not showing as 0 in the dropdown menu for approval categories, it appears that Jotform's Product List element does not allow setting the quantity or selection to 0 by default to prevent users from submitting forms with zero quantity unintentionally. However, since you are working with dropdown menus for approval and not product quantities, the issue might be related to how the default value is set or how the form is rendering the default selection.

Here are some points to consider:

• Ensure that the dropdown field's default value is explicitly set to 0 in the Form Builder under the field's properties.
• Check if there is a placeholder option like "Please Select" that might be overriding the default value when editing submissions.
• For existing submissions, changes to default values will not retroactively update previously submitted forms; the default applies only to new submissions or when you manually edit the submission.
• Try testing the form in preview mode or as a new submission to confirm if the default value of 0 appears initially.

If the dropdown is still showing "Please Select" as default during editing, it might be due to the field's placeholder setting or the way the form handles editing existing submissions.

Unfortunately, Jotform does not support dynamically populating dropdowns or changing default values dynamically based on external data or submission status.

Let me know if you want detailed steps on how to set the default value for dropdown fields or if you need help with a workaround.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

I have already tried these things suggested. The user does not see this field, but when I go to approve the form it would show to me. I have ensured they are all set to 0 be default. No dynamic data is needed here.

Hi James,

Since you have already set the default value to 0 and the users do not see this field but you do during approval, it might be related to how the approval step is handled in Jotform Inbox.

Let me show you how to take over an approval step in Jotform Inbox, which might help you manage the approval process more smoothly:

1. In Jotform Inbox, select the submission you want to take over in the menu on the left side of the page.
2. Click on the Three Dots icon on the lower-right side of the page, and in the dropdown menu, select Take Over.
3. In the Take Over window, enter your comment and click on Approve or Deny.

Reach out again if there’s anything else we can help you with.

I do not mean the approval literally. I am confident in this area. The way we use this form is the initial user does not see the field I am referring to. They select in a different drop down the number of hours they are submitting. Then when I edit to go into the form, I will see this field where I want the default to be 0. It just does not seem to go to 0 and stays with the drop down menu. I tried a new test submission and the problem remains. I would love for someone in support to examine my form and see what I might be doing wrong. No offense to the AI tool, but this is becoming circular.

Hi James,

It's easy to clear the values of the fields hidden by Show/Hide Field conditions. Let me show you how:

1. In Form Builder, click on Settings in the orange navigation bar at the top.
2. Under Form Settings, click on Show More Options.
3. Scroll down to Clear Hidden Field Values, and then select Clear When Hidden.

As you can see in the screencast below, the values of the Email Address and Phone Number fields were cleared after they were hidden using conditions:

Give it a try, and let us know if you need any more help.

This does not seem to be related to my problem.

Hi James,

Based on the information available, when you want to show or hide fields only during editing of submissions (such as your approval field), you can use the Get Form Page URL widget combined with conditional logic to control visibility.

Here’s how it works:

1. Add the Get Form Page URL widget to your form from the Widgets tab in Form Builder. This widget detects if the form is being opened in edit mode.
2. Set up conditional logic in the Settings > Conditions > Show/Hide Field to show your approval dropdown field only when the form URL contains the word edit. This ensures the field is visible only when you are editing a submission.

This method allows you to have fields appear only during editing, which matches your workflow.

However, note that Jotform does not support dynamically changing dropdown default values based on conditions or submission status. The default value you set applies only when the form is first loaded for a new submission.

If the field is hidden by conditions, the default value may not appear as expected when editing submissions unless the field is properly shown via conditions as described.

For more details and a step-by-step guide with images, you can visit the Jotform help article on How to Show or Hide Fields on Edit URL.

Give it a try and let us know if you need any other help.

Hi James, 

I see that you have an Enterprise account, which means that we have a dedicated Enterprise Support Team to help you. We have a guide that explains How to Contact Enterprise Support Team. Create a ticket there and someone from the Enterprise Support Team will get in touch with you shortly.

Thanks for your patience and understanding, we appreciate it.