Calculated field needs manually updated across multiple forms | Community
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Level 2
March 23, 2026

Calculated field needs manually updated across multiple forms

  • March 23, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 34 views

Description: The current process for updating the calculation within an existing calculated form field requires a highly manual and time-consuming workflow. This involves removing the field from every form where it's used, saving each form, then re-adding the field to each form, re-entering the calculation, and saving again.

Why is this feature important to you? This feature is critical for efficiency and accuracy. The current manual process is extremely time-consuming, especially given that we have approximately 30 active and 30 inactive forms that utilize these fields. This creates a significant administrative burden and increases the risk of errors during the re-entry process. Automating this would free up valuable time and ensure consistent application of calculations across all relevant forms.

How would you like the feature to work? Ideally, there would be a more streamlined method to manage calculated custom form fields. This could involve:

  1. Bulk Field Management: The ability to bulk add or update fields within a specific section across multiple custom forms.
  2. Pre-defined Calculated Fields: When adding a calculated field, the calculation should be pre-populated or automatically associated with the field, removing the need to manually paste it into each instance.
  3. Global Recalculation: A function to select a calculated field and trigger a global recalculation across all forms where it's present with a single action, rather than having to individually update and save each form.

Current Behavior: When a calculation within a calculated custom form field needs to be changed, the existing behavior mandates the following steps for each form:

  1. Navigate to the form.
  2. Locate and remove the specific calculated field.
  3. Save the form.
  4. Re-add the calculated field to its appropriate location within the form.
  5. Manually paste the updated calculation into the field details.
  6. Click "apply to existing calculations."
  7. Save the form. This process must be repeated for every form that contains the field, which, in our case, can be up to 60 forms.

1 reply

Lyndsy-Denk
Community Advisor
Community Advisor
March 25, 2026

When that calculated field is on so many forms, yeah, that’s a bear. One approach I’ve used to work around this is to put common calculated fields into a dedicated form. For example, for all requests and projects, we collect the locations where the marketing asset will be used. Because the field is a checkbox, I need calculated fields to parse when each country is selected. I have therefore created an form that has just those calculations and attach it to all request topics and projects.