Single-select dropdown default choice

[LukaszMatyszewski]

When creating a new dropdown field in an existing form or adding one to a form, I often choose a default value, which can later be leveraged in reporting. Does anyone know the correct process for creating dropdowns so that the default choice is backdated across all projects that share the same form or field? I've noticed that sometimes it does, but other times I have to mass update many records. I can't figure out the pattern. At one point, I created several dropdowns in an existing form, and one of them backdated while the others didn’t.

[Madalyn_Destafney]

Hi, I'm curious to know when/how it updated previous selections bc that isn't the typical behavior. When you make an edit to a custom form field like that, it applies moving forward, not retroactively (unless you change the nature of the field like if you remove an option from the dropdown altogether, it will no longer show on other records since it is completely removed). The only time something can retroactively update an answer is a calculated field and you choose to apply the new formula to existing calculations. My recommendation is to grab the ones you want to update in a report and bulk edit them, like it sounds like you've done.

[LukaszMatyszewski]

I suspect the following scenarios but haven’t tested them yet:

• Create a new field (outside of the custom form), set a default, save the field, then add it to the custom form – Records only update moving forward, although I always review the forms on the object templates to ensure the default is selected. I’ve often found that default values do not follow.
• Create a new field (within the custom form), set a default, save the form – Records only update moving forward. Again, I check the templates.
• Copy a field in the custom form, save – Records update both ways.