Set a fixed or smart default value for a field
A default value fills the field when a record is created, if it’s left empty. It can be fixed, or a formula such as “7 days from today” or “the user who created it”.
Before you start · for ownersThe permission to edit units
Before you start · for owners
The permission to edit units
- You need: The permission to edit units
Steps
1
Open the field’s settings → Default value.
2
In How the default is produced, choose Fixed value, or Expression to write a formula.
3
For a formula, you can set a Fallback value (optional) that’s used if the calculation fails.
4
Save.
The formula is checked straight away, and saving is refused if it’s wrong.
When is it applied?
Only once, when the record is created, and only if the field is left empty. After that it’s a regular value you can edit, and it’s never recalculated. Old records don’t change.
It applies to every way a record is created: the interface, imports, automations, public forms, and clients from ads and chats.
Ready-made examples
Formula
Field type
Result
TODAY()Date
Today’s date
NOW()Date and time
The moment it was created
DATEADD(TODAY(), 7, 'days')Due date
A week from now
DATEADD(TODAY(), 1, 'months')Date
A month from now
DATEADD({start_on}, 30, 'days')Date
30 days after another field
{current_user}Text
The ID of the user who created it
CONCAT({first_name}, " ", {last_name})Text
The full name
CONCAT("INV-", TODAY())Text
INV-2026-07-15IF({amount} > 500, "vip", "standard")Select
The matching option
{qty} * 2Number
Twice the quantity
The formulas use the same functions as the calculation field, except aggregate functions such as SUM_LINES.
Tips
- Use
TODAY()for date fields, andNOW()for date and time fields. “Today” is worked out in your time zone. - Units are in the plural:
days,weeks,monthsandyears. - Adding a month to January 31 gives the last day of February.
- A select field takes the option’s value or its label.
- A select field inside
CONCATshows as an internal ID, so don’t build readable text from it. - A default can read another default field, as long as the two don’t depend on each other.
Default value or calculation field?
Smart default value
When it’s calculated
Once, when the record is created
On every change
Can be edited
Yes
No
Fills old records
No
Yes
In a select field, if there’s both a default option and a formula, the formula wins and the option becomes the fallback.
If something goes wrong
What you see
Why
What to do
The formula was refused: “Unknown field”
A wrong field name.
Use the field’s internal name from its settings.
Refused because the type doesn’t match
The result doesn’t fit the field type, such as text in a date field.
Change the formula so it gives the right type.
DATEADD(TODAY(), 7, 'day') was refusedThe unit is in the singular.
Write
days.Refused because of a circular dependency
Two defaults that each depend on the other.
Remove one of the two dependencies.
The field stayed empty
The calculation failed, such as dividing by zero, and there’s no fallback value.
Add a fallback value.
Good to know
Calculation, serial number and relation fields don’t take a default value.
A unique field doesn’t take a default value.
Formula complexity limit: 200 elements, 20 levels deep, 50 functions and 50 field references.
A failed calculation never blocks creating the record: the fallback value is used, or the field stays empty.
Did this guide solve it?
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