Default value for single select column?

How have you been successful with this using automations? The trigger seems to give me the option that if “x” cell is blank, but the action seems to lead me nowhere. Do you know of a way for the action to autofill an option that I choose?

@Justin_Petersen I would use the trigger for “when a record is created”.

@ScottWorld The trigger seems to work just fine (whether I am creating from a new record or triggering when the record matches conditions), it’s the action that I am just not getting. The action I am attempting to use is update record.

@Justin_Petersen You haven’t provided enough information. Do you have screenshots or a video?

Just discovered Airtable. Really neat tool. Strongly considering to become a paying customer and take our team of 7.
Field defaults feature is the very first thing I had to google for after I started transferring an existing app from google sheets/scripts. It should really be available, Airtable.

Oddly, some field types give you the ability to specify a default field value, but not others. For the others, you can now do it with Airtable Automations. Not the ideal workaround, but it definitely works.

I became a paying customer anyway :slightly_smiling_face:
Albeit I can live without defaults for select columns, it will be a nice addition once it’s gonna happen.

Just adding my voice to this. Workarounds like Kuovonne’s are possible but this basic feature should be available. C’mon Airtable, it couldn’t possibly be this hard.

I was able to work around this in three ways. Sorry if i don’t type my explanation out well:

1. In form view, limit the number of “available” options to select and just pick the one you want to default to. Select ‘drop down’ and boom, its the only option by default in that form.
2. Automation - Trigger - On New Record. Action - Write " Default " for field xx
3. When grouping by a field, any new record in that grouping will default to the values of the fields grouped there by.

+1 on this as a feature

This would be a really nice addition! Have to go around with an automation for now

About time please Airtable!

+1 on adding this feature.

+1 for this simple yet powerful feature

+1 seems like a quick fix but its years later now maybe I’m missing something?

+1 on adding this feature

This is really the very first thing I googled after creating a few test records. Come on…

To create default values, you can use On2Air.

We have the default value option in both our On2Air Actions and On2Air Amplify apps.

With the Amplify app, you add the default values for your fields. Then every time you create a new record in Amplify, the default is automatically added.

Amplify is a record dashboard app that lets you customize how you view records, linked records, linked tables, and more. You can also edit and view any Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide directly inside Airtable.

The Actions app adds the default value as an automation.

With Actions, you also get an additional 60+ features that integrate with Airtable.

Features like creating Google Docs automatically with Airtable data, bulk create, edit, or delete multiple records, set default field values, copy fields, perform financial calculations, sync Google Sheets, and more.

+1 for this feature request

+1 for having a default value for single select.
Sure you can use automations - which we’re doing - or a formula field - which is an unnecessary extra field which makes things unnecessarily complicated. Or whatever grouping option.

None of them is really a good option though.

Please do add this feature! I have multiple situations where this would solve my problem. I have setup an automation which gets me by. A default, however, is so much simpler

UPVOTE! I agree with those above. I have a form that feeds one table. The table was originally two spreadsheets/projects that have been merged and are distinguished by the Origin field.
The form is specifically for ONE origin/project, not the other. I want the default drop down in the form to automatically tag the correct origin, rather than having the user choose. Even if told which one to choose they could get it wrong, user error and all. :winking_face:

I immediately searched for how to do this upon switching to Airtable. 5 years waiting for this?

2022, Airtable please, we need this! Doesn’t seem so complex though

+1. This is needed, people.