Using the Default Value in a Forms app field to populate a blank field or overwrite an existing value on edit

In conjunction with the Directories app, you can use the Forms app to edit existing records in Salesforce. When editing an existing record, by default, a Forms app page will disregard the Default Value set for a given field, retaining the existing field value for the record in Salesforce even if that field is empty.

You can alter this default behavior so that a Default Value set for a field in the Forms app a) populates an empty field; or b) overwrites an existing field by doing the following:

1. Open the Forms page for which you wish to customize the page title in the edit view
2. Click the Form tab
3. Click the edit icon in the right column of the field you wish to alter the behavior of when the Form is in edit mode
4. For Default Value, enter the value you wish to use. This can either be a literal value or a variable.
5. For Populate Blank Field with Default Value on Edit, choose Yes or No
6. For Overwrite Existing Field with Default Value on Edit, choose Yes or No
7. Click Save

Setting the Default Value to populate a blank field or overwrite an existing field will work if the field is set to hidden. It will also work if Enable Editing is set to No which will alter the field value as defined and not allow the front-end user to change the field value.

For more details on editing records, review Allow editing of a record displayed in Directories.