Tallyfy offers various form field types—including short text, long text, dropdowns, checklists, radio buttons, date pickers, file uploads, tables and assignee pickers—that collect user input on kick-off forms or tasks and turn that input into variables and automation triggers to control how a workflow branches and progresses.
Set default content for form fields
Default content pre-fills form fields with values when a task or kick-off form opens. You can use static text, dynamic variables, or system-generated values like today’s date. Users can still change these pre-filled values whenever they need to.
- Faster completion - less time retyping common information.
- Fewer errors - consistent formatting and fewer typos.
- Dynamic data - variables pull in relevant data from earlier steps automatically.
- Smart selections - pre-select the most common options for dropdowns and radio buttons.
Not all form field types support default content. Here’s what works:
- Static text - pre-fill with standard phrases, instructions, or examples.
- Variables - pull data from previous form fields or system variables.
- Mixed content - combine static text with variables (like “Request from
{{customer_name}}”).
- Default selections - pre-select the most common option.
- Multiple defaults - for multiselect fields, you can pre-check several items at once.
- Current date - sets to today’s date when the form opens.
- Specific date - set a fixed date value.
- Variable dates - pull date values from earlier form fields.
These field types can’t have default values - Tallyfy automatically disables the option for them:
- File upload - can’t pre-populate files.
- Table - can’t pre-fill table rows, though you configure column headers during setup.
- Assignee picker - can’t pre-select users here, but you can set default assignments at the step level instead.
- Open your template in Edit mode.
- Click on the step containing the form field.
- Click on the form field to expand its settings.
- Expand the Default content section.
- Toggle the default value switch to Yes.
- Enter your default text or click the button to insert variables.
- Save your changes.
- Expand the form field settings and open the Default content section.
- Toggle the default value switch to Yes.
- Pick which option should be pre-selected when the form loads.
- Save your changes.
- Expand the form field settings and open the Default content section.
- Toggle the default value switch to Yes.
- Select which items should already be checked when someone opens the form.
- Users can still uncheck or change these selections.
- Save your changes.
- Expand the date field settings and open the Default content section.
- Toggle the default value switch to Yes.
- Enter a date value. If the field has Collect time enabled, you can set a default time too.
- Save your changes.
Variables pull information from other parts of your process into default values.
Form field variables - grab data entered in earlier steps:
- Example:
{{customer_name}}pulls in the customer name from a previous field.
Kick-off form variables - data entered when the process started:
- Example:
{{request_type}}shows the type selected in the kick-off form.
System variables - Tallyfy generates these automatically:
{{DATE}}- the date when the process was launched{{TEMPLATE_NAME}}- the name of the template being used
Customer communication:
Dear {{customer_name}},
Thank you for your {{request_type}} request submitted on {{DATE}}.We will process this within 5 business days.Reference numbers:
{{TEMPLATE_NAME}}-{{DATE}}-{{customer_id}}Follow-up tracking:
Follow up with {{customer_name}} by {{deadline_date}}- Pick the options people actually select most often for dropdown and radio button defaults.
- Pre-fill text fields with real examples or formats your team can use directly.
- Think of defaults as suggestions, not rules. If everyone’s changing a default, it’s the wrong default.
- Mix static text with variables for consistency and personalization.
- Internal forms - use shortcuts and abbreviations your team understands.
- External forms - provide clear, spelled-out options for customers.
- Review your defaults periodically - processes change over time.
- Default priority - set to “Medium” since most requests aren’t urgent.
- Default category - pre-select the most common ticket type.
- Response template - pre-fill a greeting with the customer’s name using variables.
- Default reviewer - match the reviewer to the request type.
- Approval notes - give reviewers a template so feedback stays consistent.
- Project prefix - combine
{{TEMPLATE_NAME}}+{{DATE}}for automatic project codes. - Author information - pull requestor details from the kick-off form using variables.
- Version numbering - start at “v1.0” for consistency.
Variables in Tallyfy are placeholders that automatically carry data entered in one process step (like a customer name or order number) to every other step that needs it — eliminating copy-paste errors and enabling personalized task titles and dynamic automation triggers based on form field values.
Tallyfy lets you insert dynamic variables into step titles and descriptions by clicking the [ ] button to pull form field data from earlier steps into later ones so that workflows become personalized and context-rich without any manual retyping.
How To > Build effective forms
Tallyfy connects form submissions directly to trackable workflows so that every response automatically triggers defined process steps with email verification for public forms and supports conditional branching and document generation along with field validation and collaborative multi-step completion across teams.
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