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Managing Auto-Populate, Edit, and Overwrite Options for System and Custom Fields in BetterHQ Forms
Managing Auto-Populate, Edit, and Overwrite Options for System and Custom Fields in BetterHQ Forms
Clarice Coleen Lasco avatar
Written by Clarice Coleen Lasco
Updated over a week ago

We’re pleased to announce exciting new features in BetterHQ that will simplify your data management when creating forms: the Auto Populate, Allow Edit, and Overwrite options for both system and custom fields. With these options, our new form builder will help you pre-fill information, control editing permissions, and manage how new data impacts existing client records. This guide will walk you through how these features work and how to set them up.

New Features

To improve this process, we’ve introduced the following options:

  1. Auto Populate

  2. Allow Edit

  3. Overwrite

These options can be enabled for System and Custom fields in Form templates, giving you more control over how data is handled.

How to Use These Features

1. Auto Populate

The Auto Populate option automatically fills in a field with data that already exists for the user. This option is on by default for all System and Custom fields added to a form, but you can turn it off if needed.

  • If Enabled: The form will be pre-filled with the client’s existing data.

  • If Disabled: The field will appear empty, allowing the client to enter new information.

2. Allow Edit

This option determines whether the client receiving the form can edit the pre-populated data.

  • If Enabled: The client can edit the pre-populated details.

  • If Disabled: The client cannot modify the pre-populated data.

Steps to Enable/Disable Allow Edit:

  • When you turn on Auto Populate, the Allow Edit option will appear.

  • Toggle Allow Edit on or off based on whether you want the client to be able to modify the pre-filled data.


3. Overwrite

The Overwrite option controls whether the data entered by the client in the form will replace the existing information in the client's record.

  • If Enabled: Any data entered in this field will overwrite the existing data in the client’s record.

  • If Disabled: The data will only be saved to the form and not update the client’s existing record.

Example

Imagine a client who regularly engages with your consulting services. With the Auto Populate feature enabled, when this client fills out a new intake form, their personal details automatically fill in from existing records.

  • If enabled: The client's name, email, and phone number are pre-filled.

  • If Allow Edit is enabled: They can update their contact information if it has changed.

  • If the form is submitted with Overwrite on, their updates will replace the existing details in the client profile.

This process minimizes errors and ensures that the client's information remains current.

Overview of Features

Option

Default State

Description

Auto Populate

On

Automatically fills fields with existing data.

Allow Edit

On (if Auto Populate is on)

Allows clients to edit the pre-populated data.

Overwrite

On

New data overwrites existing client record data.

If you need assistance setting up these features or have any questions, feel free to contact our support team. We're here to help!

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