Causeview Impact Designer - How to Change the Default Value in a Data List

A Data List contains the values that are used in picklists (such as dropdown menus) or toggle button groups (such as amount buttons).

Impact Designer provides you with a set of default system Data Lists that are commonly used in all of your forms such as Province/States, Countries, Campaigns and Donation Amounts. You can use these system Data Lists in any of your forms or you can choose to create your own Data Lists containing the values you need. You also have the ability to re-use Data Lists which saves you time in configuring your forms.

Another feature of Data Lists is that you are able to specify a default value. A default value is the value in the list that is automatically selected when the form is loaded. For example, if you are using a Country Data List and your form has mostly Canadian visitors, you may want to set the default value of the Country Data List to "Canada". This means that when a donor goes to the form, the Country drop down menu already has "Canada" selected. The donor still has the option to pick a different country in the drop down menu if they do not reside in Canada.

Setting a default value for a data list is beneficial in that it decreases the amount of steps donors have to go through when providing information on the form and it encourages a donor to select the correct value in a pick list if the default value is not relevant. 

You can specify the default value of a Data List either by:

• Modifying the Data List from the Data List Page, OR
• Modifying the Data List from the Properties Panel on the Form

Please note that if you choose to modify the default value of a Data List from the Data List page, then all forms using this Data List will have the same default value. If you wish to set a default value for a Data List specific to a form, then it is recommended that you set the default value using the Properties Panel in the form.

Modifying the Data List from the Data List Page

1) From the Impact Designer Home Page, go to Forms & Pages and click on Data Lists.

2) Click on Items beside the Data List you wish to modify.

3) Under the Default column, select the item you would like to set as your default and click on Save Data List.

Please note that this will change the default value of the Data List in all the forms using this Data List.

Modifying the Data List from the Properties Panel on the Form

1) On the form, click on the control (field) with the Data List you would like to modify. You will know that you've successfully selected a control because the field will appear highlighted in yellow.