Default Values let a template admin pre-author content into a template so that every new form opens already filled in. Unlike Prefilled Text, which is locked, Default Values stay fully editable — so a crew can adapt them to the job in front of them. This is built for documents like SWMS and RAMS, where the standard controls are the same every time but the site-specific detail changes.
When someone creates a new form from a template with Default Values enabled, the form opens with your content already in place — ready to adapt on the job.
🧪 Open Beta: Default Values is currently in Open Beta and live for all workspaces. We’re actively developing this feature — your feedback is welcome. Reach out to your Sitemate contact or use the in-app feedback option.
Prerequisites
Plan: All plans
Permission: Team Controller or above to create Default Values in a template. Any permission level to create a pre-populated form.
Platform: Dashpivot Web to set up Default Values. Forms can be created from them on Dashpivot Web, Dashpivot Mobile, and Sitemate Mobile.
Device Type: Computer
Supported Field Types
Field type | Supported |
Single line text | Yes |
Multi line text | Yes |
Category / list | Yes |
Yes / No checkbox | Yes |
Table cells | Yes (Text, Number, and List cells only) |
Date / time and Person | Not yet |
Photos, signatures, attachments, sketches | No |
📓 Fields that cannot hold a default value are shown greyed out in the Default Values tab, with a tooltip explaining why.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Open the Default Values Tab
Open the template you want to add default values to in the template editor.
Select the Default Values tab.
Your template appears as a preview, with the Default Values panel on the left.
Step 2: Add Default Content to Your Fields
Click into any supported field in the preview and enter the content you want new forms to start with.
For List cells in a table, click the cell and select the list option you want new forms to start with from the dropdown. New forms created from that template will open with that option already selected. This works in both default and prefilled tables. The dropdown still shows every available list row, and the pre-filled value stays fully editable.
Repeat for every field that should be pre-filled. Fields you leave empty simply start blank on the form.
Click Save on the template.
Step 3: Turn Default Values On or Off
Default Values has its own toggle in the sidebar. Turning it off keeps everything you have authored — it just stops it being offered when someone creates a form. This is useful while you are still preparing your content, or to pause it without clearing your work.
In the sidebar, use the toggle on the Default Values card.
When it is off, a banner confirms that new forms will not be pre-filled.
Step 4: Create a Form From Your Default Values
Create a new form from your template as you normally would.
If the template has Default Values and the toggle is on, the form opens with your content already in place.
Edit anything you need to, then complete and sign the form as usual.
📓 If Default Values is turned off, or you have not entered any content, no window appears and the form is created blank.
📱 On Sitemate Mobile:
Create a new form from your template as you normally would.
If the template has Default Values and the toggle is on, the form opens automatically with your default content already in place — you are not asked to choose.
Edit anything you need to, then complete and sign the form as usual.
📓 Note: On Sitemate Mobile, new forms from templates with Default Values always open with that content in place. This ensures that standard hazards, controls, and hold points are always present from the start.
📱 On Dashpivot Mobile:
Create a new form from your template as you normally would.
If the template has Default Values and the toggle is on, the form opens automatically with your default content already in place — you are not asked to choose.
Edit anything you need to, then complete and sign the form as usual.
📓 Note: On Dashpivot Mobile, default values populate only in fields above the first approval signature. Fields at or below an approval signature will not be pre-filled.
Notes
Everything stays editable. Default content is ordinary form data. The person filling the form can change any of it.
A required field left on its default counts as filled. Check your defaults are genuinely correct, rather than placeholders someone is expected to replace.
Values are locked in when the form is created. If you later change your default values, existing forms are not affected. Only new forms pick up the change.
Cloning a form copies that form's content. It does not re-apply your Default Values.
If a list row is renamed, the default updates automatically. New forms will show the new name with no action needed from you.
If a list row is deleted or archived, that table cell starts empty on new forms. No error is shown, and all other default values still fill in as expected.
Forms already saved keep the value they had at the time they were created. Removing a list row later does not change any saved forms.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the difference between Default Values and Prefilled Text?
Prefilled Text is locked — it appears on the form and cannot be changed by the person filling it in. Default Values are fully editable, giving the crew a starting point they can adapt to the job. If you want boilerplate that can be edited, use a Multi Line Text field with a default value rather than Prefilled Text.
Can I use Default Values on Dashpivot Mobile?
Yes. Forms can be created from templates with Default Values on Dashpivot Mobile and Sitemate Mobile. You set up and edit the content on Dashpivot Web, and mobile uses whatever you have saved.
On Dashpivot Mobile and Sitemate Mobile, new forms from templates with Default Values always open with that content in place — the option to start blank is not presented on either platform.
📓 Note: On Dashpivot Mobile, default values populate only in fields above the first approval signature. Fields at or below an approval signature will not be pre-filled when the form is created on mobile.
Can the person filling the form tell which content came from a default?
No. Default content is saved as normal form data with no special marking — on the form, in the register, and in the PDF export. If it matters that content was reviewed rather than accepted as-is, build that into your sign-off process.
If I turn Default Values off, do I lose the content I have entered?
No. Everything you have authored is kept. Turning it off only stops it being offered when someone creates a form, and turning it back on restores it exactly as it was.
Why is a field greyed out in the Default Values tab?
That field type does not support Default Values yet. Hover it for a tooltip. See the supported field types table above.
Coming Soon
Dynamic values — such as a date that defaults to today, or a person field that defaults to whoever created the form.
Multiple sets of default values per template — use a different set depending on the job (e.g. one SWMS for earthworks, one for electrical)