Set the default value for a control

1. In design mode, double-click the control whose default value you want to set.
2. On the Data tab in the Control Properties dialog box, do one of the following:
   • To add a standard default value, type the default value in the Value box.
   • To add a formula that calculates the default value, click Insert Formula , and then, in the Insert Formula dialog box, create the formula. To automatically update the value in the control each time the formula is calculated, select the Update this value when the result of the formula is recalculated check box.

     Note  To add a formula to a list control, you must set the default value of the field to which the list control is bound.

1. In design mode, double-click the list box or drop-down list box whose default value you want to set.
2. Under List box entries on the Data tab, select the list entry that you want to set as the default value, and then click Set Default.

   The Value column lists the value that is stored in the form. The Display Name column lists the value that appears on the form.

The default value of a check box is a combination of its default state, selected or cleared, and the value that is associated with that state.

1. In design mode, double-click the check box whose default value you want to set.
2. To change the default state of the check box, click Cleared or Checked on the Data tab in the Check Box Properties dialog box.
3. To change the value that is stored in the data source when the check box is cleared or selected, click the value that you want in the Value when cleared list and the Value when checked list.

   By default, the check box field contains the value FALSE when the check box is cleared and TRUE when the check box is selected.

In a group of option buttons, only one button can be selected by default. To set the default value for a group of option buttons, you specify the default option button and the value of that option button.

1. In design mode, double-click the option button that you want to set as the default button.
2. In the Value when selected box on the Data tab, enter the value of the option button when it is selected.
3. Select the This button is selected by default check box.

You can specify the default value for a picture control that saves the picture data in the form. You cannot specify the default value for a picture control that links to the picture data.

1. In design mode, double-click the picture control whose default value you want to set.
2. On the Data tab in the Picture Properties dialog box, do one of the following:
   • To use a standard picture that says Click here to insert a picture, click Show picture placeholder.
   • To use another picture as the default, click Browse, and then select a picture in the Insert Picture dialog box.

1. In design mode, double-click the file attachment control whose default file you want to set.
2. On the Data tab in the File Attachment dialog box, do one of the following:
   • To use a standard picture that says Click here to attach a file, click Show file placeholder.
   • To use a file as the default, click Browse, and then select a file in the Attach File dialog box.