There are several ways to automatically populate fields. You can fill fields with values from the current user's profile. You can also fill them with values submitted earlier by the current user, from the same IP address, or in a specific entry.

If your users go directly from Form A to Form B, you can pass values from Form A to Form B with the entry key. You can also populate fields with Dynamic fields.

Subscribe on YouTube

Pass values from Form A to Form B

When users go directly from Form A to Form B, Form A can send its entry key to Form B in the page address. Form B then uses that key to fill its fields with the values from Form A.

1. Go into Form A and click on Settings → Actions & Notifications.
   • Under Current Actions, click the Confirmation action to open it. Then select the Redirect to URL button.
   • In the Redirect URL box, insert the URL of the page that contains Form B. Then add a parameter that includes the entry key from Form A.
     

     

     Leave [key] as it is. This shortcode gets the entry key.
2. Go into Form B and click the field to fill in. Under Advanced, turn on Calculate Value and select Text. Then put the [frm-field-value field_id=x entry=pass_entry] shortcode in the Field Formula box. Replace x with the ID or key of a field from Form A. This shortcode pulls the value from that field in the Form A entry.
   

   

   To populate a File Upload field, put the [frm-field-value field_id=x entry=pass_entry show=id sep=","] shortcode in its Default Value box instead. Replace x with the ID or key of the File Upload field from Form A.
   

   

3. Now, when a user submits Form A, they're taken to Form B. The entry key from Form A is passed in the URL. The frm-field-value shortcode uses it to fetch the values from the Form A fields.
   

   

Populate fields for current user

To populate fields with values submitted by the current logged-in user, insert the [frm-field-value field_id=x user_id=current] shortcode into the Default Value box in the field options. Replace x with the ID of the field that you want to get the value from.

If the current user has submitted several entries in that form, this shortcode gets the value from the user's most recent entry. It's the simplest option for logged-in users. Logged-out visitors see a blank field.

Get values from the user's profile

1. Go into the form that you want to populate with values from the user's profile.
2. Insert any of the following shortcodes into the Default Value box of the field options:
   • Retrieves the user's first name.

     [first_name]

   • Retrieves the user's last name.

     [last_name]

   • Retrieves the user's display name.

     [display_name]

   • Retrieves the user's username (login).

     [login]

   • Retrieves the user's ID number.

     [user_id]

   • Retrieves the user's email address.

     [email]

   • Retrieves the user's WordPress role.

     [user_role]

   • Retrieves specific user meta from the user's profile. Replace "address" with the name of your user meta.

     [user_meta key="address"]

To add custom user meta to the user's profile, use the User Registration add-on.

Get values from selected entry

To populate fields based on an entry the user selects, use a Dynamic field in a separate form.

1. Publish the form that you want to autofill on a page. Copy the URL of this page.
2. Create a new form called Select entry. This form is where the user makes their entry selection.
   • Add a Dynamic field with Dropdown as the display type.
   • Set it to load options from Form Entries. In the next dropdown, select the form that you want to pull values from. Then select any field from that form.
     

     

3. Go into the Select entry form and click on Settings → Actions & Notifications.
   • Under Current Actions, click the Confirmation action to open it. Then select the Redirect to URL button.
   • In the Redirect URL box, insert the URL copied in step 1.
   • Add ?pass_entry=[x show=key] to the end of the URL.
     

     

     Replace x with the ID of the Dynamic field.
4. Go into the form that you want to autofill and click the field to fill in. Under Advanced, turn on Calculate Value and select Text. Then put the [frm-field-value field_id=x entry=pass_entry] shortcode in the Field Formula box.
   

   

   Replace x with the key or ID of the field that you want to pull the value from.
5. Now, when the user submits the Select entry form, the fields are populated with values from the selected entry.
   

   

Populate fields by IP address

Use this option when your users aren't logged in and you want to pull values from another form they submitted. To do this, insert the [frm-field-value field_id=x ip=1] shortcode into the Default Value box in the field options. Replace x with the ID of the field that you want to get the value from.

If several entries have been submitted in that form from the same IP address, this shortcode gets the value from the most recent entry.

Since Formidable Forms 7.0, a logged-out visitor gets only an entry that was submitted while logged out. A logged-in user gets the latest entry from their IP address that was submitted while logged out or by their own account. Administrators get the latest entry from that IP address, whoever submitted it.

This method depends on the visitor's IP address. If the same person uses a different computer or network, for example, this shortcode doesn't find their earlier entry. Visitors on a shared network, such as an office or school, can have the same IP address and get each other's latest entry.

If your form collects private information from guests, use the guest option in pass values from Form A to Form B instead.

Populate fields by entry ID or key

To pull values from a particular entry into your current form, insert the [frm-field-value field_id=x entry=1296] shortcode into the Default Value box in the field options. Replace x with the ID of the field that you want to get the value from. Replace 1296 with the ID or key of the entry that you want to pull values from.

Since Formidable Forms 7.0, the value shows only to administrators and to the logged-in user who submitted that entry. Everyone else, including logged-out visitors, sees a blank field. If the value is meant to be public, make the field public with the example to show one field's value to every visitor.

Populate with fields that have separate values

When you populate a field from a field that has separate values, frm-field-value shows the label by default. To show the saved value instead, add show="value" to the shortcode: [frm-field-value field_id=x show="value"].

Pass values from form to URL

To include the information submitted in the form directly in the URL, use the [get param] shortcode. Learn more about how to get a parameter from the URL.