# Batch connect form field defaults

**URL:** <https://discourse.openondemand.org/t/batch-connect-form-field-defaults/3209>\
**Category:** Feature Requests and Roadmap Discussion\
**Created:** [January 16, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://discourse.openondemand.org/t/batch-connect-form-field-defaults/3209 "2024-01-16T17:25:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![simonleary-umass-edu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/discourse.openondemand.org/simonleary-umass-edu/32/1254_2.png) [@simonleary-umass-edu](https://discourse.openondemand.org/u/simonleary-umass-edu)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://discourse.openondemand.org/t/batch-connect-form-field-defaults/3209/1 "2024-01-16T17:25:24Z")

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As far as I can tell, the defaults specified in my `form.yml` for a batch connect job are auto-filled the first time the user opens the form, but never again. And since these values are cached by default, any edits the user makes are locked in forever (unless they go deleting files in `~./.cache` or `~/.ondemand` or wherever). This seems suboptimal.

Some ideas:

- button that resets to default values
- “remember my selections” check box. Unchecking the box will fill the default values back into the fields
- display the default values inside the field when the field is blank

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**Author:** ![jeff.ohrstrom](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/discourse.openondemand.org/jeff.ohrstrom/32/136_2.png) [@jeff.ohrstrom](https://discourse.openondemand.org/u/jeff.ohrstrom)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://discourse.openondemand.org/t/batch-connect-form-field-defaults/3209/2 "2024-06-25T15:02:43Z")

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Hi, sorry for the delay - we don’t really monitor this section of discourse.

That said - I created this ticket in github which we do track regularly.

> <https://github.com/OSC/ondemand/issues/3636>
>
> From discourse - https://discourse.openondemand.org/t/batch-connect-form-field-d…efaults/3209
> 
> Basically this feature is to provide a mechanism so folks can
> \* reset the form to defaults (disregarding what has been cached) 
> \* provide a checkbox that reads something like \`remember my selections\` that can disable caching altogether. 
> \* display the default values inside the field when the field is blank
> 
> One technical issue I see with this is providing defaults. Defaults are provided when the form is rendered on the server side, not the client side. So somehow the HTML has to retain what the default should be for the user to reset it back to. I.e., the form is rendered with the last cached setting, so how does the client know what the default was because the current \`value\` is from the cache?