How do I create a Smart Field Preset?

Creating a Smart List in Apricot starts with setting up a Smart Field Preset, which tells the system where to pull your list values from. These presets are reusable across forms and help enforce consistency by sourcing dropdown values from existing records. Once created, a Smart Field Preset can be applied to one or more dropdown fields in the Form Designer.

The steps below walk you through creating a new preset, with details about optional filter and preview features to help you refine your list.

To get started, open the Administrator tab and select Form Designer from the navigation bar. Then, click on Smart Field Presets. This opens a list of existing presets (if any) and gives you access to create a new one.

Click "New Preset" in the top-right corner of the page. You'll be prompted to enter a name for your preset—choose something descriptive that reflects the values you'll include, such as "Active Service Providers" or "2025 School Districts."

On the next screen, you'll choose a source form — this is the form Apricot will use to pull records from. For example, if you're creating a list of schools, you'd select the Tier 1 form where school records are stored.

After selecting the form, choose the Primary Field — the specific field on that form that will display as the dropdown value when this preset is used.

Note: Only certain field types are supported as the primary field. Common choices include short text fields and dropdowns. Unsupported fields (such as Attach Doc, Auto-populate, Image, Signatures, or Dynamic fields) will not appear as options. If the primary field you need isn't available, double-check that its field type is compatible.

If you only want certain records to appear in the Smart List (for example, only "Active" providers), you can apply a Field Filter. This filter limits the dropdown options based on field values in the source form, which can be helpful when your source form includes records you don't want users selecting from (e.g. inactive entries, archived partners, etc.).

To do this, click Add a Filter.

Then, choose a field from the source form, an operator (such as "is equal to" or "does not contain"), and a value. You can add up to 4 filters if needed. Records must meet all filter conditions to appear in the final list.

Note: Auto-populate fields cannot be used as a field filter.

Before saving your preset, use the Preview button to see exactly which values will appear in the Smart List. This shows a sample of how your preset will behave when applied to a field.

Preview reflects the field values from all current records that meet the selected filters. If no results appear, double-check your filters and field selections.

Note: Preview speed is based on execution time and can be affected by database size, filter complexity, and time of day. To gauge realistic performance, preview during peak usage (midday). Off-hours may show artificially fast results.

If your preset is marked Slow (over 5 seconds), users may experience lag during data entry or reporting. Try reducing filters — especially complex ones like link or program filters — to improve performance. If performance remains poor, contact Support for assistance.

Once you've made your selections, click Save Preset at the bottom of the page.

Important: After a preset has been used on a form, it cannot be deleted, and changing the Primary Field will break existing Smart List fields using it. Be sure to review all selections before saving.

Your preset is now available for use in any eligible dropdown field on your forms!