Unable to set field's value based on user selection from a dropdown

[SeanB]

So my setup is as follows:

I have a Type called “Property Type”. It has one field called “Type” with values (“Residential”, “Condo”, “Multi Family”).

Then I have a Type called “Property Listings” with one of its fields called “Property Type” and it is of type “Property Type” (basically, a relational field to the thing mentioned above). “Property Listings” has other fields such as size (Input number), photo (File upload), description (Multi line text), etc. and I have each of these fields on the front end for the user to select/set. The “Property Type” input is a dropdown type that is set to display dynamic values, so it displays “Residential, Condo, Multi Family”, etc.

So far so good.

I’ve added a button at the end of this front end user form such that when the user fills out and clicks this “Add Property” button, a new thing is created of type “Property Listing”

I am able to map all the user inputs to their corresponding field types except for dropdown values. For dropdown values specifically, when I try to set the “Property Type” field = , the dropdown property type is greyed out and doesn’t allow me to set the field value equal to the “Property Type” field. It says ‘Incompatible type’. What am I doing wrong? See below.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[mikeloc]

Hi there, @SeanB… the issue is that you have selected text as the Type of choices for your dropdown. You would need to select Property Type in that dropdown. That being said, is the only purpose of the Property Type data type to populate a dropdown with values of Residential, Condo, and Multi-Family? If so, you might want to consider using an option set for those property type options… just a thought.

Best…
Mike

[SeanB]

Thanks, Mike. Appreciate the help. Not familiar with an option set so didn’t even know that was an ‘option’ I’ll read up about it now. Thanks once again.

[SeanB]

Hi Mike. Me again. Quick follow up. Once again, thanks a ton for introducing me to the concept of Option sets – these are great and perhaps just what I needed. I’m going to get rid of my data type called ‘Property Type’ and replace it with an Option set instead. From what I’m reading in the manual, Option sets seem very similar to Types, and they have Attributes just like Types have Fields. Option types are also global in that they don’t need to be tied down to a specific Type. Is there anything that an Option Set cannot do (like a field)? Can I use the options in the Option set later to create custom reports for all say ‘Residential’ types, etc. Meaning, can I access the options within an Option set the same way I could access a ‘value’ for a field? What should I keep in mind about something that an Option set may not be able to do?

Best,
Sean

[mikeloc]

Hey there, Sean… my pleasure to introduce you to options sets… it really is a great feature. I definitely don’t mind answering your questions, but if you haven’t come across this thread, I would say to start here because the thread has a ton of great info in it…

[New Feature] Option sets

Hello everyone! We’ve just released a new feature: Option sets. Option sets allow you to have a static list of choices or Options which are global to your app. This is great for situations where you know ahead of time what options are possible for a variable - things like days of the week, marital status, team name for a given user, etc. You can create them in the Data tab, add various options to them, and even add attributes to your options. You can use option sets anywhere you would use a nor…

Once you get going with option sets, you’ll never turn back.

Best…
Mike

[SeanB]

Thanks a bunch, Mike. This is great!