Static Dropdown
The Static Dropdown is a dropdown selector where each option has both an id (machine-readable value) and a label (human-readable text). Unlike the regular Dropdown field where the selected text is the value, a Static Dropdown stores a structured id/label pair -- making it ideal for API integrations, database references, and cases where you need consistent identifiers.
Static Dropdown vs regular Dropdown
| Feature | Dropdown | Static Dropdown |
|---|---|---|
| Options | List of text labels | List of id/label pairs |
| Stored value | The label text (e.g., "United States") | The id (e.g., "US") |
| Display | Shows the label | Shows the label, stores the id |
| Best for | Simple choices | API integration, database keys |
How id/label pairs work
Each option is defined as a pair:
| ID | Label (what respondent sees) |
|---|---|
US | United States |
GB | United Kingdom |
DE | Germany |
FR | France |
The respondent sees "United States" in the dropdown, but the submission stores US as the value. This means your workflows and integrations receive clean, consistent identifiers instead of display text that might change.
Configuration
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Options | List of id/label pairs |
| Placeholder | Hint text shown before selection (e.g., "Select a country") |
| Default value | Pre-selected option id |
| Required | Whether a selection is mandatory |
| Searchable | Allow respondents to type and filter the options list |
Adding options
- Add a Static Dropdown field to your form
- In the field settings, open the options editor
- For each option, enter an ID (the value stored in submissions) and a Label (what respondents see)
- Reorder options by dragging
Using in workflows
When connected to a workflow, the Static Dropdown's value is the id, not the label:
{{trigger.countryField}} → "US" (not "United States")
This is useful when passing values to APIs that expect specific codes, IDs, or keys.
When to use
- Country/region selectors -- store ISO codes (
US,GB) instead of full names - Product selectors -- store SKUs or product IDs for order processing
- Department routing -- store department codes for CRM or ticketing APIs
- Status fields -- store machine-readable statuses (
active,pending) for API calls - Any external integration -- where the receiving system expects specific identifiers
Use Static Dropdown whenever the selected value will be sent to an API or stored in a database. The consistent IDs prevent issues caused by label changes -- renaming "United States" to "USA" won't break downstream integrations because the id stays US.