Skip to main content
A dropdown lets a submitter pick from a controlled list of values. The list comes from a picklist you point the field at with picklist_id. The field stores the option code; the picklist owns the options themselves.

​
When to use it

Use a dropdown when the valid values are a bounded, governed vocabulary that you want to control centrally:
  • Channels, mediums, regions, product lines, business units.
  • Any value you want consistent across every record so reports group cleanly.
  • Selections that should narrow based on an earlier choice (a cascade).
Don’t use a dropdown for free-form text. If submitters need to type an open value, use a Text field instead.
The list of options lives on a picklist, not on the field. Three picklist types feed a dropdown:

Static

A hand-authored list. Flat or hierarchical.

Hierarchical

Parent-to-child options for cascading dropdowns.

Automated

Options derived live from another taxonomy’s records.

​
Settings reference

You set these on the field. picklist_id is required; everything else is optional.
SettingDefaultWhat it does
picklist_idrequiredThe picklist that supplies this dropdown’s options.
picklist_rulesnoneConditional rules that swap in a different picklist based on other field values. First match wins; falls back to picklist_id. See Conditional picklists.
multiplefalseAllow more than one selection. Only for static, flat picklists.
min_choicesnoneSmallest number of selections allowed (only when multiple is on).
max_choicesnoneLargest number of selections allowed (only when multiple is on).
separator,Character that joins multiple selections in the stored value (only when multiple is on).
default_valuenoneAn option code to preselect, or an array of codes when multiple is on.
depends_onnoneMakes this a cascading child of another dropdown. See Cascading dropdowns.
The required toggle lives on the field itself, not in these settings. Whether submitters can add values that aren’t in the list is a property of the picklist (allow_additions), not the field. See Letting submitters add options.

​
Single vs. multiple

By default a dropdown takes one value. Turn on multiple to let submitters pick several. When multiple is on:
  • min_choices and max_choices bound how many they may select. Leave either blank for no bound.
  • The selected codes are joined with separator (a comma by default) when the value is stored.
  • default_value becomes a list of codes rather than a single code.
Multi-select works only with static, flat picklists. It is not available on hierarchical or automated picklists, or on any dropdown that sets depends_on.

​
Conditional picklists

Sometimes the right list of options depends on what was entered elsewhere. Add one or more picklist rules to the field: each rule says “when this condition holds, use this picklist instead.” Terminus Hub evaluates the rules top to bottom and uses the first one that matches. If none match, it falls back to the field’s default picklist_id. For example, a sub_channel dropdown could show a “Paid sub-channels” list when channel is paid, and a “Organic sub-channels” list otherwise. You build these in the field’s settings under Picklist Rules; reorder them to control precedence.

​
Example

In the Campaign URL Builder, utm_medium is a single-select dropdown over a static picklist of mediums (email, social, cpc): 
name: utm_medium
type: dropdown
required: true
settings:
  picklist_id: utm_mediums
  default_value: email
A multi-select audiences dropdown that requires one to three picks looks like this: 
name: audiences
type: dropdown
settings:
  picklist_id: audience_segments
  multiple: true
  min_choices: 1
  max_choices: 3
  separator: ","
When a submitter picks prospects and existing, the record stores prospects,existing.

​
Gotchas

  • The dropdown stores the code, not the label. Reports and links use the option code. Keep codes stable; rename an option’s display label freely, but changing a code leaves existing records pointing at the old value.
  • Multi-select is narrow. multiple is rejected on hierarchical picklists, automated picklists, and any field that uses depends_on.
  • Conditional rules and cascades both filter. If a field has both picklist_rules and depends_on, both narrow the options at once, so an over-tight combination can leave a submitter with nothing to choose.
  • Adding new values is a picklist setting. A dropdown can only accept submitter-proposed values when its picklist has allow_additions turned on. See Letting submitters add options.