Changing or deleting choices in a form that already has entries
Gravity Forms saves the choice a person picked into each entry when the form is submitted. Editing a field’s choices later leaves the saved entries as they are, but it changes which entries a View’s filter matches, what the View shows and what Edit Entry saves. This applies to Radio Buttons, Checkboxes and Drop Down fields, and to Product and Option fields that use them.
Changing the price of a product choice #
Product fields set to Drop Down or Radio Buttons, and Option fields, save the choice’s value followed by a vertical bar and its price at the time of the order. An entry for a Senior choice priced at $36 is saved as Senior|36. After you change the price to $28, new entries are saved as Senior|28, and the entries saved earlier keep Senior|36.
Filter conditions that include the price
When you pick a product choice from the list in an Advanced Filter condition, the condition saves the choice with its price, such as Senior|36, even though the list shows only Senior. After a price change, the View keeps listing the older entries and leaves out every new one. In the View editor, the condition then shows the saved text with the old price.
Changing 36 to 28 in the condition doesn’t help: the View then lists the new entries and leaves out the older ones. To match the choice at any price, keep the label and the vertical bar and delete the price:
- Edit the View and click the Filter & Sort tab in the Settings box.
- In the condition, click the value. If it is still a list, choose Custom Value at the bottom of the list first.
- In the text box, enter the choice’s label followed by a vertical bar and no price, such as
Senior|. - Click Update.
The vertical bar matters when one label contains another. The condition contains Senior also matches entries for a Senior masters (35+) choice, and Senior| doesn’t. If you rename the choice, update the condition to the new label.
Editing older entries after a price change
When Edit Entry shows a product field, saving the entry saves the product choice at its current price, and the entry’s Total changes with it. For example, Edit Entry turns a saved Senior|36 into Senior|28, even if nobody touched the field. Edit Entry leaves the product fields out of entries with payment details, such as a payment status or a transaction ID, so their prices stay as they are. Editing Product and Pricing Fields in Edit Entry describes this.
Deleting a choice #
Deleting a choice removes it from the form. Entries that saved it keep their value, and the View keeps showing it.
Radio Buttons and Drop Down fields
When Show Values is on for the field, a choice has a label, such as Guest of a member, and a separate value, such as guest. A View shows the value unless the field’s What should be displayed setting, under the field’s gear icon in the View editor, is Label of the input.
With that setting, an entry that saved a deleted choice shows its value instead of its label. The label belongs to the choice, so it goes when the choice is deleted.
Checkboxes
Gravity Forms numbers each checkbox choice by its position in the field: the first choice of field 5 is 5.1, the second 5.2, and so on. Deleting a choice moves every choice below it up one number, while entries keep their values under the old numbers. Adding a choice anywhere except at the end moves the choices below it the same way.
- The View still lists every saved value, including the deleted choice.
- Exports read the field’s current numbers, so the values saved under the old last number are left out. Checkbox values are missing from exports after a choice is deleted explains which values and how to get them back.
- Anything that refers to a choice by its number, such as
{Sessions:5.2}in a[gvlogic]shortcode, now points to a different choice.
Add new checkbox choices at the end of the list.
Editing an entry after deleting a choice
Edit Entry shows the field's current choices only. In an entry that saved a deleted choice, nothing is selected in its place, and saving the entry clears that value. In a Checkboxes field, the choices that moved up a number aren't ticked either, so saving the entry clears them too, even though they still exist.
Before you edit such an entry, add the deleted choice back in its old position, then delete it again when you're done. A choice you want to keep in old entries is safer retired than deleted.
Retiring a choice without deleting it #
To stop new entries from using a Radio Buttons or Checkboxes choice while older entries keep it, leave the choice in the form and hide it with CSS. Edit Entry still shows the choice, so older entries keep their label and keep the value when they're saved.
Each choice on the page has a class such as gchoice_7_4_2: gchoice, then the form ID, the field ID and the choice's number, with _ between them. Radio Buttons choices are numbered from 0 and Checkboxes choices from 1, so gchoice_7_4_2 is the third choice of radio field 4 in form 7. To check a class, right-click the choice on the form and choose Inspect.
This CSS hides that choice on the form and keeps it in Edit Entry:
:not(.gv-edit-entry-wrapper) > .gform_wrapper .gchoice_7_4_2 {
display: none;
}Add it to your theme's CSS:
- In a block theme, go to Appearance, then Editor, and click Styles. Open the More menu (⋮) and choose Additional CSS. Paste the CSS and save the change.
- In a classic theme, go to Appearance, then Customize, and open Additional CSS. Paste the CSS and click Publish.
The CSS only changes what the form shows. Someone who edits the page's code can still submit the hidden choice.
