Set Default Values

Default values let you pre-fill a field on every email saved through a destination. This is useful for tagging, categorizing, or setting an initial status without any manual work.

Default values are available for Notion and Airtable destinations. Google Sheets destinations do not support default values.

How to Configure Default Values

When you create or edit a destination, you can set default values for any supported field:

1. Choose a field and enter the value it should always receive.
2. Repeat for as many fields as you need.
3. Save the destination.

For Notion destinations, you have two options: manual default values (pick fields and values one by one) or templates (use a Notion template to set multiple fields at once). See Using a Notion Template below.

Supported Field Types

Notion

Airtable

Fields like Subject, Email, and Date are better suited for field mappings since their values typically come from the email itself.

How Defaults Interact with Mappings

A field can have both a mapping and a default value, but the mapping always wins:

• Mapping exists and email has data -- the email data is used, the default is ignored.
• Mapping exists but email data is empty -- the default value is used as a fallback.
• No mapping, only a default -- the default value is always applied.

This means you can safely set defaults as fallbacks without worrying about them overwriting real email data.

Practical Examples

Tag emails with a status

Set a default on a Select field called "Status":

• Field: Status (Select)
• Default value: Inbox

Every email saved through this destination starts with Status = "Inbox". You can then change the status to "Read", "Action Required", etc. as you triage.

Mark emails for review

Set a default on a Checkbox field:

• Field: Needs Review (Checkbox)
• Default value: Checked

Every saved email will have "Needs Review" checked. Uncheck it once you've handled it.

Categorize by source

If you have multiple destinations (one for receipts, one for newsletters, one for client emails), use a default Select or Multi-select to label them:

• Receipts destination: Category = "Receipt"
• Newsletter destination: Category = "Newsletter"
• Client destination: Category = "Client"

This gives you automatic categorization without any email rules or filters.

Tips

• Default values only apply to new emails. Changing a default won't update records that were already created.
• If the select option you want doesn't exist yet in your Notion database or Airtable table, create it there first, then refresh the field list in Quicktion.
• Combine defaults with mappings for a complete setup: map the email-specific fields (subject, sender, date) and set defaults for everything else (status, category, flags).

Using a Notion Template Instead

If your Notion database already has templates with pre-filled properties, you can use one as the default for a destination. This is an easy way to set many defaults at once without configuring them one by one.

This option is only available for Notion destinations.

How It Works

1. When editing a Notion destination, scroll to the Default Values section and click Switch to template.
2. Select a template from the dropdown — these are the templates defined in your Notion database.
3. Save your changes.

When an email is saved, Quicktion reads the properties from the selected template and applies them as defaults. Email data from your field mappings always takes priority — template values only fill in properties that aren't mapped or don't have data from the email.

Template vs Manual Defaults

You can switch between the two modes at any time. Only one mode is active per destination.

Creating Templates in Notion

If you don't have templates yet:

1. Open your Notion database
2. Click the dropdown arrow next to the New button
3. Click + New template
4. Fill in the properties you want as defaults (status, tags, assignee, etc.)
5. Save the template

The template will then appear in Quicktion's template dropdown when you edit the destination.