How do you save a status dropdown value in an Adalo form?
Save a reusable status by relating each main record to one seeded Status record, exposing that relationship in the form, and testing both Create and Update flows.
Create a Statuses collection with records such as Waiting, Completed, and Problem. Add a many-to-one Status relationship on the main collection so each request has one Status and each Status can belong to many requests. Expose that relationship as a visible form field; Adalo renders the available Status records as the dropdown and saves the selected record on Create or Update.
Use a relationship-backed field when several records must reuse the same controlled set of statuses. Store each allowed option once in Statuses, then place the Status relationship on the main collection. Adding that relationship as a visible form field turns the related records into choices and lets the form save the selected Status on the request. This avoids inconsistent free-text values and supports filtering requests by status later.
The intended outcome
A new or edited request stores one reusable Status record and displays a populated status dropdown in the form.
Requirements
- A main collection such as Scanner Requests
- A Statuses collection with a Name text property
- A Create form for new records or an Edit form with the current record available
Step by step
- 01
Create the Statuses collection
Add a Statuses collection with a Name text property, then create the option records Waiting, Completed, and Problem.
- 02
Add the relationship
On Scanner Requests, add a Status relationship where one Scanner Request has one Status and one Status can have many Scanner Requests.
- 03
Connect the form
Set the form's collection to Scanner Requests and choose whether the form creates a new request or edits the current request.
- 04
Expose Status as a field
Under the form's visible fields, add the Status relationship. Adalo uses the related Statuses records as the dropdown choices.
- 05
Save with the right action
Use Create Scanner Request for a new request, or Update Current Scanner Request when changing an existing request's status.
- 06
Preview the saved relationship
Submit the form, inspect the request record, and confirm its Status points to the selected Statuses record.
The underlying logic
A status is reusable reference data, so each option should be one Statuses record rather than free text copied into every request.
Scanner Requests are the child records: each request belongs to one Status, while the same Status can classify many requests.
When the relationship is included as a visible form field, the dropdown selects a Status record and the form's Create or Update action persists that relationship.
Data model
| Collection | Important properties | Relationships |
|---|---|---|
| Scanner Requests | Request details; optional timestamps and assignment fields | Status: each Scanner Request belongs to one Status |
| Statuses | Name (Text), seeded with Waiting, Completed, and Problem | Each Status can relate to many Scanner Requests |
What still needs checking?
- This answer is forum-native and uses the current documented child-to-parent relationship model for dropdown fields.
Common failure modes
The dropdown is empty
Open the Statuses collection and create the option records first. A relationship dropdown has nothing to display when the related collection has zero records.
Status is not available as a form field
Confirm Scanner Requests has a relationship property pointing to Statuses and that the form itself is connected to Scanner Requests.
The selection does not save
Make sure the form's submit action creates a Scanner Request or updates the current Scanner Request, and that Status is included as a visible form field.
The edit form creates duplicates
Pass the existing Scanner Request into the screen and use Update Current Scanner Request instead of a Create action.
There are duplicate status choices
Keep one record per allowed status in Statuses and remove case or spelling variants such as completed and Completed.
Testing checklist
0 of 9 checked on this device
Current limitations
- This pattern assumes each main record has exactly one current status; status history requires a separate Status Changes collection rather than overwriting one relationship.
- Adalocado has checked the accepted answer and current public documentation but has not reproduced the workflow or captured a current builder screenshot yet.
Current evidence screenshots have not yet been added. Treat the guidance as documented or legacy material according to the status shown above.
What the Adalo community is reporting
These are concise editorial summaries of public forum posts—not endorsements or independently reproduced results.
Status dropdown in form? I'm getting desperate here
The accepted answer models Statuses as reusable records, relates each Scanner Request to one Status, seeds the option records, and saves the selected relationship through the form's Create or Update action.
Boundary: The forum answer is specific to the author's Scanner Requests example and does not include current editor screenshots.
eternity555 (question) and Flawless (accepted answer) · June 2026Sources and status
This page was last reviewed on Aug 14, 2026. Its current status is Documented from current sources.
Verification owner: Automatically organized from an accepted forum answer; monitored for corrections. Next review: Oct 14, 2026.
Changelog
Automatically posted from a solved Adalo forum topic; corrections are monitored on the live site.
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