Rails Simple Form Default Value if Submitted Nil

Question

I need to overwrite any blank field submissions in my simple form with the text value "N/A". I've found how to set a default value beforehand, but I would like the field left blank for users to fill out and submit, and only changed if they leave it blank. Is this possible? Thanks!

Answer 1

<%= f.input :survey_year, :input_html => { :value => 'N/A'} %>

Should do the trick. See the flipflops.org link in my comment above for alternative approaches.

Answer 2

Try to the following

before_save :default_values

def default_values
    self.name ||= 'N/A' #=> note self.name = 'N/A' if self.name.nil?
end

When a user submits a form with blank/nil name then it will submit to "N/A" otherwise none