How to Auto-Fill a Gravity Forms Hidden Field from URL

Gravity Forms is a widely used WordPress plugin that lets you build forms—from simple contact forms to advanced surveys—using a visual interface without writing code.

Notable features

• Drag-and-Drop Interface: Build forms visually.
• Variety of Field Types: Text fields, dropdowns, checkboxes, radio buttons, file uploads, and more.
• Conditional Logic: Show or hide fields based on user input.
• Notifications: Configure email alerts for form submissions.
• Integrations: Connect with Mailchimp, PayPal, Zapier, and other services.
• Calculations: Perform on-the-fly calculations within forms.
• Entry Management: Review, edit, and manage entries directly in WordPress.
• Spam Protection: Built-in measures to avoid unwanted submissions.

If you need a directory-style display, check out the Gravity Forms Directory addon, which provides a shortcode-based approach, search capabilities, user editing of listings, and an approval process.

Anything specific you’d like to dive into with Gravity Forms?

Automatically Populating a Hidden Field from URL Parameters

Yes, you can have a hidden field pick up values from URL parameters. Here’s one way to set it up:

1. Allow Dynamic Population

• Open your form in Gravity Forms and select the hidden field.
• Under the Advanced tab, check Allow field to be populated dynamically.
• In the Parameter Name box, enter the exact name of the URL parameter (for example, utm_campaign).

2. Build the Link

Create a URL like:

https://yourwebsite.com/your-page/?utm_campaign=summer-sale

That hidden field will then be filled with summer-sale.

Things to Keep in Mind

• Case Sensitivity: Parameter names must match exactly.
• Correct Field Type: Use a hidden field for this approach.
• Testing: Verify the setup with different URLs.

If you’d like full control over how parameters are handled, add this snippet to your theme’s functions.php:

add_filter('gform_field_value_your_parameter_name', 'populate_hidden_field');
function populate_hidden_field($value) {
  if (isset($_GET['your_parameter_name'])) {
    return sanitize_text_field($_GET['your_parameter_name']);
  }
  return $value;
}