Can we set defaultValue depend on locale?

[Duckinm]

I want fields to automatically update the default value by checking locale

Is it a possible way to do that?

[jmikrut]

Dang, this is a super good question.

It would likely need to be a feature request. We could allow the defaultValue field to accept either a value, or a function that returns a value—wherein you could return a value based on other fields' data, locale, etc.

Alternatively, right now, you could use hooks (say a field beforeChange hook) that set a default value if no value is passed. This would be a stop-gap solution that would not have any effects on the admin UI, but after a document was saved, the default value would then show up.

In the interim, I've switched this discussion category to Feature Request so we can keep this idea around!

[bratvanov]

This feature request can be closed, since defaultValue as a function has been supported for a while:
https://payloadcms.com/docs/fields/overview#default-values

Here is an example of a defaultValue function:

import type { Field } from 'payload'

const translation: {
  en: 'Written by'
  es: 'Escrito por'
}

export const myField: Field = {
  name: 'attribution',
  type: 'text',
  defaultValue: ({ user, locale, req }) =>
    `${translation[locale]} ${user.name}`,
}

Tip: You can use async defaultValue functions to fill fields with data from API requests or Local API using req.payload.