# Editor example Setting defaults

Default values can readily be set for the fields in the form, which are then used when the 'create' new record form is shown (when using the 'edit' form, the values for the fields are read directly from the DataTable). This is done by using the `fields.def` option for the fields that are created with either the `fields` initialisation option or the `add()` API method.

In the example below, five fields are given default values, while the other two are left empty (the default value for the field is an empty string). Note also that the date field is computed by giving the default value as a function. Editor will evaluate the function and use the returned value as the default.

Name | Position | Office | Extn. | Start date | Salary
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Name | Position | Office | Extn. | Start date | Salary

- JavaScript
- HTML
- CSS
- Ajax
- Server-side script

The JavaScript shown below is used to initialise the table shown in this example:

`const editor = new DataTable.Editor({ ajax: '../php/staff.php', fields: [ { label: 'First name:', name: 'first_name' }, { label: 'Last name:', name: 'last_name' }, { label: 'Position:', name: 'position', def: 'Software developer' }, { label: 'Office:', name: 'office', def: 'Edinburgh' }, { label: 'Extension:', name: 'extn', def: '0000' }, { label: 'Start date:', name: 'start_date', def: () => new Date(), type: 'datetime' }, { label: 'Salary:', name: 'salary', def: '85000' } ], table: '#example' }); new DataTable('#example', { ajax: '../php/staff.php', columns: [ { data: null, render: (data) => data.first_name + ' ' + data.last_name }, { data: 'position' }, { data: 'office' }, { data: 'extn' }, { data: 'start_date' }, { data: 'salary', render: DataTable.render.number(null, null, 0, '$') } ], layout: { topStart: { buttons: [ { extend: 'create', editor: editor }, { extend: 'edit', editor: editor }, { extend: 'remove', editor: editor } ] } }, select: true });`

In addition to the above code, the following JavaScript library files are loaded for use in this example:

The HTML shown below is the raw HTML table element, before it has been enhanced by DataTables:

This example uses a little bit of additional CSS beyond what is loaded from the library files (below), in order to correctly display the table. The additional CSS used is shown below:

``

The following CSS library files are loaded for use in this example to provide the styling of the table:

This table loads data by Ajax. The latest data that has been loaded is shown below. This data will update automatically as any additional data is loaded.

The script used to perform the server-side processing for this table is shown below. Please note that this is just an example script using PHP. Server-side processing scripts can be written in any language, using the protocol described in the DataTables documentation.