---
title: "Convert placeholders to real users"
slug: "convert-placeholders-to-real-users"
updated: 2026-04-30T19:53:13Z
published: 2026-04-30T19:53:13Z
canonical: "help.quickbase.com/convert-placeholders-to-real-users"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.quickbase.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Convert placeholders to real users

Quickbase User fields draw directly from the list of individuals with whom you've shared your application. When you import data into a table that contains a User field, Quickbase may need to insert temporary "placeholder" values into that table. To learn why, read [about placeholders](/v1/docs/what-are-placeholders). In your app, if you see values in a User field that are surrounded by double-quotation marks, you need to convert these temporary values to the real users who access your application.

## To convert placeholders to real users

1. Select **Users** in the sidebar of your app.
2. Select the arrow on the **Share app with new user** button.
3. Select **Replace Placeholders** from the dropdown. The Replace Placeholders page displays, listing all the placeholder values for the current app.

> [!NOTE]
> Note: If you don't see this command in the dropdown, there are no placeholders in your application.
4. Next to a placeholder value you want to convert, select **Pick a matching user**.
5. The [User Picker](/v1/docs/user-picker) opens in a new window. Select the Quickbase user that should replace the placeholder and select **Done**. Repeat for each placeholder.

If you make an incorrect selection in the User Picker, clear it by selecting **Cancel**, and try again.

If you realize that you've chosen to replace the placeholder with the wrong user, select **Clear** in the **Replace with** column.

If the placeholder values match the user names of your users, you can let Quickbase try to pick users to match to placeholders for you instead. To do so, select **Pick matches for me** on the page bar. Quickbase finds matches for *only* those placeholder names that *exactly* match a Quickbase user name.
6. When you've finished replacing placeholders, select **Ok** on the page bar.