Playa: Specify a default child entry if none is selected

Question

I have a channel with a playa field where users can select a block of content to insert into a page.

Is there a way that I can specify a default child entry to display if the playa field is left blank?

Answer 1

Yes. One approach would be using a conditional based on no_children variable:

{exp:playa:children field="your_field"}
    {if no_children}
        No children found...display fallback.
    {/if}
{/exp:playa:children}

Or you might find that using a conditional based on the {exp:playa:total_children} tag is better suited:

{if "{exp:playa:total_children field='your_field'}"}
    No children found...display fallback.
    Perhaps open a channel entry loop here to show your fallback child
{/if}