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# Default Merge Tag Values

Default merge tag values work as a fallback when the value of the merge tag is empty.

In the example below, we have a merge tag for First Name, and a default value of "friend".

**{{person.firstName | default: "friend"}}**

If a person does not have a first name, they would be addressed as "friend" instead.

# Adding default values to merge tags

Some merge tags like First Name are automatically inserted with a default value, but most of them are not.

You can manually add a default value to each and every merge tag that you use.

For instance, the automatically inserted merge tag for Company looks like this:

**{{person.company}}**

To insert a default value, change the tag to:

**{{person.company | default: "default value here"}}**

For example: **{{person.company | default: "your company"}}**

That way, if a person lacks a recorded company, the tag would use the text value "your company" instead.