I have asked before and also seen another post about this yet the mystery remains…
What is manually added data for? I was hoping and praying it was for page variables but for the life of me I can’t get it to work, or figure out a use case… pretty please? 
Billie
Manually added data is generally something to avoid using. You can set it via link actions going to the screen where you’ve added manual data to.
What is the use case you’re looking for? Most likely you can do what your looking for by using hidden input fields.
This is something I have asked for a few times before too - to get a proper video or tutorial on this from Adalo. It almost feels like a feature they are going to depreciate.
Why do we not want to use it @Ben? When should/could it be used and how?
Hi Ben,
And thanks for taking the time to reply. I know how busy you are… and then to take time to visit the forums and provide support!
Since signing-up with Adalo, I have been trying to find a way to set page (local) variables, and then of course have them available for formulas. I already tried hidden inputs but other than very basic (and predetermined) database calls I dont believe there is too much I can do to programmatically use the form data So I am always keeping an eye open for hack opportunities and at first glance because of all the data types, this looked promising… When you get a moment, you mind sharing what these were for?
As you know, if/when you make available local (page) and global (app) variables, page parameters, data variables and maybe even translation variables, and then expose them for use in Action Steps, there wouldn’t be much that users COULDN’T dream up and build with Adalo!
Cheers, Billie
I tried messing around with “manual data” but the data fields keep getting deleted automatically. Could this be a bug?
It is also not possible to assign any specific value to a data field, just references.
Hi @silentdrummer ,
As far as I know, this feature is not working, I was doing that too at first, since it was available and located at prime location in our screen.
But later after some experiments eventually I abandoned it, and the way I read older posts is they suggest input fields as a way to communicate between screens, but since couple months ago, I think they limit number of screens that this input fields can travel, but never have time to explore more.