---
title: "Sitecore Bug: WFFM Allows to Insert an Existing Form Without Selecting a Placeholder"
description: "A Sitecore WFFM bug lets authors insert forms without a placeholder, breaking rendering. TechGuilds documents the issue and workaround for development teams."
canonical: "https://www.techguilds.com/blog/sitecore-bug-wffm-allows-to-insert-an-existing-form-without-selecting-a-placeholder/"
type: "BlogPosting"
author: "Baraa Mahroka"
publishedAt: "2017-06-01T04:00:00.000Z"
updatedAt: "2026-05-21T19:24:47Z"
source: "https://www.techguilds.com/llms.txt"
---

# Sitecore Bug: WFFM Allows to Insert an Existing Form Without Selecting a Placeholder

Our team here at TechGuilds managed to catch a bug related to the WFFM (Web Forms For Marketers) Insert Form wizard.

While going through form insertion in Sitecore; we were able to add an “existing” form without selecting a placeholder which caused a server error (Value cannot be null) when you try to edit your controls list.

This bug was found on Sitecore XP 8.1 rev.151207 (Update-1) using Web Forms for Marketers 8.1 rev.151217.

This has been reported to Sitecore and they have registered the issue as a bug for the latest WFFM version as it's still reproducible on WFFM 8.2. To track the future status of this bug report, please use Sitecore's public reference number 165730.

We have asked Sitecore to provide a patch to fix the issue. Once the patch is available, I will provide a link to download it.

In the next steps, I am going to provide instructions on how to reproduce the issue and its workaround.

## (A) Steps to reproduce:

1. Find an item to insert your form into.
2. Go to **Presentation** --> **Insert** under **Form** section.

1. Select “ **Insert an existing form**” then click **Next**.

1. Select an existing form under “ **Website Forms**” and then click **Next**.

1. The next step is where you need to select a placeholder from the list provided. DO NOT select any placeholder and then click **Next**.

1. A warning message will popup saying " **You must select a placeholder in order to create the new form**" as shown below --> click **OK**.

1. Logically, it should prevent you from proceeding but it will continue to the next step " **Confirmation**" --> click **Insert**. The form will be inserted without selecting a placeholder.

## (B) An issue you will encounter caused by this bug:

1. Go to the item where you inserted your form.
2. Go to **Presentation** --> **Details**.

1. Under " **Controls"** click **Edit**.

1. A Server error will appear indicating " **Value cannot be null**".

## (C) Here's the workaround:

1. Go to the item where you inserted your form.
2. Go to **Presentation** -- > **Details**.

1. Click on **Form** under “ **Controls**” section.

1. A " **Control Properties**" window will appear. Under " **General**" section add your desired placeholder value into " **Placeholder**" field --> click **OK**.

1. Repeat (B) --> issue is gone.

Until next time!