Drupal form textfield default value syntax

Drupal form textfield FAQ: How do I set the default value for a textfield in a Drupal form?

Just use the Drupal form "#default_value" tag, like this:

$form['first_name'] = array(
  '#title' => t('First Name'),
  '#type' => 'textfield',
  '#default_value' => 'John',
);

Here's an example of setting the default value of a Drupal textfield to a variable instead of a static text string:

$form['first_name'] = array(
  '#title' => t('First Name'),
  '#type' => 'textfield',
  '#default_value' => $user->first_name,
);

As you can see in both of those examples, the key to setting the Drupal form textfield default text is knowing about the Drupal Form API #default_value tag.