Default (computer science)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Default" computer science – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A default, in computer science, refers to the preexisting value of a user-configurable setting that is assigned to a software application, computer program or device. Such settings are also called presets or factory presets, especially for electronic devices.

Default values are standards values that are universal to all instances of the device or model and intended to make the device as accessible as possible "out of the box" without necessitating a lengthy configuration process prior to use. The user only has to modify the default settings according to their personal preferences. In many devices, the user has the option to restore these default settings for one or all options. Such an assignment makes the choice of that setting or value more likely, this is called the default effect.