Fill puts a lineup from your build into each contest entry. You never drag a lineup onto an entry by hand. DFS Hero computes an allocation, one lineup per entry per contest, and the Entries Preview tab shows exactly what the fill will write. Your saved entries show on the Entries view. Contest Setup shapes that allocation: which contest fills first, how lineups spread across contests, whether a lineup can repeat, and where each contest takes its lineups from. The Fill button writes your entries. After you press Fill once, the build keeps your entries synced. Change a selection method, an exposure cap, or Contest Setup, and your entries follow. An export pauses Live Sync so your uploaded file stays true; press Fill to start it again.
Before you start
- Upload the entries CSV for the slate. See Upload your entries.
- Run a build. See Your first build. A sim is optional but unlocks Win Paths and the sim metrics. See Run your first sim.
Step by step
- Open the LINEUPS rail. The panel opens on the Entries Preview tab.
- Read the line under the controls. It says how many entries the allocation covers and where the lineups come from, in short names. Hover it for the full sentence.
- Expand a contest. Each entered contest is one accordion. Set FILL FROM in its header when that contest needs a different lineup selection method.
- Click the gear at the far right of the controls row to open Contest Setup.
- Set Priority and Fill order at the top. In the All contests row, set Fill from and Duplicates for every contest at once, and use its Fill menu to fill all contests, only GPPs, or only cash contests. Then change a single contest in its own row, and switch Fill off for any contest the strategy must not fill. A lineup you set as an entry by hand still lands in that contest.
- Close the popover. Press Fill N in the footer. Fill writes the preview into your saved entries for the contests switched on. The footer reads Synced when the saved entries match the preview.
- Change a setting, for example a Max Exp cap. The footer reads Syncing..., then Synced. Live Sync wrote the change into your entries.
Every control
Priority and Fill order
| Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Priority | The order contests fill in. Highest stakes (most total money entered fills first), Highest entry fee, Most entries (the contest with most of your entries first), Entries file order, or Custom (drag). | Highest stakes |
| Fill order | How lineups spread across contests. Priority Order (the top contest takes the best lineups first), Snake Draft (contests take turns, order flips each round), Shuffle Draft (turns in a random order every round). | Priority Order |
| Reset | Resets priority, fill order, duplicates, and every per-contest override. Every contest fills again. | Hidden until a setting changes |
The All contests row
The first row of the table sets every contest at once. Each control sits under the column it sets.
| Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Fill from | Sets Fill from on every contest. It reads Mixed when the contests differ. A Rank by pick changes only the contests whose method ranks by a metric. | Follows the Selection |
| Duplicates | Whether one lineup can sit in more than one contest. All Unique (each lineup lands in only one contest) or Allow Repeats. A contest that set its own value keeps it. | All Unique |
| Fill (All / 3/4) | Opens Which contests this build fills and sets every contest's Fill switch at once: All contests, GPP contests only (turns cash contests off), or Cash contests only (turns GPP contests off). Unknown types stay on. The button shows how many contests fill. | All |
Per-contest rows
Entered contests come first, then sim scenarios that are not entered contests.
| Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Drag grip | Drag the row to set a custom priority. Dragging switches Priority to Custom (drag). On a phone, use Move up and Move down. | File order inside Highest stakes |
| Fill from | Where this contest takes its lineups. The same menu as the FILL FROM select in the accordion header. A dot on the button marks a contest set on its own. | Follows the Selection |
| Duplicates | The per-contest override for All Unique or Allow Repeats. | The All contests value |
| SOLO | Switches every other contest off, so you can test one contest's allocation alone. | Always visible |
| Fill switch | Takes the contest in or out of Fill and Live Sync. An off contest keeps its drag position and its overrides. | On |
The FILL FROM menu
| Item | What it does | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Follow Selection | Follow the tab's Selection, named under the row with the metric it ranks by (for example Balanced Exposure · Projection). The contest takes the Selection's lineups in the Selection's order. Pick it to undo a contest's own setting. | Always |
| Highest Ranked | The full pool sorted by the contest's Rank by, best first. | Always |
| Min Uniques | Every lineup in the contest differs by N or more players, for N from 2 to 8, taken in Rank by order. | Always |
| Win Paths | Picks lineups from the full pool that crack the top 1% in as many sim outcomes as possible. | After a sim. Before one, a line above it says why it is off. |
| Balanced Exposure | Matches each player's exposure to how often the pool uses him, and breaks ties by Rank by. | Always |
| Rank by | The one metric Highest Ranked, Min Uniques, and Balanced Exposure rank by. It carries over when you switch among those three. Projection and Ownership are always there; Optimal on a pool built since Sep 20, 2026; the sim metrics (ROI, Win Prob, Top 0.1%, Top 1%, Top 5%, Cash Prob, Leverage, Ceiling, Floor, GeoMean) after a sim, using this contest's own sim values when a scenario matches; Actual for Highest Ranked once real scores load. | With Highest Ranked, Min Uniques, or Balanced Exposure |
The button shows a short name, for example Highest · ROI or Balanced · Proj. Hover it for the full name. A contest that follows the Selection names the Selection's metric too, for example Highest · T1%. When the pool cannot run your Rank by yet, the button names what runs instead and the Rank by row says why, for example ROI after sim. A sim metric before a sim, or Optimal on a pool without it, ranks by Projection. A Highest Ranked contest set to Actual or Optimal follows the Selection until the pool carries that data. On a phone, Rank by and Min Uniques open under their row.
An amber icon in a contest header means the fill for that contest did not go as asked. Each message and its fix is listed under Troubleshooting.
The footer
| State | What you see | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| In sync | Synced | The saved entries match this build's preview. |
| Syncing | Syncing... | Live Sync is writing this build's latest preview into your entries, or it waits for a build or a sim to finish first. |
| Filling | Filling... | A fill is running or saving. |
| Behind | Fill N entries with a caret menu that holds Fill empty only | N saved entries differ from this build's preview, and a Fill can change them. Live Sync does not write them. You did not fill from this build on this device yet, another build or device filled them, you saved a swap, or Live Sync is off. A swap you saved counts as a difference. Press it to write the preview into the entries of the contests switched on. On a narrow panel the button reads Fill N. |
| Waiting | Removing sim results... or Updating lineups... on the left of the footer, and Fill N entries is off | Fill waits while DFS Hero changes this build. Removing sim results...: DFS Hero removes the sim results of a contest that left your entries from this build. Updating lineups...: DFS Hero reads this build's lineups again, for example after a change on another device. The words take the place of the lineup count and the trashed count. Live Sync waits too, and the footer still reads Syncing... on the right. Fill turns on by itself when the wait ends. |
| Paused | Paused after export · before Fill N entries | You exported, then changed the build. Live Sync waits so your uploaded file stays true. Press Fill to write the change and start Live Sync again. |
| Locked | N differ · Locked | After the first game starts, the saved entries differ from the preview only in lineups that hold a started player. A Fill cannot change them. Use Swap to change them. On a slate without late swap, every player locks when the first game starts, so Fill and Swap both close. Export still downloads your saved entries. |
| Nothing to fill | N differ | The saved entries differ from the preview, and this build has no lineups to fill them with yet. |
| Not confirmed | Can't confirm saved entries · before Reload | A save failed, and DFS Hero could not read your saved entries back. Check your connection, then press Reload. On a narrow panel only Reload shows. |
The replace dialog
When a fill would replace a swap you made, or lineups another build filled, DFS Hero asks first. A fill that replaces only this build's own lineups runs at once.
The dialog Replace these entries? names each contest and the build or the swap it replaces. It also says how many entries will repeat a lineup because a contest's pool ran short. Choose Cancel or Fill N entries.
The build that filled your entries shows a ticket icon on its tab. The Entries Preview tab on every build, that one included, shows the lineups that Fill would write from its own pool. Your saved entries show on the Entries view. See View your entries.
How it works
The fill runs in the same order every time.
- Which lineups. The Selection builds a working set from the pool, best first, sized to your entry count. A contest that follows the Selection takes from that set. A contest with an override takes from the full pool instead.
- Which entries. Only entries whose games have not started take part. A contest with its Fill switch off leaves the automatic fill. A lineup you set as an entry by hand still lands in it; see Set a lineup as an entry.
- Contest order. Priority sets the order. Ties break by file order.
- Each contest's list. A Highest Ranked override lists the whole pool sorted by its Rank by. A method override such as Win Paths, Balanced Exposure, or Min Uniques runs that method over the pool minus what earlier All Unique contests claimed, and its picks are reserved so no other contest takes them. Balanced Exposure and Min Uniques rank by the contest's own Rank by, else the tab's.
- The plan. Priority Order fills contest by contest. Snake Draft and Shuffle Draft give one entry per contest per round. Override contests resolve first, in priority order.
- Duplicates. Under All Unique, a lineup lands in one entry across all such contests. Under Allow Repeats, a contest cycles its own list.
- When the pool runs short. An All Unique contest whose list is used up wraps to the top of its own list and repeats lineups. Every paid entry still gets a lineup. DFS Hero reports the repeats in the header icon, in the replace dialog, and in a toast after the fill and at export.
- Per-contest exposure caps. Pick a contest in the exposure scope select and edit Min Exp and Max Exp, or use Blanket Max Exposure to cap every player at one percent. DFS Hero swaps only the cap-breaking lineups inside that contest, from lineups no other contest holds. See Player exposure after a build.
- The write. The fill writes exactly the assignments you see. Past the slate's first lock, DFS Hero refuses any change that seats or unseats a player whose game started.
- Entries from elsewhere. A fill writes every entry of the contests switched on whose games have not started, including an entry another build, a scheduled cloud build, or another device filled. Use Fill empty only to keep the entries that already hold a lineup.
Live Sync
After you press Fill once, the build keeps your entries synced. Change a selection method, an exposure cap, or Contest Setup, and your entries follow. A rebuild and a sim change them too. An export pauses Live Sync so your uploaded file stays true; press Fill to start it again.
Live Sync works for the build you filled from, on the device you filled from. It stops, and the footer shows Fill N entries, when another build fills the same contests, when another device fills them, or when you save a swap. A scheduled cloud build, a playbook fill, or an upload of a file that already holds lineups stops it too. Press Fill on the build you want, and Live Sync follows that build. Live Sync also stops when the first game starts. A contest whose Fill switch is off stays out of Live Sync.
To turn Live Sync off, open the three-dot menu in the lineups panel and switch off Live Sync under Preferences. Without it, a change updates the preview on screen, and the Fill N entries button shows until you press it. See View your entries.
Tips
- Leave Priority on Highest stakes for a normal card. Your biggest money goes to the best lineups first.
- Use Snake Draft when two contests matter equally and you want both to share the top of the pool.
- Set a small cash contest to Balanced Exposure or Projection and leave the large GPP on Win Paths after a sim. Each contest then gets the lineups that fit its payout shape.
- Use Solo to test one contest's allocation, then press Reset to bring every contest back.
- Press Fill N on a newer build when you want your entries on it. Live Sync then follows that build. Export again after your last change.
- Fill different contests from different builds with the Fill switches. On build A, switch off the 20-max and 150-max contests and press Fill N. On build B, switch off the single-entry contests and press Fill N. Each build keeps its own switches, and each build keeps its own contests synced.
Troubleshooting
"Some entries repeat a lineup: the fill ran short of distinct lineups." / "N entries repeat a lineup. The pool is short." / N repeats at the end of the line under the controls : build more lineups, widen the Selection, or lower Min Uniques, then fill again.
"Min/Max caps are not enforced for this contest, its allocation repeats a lineup." : the exposure caps could not hold. Build a larger pool or lower that contest's entry count.
"No sim coverage data, using ROI" : a Win Paths override found no captured sim outcomes, so the contest ranks by ROI. Re-simulate.
"Not enough lineups meet the uniques bar, rest backfilled" : build more lineups or lower the uniques count.
"No sim data yet, Balanced Exposure ranked by projection" : run a sim.
"No actuals loaded yet, following the Selection" : the contest follows the Selection until real scores load.
"Games have started: filling is closed for this slate." : the slate passed its first lock, and late swap does not cover this slate. Your saved entries are unchanged. Export downloads them as they are.
"DraftKings captain ids are not available for this slate yet." : on a captain slate, the captain ids arrive about a day before lock. Reload closer to lock and fill again.
"Entries changed on the server" : a swap, another fill, or another device updated the set first. Fill again if lineups are still missing.
"Entries were not filled: games have started" : player lock times could not be verified. Retry in a moment.
"Entries were not filled: a game locked mid-save" : nothing was saved. Fill again to write what is still open.
"Fill didn't save to the server" : nothing from that part of the fill was saved, and DFS Hero reloads your saved entries. Check your connection and fill again.
"Live Sync didn't save to the server" : your saved entries are unchanged. Check your connection and press Fill.
"N entries were not filled: games started" : those entries keep their saved lineups. Use the Swap sheet.
"N entries keep their saved lineup: games started" : those lineups hold a started player, and the other entries fill. Use the Swap sheet for these.
"Games have started: these lineups cannot fill." : every lineup holds a player whose game started or whose start time is unknown. Your saved entries are unchanged. Use the Swap sheet.
"Processing lineups..." : the panel is still loading the full pool. Wait before you fill.
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