ok i have a users controller with add/edit/delete/view actions now on edit i get all the info from DB and i user prepopulate function to auto fill the form, what i'm trying to do is actually echo a variable in zend_form, take an element and echo it, for example first_name i want to do "echo $this->first_name" or whatever the command is in my zend_fomr, i have been searching for a an answer for days .. could not find anything, is even possible, if somebody knows please give me a hint.