Basic Show/Hide Rules
Conditional show/hide rules let you create dynamic forms that adapt in real time based on how respondents answer questions. Instead of showing every field to every person, you display only the fields that are relevant to them.
Creating Your First Rule
Here is a step-by-step example. Suppose your form has two fields:
- A Multiple Choice field labeled "How did you hear about us?" with options: Search Engine, Social Media, Referral, Other.
- A Short Text field labeled "Please specify" that should only appear when the respondent selects "Other".
To set this up:
- Click on the "Please specify" field in the builder to select it.
- In the right settings panel, expand the Conditional Logic section.
- Click Add Condition.
- Set the condition:
- Field: "How did you hear about us?"
- Operator: Equals
- Value: Other
- Set the action to Show this field.
- Click Save.
Now the "Please specify" field is hidden by default and only appears when the respondent selects "Other". The field animates into view smoothly, and disappears when a different option is selected.
Field Visibility Conditions
Every condition consists of three parts:
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Source field | The field whose answer determines visibility. Any field on the form can be a source. |
| Operator | The comparison to perform (equals, not equals, contains, etc.). |
| Value | The answer to compare against. For choice fields, select from the available options. For text fields, type the value. |
You can set the action to either Show this field (hidden by default, shown when condition is met) or Hide this field (visible by default, hidden when condition is met).
Supported Operators
The available operators depend on the source field type:
Text Fields (Short Text, Long Text, Email, URL)
| Operator | Description |
|---|---|
Equals | Exact match (case-insensitive) |
Not equals | Does not match the value |
Contains | The answer includes the specified text |
Does not contain | The answer does not include the specified text |
Is empty | The field has no value |
Is not empty | The field has any value |
Number Fields (Number, Rating, Scale)
| Operator | Description |
|---|---|
Equals | The number matches exactly |
Not equals | The number does not match |
Greater than | The number is larger than the value |
Less than | The number is smaller than the value |
Is empty | The field has no value |
Is not empty | The field has any value |
Choice Fields (Multiple Choice, Dropdown, Checkbox)
| Operator | Description |
|---|---|
Equals | The selected option matches |
Not equals | The selected option does not match |
Contains | For multi-select: the specified option is among the selected options |
Does not contain | For multi-select: the specified option is not among the selected options |
Is empty | No option is selected |
Is not empty | At least one option is selected |
Testing in Preview
After setting up conditional rules, click Preview to test them interactively. Fill in the source field and observe how dependent fields appear or disappear. The preview behaves exactly like the published form, including animations and validation.
Tip: You can add conditions to multiple fields referencing the same source field. For example, if "Country" is "United States", show the "State" dropdown; if "Country" is "Canada", show the "Province" dropdown instead.
What Happens to Hidden Field Data?
When a field is hidden due to a condition, its value is cleared from the submission. This ensures you do not collect stale or irrelevant data. If the field becomes visible again (e.g., the respondent changes their answer), they will need to fill it out again.