Conditional fields
Jamie Lubiner avatar
Written by Jamie Lubiner
Updated over a week ago

With conditional fields you have the ability to build dynamic registration forms that use conditional logic. Choose whether a question is visible or hidden based on a registrant's selections in previous fields. You also have the ability to select if a question is optional, always required, or required based on a registrant's previous answers.

You can set the following conditional rules:

To see the conditional fields tutorial video, please click here.

How to add conditional fields

Most fields you add to your registration form have the option of being made a conditional field. The exceptions to this are fields that are required by Attendease - i.e. first name, last name, email, and password - as well as any global fields created and set as required by your organization.

Build registration forms on the Form Builder screen, found by clicking the Registration Forms menu item on the Registration tab. Add new questions by dragging form components onto the "Form Preview" area and then click to edit the questions. In the dialog box that appears you can edit the component under the "General" tab and add conditional rules under the "Rules" tab.

Note: You must click the "Save" button at the bottom of the registration form before you can add any conditional rules about that question.

Note: Ensure that your conditional rules are not circularly dependent upon each other. Using circular logic will result in an unending loop and the registrant is unable to complete their registration.

How to configure conditional rules

You are able to add multiple conditions to a conditional rule by clicking the "+" button and choose if the field must meet any one of the conditions entered or if it must meet all entered conditions. In the "Source field" drop-down menu choose among all existing fields to determine which one will trigger the field being required.

In the "Condition" drop-down menu you can choose whether the condition that must be met:

  • is: is the exact same as the entered value

  • is not: is not the exact same as the entered value

  • starts with: matches the start of the entered value

  • ends with: matches the end of the entered value

  • contains: contains the entered value

  • does not contain: does not contain the entered value

Note: Entered values match the value that you have entered exactly and are case sensitive. As an example, if you want a rule to be implemented when an answer in a previous field contains the word Attendease be conscious that entered values such as attendease and ATTENDEASE will not trigger that rule.

Note: Which of the above "Condition" options are available depends on the component type of the source field. As an example, "Select/Option" only allow a user to choose is and is not from the "Condition" drop-down menu.

Requirement

You can set if it is optional or required to leave a response for any particular field in the "Requirement" section, via the "Rules" tab. Fields that are required by Attendease - i.e. first name, last name, email, and password - as well as any global fields created and set as required by your organization are exceptions to this, since they are always required.

Heading fields, such as “Primary Heading,” “Secondary Heading,” “Sub Heading,” and “Help Text” are purely for display and not for input. This means that requirement rules cannot be applied to any of the Heading fields.

Choose from the following three options:

  • Optional: the registrant can choose if they want to answer the question

  • Required: the registrant must answer the question in order to proceed

  • Required if...: the registrant is required to answer the question based on an answer in a previous field

  • Required unless: the registrant is not required to answer the question based on a selection of a previous field

How to use "Required if..."

If you want to make a certain field required if - and only if - a registrant makes a particular selection in a previous field use the "Required if..." option. In other words, whether a field is required or not depends upon the previous answers of the registrant.

"Required if..." example

In this example, there is a field on my registration form that asks what the attendee's primary language is. It is a "Select/Option" field where the registrant can select one option choosing between English, French, or Other as their primary language. If a registrant selects Other I want to require them to enter an answer into the "Text Input" field I have created below - What is your primary language?.

I click to edit the What is your primary language? field and choose the "Rules" tab. In the "Requirement" section I configure the rule accordingly:

  1. Select required if from the drop-down menu.

  2. From the "Source Field" drop-down menu I select the My primary language is... field.

  3. From the drop-down menu that appears I can choose one of the three options of this question - I choose Other since only attendees whose primary language is one other than English or French need to answer this question.

  4. Since I want the condition to be the exact same value as the attendee's selection I choose is from the "Condition" drop-down menu.

  5. There is only one condition entered so it does not matter whether any or all conditions are met.

When a registrant selects Other for the My primary language is... Select/Option field a label will appear, indicating that the What is your primary language? text input field is now required.

How to use "Required unless..."

If you want to make a certain field required unless a registrant makes a particular selection in a previous field use the "Required unless..." option. In other words, whether a field is optional or not depends upon the previous answers of the registrant.

"Required unless..." example

In this example, there is a field on my registration form that asks if the attendee has attended any of our previous webinars. It is a "Select/Option" field where the registrant can select multiple options, choosing between No, Webinar 1, Webinar 2, andWebinar 3. If the registrant selects one of the latter two options I want to make the following question - Do you have previous programming experience? - optional.

I click to edit the Do you have previous programming experience? field and choose the "Rules" tab. In the "Requirement" section I configure the rule accordingly:

  1. Select required unless from the drop-down menu.

  2. From the "Source Field" drop-down menu I select the Have you attended a previous webinar? field.

  3. From the drop-down menu that appears I can choose one of the four options of this question - I choose Webinar 2 since I want to make this question optional for registrants who have attended Webinar 2 previously.

  4. Since I want this question to be optional to registrants who have attended Webinar 3 as well, I add another rule and repeat steps 1 to 3 - this time selecting Webinar 3.

  5. I want the condition to be the exact same value as the attendee's selection, so I choose is from the "Condition" drop-down menu.

  6. Since I want this question to be required unless a registrant has taken either Webinar 2 or Webinar 3 (or both) I select that any of the conditions must be met.

When a registrant selects Webinar 2, Webinar 3, or both on the Have you attended a previous webinar? question, the label indicating that the Do you have programming experience? is required will disappear.

Country Widget requirement rules

There are some requirement rules available specifically for the Country widget. For the “Country” field, the requirement rules available are the same as other fields, as described above. Additionally, you are able to set a requirement rule specifically for the “State/Province” field choosing if selecting a state/province is optional, required, or required only for specific countries.

  • Required if the country is: registrants must select a state/province if they are from one of the specified countries.

Hide/Show

You can set if a particular field is visible or hidden in the "Hide/Show" section, via the "Rules" tab. Fields that are required by Attendease - i.e. first name, last name, email, and password - as well as any fields added to the default registration form on the organizational level are exceptions to this, as they are always visible.

Choose from the following two options:

  • Visible: the field is visible

  • Visible if...: the field will be visible depending on an answer in a previous field

  • Hidden if...: the field will be hidden depending on an answer in a previous field

How to use "Visible if..."

If you want a certain field to be visible depending on a particular selection a registrant has made in another field you can use the "Visible if..." option. In other words, only some selections will trigger the field to become visible.

"Visible if..." example

In this example, I want to ask at which office French speaking registrants from a particular company works at. I want this question to be visible only if the registrant's email address contains @company.com and if they answered French on the My primary language is... question.

I click to edit the Which office are you located in? field and choose the "Rules" tab. In the "Hide/Show" section I configure the rules accordingly:

  1. Select visible if from the drop-down menu.

  2. From the "Source Field" drop-down menu I select the Work email address field.

  3. In the input field that appears I enter @company.com since I know all employees at this company have this email domain. From the "Condition" drop-down menu I select ends with.

  4. I add another rule and select My primary language is... from the "Source Field" drop-down menu.

  5. From the drop-down menu that appears I can choose one of the three options of this question. I choose French since I only want this question to be visible to registrants whose primary language is French.

  6. I am only interested in showing this question to registrants who fulfill both of these rules, so I select that all conditions must be met.

The Which office are you located in? text input field will appear only when a registrant's email address ends with @company.com and selects French on the My primary language is... question.

How to use "Hidden if..."

If you want a certain field to be hidden depending on a particular selection a registrant has made in another field you can use the "Hidden if..." option. In other words, only some selections will trigger the field to become visible.

"Hidden if..." example

In this example I want to make the What is your primary language? field from the "Required if..." example appear only when a registrant selects Other from the My primary language is... drop-down menu.

Fields with conditional rules are flagged so they are easily identified. Since I already added a requirement rule to the What is your primary language? field the flag appears in the screenshot above. Click to edit the field. On the "Rules" tab configure the rule in the "Hide/Show" section accordingly:

  1. From the "Source Field" drop-down menu I select the My primary language is... field.

  2. From the drop-down menu that appears I can choose one of the three options of this question. I choose Other since only attendees whose primary language is one other than English or French need to see this question.

  3. Since I want the condition to not be the exact same value as the attendee's selection I choose is not from the "Condition" drop-down menu. This means that the field will be hidden if, and only if, an attendee selects anything other than Other.

  4. There is only one condition entered so it does not matter whether any or all conditions are met.

Note: If a required field is hidden by your rules, it will be deemed not required.

The What is your primary language? text input field will appear only when a registrant selects Other for the My primary language is... Select/Option field.

Text input validation

For text fields - where registrants have to type an answer - you can set the field to validate the entered value. This includes the "Text Input," "Prepended Text Input," "Appended Text Input," and "Text Area" form components. Choose among the following values that you want the entered value to match:

  • any text

  • email address

  • numbers only

  • phone number

How to use text input validation

Choose which format you want the entered value to match in the "Validation" section of the "Rules" tab. I want registrants to leave their phone number and to ensure that their entered value matches a typical phone number I select phone number to validate the field for.

If a registrant enters a value that does not match a phone number they will be notified to use a valid phone number. This includes multiple formats, including phone numbers with country codes.

Conditional rules on the organizational level

All conditional rules are set up on the event level. In other words, you are unable to create "global rules." If you want to use the same conditional rules that you have used in a previous event, use the cloning functionality to copy the registration form.

Global fields and conditional rules

On your organization's dashboard you can set global fields - fields that are available to add to all registration forms and surveys. If these have been set as required and are added to the registration form they are automatically set as required. You will be unable to make this an optional field unless you set it as "not required" on the Global Fields screen on the organization level.

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