Conditional logic

A form conditional is a Boolean expression on the question editor's Visibility field. The question renders to the respondent only when the expression is true. Empty expression = always visible.

Where to set it

Click the question in the form designer; the right panel has a Conditional visibility input. Either:

• Build it visually: pick a field, an operator, a value. Combine with AND / OR.
• Type the expression directly: same SQL-like dialect as filters.

Available references

Inside a conditional, you can reference:

• Field values of earlier questions, by their backing-field name. {water_present}, {count}, {status}.
• Standard helpers: - today(): current date. - now(): current datetime. - user_role(): the respondent's role (admin, contributor, viewer). - user_id(): their user id. - feature_field(name): when the form pre-fills from an existing feature (edit mode), the original value.

Examples

• Show only if water present: {water_present} = true.
• Show overdue-reason field when overdue: {due_date} < today() and {status} != 'closed'.
• Show photo field for failures: {status} in ('failed', 'needs-repair').
• Hide private fields from non-admins: user_role() = 'admin'.

Conditional groups and pages

The same syntax applies to section headers and page breaks. A page break with a conditional skips the whole page when the condition is false; useful for "skip this section if the respondent isn't an inspector."

Required and conditional together

A required question that's hidden by conditional logic is NOT required when hidden. The respondent submits without filling in the hidden field; the backing-field value stays NULL.

This is the right behavior for "required, but only if relevant" (the most common pattern). If you want "required even when hidden," express it as a constraint on the submission instead.

Notes

• Conditionals don't cycle. A question can reference only fields that appear before it in the form. The designer surfaces a warning if you try to set a circular conditional.
• The expression evaluates on the client. Changes to a referenced field re-evaluate immediately; the question shows/hides as the respondent types.
• Backing-field types matter. A conditional {count} > 5 only makes sense if count is numeric. The designer enforces type compatibility.