Showing and hiding form fields | Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base [Skip to content](#main) [ ![Doghouse SaaS Knowledge Base](/storage/branding/01M3N8PQ7PSDNQBBKKJM6XGW03.svg) ](https://nginx.deploy-lagoon-production.districtcms-docs.dh1.amazee.io) [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) Toggle navigation [Product documentation](/articles) [Roadmap](/roadmap) 1. [Home](/) › 2. [Product documentation](/articles) › 3. [Forms](/articles?category=8) › 4. Showing and hiding form fields Showing and hiding form fields ============================== Updated 5 days ago · 3 min read Search Search Overview -------- A condition makes one question depend on the answer to another. Ask whether someone wants a reply, and only then ask for their phone number. It keeps a form short for the people who do not need the extra questions, and it is set on the question being shown or hidden, not on the one being answered. > **⚠️ Important:** This is an administrator's job. Content editors have no form permissions, so they cannot reach these screens. --- Setting a condition ------------------- 1. Open the form and go to the **Build** tab. 2. Press **Edit** on the question you want to show or hide. 3. Open the **Conditions** tab in the dialog. 4. Choose what should happen, such as **Visible**, and set the rule underneath it. 5. Press **Save**. The rule is saved with the form, so there is no need to press **Save elements** afterwards. ![Animation: pressing Edit on the Phone number question, switching to the Conditions tab, and the rule that shows it only when Would you like a reply is checked.](/storage/fuN4vg8JirHaF9BDiCMYtM3Dmqpol9HrNOaW7VGQ.gif) > **💡 Note:** The dialog has four tabs: **General**, **Conditions**, **Advanced** and **Access**. **Conditions** is the second one, and it is empty until you add a rule. --- How a rule reads ---------------- Each rule names another question, a comparison, and a value. Read it as a sentence: > *Show this question when Would you like a reply is checked.* The middle dropdown lists the form's other questions by their title, so you pick the one you want rather than typing anything. The list is narrow, so a long title is cut short in it. > **⚠️ Important:** On a multi-page form, point a rule at a question on the *same* page. A rule that depends on an answer from another page has nothing to watch while that page is off screen. --- What a rule can do ------------------ Setting Effect **Visible** The question appears only when the rule is met. The most common choice. **Required** The question is always visible, but only compulsory when the rule is met. **Disabled** The question shows but cannot be filled in until the rule is met. Those are the three you will reach for. The dropdown holds ten in all, grouped under **Visibility**, **State** and **Validation**, so you can also slide a question in or out, disable it until it's needed, or lock it as read-only. The trigger beside it offers fourteen comparisons, from **Empty** and **Filled** through **Value is** and **Pattern** to numeric ones such as **Greater than** and **Between**. > **💡 Tip:** Check it on the **Test** tab before you rely on it. A condition that never fires looks identical to one you forgot to add. --- Combining conditions -------------------- There are two separate ways to add more to a rule, and they are easy to mix up. ![The Conditions tab of a question, outlined in red, with a Visible rule set to All, its clause, the Add another state button and the Clear value(s) when hidden switch.](/storage/B9YDmGamxd6uum6ZXHSxTTmMnuzajIAYJnhnZlwP.png) ### Matching more than one condition To make one rule depend on more than one answer: 1. Press **Add** beside a condition to add another clause underneath it. 2. Set **All**, **Any** or **One** at the top of the rule to say how the clauses combine: every one must be met, at least one, or exactly one. ### Giving a question a second rule Press **Add another state** instead when you want a completely separate rule on the same question, for example **Visible** on one condition and **Required** on another. This is not another clause on the rule you were editing. It starts a new one, with its own setting and its own conditions. > **⚠️ Important:** A hidden question is never enforced as required, whatever its own **Required** setting says. Hiding always overrides requiring it. Each rule also has a **Clear value(s) when hidden?** checkbox, ticked by default. With it on, an answer already given is cleared the moment its question is hidden again, so a visitor who changes their mind does not leave behind an answer to a question they can no longer see. Related articles ------------------ - [ Forms on your site → ](/articles/forms-on-your-site) - [ Building a form → ](/articles/building-a-form) - [ Splitting a form across pages → ](/articles/splitting-a-form-across-pages) Was this article helpful? ------------------------- Your feedback helps us prioritise what to rewrite. Yes No [ Back to Forms ](/articles?category=8) On this page **Need additional help?** Submit a support request through the [**support portal** ](https://doghouse.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portals)or email © 2026 [Doghouse SaaS](https://doghouse.agency) [Glossary](/articles/glossary)