Setup
Rules & default values
On the Rules tab of the configurator you control when fields and sections appear, and which values new items already contain when they are opened. The tab has three areas:
- Show and hide columns
- Show and hide sections
- Default values
📷 Screenshot to follow: Rules tab with field rules, section rules and default values (dynamicform/en/regeln-uebersicht.png)
Show and hide columns
A field is only shown when another field holds one of the chosen values. Without values it is shown as soon as the other field is filled in.
A rule consists of three parts:
| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Column | The field that is shown or hidden (choose among the fields that are on the form) |
| depends on | The triggering field |
| Values | The values of the triggering field for which the field is visible |
Add rule creates a new rule, Remove rule (bin icon) deletes it. One rule applies per field.
Example
The field «Justification» should only appear when the value «Other» is selected in the choice field «Category»: Column = Justification, depends on = Category, Values = Other.
How the values are chosen
How you specify the values depends on the type of the triggering field:
| Type of the triggering field | Values | Visible when … |
|---|---|---|
| Choice and multiple choice | Pick from the list of choice values (several possible) | the value matches one of the chosen values |
| Yes/No | Choose «Ja» (yes) or «Nein» (no) – these two options are always labelled in German | the value matches. Without values: as soon as «Yes» is selected |
| Text, number, currency | Type a value and confirm with Enter (several possible) | the value exactly matches one of the entered values |
| Multi-line text, date, person, lookup, link and taxonomy (managed metadata) | No values possible | the field is filled in («As soon as filled in») |
More about the behavior:
- Without values (for choice, text, number and currency fields, with the values field left empty = «Empty = as soon as filled in»): The field is visible as soon as the triggering field is filled in.
- Exact comparison: For text, number and currency fields, upper and lower case matter. The values are compared as text.
- Multiple choice: It is enough if one of the ticked values matches the rule.
- If you change the triggering field of a rule, the chosen values are reset.
Note
Preferably use choice and Yes/No fields as triggering fields. For number and currency fields the value is compared as text; test the rule in the form – especially when editing existing items – before relying on it.
Try out how rules affect the form:
General
📷 Screenshot to follow: A field rule with the dropdowns «Column», «depends on» and «Values» (dynamicform/en/regeln-feldregel.png)
Show and hide sections
Entire sections can also be shown and hidden depending on a field. For each section you choose the triggering field under «depends on» and define the Values as for field rules. Without a rule, «Always visible» applies. The cross (Remove rule) sets a section back to «Always visible».
When a section is hidden, its heading, HTML block and all of its fields disappear.
Warning
A section should not depend on a field that sits inside the section itself: if the section is hidden, the field can no longer be filled in – the rule can never match. The configurator points this out and does not allow saving. If a default value shows the section initially, only a warning appears – but if someone changes the value, the section and the field disappear together and cannot be brought back from the form. Therefore place the triggering field in another section.
Section rules refer to the name of the section. Therefore use unique section names.
📷 Screenshot to follow: Section rules with «Always visible» and one rule (dynamicform/en/regeln-abschnittsregel.png)
What hidden fields mean
Hidden fields and fields in hidden sections behave as if they did not exist:
- They are not checked as required, even if the column is required in the list.
- They are not saved. A value that is already stored remains unchanged; it is neither deleted nor overwritten.
Default values
Default values prefill fields when a new item is created. Existing items remain unchanged.
- Choose «Add default value».
- Choose the Column (among the fields that are on the form).
- Enter or choose the Value:
- For fields with fixed choice values (choice, Yes/No) you pick the value from a list.
- For all other fields you enter the value as text; for number fields only a number is possible.
- «Remove default value» deletes an entry again.
For fields without a default value in the configuration, the default value of the column from the list settings applies.
Note
For person, date, lookup, link and taxonomy fields the configurator offers only a simple text input. Check the result in the form before relying on default values for these field types. For Yes/No fields, likewise check that the switch is preset as desired in the new form.
A default value can trigger a rule: if, for example, the default value «Internal» is set for «Category», the form evaluates the rules that depend on «Category» with this value as soon as it opens.
📷 Screenshot to follow: Default values with field and value selection (dynamicform/en/regeln-standardwerte.png)