Conditional Requirements
A field can be required only in the circumstances where it applies.
Where to find it
Architect Panel → Forms:
- Dynamic Add Fields — the definitions, then View Fields on a row
- Conditional Forms — show and hide rules
- Line Item Builders — the builders, then View Line Fields on a row
Why it is necessary
A field required for one kind of applicant and irrelevant to another cannot be simply mandatory. Making it always required blocks people who cannot answer it; making it never required means it is missing where it matters.
Match the requirement to the visibility
The rule that avoids most problems. A field should be required exactly when it is shown. A hidden required field is a form somebody cannot submit and cannot see why.
That is the single most common conditional-form fault, and it presents as "the submit button does nothing".
Check what happens on hide
If a field is answered, then hidden by a change to an earlier answer, is its requirement still enforced? Establish this by testing rather than by assuming, because both behaviours exist in the wild.
Say why it is required
A field that becomes mandatory because of an earlier answer surprises people. A short line of help — "required because you selected Business" — removes the confusion entirely.
Do not require everything
The temptation once conditional requirements are available. Every mandatory field is a reason to abandon the form, and a proportion of them are fields somebody genuinely cannot answer.
Require what you cannot proceed without. Ask for the rest without insisting.
Validation messages must name the field
"Please complete all required fields" on a long conditional form is useless. The message should name the field and, ideally, scroll to it.
Watch the interaction with saving
If a form can be saved part way, requirements should apply at submission rather than at save. A user who cannot save a draft because of a field they intend to answer tomorrow will not come back.
Test the awkward path
Answer, reveal a required field, go back, change the earlier answer, and submit. That sequence finds nearly every conditional-requirement fault.
Worked example
A form makes company details required only for business applicants, with help text explaining why, and applies requirements at submission rather than at save. Testing the change-your-mind path found a hidden field still blocking submission, which was fixed before launch.
Recommendations
- Required exactly when shown, never when hidden.
- Explain why a field became required.
- Name the field in validation messages.
- Test the change-your-mind path.