In this lesson, you will learn to choose to show/hide or enable/disable specific sections or fields of a smartFORM depending on how it is being completed. This lesson begins assuming a smartFORM template has already been created.
Where to Start
- Go to smartFORMS.
- Go to the Form Templates tab.
- Select the Name of a template to add or edit a dependency.
Access Dependencies
- Go to the three-dot menu.
- Select Edit Dependencies.
- Any existing dependencies appear in the table. Select Add Rule to get started.
Creating a Dependency
The section/field the dependency is being created for will rely upon an identified field. Choose the field that the section/field is dependent upon.
- Click the drop down menu.
- Select the section that includes the field the dependent section will rely on.
- Choose the field.
- Use the second drop down to choose the dependent section OR field.
- Complete the dependency statement.
- “If” statements require 2 to 3 dependencies to be built on the field to identify the action. So the user needs to identify what happens if the initial field has information and if it doesn’t. You can also choose to add a dependency if the information added to the field is deleted from the field.
- “When” statements only require one dependency to be built on the field to identify the action. So the user needs to identify what happens when the initial field has information. “When” statements are the ones used most often.
Use When and If statements to show, hide, enable, or disable particular sections.
- Show - the dependent section/field will only display and print on the form when the identified field/factor is selected/completed
- Hide - the dependent section/field will be hidden and will not print on the form when the identified field/factor is selected/completed
- Enable - the dependent section/field will be greyed out on the form (so it is still visible on the form) and will only become actionable on the form when the identified field/factor is selected/completed (all enabled fields will still print on the form)
- Disable - the dependent section/field will be displayed on the form and will only become disabled (greyed out and not actionable) on the form when the identified field/factor is selected/completed (all disabled fields will still print on the form)
Managing Form Dependencies
Once a dependency has been added, it can be edited at any time by using the same 3 dot menu > Edit Dependency path.
- Select a dependency statement to edit that dependency.
- Use the trashcan to delete that dependency.
Next Steps
Now that you've learned how to add a dependency within a smartFORM, take a look at Learning Basic Navigation of eduCLIMBER.