Using field conditions in your web form

Hush Secure Forms just got even better. Fields now show up according to preset conditions. This means your clients will receive a personalized experience when they fill out your forms. Let’s look at how form conditions work.

What is a field condition?

A field condition is set to determine whether or not a field will be visible on your form. Conditions can be set for any of the different fields you might use on your web form, including signature fields and formatted text blocks. When you first drag a field onto your form, it is automatically visible unless you set a condition.

When should you set conditions for your fields?

There are many different situations where you’ll find conditions helpful in building the best forms for your clients. One situation is when a question on your form doesn’t pertain to all of the respondents. For example, on a COVID-19 screening questionnaire, if a respondent replies that they’ve been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with the virus, you can suggest that they contact your office for additional screening. However, if the respondent checks “no,” they don’t receive that message.

A similar situation is when a field requires further information, depending on how it’s filled out. For example, you might ask your client if they’ve seen a primary care physician in the last six months. If they enter “yes” on the form, another field pops up, asking for the reason for the visit.

More ideas for using conditions

• When “other” is checked on a list of symptoms, a text field appears so the respondent can include the other symptom(s)
• When a respondent replies “yes” to a question about depression, a link to the PHQ-9 depression screening appears
• When a respondent expresses interest in telehealth sessions, a link to your telehealth consent form appears
• Age-related screening information appears according to a respondent’s date of birth

The basics of setting conditions

Setting conditions for a form is easy. Start by dragging a field onto a form. You will not be able to set a condition for this first field because there must be a prior field to supply the condition. You can set conditions for the rest of the fields on your form.

• At the bottom of each field setting window, you’ll see The field is always visible and Add a condition. Click Add a condition.
• Select the field from the drop-down menu that you want to use as the condition. This field must come before the field you’re setting the condition for.

• In the next drop-down menu, add the condition you want to meet.

• You can enable the Required switch for any of your fields, with or without conditions. However, required fields are only required if the field is visible. If a field doesn’t show up because a condition hasn’t been met, then that field won’t be required. 

For example, if you want to require the names of the places a person has traveled to in the last 14 days, the respondent will only have to fill in that field if they’ve traveled. Those who haven’t traveled won’t see the field.

Example - COVID-19 screening form 

Here is an excerpt from a COVID-19 screening form with conditions. The images show the unanswered questions followed by the field that appears once a condition is met.

Question as it originally appears on the form.

Question and visible field when a condition is met.

Question as it originally appears on the form.

Question and visible field when a condition is met.

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