In Gravity Forms, conditional logic controls whether a field, page, button, notification, confirmation or add-on feed is used, based on a choice or value in other fields. For a feed, switch on conditional logic in its feed settings and set the field, operator and value. Without it, the form processes the first feed it finds.
Conditional logic is what turns a long, one-size form into one that adapts. Ask 'Are you a business or an individual?' and only show the VAT field to businesses. Send enquiries about one service to one person and the rest to another. Send a payment to the right gateway. All of it runs on the same simple rules.
What conditional logic can control
- The visibility of a field, a page or a form button, based on what someone chose or typed in other fields.
- Whether a notification is sent.
- Whether a confirmation is shown.
- Whether an add-on feed, such as a payment, CRM or Zapier feed, runs.
How a rule is built
Every rule set has three parts. The action type is show, which displays the item when the rules match and hides it when they don't, or hide, which hides it when the rules match. The logic type is any, which joins the rules with OR, or all, which joins them with AND. And each rule compares a field to a value using an operator.
| Operator | Use it for |
|---|---|
| is / isnot | An exact choice, such as a drop-down answer |
| greater than / less than | Numbers, such as quantity or team size |
| contains | Text that includes a word |
| starts_with / ends_with | Text patterns, such as an email domain |
Switching it on for add-on feeds
This is where conditional logic saves the most trouble. It's enabled in each feed's own settings, and it has to be done for every feed attached to the form.
- Open the feed settings for the add-on feed you want to control.
- Enable conditional logic on that feed.
- Choose the field, the operator and the value the feed should match.
- Repeat for every other feed on the form, so each one knows when to run.
A handy trick from the docs: to run a feed only when a field has something in it, use the 'is not' operator and leave the value blank.
A worked example: two payment gateways
The documentation walks through sending payment data to Stripe or PayPal from one form. Add a Gateway drop-down with those two choices. Create a feed for each service. Then set each feed's rule so the Gateway field equals that service. Now the customer's choice decides which feed processes the entry, and only one runs.
Only the first feed runs without rules
Gravity Forms Documentation, on enabling conditional logic for feeds, is clear about the default: if you don't set conditional logic on feeds, the form processes the first feed it finds. With two payment feeds and no rules, every customer goes to whichever feed comes first, regardless of what they picked. Set a rule on every feed, even the one you think of as the default.
Reacting to payment status
Payment Status can be used as a conditional logic field on feeds such as User Registration, Zapier or Advanced Post Creation. That lets you, say, create a user account only once a payment succeeds. It needs an active payment feed from a supported payment add-on set up on the form.
Two cautions. A feed that has already run isn't processed again when the payment status later changes. And for any feed using payment status logic, leave Post Payment Actions unchecked. Create a separate feed for each status you need to act on.
If you're working on form completion rates as well as logic, these ways to improve form conversion rates pair well with conditional fields, and my list of Gravity Forms alternatives is worth a look if you're still choosing a form plugin.
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My advice for your first logic rules
Start with one question that splits your audience, and hide the fields that don't apply to each group. Then go through every feed on the form and give each one a rule, using 'is not' with a blank value where you just need a field filled in. Test each path with a real submission before you go live.
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Frequently asked questions
What can conditional logic control in Gravity Forms?
Field, page and button visibility, and whether a notification, confirmation or add-on feed is used.
What operators can I use?
is, isnot, less than, greater than, contains, starts_with and ends_with.
Can I require all or any rules to match?
Yes. The logic type is any (OR) or all (AND).
What happens if I don't set logic on feeds?
The form processes the first feed it finds.
Can I react to payment status?
Yes, with Payment Status in the conditional logic field list, as long as there's an active payment feed.
