What are conditional fields?
Conditional fields let you control whether a field appears on a merged PDF page based on the values in your spreadsheet. Instead of rendering every field on every page, you can set rules so that specific text, images, barcodes, or QR codes only appear when certain conditions are met — or are hidden when conditions are met.
This is useful for:
- Tiered content — Show a “VIP Benefits” section only for VIP members
- Optional images — Display a product photo only when an image filename is provided
- Regional fields — Show or hide address components depending on the country
- Conditional badges — Render a barcode only for items that need tracking
Before you begin
Conditional fields require a loaded spreadsheet. Upload your Excel or CSV file (or connect a Google Sheet) before setting up conditions, so you can select which column to base your rules on.
How to set up conditional fields
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Select a field on the canvas
Click on any field (text, image, barcode, or QR code) in the editor.
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Open the Conditions panel
Click the Conditions button (filter icon) in the field properties toolbar.
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Add a condition rule
Click Add Condition to create your first rule. Choose a column, an operator, and a value to compare against.
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Choose the behavior
- Show when met — The field is only visible when the condition is true. Hidden otherwise.
- Hide when met — The field is hidden when the condition is true. Visible otherwise.
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Add more rules (optional)
Click Add rule to add more rules. Choose how multiple rules combine:
- All conditions (AND) — Every rule must be true for the field to show/hide
- Any condition (OR) — Only one rule needs to be true
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Preview the results
Use the Preview button to see how conditions affect each row of your merge.
Visual indicator
Fields with active conditions show a small blue dot in the top-right corner of the bounding box on the editor canvas. This helps you quickly identify which fields have conditional visibility rules at a glance.
Condition operators
Each condition rule compares a spreadsheet column value against a value you specify:
| Operator | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Equals | Exact match (case-insensitive) | Column “Tier” equals “gold” |
| Does not equal | Not an exact match | Column “Status” does not equal “inactive” |
| Contains | Value contains the text | Column “Email” contains ”@“ |
| Is not empty | Cell has any value | Column “Photo” is not empty |
| Is empty | Cell is blank | Column “Notes” is empty |
| Starts with | Value begins with text | Column “Phone” starts with “+1” |
| Ends with | Value ends with text | Column “Email” ends with “.com” |
| Greater than | Numeric value is larger | Column “Price” greater than “50” |
| Less than | Numeric value is smaller | Column “Quantity” less than “10” |
| Greater or equal | Numeric value is larger or equal | Column “Score” greater or equal to “80” |
| Less or equal | Numeric value is smaller or equal | Column “Discount” less or equal to “25” |
Case insensitivity
All text comparisons are case-insensitive. The values “Gold”, “gold”, and “GOLD” are treated as identical. This applies to Equals, Does not equal, Contains, Starts with, and Ends with.
Show vs. Hide mode
Conditional fields support two modes that control how conditions affect visibility:
Show when met
The field is only visible when the conditions are satisfied. Use this for content that should appear for specific rows only.
Example: Show a “Premium Member” badge only when the Tier column equals “premium”.
Hide when met
The field is hidden when the conditions are satisfied. Use this for content that should be removed for specific rows.
Example: Hide the “Renew Now” button when the Status column equals “active”.
Multiple conditions (AND / OR)
When you add multiple rules to a field, you choose how they combine:
- All conditions (AND logic) — Every single rule must be true. If any rule fails, the field follows the default visibility.
- Any condition (OR logic) — At least one rule must be true. The field follows the condition behavior as soon as one rule matches.
AND example: Show a discount code only when Tier equals “gold” AND Spend is not empty.
OR example: Show a warning banner when Status equals “expired” OR Status equals “cancelled”.
Tips
- Use Is empty / Is not empty for optional fields — These operators don’t require a comparison value and are ideal for columns that may or may not have data
- Preview multiple rows — Use the preview navigation to step through different rows and verify that conditions behave as expected across your dataset
- Combine with all field types — Conditions work with text, images, barcodes, and QR codes. Hide a barcode when a tracking number is missing, or show a photo only when a filename is provided
- Test edge cases — Check what happens with blank cells, special characters, and Unicode text to make sure your conditions match correctly
Limitations
- No cross-field references — Each condition rule references a single spreadsheet column. You cannot create conditions that compare two columns against each other.
- No nested or grouped conditions — All rules are combined with a single AND or OR operator. You cannot create groups like “(A AND B) OR C”.
- Empty cells in numeric comparisons — Empty cells are converted to the number zero (0) for Greater than, Less than, Greater or equal, and Less or equal operators. This means an empty cell is greater than -1 but not greater than 0. If you need to distinguish between “no value” and “zero”, use the Is empty or Is not empty operator instead.
- No partial removal — When a condition hides a field, the space it would have occupied is not reclaimed. The field simply does not render, leaving the underlying PDF content unchanged at that position.
- Conditions apply per field — You cannot set a condition on a group of fields at once. Each field has its own independent condition rules.