--- title: "Legacy form rules based on field values" slug: "legacy-form-rules-based-on-field-values" updated: 2026-04-27T19:38:16Z published: 2026-04-27T19:38:16Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.quickbase.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Legacy form rules based on field values When you create a condition based on a field value, you tell Quickbase that you want to trigger a form action when a field on the form is set to a certain value. When you choose a field value as the element in your rule, you can select or enter a value that should trigger the rule. You can also choose "the value in a field" to specify that Quickbase should compare the value in the element to the value in another field to determine whether the rule should be triggered. ## Operators for field values Quickbase provides several options for choosing an operator for a field value. | Operator | Description | | --- | --- | | Is equal to | The element matches the matching criteria exactly. For List - User and Multi-select Text fields, this means that all of the selected values, and only these values, appear in the field. | | Is not equal to | The element does not match the matching criteria exactly. For List - User and Multi-select Text fields, this means that the contents of the field are not equal to the *exact set of values*specified in the filter. | | Includes | Available only for List - User and Multi-select Text fields. Contents of the field can match the filter criteria exactly, or it can contain those values and other values as well | | Does not include | Available only for List - User and Multi-select Text fields. Contents of the field will not contain at least some of the values specified in the filter. | | < (is less than) | For numeric fields, the element is less than the value in the matching criteria. For text fields, Quickbase uses alphabetical order to determine whether a value is less than the matching criteria. | | > (is greater than) | For numeric fields, the element is greater than the value in the matching criteria. For text fields, Quickbase uses alphabetical order to determine whether a value is greater than the matching criteria. | | < or = (is less than or equal to) | For numeric fields, the element is less than or equal to the value in the matching criteria. For text fields, Quickbase uses alphabetical order to determine whether a value is less than or equal to the matching criteria. | | < or = (is greater than or equal to) | For numeric fields, the element is greater than or equal to the value in the matching criteria. For text fields, Quickbase uses alphabetical order to determine whether a value is greater than or equal to the matching criteria. | | is before | Used only for Date fields. Specifies that the date occurs before the date entered in the matching criteria. | | is after | Used only for Date fields. Specifies that the date occurs after the date entered in the matching criteria. | | is on or before | Used only for Date fields. Specifies that the date occurs on or before the date entered in the matching criteria. | | is on or after | Used only for Date fields. Specifies that the date occurs on or before the date entered in the matching criteria. | | has changed | Available only when the form also contains a rule that fires when the record is saved. Specifies that any change in the value of the field will trigger the rule. [Learn more about rules that fire when a record is saved](/v1/docs/legacy-form-rules-that-fire-when-a-record-is-opened-or-saved). Note: Not supported for List - User and Multi-select Text fields. | | has been changed to | Available only when the form also contains a rule that fires when the record is saved. Specifies that the rule will be triggered when the field has been changed to a certain value. [Learn more about rules that fire when a record is saved](/v1/docs/legacy-form-rules-that-fire-when-a-record-is-opened-or-saved). Note: Not supported for List - User and Multi-select Text fields. | | has been changed from | Available only when the form also contains a rule that fires when the record is saved. Specifies that the rule will be triggered when the field has been changed from a particular value to any other value. [Learn more about rules that fire when a record is saved](/v1/docs/legacy-form-rules-that-fire-when-a-record-is-opened-or-saved). Note: Not supported for List - User and Multi-select Text fields. | ## Example: Specify a value for matching criteria On a form used to track customer support cases, I want the field **Resolution Notes** to appear only after the support engineer changes the **Status** field to the value *Resolved*. For my rule's condition, I should select: | When: | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Status | Is | Resolved | For my rule's action, I should select: | Action: | | | --- | --- | | Show | Resolution Notes | Otherwise, when status is not Resolved, hide Resolution Notes. ## Example: Trigger a rule when a field value changes On a form used to track customer support cases, I want the field **Reason for reopen field** to appear whenever the status field is changed from the value *Resolved*. For my rule's condition, I should select: | When: | | | | --- | --- | --- | | The record | is saved (after checking) | | | and | | | | Status | is changed from | Resolved | For my rule's action, I should select: | Action: | | | --- | --- | | Show | Reason for reopen | Otherwise, when status is not Resolved, hide Resolution Notes. ## Example: Set another field value for matching criteria On a form used to track delivery of work to clients, I want to display a field called **Overdue Reason** whenever the value in**Delivery Date** exceeds the value in the **Project Due Date**field. In these cases, you may want to display a field called**Overdue Reason.** For my rule's condition, I should select: | When: | | | | --- | --- | --- | | Delivery date | is after | The value in the field: Project Due Date | For my rule's action, I should select: | Action: | | | --- | --- | | Show | Overdue Reason | Otherwise, when status is not Resolved, hide Resolution Notes.