Taxonomy - field dependency

Show and hide custom fields according to the category that is chosen, so a trailer listing is never asked for its mileage and a VIN filter only turns up once a visitor is browsing cars.

2 minute read

Field dependency lets you show and hide specific fields on the search form and on the form for adding an ad, depending on the selected terms of a taxonomy.

Enable field dependency

1 Open the custom fields list
Go to Listivo Panel → Custom Fields and click Add New Field. To set the dependency on an existing field, skip the first two steps.
2 Name the field and set its type
Enter your field name and set Type to Taxonomy. Only this field type offers the dependency option.
3 Edit the new field
Find your new field in the custom fields list and click Edit.
4 Tick Field dependency
Mark the checkbox next to Field dependency and save your changes. Edit the field again and the relations table is waiting for you.

Reading the relations table

Across the top (1) are the category names; the first column (2) lists every field you can set a relation with.

Relations table with the columns Bus, Car, Motorcycle, Trailer and Truck marked 1, and the row labels Price, Make, Model, Year, Mileage, Features and so on marked 2

By default the entire table has empty checkboxes. A row with no checkbox marked means the field is visible for every category, and so does a row with every checkbox marked (ex 1).

In the second example (ex 2), the fields are visible only in the categories you selected: Mileage is not visible for trailers, and Motorcycle features are visible only for motorcycles.

Relations table with two rows marked 1 — Make with no checkboxes ticked and VIN with all five ticked — and two rows marked 2: Mileage ticked for every category except Trailer, and Motocykle features ticked only for Motorcycle

Hidden means hidden for everyone

Field dependency applies to the adding page and to the listing page. A field you set as invisible is not shown to any user.

On the form for adding an ad

Below is the form as it looks for trailers. Mileage and transmission are nowhere to be seen.

General info section of the add-listing form for a trailer, with Listing Name, Category, Price, Make, Model, Year and VIN filled in, then Offer type and Trailer features — no mileage or transmission field

On the search form

What is the difference between a row left empty and a row fully marked? A field whose row has no checkbox marked is on the search form immediately. A field whose row has every checkbox marked appears on the search only after a category has been picked.

Relations table with arrows pointing at two rows: Make, whose checkboxes are all empty, and VIN, whose checkboxes are ticked for Car, Motorcycle, Truck, Bus and Trailer

The Make field is on the search form from the start. The VIN field is not.

Search results for all 26 ads with the sidebar filters Category, Make (highlighted, listing Audi, Bambi, Ducati, Ferrari and Ford), Price and Year, and no VIN filter

The VIN field turns up once one of the categories is chosen — the car category, in the example below.

Search results with the Car category selected; the sidebar has grown to Make, Price, Year, Mileage, Transmission, Fuel type, Features and a VIN box highlighted at the bottom

In short

Field dependency is set per taxonomy field, in a relations table of categories against fields.
A row with no checkbox marked, or with every checkbox marked, keeps the field visible for all categories.
An empty row puts the field on the search form straight away; a fully marked row holds it back until a category is chosen.
A field hidden for a category is hidden from every user, on the adding page and the listing page alike.

Keep reading

Taxonomy - Multilevel Taxonomy - search logic

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