Creating Conditional Layouts using Layout Rules

Creating Conditional Layouts using Layout Rules

What is a layout rule?

Your recruitment data is often inter-dependent. When you are creating a record for a candidate, not all the fields in the layout are utilized. For example, if the candidate is a fresher he would not need the Previous Experience section in the record. This can make the record look cluttered and unorganized. This is where layout rules enter the picture. Specify rules that trigger fields based on the conditions that you have given. These dynamic layouts are called Conditional Layouts.

What are Conditional Layouts?

Conditional layouts in Zoho Recruit offer an interface for you to manage dependencies between fields in a layout seamlessly.
Consider the following examples:
  1. When creating a candidate record, the particulars of each candidate differ depending on the experience of the candidate. 
  2. Staffing agencies recruiting for the healthcare industry will have different sections of particulars for doctors and nurses.
  3. In the IT industry, the particulars of a Java developer will differ from that of a technical support engineer.
So, the value you enter for one field will decide the necessity for a bunch of other fields. When you are filling the details for a candidate with no experience or is a fresher, the Previous experience fields are not even required - but they are still on your layout. You may be looking at 10 fields when you need only 5.

However, you cannot do away with the remaining 5 fields in the layout - as they are required when filling the details of an experienced candidate. This is where conditional layouts enter the picture. Conditional layouts are created with layout rules, by which you can establish an interface in which certain fields are shown depending on the value entered in a previous field.

As a result you are able to make your layouts dynamic - as the entire structure of a layout changes based on field values you enter. Note that you are not eliminating fields from the layout, you are only controlling how a layout appears based on certain field values.

How to create a Conditional Layout

Let's look at how to create a conditional layout with the help of a scenario.

Zylker Corp. is a staffing agency recruiting for both the IT and the Healthcare industries.
In this case, if Zylker includes all these details in a single form/layout, there is a slight difficulty. That is, when the agency is creating a record for a Java developer, the form unnecessarily asks for the details regarding doctors as well.

Observe the details in the table below:
 

Field

Java Developer

Doctor

Degree in Medicine

✘

✔

Residency training

✘

✔

Medical license number

✘

✔

Specialization

✘

✔

Counseling experience

✘

✔


The above table lists fields that are required for a doctor but not Java developer. This means an entire section in a form becomes unnecessary the moment you choose "Java developer".

This only causes clutter in your form and delays the process of creating a record. This is where conditional layouts enter the picture.
In the above example, using layout rules, you can achieve a dynamic setup in which only when "Doctor" is chosen, the fields required for a candidate with a medical degree appear - in other cases it remains hidden. This way, you can optimize your forms.

To create layout rules

  1. Go to Setup > Customization > Modules.
  2. From the list of modules, select the required module.
    In this scenario, select Candidates.
  3. Go to the Layout Rules section.
  4. Click New Layout Rule.
  5. In the New Layout Rule popup, enter the following details:
    1. Enter a name for the rule.
    2. Describe the rule.
    3. Choose a primary field that controls this rule. Example, Experience.
    4. Choose a condition to initiate the rule. Example, Experience is Experienced.

    5. Click Next.
  6. In the Rule page, the Condition specified is pre-populated. So click Trigger an action.

  7. Choose from the list of actions. Example, Show sections.
  8. In the Create Action right pane, specify the section to be shown.

    In this scenario, Professional Details section. 
  9. Now the Professional Details section is displayed only when you select the Experience as Experienced. Otherwise, it is hidden.
  10. You can further make certain fields mandatory. You can make the Experience in years and Expected Salary fields as mandatory fields. For a fresher these fields are not mandatory.

  11. If you have further conditions and actions, you can specify them as required in a similar way.

Result of the layout rule  

Now when you create a Candidate, the Professional Details section is displayed only when you select Experience. Otherwise, it is hidden.

Actions that can be triggered  

There are three actions that can be triggered when layout rule criteria are met.
  1. Show Field: Choose this action when you want specific fields to be shown only when the prescribed criteria are met.
  2. Show Section: Choose this action when you want specific sections to be shown only when the prescribed criteria are met.
  3. Set Mandatory Fields: Choose this action when you want to make a few fields mandatory only when the prescribed criteria are met.
  4. Show Tabular: Choose this action when you want the tables to be shown only when the prescribed criteria are met.
  5. Show Attachments: Choose this action when you want the Attachments to be shown only when the prescribed criteria are met.
  6. Set Mandatory Attachments: Choose this action when you want to make attachments mandatory only when the prescribed criteria are met.
Note: The attachments related activities that you select will only be executed in the record creation page.

Points to Remember

  1. Click here to make a note of the instances when field updates take precedence over layout rules.
  2. The [Record] Owner field currently cannot be chosen as the primary field that controls the layout rule.
  3. Layout Rules are applied on Create/edit and view pages.
  4. Layout Rules cannot be used on the following field types:
    1. Auto Number
    2. Lookup
    3. Multi Select Lookup
    4. Formula
    5. Multi Line
  5. Layout rules are not available for records generated via import, webforms, Quick Create/Lookup Create and APIs.
  6. When you edit a primary field used in a layout rule, if there are mandatory fields associated to the rule, these mandatory fields will be captured via a popup prompt.
  7. For example, let's say you have a layout rule saying, "If Experience > 0,  make Experience in Years mandatory". When you edit the Experience field from the Record Detail page, the Expected Salary field will be prompted via a popup window.

    Similarly, fields mandated by the layout rules will be verified as mentioned below:
    1. If you have configured a layout rule based on a candidate status, when you edit the status from the Detail page, Blueprint or the Pipeline view, the fields mandated by the layout rule will be captured via a popup window.
    2. If you have configured a layout rule based on Task Status - Example, you have mandated a Description field when a Task is Closed. In such a case, when you close a task from the Activities Related List / Kanban View / Home page or custom view, Recruit will verify layout rule, before closing the task and prompt the fields as mandated by the rule.
    3. Layout rule support is been given to kanban view so, drag and drop will evaluate layout rule.
    4. Layout rules are also effective on approval of records.
  8. Layout rules cannot be created based on a Multi-select picklist field as the primary field. 
  9. Layout Rules Limits 
    1. Maximum rules allowed - 10 per layout
    2. Maximum parent conditions allowed - 25
    3. Maximum branch conditions allowed - 5 per parent condition 
    4. Maximum branch conditions criteria allowed - 5 per branch condition 
    5. Maximum actions allowed - 25 per branch condition
    6. (The total number is inclusive of all actions. There are no individual limits per action.)

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