Basics of Ruleset Development

Updated pdexter 2022-12-19

What is a Ruleset

A ruleset is a special document within the Formbird system that contains instructions to execute on a particular event.

A ruleset comprises a collection of rules, each of which is evaluated in turn, and executed, if the rule condition is met.

Why use Rulesets

A lot of functionality can already be performed and encapsulated within a Template, such as setting fields mandatory, enabled and so forth.

Often though, we may need more complex functionality that can't be configured in a Template.

Example:

When a checkbox field labeled "Requires Verification" is checked, then the fields labeled "Verification Details" and "To be verified by" should be enabled and made mandatory for saving the document.

When do Rulesets run

Rulesets are invoked by the Formbird system on particular events of a document*.

There are two types of events to consider: client-side events, and server-side events.

ClientSide Event	Description
PreRender	Before a document has loaded to the browser, and any template configuration has modified anything.
OnLoad	When a document is read from the system and loaded to the browser.
OnFieldChange	When a field is changed on a document in the browser.
PreSave	When the user has clicked the save button, but before the saving has completed.
PostSaveClient	After a document has saved completely.

ServerSide Event	Description
PreSaveServer	Before the document has been saved to the database.
PostSave	After the document has been saved to the database.