How to Show or Hide Product Options Based on a Customer's Choices on Shopify

17 de outubro de 2026

Illustration titled Show Only What Each Order Needs: a product form where an Engraving text field appears once the Add engraving toggle is switched on, with Show if, Hide, Require and Limit chips

In Appify Custom Product Options, every option has a Visibility Rules tab. A rule there decides when that option appears, disappears, becomes required or narrows its choices, based on what the customer has already picked.

The result is a product page that asks only what this order needs. Pick "Upload Now" and the upload field appears. Turn on engraving and the engraving line appears. Choose acrylic and the width box stops at the largest size you cut.

What can a rule do to an option?

Each rule has one action. There are seven.

Action	What the customer sees	Typical use
Show if	The option appears only while the conditions match	Engraving text only when "Add engraving?" is on
Hide	The option disappears while the conditions match	Lamination hidden on materials you don't laminate
Unhide when	Brings back an option another rule hid	An exception to a broader Hide rule
Require	The option becomes mandatory	A phone number only for express orders
Limit	A new minimum, maximum or step on a number, or a length or pattern on text	Width stops at 48 inches for acrylic
Hide values	Some choices drop out of a list	Finishes you don't offer on one material
Show value(s) if	Only the listed choices stay in the list	Only the frames that suit the chosen orientation

Show if hides the whole field. Hide values and Show value(s) if keep the field and trim its list. Both work on dropdowns, radios, checkboxes, buttons, color swatches and image swatches, and on quantity presets.

All seven sit on each option's Visibility Rules tab, and one option can carry several rules.

What can a rule check?

A condition looks at one thing and compares it. That thing can be:

Another option. A dropdown equals "Wood", a checkbox contains "Gift wrap", a text box is not empty.
One side of a size. On a dimensions option, you pick Width or Height and compare that number alone.
A Shopify product option. The selected variant's Color or Size, so a rule can read the picker your theme already shows. A rule written as Color is Red still matches when a French shopper sees Couleur and Rouge.
A pricing variable. For example, show a large-format note when the calculated area is over 100.
A number worked out on the spot. Click fx beside the value and compare against a formula instead of a fixed number, such as a quantity greater than twice the width.

The comparisons on offer fit each option type: contains for checkboxes, greater than for numbers, before or after for dates.

All, Any or None

A rule with several conditions needs to know how to combine them.

All fires when every condition is true.
Any fires when at least one is true. "Show the upload if the design is Upload Now or Custom" is one rule with Any.
None fires when no condition is true. It's the "if not" case.

Two separate Show if rules on the same option must both pass. For "A or B", use one rule with Any and two conditions.

See it on a live product

The Visibility Rules demo on our Shopify demo store runs three of these side by side.

Limit. Pick Small, Large or Jumbo and the Area box takes a different range for each: 1 to 20, 21 to 50, or 51 to 1,000. A value rule fills in the lowest number of the new range, and a note under the box says what the range is.
Show if. Choose "Upload Now" under Design and a file upload appears. Choose "Send Later" and it's gone.
Require. Turn on the proof switch and the address field becomes mandatory.

What happens to a hidden option's price?

It drops out. A hidden option leaves the layout, and its value is left out of the price and the cart.

No ghost charges. A customer who turns engraving on, types a name, then turns it off again isn't charged for the engraving, and the name doesn't land on the order. The rule that hides the field also takes it out of the total.

That matters most on products where options carry prices. If you want one choice to change another choice's price, that is a pricing job rather than a visibility one, covered in conditional pricing rules on Shopify.

Examples worth copying

Signs and print

Back-side artwork only when double-sided. Show if on the second upload, condition: Sides equals Double.
Grommet spacing only for vinyl banners. Show if on the spacing dropdown, condition: Material equals Vinyl.

Blinds and made-to-measure

Width limits per material. Limit on the width field, Max 48, when Material equals Acrylic.
Motor options only for motorized lift. Show if on each motor option, condition: Lift equals Motorized. The made-to-measure blinds guide walks through that product.

Gifts and personalization

Engraving fields only when wanted. Show if on the text box and font picker, condition: Add engraving equals True.
Gift message only with gift wrap. Show if on the message box, condition: Extras contains Gift wrap. Add Require on the same box if a wrapped gift must carry a message.

Anything sold in sizes

A custom size box only when Custom is chosen. Show if on the dimensions option, condition: Size equals Custom. Everyone else picks a standard size and never sees the boxes. Made-to-measure clothing uses the same setup for a measurement form.
Different choices by color. Hide values on the finish swatch when the Shopify Color is Clear, so only the finishes that work on clear stock remain.

Fill a field in, or lock it

Visibility rules decide whether a field is there. Their sibling, the value rule, decides what's in it.

Once fills a value when the conditions first match. The customer can still change it.
Lock while matched keeps the value fixed and the field disabled for as long as the conditions hold.

The two pair well. Show a size field only for Custom, then fill it with a sensible starting size the moment it appears.

Write the rules in plain English

You don't have to build each rule by hand. Chat with AI sits beside the editor.

Type "hide Rush order unless Size is 2in or 3in" or "show the upload when Notes mention rush", and it writes the rule. The rule then shows on the option's Visibility Rules tab like any other, ready to check or adjust.

The same assistant builds options, prices and styling too, as AI-assisted setup for Shopify product options shows.

Check the rules before customers do

Click through the preview. The calculator preview applies the same filters as the storefront, so what you see there is what customers get.
Read the Troubleshoot tab. When a price looks off, the formula's Troubleshoot tab lists options hidden by a rule and can name the rule that hid them.
Mind the order of mixed rules. Hide, Unhide when, Require, Limit and the value filters run in list order. Show if runs after them, wherever it sits.

Long forms also read better split into pages. Rules work inside each step of a multi-step product configurator, so each page only shows what applies.

If you're still working out whether a choice belongs in a Shopify variant or an app option, product options vs variants covers that first decision. A rule can read either.

FAQ

Can I show a product option only when another option is selected on Shopify?

Yes. Add a Show if rule to the option that should appear, with a condition on the option that triggers it. In Appify Custom Product Options this works with dropdowns, buttons, swatches, checkboxes, switches, text and number fields.

Can a rule read the Shopify variant's Color or Size?

Yes. Pick Color, Size or another variant option under Shopify product options in the condition. It reads the selected variant, so your theme's own picker drives the rule.