You can now control when fields are visible to users without removing the underlying data, along with new options for controlling how restricted data appears in generated PDFs.

The new Limit availability (sensitive data) gadget setting gives admins more flexibility to manage sensitive fields, workflow-only content, and role-based access in forms. Combined with the new Generate PDF As option for workflow Notification Steps, admins can also control whose access level determines what data appears in attached document PDFs.

Why This Matters

Previously, fields hidden through conditional visibility could also remove stored data when conditions changed. With Limit Availability, field data stays saved in the background while remaining inaccessible until the right conditions are met.  This also applies when exporting the document as a PDF, ensuring restricted data remains hidden from unauthorized users.

We’ve also added new PDF access controls for workflow notifications, allowing admins to control whose permissions determine what data appears in automatically generated PDFs.

This helps you:

• Protect sensitive information
• Create admin-only or workflow-only sections
• Show fields only at specific workflow stages
• Preserve submission data even when fields are hidden
• Prevent restricted field data from appearing in exported PDFs
• Control what data appears in workflow notification PDF attachments based on user access levels

What Changed

The existing conditional visibility setting has been renamed to make its purpose clearer:

• Old label: Limit visibility based on other gadgets
• New label: Change visibility based on other fields

This setting still controls field visibility based on form responses.

The new Limit availability setting is separate and focuses on controlling access (based on certain criteria) while preserving data.

We’ve also added a new Generate PDF As option for workflow Notification Steps when the Attach PDF of the completed document setting is enabled. This option allows admins to control whose access level is used when generating attached PDFs.

• Select a user in the Generate PDF As setting to generate the PDF using that user’s permissions
• If no user is selected, the PDF will use the access level of the first notification recipient. If the notification is sent to a role or group with multiple recipients, the first user in the recipient list will determine the access level used to generate the PDF.

This helps ensure attached PDFs only include information the intended audience is allowed to access.

How to Configure Limit Availability

To enable the setting in an app/product:

1. Open the Form tab
2. Select a field
3. Turn on Limit availability (sensitive data) configuration option
4. Select Add Condition
5. Configure one or more conditions

Available conditions

You can make fields available based on the following criteria:

• User’s role in app — Control field availability based on app permissions.
  Example: Only app administrators can view or edit a section.
• User’s role — Control field availability based on group membership or assigned roles.
  Example: Only users in the Registrar’s Office Admin role can access certain fields.
• Submission’s version number — This option appears only when Document Versions is enabled in the form. Use this condition to control field availability based on the document’s version number.
• Submission’s workflow status — Control field availability based on the current workflow status of the submission.
  Example: Make fields available only while a submission is in Draft or In Progress.
• Submission’s workflow step — Control field availability based on whether the document is currently editable by the end user. Choose is Form Submission when the document is in the initial draft stage or has been returned to the user for corrections in the Form Fill step. Choose is not Form Submission when the document is in any other workflow state where end-user editing is locked.

Important Behavior Details

• Data in unavailable fields is still saved.
• Users must still have permission to access the document through Form Permissions or Conditional Permissions. If they can access the document, fields configured with Limit Availability will remain unavailable until the configured conditions are met.
• Restricted field data will not appear in exported PDFs for users who do not meet the configured conditions when exporting directly from the document.
• If you’ve configured PDFs to be automatically attached in a workflow Notification Step, you can choose to generate the PDF using a specific user’s level of access so restricted field data won't be included. If no user is selected, the PDF will use the access level of the first notification recipient.
• Fields may still appear in the document list, but only administrators can access restricted data there.
• The workflow step condition intentionally uses simplified options to avoid confusion caused by parallel routing workflows.

When should I use Limit Availability vs. Change Visibility?

Use Limit Availability when you want to:

• Restrict access to sensitive information
• Preserve hidden data
• Control access by workflow or permissions
• Exclude restricted data from exported PDFs

Use Change visibility based on other fields when you want to:

• Dynamically show or hide fields based on form answers
• Create conditional form experiences tied to field responses