PLS-5B: Tags in Forms - Conditional Logic & Application Tagging

Overview

Tags transform forms from static questionnaires into dynamic, intelligent data collection tools. This module teaches you how tags control what questions students see, how tags are applied as students answer questions, and the critical distinction between application tags and profile tags.

What you'll learn:

• How tags create real-time conditional logic in forms

• The difference between inclusion and exclusion logic

• Where tags save: application records vs profile records vs nowhere

• How to configure tags on question choices

• How form responses drive tagging and automation

Time: 20 minutes

Prerequisites: Complete PLS-4B: Applying Tags to understand tag basics

How Tags Work in Forms

Tags in forms serve two powerful purposes:

1. Conditional logic: Control which questions appear based on tags

2. Auto-tagging: Automatically apply tags based on student answers

These two capabilities work together to create forms that adapt to each student's unique situation, collecting only relevant information and automatically categorizing students for matching, assignments, and reporting.

Real-Time Tag Application

When students fill out forms in Housing.Cloud, tags are applied in real-time as they answer questions—not after they submit the entire form.

How It Works

1. Student selects an answer to a question (e.g., "Are you a first-year student?" → "Yes")

2. If that answer choice has tags attached, those tags are immediately applied

3. The form automatically refreshes with the new tags

4. Any questions with conditional logic re-evaluate and appear/disappear based on the new tags

5. This happens instantly—students see questions appear or disappear as they answer

Example: First-Year Housing Questions

Question 1: "What is your class standing?"

• ☐ First-Year → adds tag: "Class Year: First-Year"

• ☐ Sophomore → adds tag: "Class Year: Sophomore"

• ☐ Junior → adds tag: "Class Year: Junior"

• ☐ Senior → adds tag: "Class Year: Senior"

Question 2 (conditional): "First-year students: Do you plan to participate in First-Year Experience housing?"

• Condition: Only shows if student has tag "Class Year: First-Year"

• When student selects "First-Year" in Question 1, this question immediately appears

• If they change their answer to "Sophomore," this question immediately disappears

Conditional Logic: Inclusion vs Exclusion

You can configure questions to appear or disappear based on tags using two types of logic:

Inclusion Logic ("Include when")

What it does: Question appears ONLY if the student has ALL specified tags

When to use: When a question is relevant only for specific groups

Example:

• Question: "Graduate students: Will you need family housing?"

• Condition: Include when Class Year: Graduate

• Result: Only graduate students see this question

Exclusion Logic ("Exclude when")

What it does: Question appears UNLESS the student has ANY of the specified tags

When to use: When a question should be hidden for specific groups

Example:

• Question: "First-year housing policy acknowledgment"

• Condition: Exclude when Class Year: Sophomore, Class Year: Junior, Class Year: Senior, Class Year: Graduate

• Result: Only first-year students see this question (it's excluded for everyone else)

How to Set Conditional Logic

1. In the form builder, select the question you want to make conditional

2. Click the Condition button

3. Toggle between "Include when" and "Exclude when"

4. Search for and select the tag(s) that control visibility

5. For inclusion logic: student must have ALL selected tags

6. For exclusion logic: student must have NONE of the selected tags

7. Click outside the condition menu to save

8. The Condition button now shows a checkmark icon indicating conditions are set

Where Tags Save: A Critical Distinction

Not all form tags save to the same place. Understanding where tags go is crucial for using them effectively.

Application Forms → Application Tags

Where tags save: The application record for that specific housing cycle

Why: Application tags are contextual snapshots tied to that specific application (e.g., "Preferred Building: East Hall," "First Choice: Double Room," "Early Move-In Requested")

Where you see these tags:

• On the application detail page in Admin → Applications

• In the Roommate Finder (if tags are marked public)

• Used by rulesets during auto-assignment

Important: Application tags do NOT automatically transfer to the student's profile. They stay with the application record.

Bio/Questionnaire Forms → Application Tags

Where tags save: The application record (same as application forms)

Why: Bio forms are tied to housing applications for roommate matching within a specific cycle

Where you see these tags:

• On the application detail page

• In the public bio profiles students browse in Roommate Finder

• Used by matching rulesets to calculate compatibility

Task Forms → Tags Don't Save

Where tags save: Nowhere—task forms do NOT generate tags

Why: Task forms are purely for data collection. The responses are stored as form answers attached to task records, but no tags are created.

What this means: You can't use task form responses for conditional logic or automation. Task forms are informational only.

Additional Forms → Profile Tags (Potentially)

Where tags save: Can be configured to save to profile records or nowhere, depending on form configuration

Why: Additional forms are standalone and not tied to housing cycles, so tags can optionally be saved to the student's permanent profile

Configuration: When building the form, each question choice can have both addTags (application tags, if applicable) and addProfileTags (permanent profile tags)

Summary Table

Configuring Tags on Question Choices

For selection-based questions (Radio, Dropdown, Checks), you can attach tags to each answer choice.

How to Add Tags to Choices

1. In the form builder, select a question with choices (Radio, Dropdown, or Checks)

2. For each choice option, you'll see a tag field or + Add Tag button

3. Click + Add Tag next to the choice

4. Search for and select the tag(s) to add when this choice is selected

5. You can add multiple tags to a single choice

6. Repeat for other choices

Example: Sleep Schedule Question

Question: "What's your preferred sleep schedule?"

• ☐ Early Riser (5-7am wakeup) → Tag: "Sleep Schedule: Early Riser"

• ☐ Night Owl (11pm-1am bedtime) → Tag: "Sleep Schedule: Night Owl"

• ☐ Flexible → Tag: "Sleep Schedule: Flexible"

When a student selects "Early Riser," the tag "Sleep Schedule: Early Riser" is immediately added to their application. If they change their answer to "Night Owl," the "Early Riser" tag is removed and "Night Owl" is added (because this tag category is exclusive).

Exclusive Tag Categories

If your tags belong to an exclusive category (configured in tag setup), only one tag from that category can be active at a time.

Example: "Sleep Schedule" is an exclusive category

• Student selects "Early Riser" → tag applied

• Student changes answer to "Night Owl" → "Early Riser" tag removed, "Night Owl" tag added

• Only one sleep schedule tag can be active at a time

Non-exclusive categories allow multiple tags to accumulate (e.g., "Interests" category might have "Sports," "Music," "Reading" all active simultaneously if using checkboxes).

Common Tag Scenarios in Forms

Scenario 1: Progressive Disclosure

Goal: Show follow-up questions only when relevant

Setup:

1. Question 1: "Do you have any accessibility needs?" (Yes/No)

2. "Yes" choice adds tag: "Accessibility Required"

3. Question 2: "Please describe your accessibility needs" (Text field)

4. Condition: Include when "Accessibility Required"

Result: Students who select "No" never see the detailed question. Only students with accessibility needs provide the detailed description.

Scenario 2: Department-Specific Questions

Goal: Show different questions to different student populations

Setup:

1. Question 1: "What is your academic program?" (Dropdown: Undergraduate, Graduate, Medical, Law)

2. Each choice adds a tag: "Program: Undergraduate," "Program: Graduate," etc.

3. Question 2: "Graduate students: Thesis or non-thesis track?"

4. Condition: Include when "Program: Graduate"

5. Question 3: "Undergraduates: Do you plan to participate in Greek Life?"

6. Condition: Include when "Program: Undergraduate"

Result: Each student population sees only questions relevant to their program.

Scenario 3: Roommate Matching Questions

Goal: Collect preferences for matching algorithm

Setup:

1. Bio form question: "How often do you have guests over?" (Rarely, Occasionally, Frequently)

2. Each choice adds a tag: "Social Frequency: Rarely," "Social Frequency: Occasionally," "Social Frequency: Frequently"

3. These tags appear in public bio profiles

4. Rulesets use these tags to calculate compatibility (students with matching social frequency get higher scores)

Result: Tags drive both visibility (in Roommate Finder) and automation (in matching algorithm).

Testing Conditional Logic

Always test your conditional logic before publishing a form.

Using Form Preview to Test

1. In the form builder, click Preview

2. Form opens in student-facing view

3. Start answering questions and watch for conditional questions to appear/disappear

4. In the admin preview panel (left side), you can see:

   • Profile Tags: Tags the student already has

   • Assigned Tags: Tags being added as you answer questions

5. Manually add profile tags using + Add Profile Tag to test different scenarios

6. Change answers and verify tags update correctly

7. Verify conditional questions appear for the right tag combinations

Best Practices

Keep Conditional Logic Simple

• Use one or two tags for most conditional questions

• Avoid complex multi-tag requirements (requires ALL of 5 tags) that may not trigger as expected

• Test every conditional path thoroughly

Use Meaningful Tag Names

• Tag names should be descriptive: "Sleep Schedule: Early Riser" not "Tag_42"

• Group related tags in categories: "Sleep Schedule," "Study Habits," "Social Preferences"

• Consistent naming makes conditional logic easier to configure and debug

Document Your Tag Strategy

• Keep a spreadsheet showing which questions add which tags

• Document which tags control which conditional questions

• Share this with your team so everyone understands the logic

Mark Important Tags as Public

• Tags that should appear in Roommate Finder need to be marked "public" in tag configuration

• Sleep schedule, study habits, social preferences should be public so students can browse compatible roommates

• Administrative tags (priority status, special accommodations) should be private

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Conditional Question Never Appears

Possible causes:

• Student doesn't have the required tag(s)

• Earlier question that should add the tag isn't working

• Condition uses "Include when" requiring ALL tags, but student only has some

Solution: Use preview to verify tags are being added correctly. Check that the conditional question's required tags match the tags being added by earlier questions.

Question Disappears After Student Answers

Cause: Student's answer added an exclusion tag

Example: Question has "Exclude when Class Year: Graduate" but student selected "Graduate" in an earlier question

Solution: Review your exclusion logic. This may be intentional behavior (question should hide for graduates) or an error in your conditional configuration.

Tags Aren't Saving to Profile

Cause: Application form and Bio form tags save to the application, not the profile

Solution: This is expected behavior. If you need tags that persist on profiles across cycles, use profile field mapping (covered in PLS-4) or Additional forms configured with addProfileTags.

Key Takeaways

• Tags are applied in real-time as students answer questions, creating dynamic, responsive forms

• Conditional logic controls which questions appear based on tags using inclusion (show if has tags) or exclusion (hide if has tags)

• Application and Bio forms save tags to the application record, not the student's profile

• Task forms don't save tags at all—they're purely for data collection

• Selection-based questions (Radio, Dropdown, Checks) can have tags attached to each choice

• Exclusive tag categories ensure only one tag from that category is active at a time

• Always test conditional logic using form preview before publishing

What's Next

Now that you understand how tags create intelligent, conditional forms, you're ready to learn about Additional forms—standalone forms that work differently from cycle-attached forms.

Continue to: PLS-5C: Additional Forms - Standalone Data Collection

Additional Resources

• PLS-4B: Applying Tags: Manual, Bulk, Forms, and Profile Fields

• Preview a Form

• Create a Form