# Rule recipes

> Ready-made patterns for the situations every configurator runs into.

Source: CBX documentation, version 3.x (released). Canonical page: https://docs.configbox.at/docs/admin-guide/rules/rule-recipes. Last updated 2026-08-02.

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> **Audience:** store admins · **Scope:** common rule patterns, ready to adapt · **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-20

**What this does** — A cookbook. Each recipe names the situation, the rule to build, and the
companion settings that make it feel right. Build them in the
[rule editor](https://docs.configbox.at/docs/admin-guide/rules/build-a-rule); the wording matches its labels.

## 1. The dependent question

*"Engraving text" should only appear when engraving was chosen.*

- On the **Engraving text** question: **Show** if — *Answer in "Add engraving" is "Yes"*.
- Companion: **Display while disabled = hide** (no point greying out a text box), and on the
  engraving question itself nothing else to do.

![Recipe 1 in the rule editor: show "Engraving text" if the answer in "Add engraving" is "Yes"](./img/recipe-1-dependent-question.jpeg)

## 2. Thin out choices that don't fit

*Raw finish has no color choice; glossy and matte do.*

- On the **Color** question: **Hide** if — *Answer in "Finish" is "Raw"*.
- Companion: **Behavior on inconsistency = deselect**, **Behavior on changes = confirm** — a
  customer switching to Raw after picking a color is asked before the color resets.

![Recipe 2: hide "Color" if the answer in "Finish" is "Raw"](./img/recipe-2-thin-out-choices.jpeg)

## 3. The either/or bundle

*Steel is only available for indoor or covered use.*

- On the **Steel** answer: **Show** if — *(Answer in "Use" is "Indoor" OR Answer in "Use" is
  "Covered")*.
- Multiple such answers? Put the rule on each steel-dependent answer, or reconsider the page
  order so "Use" is asked first.

![Recipe 3 on the "Steel" answer: show if "Use" is "Indoor" OR "Covered" — one bracket, one OR](./img/recipe-3-either-or.jpeg)

## 4. Upsell visibility (grey-out marketing)

*Show the premium option to everyone, selectable only where it applies.*

- On the premium answer: **Show** if — its availability condition.
- Companion: **Display while disabled = grey out** — customers see what a different choice
  would unlock ("Reinforced frame — pick Steel to enable").

![Recipe 4 on the "Reinforced frame" answer: show if "Material" is "Steel" — pair it with grey-out](./img/recipe-4-upsell-greyout.jpeg)

## 5. Trade-only options

*Only trade customers may pick bulk packaging.*

- On the **Bulk packaging** answer: **Show** if — *Customer group field … is …* (the Customer
  tab), matching your trade group's field.
- Pair with [customer-group permissions](https://docs.configbox.at/docs/admin-guide/commerce/set-up-customer-groups) for the bigger
  buy-vs-quote split; use rules for option-level differences.

![Recipe 5 on the "Bulk packaging" answer: a Customer-tab condition on the customer group](./img/recipe-5-trade-only.jpeg)

## 6. React to size, weight or total (via a calculation)

*Spans above 4 m need reinforcement.*

- Build a calculation "Total span" ([how](https://docs.configbox.at/docs/admin-guide/pricing/build-a-calculation)).
- On the **Reinforcement** question: **Show** if — *Result of "Total span" is above "4"*
  (the **Results of calculations** tab).
- Companion: **Behavior on activation = select default**, so the reinforcement question never
  sits unanswered when it appears mid-configuration.

![Recipe 6: show "Reinforcement" when the result of calculation "Total span" is above 4](./img/recipe-6-calculation.jpeg)

## 7. Progressive disclosure for long configurators

*Keep page 3 clean until the choices that matter are made.*

- Give page-3 questions Show-if rules on the key earlier answers; combined with **Block
  continuing if selections are missing** (Settings/product), customers meet a short, relevant
  page instead of twenty greyed inputs.

## Working habits that pay off

- **Say the sentence first** ("show X if Y is Z"), then build it — if the sentence needs
  "unless", you probably want Hide-if or parentheses.
- **Put the deciding questions early** (page order), so rules cascade forward, not backward.
- **Copy/paste rules** between similar answers, then adjust the value — faster and less
  error-prone than rebuilding.
- **Walk the toggle paths on the storefront** after each batch of rules: flip the deciding
  answer back and forth and watch what appears, disappears, resets or prompts.