Dependencies

Control field visibility, enable/disable logic, and calculated values using JavaScript expressions in variable groups.

Role required: Project Management

Where dependencies live

Scope	Location
Within a variable group	Variable Group Update → Dependencies tab
Across encounter variable groups	Interval Update → Interval Expression tab
Across project variable groups	Project Overview → Edit Expression

Variable Groups interface where Dependencies are configured

Built-in methods

Method	Description
`#var.enable(condition)`	Enable if condition is true; disable otherwise
`#var.disable()`	Disable unconditionally
`#var.show(condition)`	Show if condition is true; hide otherwise
`#var.hide()`	Hide unconditionally
`#var.setValue(value)`	Set the variable's value
`#var.getValue()`	Get the current value
`#var.getDisplayValue()`	Get the pick-list label or formatted date
`#var.hideRow()`	Hide the entire row (variable + label)
`#var.showRow()`	Show the entire row
`#var.showVariableGroup(condition)`	Show the variable group if condition is true
`#var.hideVariableGroup()`	Hide the variable group
`#var.setCssClasses(classes)`	Apply CSS classes to the field

Hide and clear pattern

Hiding a field does not clear its value. To clear when hiding:

function main() {
  if (#triggerVar == 0) {
    #dependentVar.hide();
    #dependentVar.setValue(null);
  } else {
    #dependentVar.show();
  }
}

Get display value for pick lists

To copy a pick-list label (not the code) into another field:

#labelField = #pickListVar.getDisplayValue();

This shows the human-readable name rather than the numeric code.

CSS class: update-on-change

The CSS class update-on-change runs the dependency while the user types, rather than waiting for blur. Use selectively—it can affect performance.

#myField.setCssClasses('update-on-change');

Change reason and setValue

If change reason is enabled on a variable and a dependency sets its value, initialize the variable to null. This prevents a spurious change-reason prompt on the first save.

Calculated variables

Data-set numeric calculations can output:

Numeric values
Dates
Text
Pick-list codes

Project variable groups: Encounters only

Check Encounters only on a project variable group to hide it from the Attributes section on Subject Overview. It will appear only on encounters.

Pattern: encounter → project variable copy

When an encounter variable must populate a project variable:

Make the encounter variable required.
Make the project variable not required; hide its variable group always.
In the interval expression, copy: #projectVar = #encounterVar.
Hide off the project value so users don't edit it directly.

This pattern avoids conflicts when the same project variable is referenced from multiple encounters.

Example: build a comma list from checkboxes

Generic helper to concatenate selected checkbox labels:

function createTextList(pairs) {
  var result = [];
  for (var i = 0; i < pairs.length; i++) {
    if (pairs[i].checked) {
      result.push(pairs[i].label);
    }
  }
  return result.join(', ');
}

#summaryField = createTextList([
  { checked: #option1 == 1, label: 'Option A' },
  { checked: #option2 == 1, label: 'Option B' },
  { checked: #option3 == 1, label: 'Option C' }
]);

Add a variable — variable types and settings
Create a variable group — form setup
Data entry prompt HTML — styling prompts