Dependent Picklists rely on a Controlling Picklist value, e.g. a selection made in a previous Picklist, and are a way to narrow down options in an organised way. As an example, if you want the user to select a colour, you can categorise colours based on if they are primary or secondary colours. 


Explaining how to configure Dependent Picklists is best done with an example. What follows is an explanation of how to setup the colour-selection example mentioned above using Dependent Picklists. 


You will need two Picklist Elements and will need to have already created a Standard Picklist. To find out more on configuring Standard Picklists, please click here: Picklists - How to Configure a Standard Picklist



Configure the Standard Picklist


Your Standard Picklist should contain the values of your categories (in this case 'Fruit' and 'Vegetables'), and should be linked to the first Picklist Element. This will be the Controlling Picklist. 




Configure the Dependent Picklist


1. Then create your Dependent Picklist. Navigate to the Manage picklists button in the Designer and select Create Picklist once. In the same way as a Standard Picklist, rename it under the Details tab and then navigate to the Values tab. 


2. Select Add Controlling Value twice (in this case because there are only two values in the Controlling Picklist).


4. In the Controlling values fields, enter the values in your first Controlling Picklist, in this case 'Fruit' and 'Vegetables'. Then enter the options you want to appear when the user selects it in the List of values fields. 



5. Save your changes. 


Assign the Picklist Element to the Dependent Picklist 


1. Edit your second Picklist Element (ensure it comes after the Picklist Element linked to the Controlling Picklist)



  1. Navigate to the Picklist tab and select your Dependent Picklist to link it to the Element.
  2. Click Save on the Element Properties Window.
  3. Save your changes overall.


2. Now go back into the Edit Properties Window for the second Picklist Element. A Controlling Element input should appear.



  1. Search for and Select the Controlling Element linked to the Controlling Picklist and click Save.


3. So, depending on the value the user selects in the Controlling Picklist Element, the values of the second Picklist will be populated based on that choice.