Required vs Optional Form Fields
When you add a form field to an Action step you can mark it as Required or leave it optional. This controls whether the assignee must fill in the field before they can submit the step.
How it works
- Required — the Submit button is disabled until the field has a value. A red asterisk (
*) appears on the label.
- Optional — the assignee can leave the field blank and still submit.
New fields are created as required by default.
When to make a field required
- The data is needed for a downstream branch condition — a branch evaluating an empty field always routes to No
- The data is needed by the next person in the workflow
- Leaving it blank would create an incomplete record
- The step cannot meaningfully be "done" without this information
When to make a field optional
- The information may genuinely not apply in every case ("Additional comments")
- The assignee may not have the data yet but the workflow must still proceed
- The field is informational and its absence does not break downstream steps
Impact on branch conditions
If a branch condition evaluates a field that was left empty, the condition evaluates to false and the flow takes the No path — even if No was not the intended route.
Rule of thumb: if a branch evaluates a field, that field should almost always be marked required.
Best practices
- Start with every field required, then consciously relax specific fields to optional.
- Never require a field if the assignee cannot always provide the data.
- If a field is only relevant sometimes, use a separate step with a branch leading to it.
See also