---
title: "Show or hide content"
space: "Framework"
url: "https://docs.frappe.io/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/conditions"
updated: "2026-10-10"
---

One print format often has to work for many situations: paid and unpaid invoices, local and export orders, customers with and without a tax ID. Instead of making a format for each, add a condition to the parts that should only print sometimes.

Applies to Frappe v16 and later.

## Where you can add a condition

| What | Setting | Prints when |
|------|---------|-------------|
| A section | **Visibility > Condition** | the condition is true |
| A field or block | **Visibility > Condition** | the condition is true |
| A table | **Visibility > Condition** | the condition is true |
| Rows of a table | **Visibility > Show row when** | the condition is true for that row |
| A table column | Column settings **> Show column when** | the condition is true for the document |

Leave a condition empty to always print.

## Writing a condition

A condition is a short Python expression. Use `doc` for the document you are printing, and `doc.fieldname` for its fields:

```python
doc.status == "Paid"
```

The field names are the ones in the **Fields** tab, not the labels. For example the "Customer Name" field is `doc.customer_name`.

You can use comparisons (`==`, `!=`, `>`, `<`, `>=`, `<=`), `and`, `or`, `not`, `in`, and the functions `int`, `float` and `round`. Other Python functions are not available in conditions.

### Examples

```python
doc.status == "Paid"                       # only on paid invoices
doc.status != "Paid"                       # only on unpaid invoices
doc.discount_amount > 0                    # only when there is a discount
doc.currency != "USD"                      # only for foreign currency
doc.customer_group == "Export"             # only for export customers
doc.tax_id                                 # only when a tax ID is filled in
not doc.is_return                          # hide on credit notes
doc.status in ("Overdue", "Unpaid")        # one of several values
doc.grand_total >= 10000 and doc.po_no     # both must be true
doc.total_qty > 100                        # only large orders
```

### Table rows

In **Show row when**, use `row` for the row being printed:

```python
row.qty > 0                    # skip zero quantity rows
row.item_group == "Products"   # only products
not row.is_free_item           # hide free items
```

### Table columns

**Show column when** is checked once for the whole document, not per row, so use `doc`:

```python
doc.discount_amount            # show the discount column only when there is a discount
doc.currency != "USD"          # show an exchange rate column for foreign currency
```

### Print Settings

`print_settings` holds the site's [Print Settings](/framework/user/en/printing/print-settings), so a condition can follow a site-wide switch:

```python
print_settings.print_taxes_with_zero_amount or doc.total_taxes_and_charges
```

## See it live

With a document picked for the preview, the editor checks the condition as you type and shows one of these under it:

| Badge | Meaning |
|-------|---------|
| **Currently visible** | The condition is true for this document. It will print. |
| **Currently hidden** | The condition is false. It will not print for this document. |
| **Can't check this condition** | The condition has an error. Hover over the badge to see it. |
| **Load a document to see live status** | No preview document is picked. |

![A field with the condition doc.status == "Paid", currently hidden.](/files/printing-v16c-editor-visibility.png)

On the page, hidden parts are greyed out. In the **Layers** tab, anything with a condition has an eye icon, and hovering over it shows the condition.

## When a condition has a mistake

- If the condition is not valid Python, for example a missing quote, **Save & Apply** stops and shows which condition is wrong.
- If the condition is valid but fails while printing, for example it uses a field that does not exist, the part is **printed anyway** so no information is lost. The error is recorded once in the **Error Log**, titled "Print format condition failed" with the format's name.

## Related topics

- [Fields](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/fields)
- [Tables](/framework/user/en/printing/print-format-editor/tables)