# Conditions

Conditions decide for whom something is active. Where [Data
Filtering](/docs/view/views/data-filtering.md) chooses rows, conditions choose
whether a View, a layout or a feature shows at all for the person looking.

Conditions only narrow. They never let anyone read a View who could not
otherwise: reading a View needs `edit_posts` (Contributor and above) unless
it is a [public embed](/docs/view/views/general.md#public-embed), and an Admin
Page needs `manage_options`.

## Building conditions

A **Conditions** field starts empty, which means always. Each condition
compares one parameter with a value:

| Parameter      | Group       | Compares                                                                                                 |
| -------------- | ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Admin area** | Environment | Whether the View is shown in wp-admin, on a post list or an admin page, rather than in a shortcode embed |
| **User**       | User        | The current user, chosen from the site's users                                                           |
| **User role**  | User        | The current user's primary role                                                                          |

The operator is **is equal to** or **is not equal to**. For **Admin area**,
**is equal to** means in wp-admin and **is not equal to** means in an embed.
**Negate** turns a condition around: it holds when the comparison does not.

Conditions are grouped like data filters: all conditions in a group must
hold (AND), and the field is satisfied when any one group holds (OR).

## Where conditions apply

### A View

**Conditions** in [View settings](/docs/view/views/general.md#conditions):

- On its post type's list screen, a View whose conditions fail leaves
  WordPress's standard list in place.
- On an admin page and in a shortcode embed, the View is left out.

### A layout

Each layout's **Conditions** section hides its tab from users the conditions
exclude, wherever the View renders. The editor's preview applies them to you,
so a layout hidden from you shows the message "This View is hidden by its
conditions."

### A switch

Most switches in a layout's settings, such as **Show search**, **Allow data
export**, **Show upvotes** or **Show edit button**, get their own conditions
once they are turned on. When the conditions fail, the switch counts as off
for that user. A board can, for example, allow editing only for
administrators while everyone else sees it read-only. The server holds every
change made through a placed View to the same switches: a card moved on a
board without **Allow sorting**, or an item added where the add button is
hidden, is refused.

### An admin page

An [admin page](/docs/view/admin-pages.md)'s **Conditions** decide whether its
menu page is registered for the current administrator at all.

## How conditions are decided

On a post list, an admin page and in an embed, SleekView decides the
conditions on the server for the user loading the page. An embed passes the
facts of the page it sits on, so **Admin area** is false there. Results are not
shared between users, so a page cache that stores the embed's page stays
correct.

## Examples

- **Editing only in wp-admin**: on a Kanban layout's **Show edit button**,
  add **Admin area** is equal to.
- **A layout for editors**: on the layout's Conditions, add **User role** is
  equal to Editor.
- **Administrators in wp-admin only**: one group with two conditions, **Is
  Admin** is equal to and **User role** is equal to Administrator.
- **Everyone except one user**: **User** is not equal to that user.