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List Column Required for Gravity Forms

Download on WordPress.org Active Installs Rating License: GPL v2

A Gravity Forms add-on that lets you mark individual columns as required in multi-column List fields — something Gravity Forms doesn't support out of the box.

By default, Gravity Forms only allows you to make the entire List field required (meaning at least one row must be filled). This plugin goes further: you can choose which columns within each row must be filled in before the form can be submitted.

📥 Get the Plugin

The easiest way to install is directly from the WordPress.org plugin directory:

👉 Download from WordPress.org 👈

Or search for "List Column Required for Gravity Forms" under Plugins → Add New in your WordPress dashboard.

The Problem

When using the Gravity Forms List field with "Enable multiple columns" turned on, there's no way to require specific columns. You can only require the entire field, which passes as long as any cell has a value — even if critical columns like "Email" or "Name" are left blank.

The Solution

This add-on adds a small "Required" checkbox next to each column in the form editor. Check it, and that column becomes required — with server-side validation, front-end asterisk indicators, and accessible aria-required attributes.

Screenshots

Form Editor (Backend)

Each column gets a "Required" checkbox. The label turns red when checked so it's easy to spot at a glance.

Form Editor - Required checkbox per column

Front-End Form

Required columns display an asterisk (*) in the column header, matching Gravity Forms' native required field styling.

Front-End - Required column with asterisk

How It Works

Layer What Happens
Form Editor A "Required" checkbox is injected next to each column via GF's gform_append_field_choice_option_list JS callback. The isColumnRequired flag is stored on each choice object and saved automatically with the form JSON.
Auto-Require All When the main field-level "Required" rule is toggled ON, all columns are automatically marked as required too. You can then uncheck individual columns if needed. Toggling the field-level rule OFF does not clear column-level required flags.
Server Validation On submission, the gform_field_validation filter checks every row. If a row has any data at all, all required columns in that row must be filled. If all rows are empty, the first row is still validated — required columns mean "you gotta fill this in."
Front-End Rendering The gform_field_content filter adds a red asterisk to required column headers. The gform_column_input_content filter adds aria-required="true" to inputs for accessibility.
Field-Label Indicator When any column is marked required (and field-level "Required" is off), gform_pre_render / gform_admin_pre_render virtually flag the list field as required at render time only. This makes GF emit its standard label asterisk and the "* indicates required fields" legend at the top of the form — without affecting validation (handled separately by the validator).

Validation Logic

  • Row with some data → all required columns in that row must be filled
  • All rows empty → the first row's required columns are enforced
  • Extra blank rows → skipped (user added a row but didn't start filling it)
  • Non-column List fields → completely unaffected

Requirements

  • WordPress 5.8+
  • PHP 7.4+
  • Gravity Forms 2.5+

Installation

  1. Copy the list-column-required-for-gravity-forms folder into your wp-content/plugins/ directory
  2. Activate the plugin in WordPress admin → Plugins
  3. Edit any form with a List field → enable multiple columns → check "Required" on the columns you want

No configuration pages or global settings needed — it just works at the field level.

File Structure

list-column-required-for-gravity-forms/
├── list-column-required-for-gravity-forms.php          # Bootstrap: GF dependency check, loader
├── class-list-column-required-for-gravity-forms.php    # Main addon class (extends GFAddOn)
├── includes/
│   ├── class-list-column-validator.php  # Server-side validation (gform_field_validation)
│   └── class-list-column-frontend.php   # Front-end asterisks + aria attributes
└── assets/
    ├── js/
    │   └── admin.js                     # Form editor: "Required" checkbox per column
    └── css/
        └── admin.css                    # Styling for the checkbox in form editor

Hooks Used

Hook Type Purpose
gform_loaded Action Bootstrap the addon when GF is ready
gform_field_validation Filter Server-side per-column required validation
gform_column_input_content Filter Add aria-required to required column inputs
gform_field_content Filter Add asterisk to required column headers
gform_pre_render Filter Virtually flag list fields with required columns as required at render time (frontend) so GF shows the label asterisk + required legend
gform_admin_pre_render Filter Same as above for admin contexts (entry view, etc.)

Developer Notes

  • Column required state is stored as isColumnRequired (boolean) on each choice object in $field->choices[]
  • Property name deliberately avoids isRequired to prevent conflict with the field-level required flag
  • No new database tables — everything lives in the existing form JSON
  • The JS uses window["gform_append_field_choice_option_list"] — a type-specific callback called by GF's GetFieldChoices() function

License

GPL-2.0-or-later