Advanced triggers reference
Advanced triggers show or hide a method depending on the rest of the quote: other methods, the products in the cart, or the method's own price. They're in the Advanced triggers card at the bottom of the rule editor.
Before you begin
How a trigger is built
Each trigger has a switch and a sentence:
- Turn the trigger's switch on.
- Choose Show or Hide, followed by "this method".
- Fill in the condition.
| Choice | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Switch off | The trigger does nothing. |
| Show | The method shows only when the condition is true. |
| Hide | The method is hidden when the condition is true. |
Rules about all triggers:
- Triggers belong to the whole method. Saving one rule copies its triggers to every rule of the method. The exception is Products with a tag, which is saved per rule.
- A method can use several triggers. It shows only if none of them hides it.
- Triggers can only hide or show. They never change a price.
Summary
| Trigger | Looks at | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Another method is offered | Whether other methods are offered | All |
| Products from certain origins | Origin ZIP codes of the cart's products | All |
| Rate above or below an amount | This method's final price | All |
| Rate compared to another method | This method's price vs. another method's | All |
| Products with a tag | Product tags | Shopify |
| Products of a brand | Product brands | Some BigCommerce stores |
| SKUs in the cart | Product SKUs | All |
Another method is offered
On screen: "[Show / Hide] this method when any of these methods is offered:" followed by a list of methods.
| Choice | One method listed | Several methods listed |
|---|---|---|
| Hide | Hidden if that method is offered | Hidden if any of them is offered |
| Show | Shown only if that method is offered | Shown only if all of them are offered |
Card wording: "Hide if #3 applies", "Show only if #3 applies", "Hide if any of #3, #5 applies", "Show only if #3, #5 all apply".
Example. Standard Shipping (#1): Hide when Free Shipping (#4) is offered.
| Cart | Free Shipping | Shopper sees |
|---|---|---|
| $40 | not offered | Standard Shipping |
| $120 | offered | Free Shipping only |
How-to: Hide a method when another method is offered.
Products from certain origins
On screen: "[Show / Hide] this method when products from [any / all] of these origin ZIP codes are in the cart:" followed by a list of ZIP codes. Press Enter after each code, or paste a list.
With any: the condition is true when at least one product in the cart ships from a listed origin ZIP code.
Card wording: "Show only if any product in the cart ships from 33467".
Example. "Local Pickup": Show when products from any of 33467 are in the cart. A cart with a product stocked at 33467 shows Local Pickup; a cart with only products from your main warehouse doesn't.
If you think you need all, contact support first so we can confirm it fits your setup.
See also Rules for products that ship from different origins.
Rate above or below an amount
On screen: "[Show / Hide] this method when its rate is [greater than / lower than] [amount]".
ASM checks the method's final price: after markups and after Minimum charge and Maximum charge. A $0 rate counts as lower than any amount.
| Setting | Price $15 | Price $45 | Price $120 |
|---|---|---|---|
Hide … greater than 100 |
shown | shown | hidden |
Show … lower than 20 |
shown | hidden | hidden |
Hide … lower than 20 |
hidden | shown | shown |
Card wording: "Hide if the rate is over $100", "Show only if the rate is under $20".
Don't rely on a price exactly equal to your amount. Use an amount like 99.99 instead of 100 when the boundary matters.
Rate compared to another method
On screen: "[Show / Hide] this method when its rate is [greater than / lower than] the rate of [method]", with a Show the cheapest checkbox.
Without the checkbox, the trigger only affects this method:
| Setting | This method is shown when |
|---|---|
| Show … lower than | it's cheaper than the other method |
| Hide … greater than | it's not more expensive than the other method |
| Show … greater than | it's more expensive than the other method |
| Hide … lower than | it's not cheaper than the other method |
Show the cheapest: whenever this method stays visible after the comparison, the other method is hidden. Use it with Show … lower than (or Hide … greater than) to show only the cheaper of the two.
Card wording: "Show only if the rate is lower than #2's; when this shows, #2 is hidden".
Example. FedEx Ground (#5): Show … lower than the rate of UPS Ground (#2), Show the cheapest ticked.
| FedEx Ground | UPS Ground | Shopper sees |
|---|---|---|
| $11.20 | $12.80 | FedEx Ground |
| $14.10 | $12.80 | UPS Ground |
| $11.20 | not offered | neither |
| $0 (free) | $12.80 | UPS Ground |
This method is always hidden when the other method isn't offered for the cart, or when either price is $0. If the rates are exactly equal, which one shows isn't guaranteed.
Don't tick Show the cheapest with Show … greater than: it would hide the cheaper method and keep the more expensive one.
How-to: Show only the cheaper of two methods.
Products with a tag (Shopify)
On screen: "[Show / Hide] this method when products with this tag are in the cart:" followed by a box for one tag.
- True when any product in the cart has the tag. The tag must match exactly; upper or lower case doesn't matter.
- Saved per rule. If the method has several rules, set it on each one.
Card wording: "Hide if a product in the cart has the tag FRAGILE".
Products of a brand appears instead on some BigCommerce stores and works the same way with the product's brand.
SKUs in the cart
On screen: "[Show / Hide] this method when any of these SKUs are in the cart:" followed by a list of SKUs. Hint: "Partial or full, any case; press Enter after each SKU, or paste a list".
- True when any product in the cart has a listed SKU.
- A partial SKU matches SKUs that start with it. Upper or lower case doesn't matter.
| You list | Matches | Doesn't match |
|---|---|---|
ABC-100 |
ABC-100, abc-100, ABC-1000 |
XABC-100 |
TSHIRT- |
TSHIRT-RED, TSHIRT-BLUE |
BIG-TSHIRT-RED |
Card wording: "Hide if the cart has one of these SKUs: ABC, DEF".
When triggers run
ASM works out methods in an order you can't change: methods without triggers first, then methods that depend on other methods.
- Products from certain origins, Products with a tag and SKUs in the cart are checked with the rule's other conditions, before pricing.
- Rate above or below an amount is checked after the price is final.
- Another method is offered and Rate compared to another method need the other methods' results, so they're checked last.
Keep triggers one level deep. Don't point a trigger at a method that has its own Another method is offered or Rate compared to another method trigger. ASM may not have worked out that method yet, so the result can be wrong. Never set two methods' compare triggers to point at each other.
Seeing why a method was hidden
In the Shipping Estimator, a method hidden by a trigger can show a reason such as:
- "This method is blocked by the Advanced Shipping Method Matrix because Free Shipping is applicable."
- "… because its rate is greater than the rate of UPS Ground."
- "… because target method is not applicable." (the compared method isn't offered)
- "… because its rate is greater than $100."
See Read Shipping Estimator results.
Side effects to know
- Show the cheapest hides a different method. If a method vanishes with no reason on its own card, look for "#N is hidden" on other methods' cards. See A method disappeared after I changed another rule.
- Deleting a rule can clear another method's Another method is offered trigger and switch that rule off. Check the Off filter after deleting.