Using the IF Snippet Safely When Zero Is a Valid Value

Zero is one of the easiest values to mishandle in template logic. In Evolution CMS this often shows up in the if snippet, where a value like 0 is meaningful, but the surrounding logic treats it as if nothing was entered.

Example

[!if?
&is=`[+pay+]:is:0`
&then=`<p>Your request will be reviewed before payment is required.</p>`
&else=`<p>A paid response is available.</p>`!]

This is a perfectly valid pattern, but only if the form and thank-you flow preserve the pay value correctly.

What usually goes wrong

• The field never reaches the thank-you template.
• The value is empty, not zero.
• The comparison is written too loosely and mixes empty-state logic with numeric-state logic.

Best practice

When zero is meaningful, compare explicitly against zero and keep that branch separate from “empty” or “missing” states. This is especially important in eForm thank-you pages where pricing, moderation, or next-step logic depends on one numeric field.

Readable conditional logic matters here. A zero-value branch should be obvious to the next developer instead of hidden inside a loose truthy check.