# If.bind not working as expected
**URL:** https://discourse.aurelia.io/t/if-bind-not-working-as-expected/3510
**Category:** Help Requests
**Created:** [May 23, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://discourse.aurelia.io/t/if-bind-not-working-as-expected/3510 "2020-05-23T18:31:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
I am trying to conditionally show elements in my HTML depending on a variable that I set in my constructor.
The problem is that it’s showing no matter what I try.
customer.html
```auto
Solar Co. ID:
${reference_no}
```
I have also tried `show.bind`.
I have also tried `
`
This is how I currently have client defined in my ctor (eventually it will be bound to data gotten from an AJAX call).
customer.js: `this.client = '';`
What am I missing about how if.binds work?
---
It’s a little bit strange to wrap a div around the td’s. Not sure if that’s the issue, but its just not right.
Anyway, you should check carefully. I made a little sandbox for you to compare.
> **[aurelia-dynamic-css - CodeSandbox](https://codesandbox.io/s/aurelia-dynamic-css-nuvpx?file=%2Fapp.html)**
>
> A basic template for Aurelia +Dialog without bundler / compiler
Hope it helps you out.
---
Thank you, that worked perfectly.
I was going off of this article: [https://ilikekillnerds.com/2017/12/else-aurelia-using-else-attribute/](https://ilikekillnerds.com/2017/12/else-aurelia-using-else-attribute/), which was using `
`
So to clarify, using the `` tag is the way to go to use `if.bind` in my templates? and not the `
@rhysshadow The issue here is you’re trying to use a DIV within a table (presumably, I cannot see all of the markup in your code). When it comes to parsing HTML, the browser is strict about what certain elements can have inside of them. For tables, you can’t have DIV’s inside as children.
The `` element doesn’t get parsed by the browser, it basically ignores it and goes straight to the content and renders that instead. So they make great wrappers for markup. You can also use the `as-element` which is documented [here](https://aurelia.io/docs/templating/basics#the-as-element-attribute) and in-fact, specifically mentions working with table markup.
In some cases, using `if.bind` on a DIV is the right way to go if that DIV element is part of your markup. Take Bootstrap as an example.
```auto
Content
```
This would work because it’s valid markup and the browser parses it just fine.
---