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Purpose
Formula editor is used to create Visualization and Calculation rules for fields. You can access it by creating new field or editing and existing field in the Form Designer. At the bottom of the screen you can choose either to add Calculation or Visualization rule for the chosen field by clicking Edit. Some Fields may have only Visualization rule available if they can't be used in calculations.
Expression Builder View
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Expression builder |
| 2 | Available fields for selection |
| 3 | Arithmetic and logical operators |
| 4 | Available functions |
| 5 | Available options in pick list and multi-select fields |
If you click once on a Pick List or Mulit-Select Field, available options will appear on the empty place bellow the operator buttons. Options will also display if the pick list / multi-select field is based on a data source URL setting (i.e. Technician or Location).
Building Expressions
To add a field or function to expression builder you have 2 options:
- Click twice on selected field / function
- Type the expression directly - the expression builder will hint you if there is match
Functions
When a function is inserted it will provide additional information about how the function must be structured.
| Function | Argument | Aggregate field(s) can be used in | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABS | (Value) | No | Returns the absolute value of a number. |
| AVG | (Value1, Value2,…) | Yes | Returns the average of a list of numbers. |
| AVERAGEIF | (Condition, Value1, Value2,...) | Yes | Returns the average of all numbers in a range of values, based on a given criteria. |
| BETWEEN | (Value, Lower Value, Higher Value) | No | Returns true if given value is between two numbers. |
| CONTAIN | (Field, Value) | No | Use this function to evaluate selected items in a pick list or multi-select field. For example, CONTAIN(PickList, "Pass"). If you want your fields to be visible when two options are selected(available only in Multilist) you can combine two CONTAIN function, or any other: CONTAIN(MultiList, "Option 1") AND CONTAIN(MultiList, "Option 2") OR CONTAIN(MultiList, "Option 3") Every possible logical operators can be applied and if you want to change the priority just add parenthesis where necessary: CONTAIN(MultiList, "Option 1") AND (CONTAIN(MultiList, "Option 2") OR CONTAIN(MultiList, "Option 3")) |
| COUNT | (Value1, Value2,...) | Yes | Returns the number of arguments. |
| COUNTBLANK | (Value1, Value2,...) | Yes | Returns the number of arguments that are empty. |
| COUNTIF | (Condition, Value1, Value2,...) | Yes | Returns the number of arguments that meet a certain criteria. |
| CUME | (Value) | No | Takes the prior record Cume value and adds the current record "Field". |
| DATE | (Value) | No | Returns plain text as date |
| DATEADD | (Date, Days) | No | Returns a specified date with the specified number interval added to a specified datepart of that date. |
| POWER | (Value, power) | No | Returns a number by a chosen power. Static numbers can be typed in or other fields can be referenced (if they are numeric fields). Powers must be integers. |
| SQRT | (Value) | No | Returns the square root of a number or chosen numeric field. |
| MIN | (Value1, Value2,…) | Returns the smallest number from a list of numbers. | |
| MAX | (Value1, Value2,…) | Return the largest number from a list of numbers. | |
| SUM | (Value1, Value2,…) | Returns the sum of a list of numbers. | |
| ROUND | (Value, Optional: Precision) | Rounds a number. If no Precision is entered the default behavior will be rounding to the nearest integer - ROUND(4.5) = 5, ROUND(4.44456) = 4. If you want rounding to second digit after the decimal separator, include the optional precision argument. For example, ROUND(4.44456, 2) = 4.44. | |
| ROUNDTOEVEN | (Value) | Rounds a number to closest even value - ROUNDTOEVEN(5.4999) = 4, ROUNDTOEVEN(5.500001) = 6 | |
| ROUNDTOTEN | (Value) | Rounds a number to the nearest 10. | |
| HASVALUE | (Field) | Returns "true" if the selected field has value and "false" if there is no value. | |
| IF | (Condition, ThenValue, Optional: ElseValue) | Use the If / Then / Else function to conditionally evaluate data conditions and perform various calculations based on that data condition. For example, If(Result1 > 10, "Success", "Fail"). The Else value is optional and if you skip it and the condition is not satisfied no value will be assigned to field - If(Result1 > 10, "Success"). |
Text references in the expression builder often require double quotation marks around the text string.
For example:
If you want a field to show up based on another field that is a Yes/No field type when Yes is selected, and the name of the Yes/No field is named, Is this activity complete?. The resulting expression would appear as: Is this activity complete="yes"
To get this result, using the Expression Builder, you would first choose the dependent field from Available Fields. Next, select the = sign from the middle area. Finally, type the dependent value surrounded in quotations.
Logical Operators
To follow is an example of how a a logical operator can be used. In this example, the logical operators are part of the arguments of a nested IF statement.
Tips
- If a formula is incorrect, the expression builder has some validation built into it to alert you of of any bad syntax.
- Text references in the expression builder often require double quotation marks around the text string.