Expressions

Use fields and control values to build an expression on a control that performs an operation and returns a value. An expression can be a short expression that refers to a field, or a longer expression with complex logic and formatting based on fields or other items, such as control values or SmartObject data.

When you click the Control Expression icon in the Layout tab, or select to add an expression in the Properties section of a control, the Add Expression page opens.
The Context Browser contains two tabs:

  • Context: Fields available to build an expression in the context of the control
  • Operators: List of operators available to build your expression

You can drag and drop fields and operators from the Context Browser onto the Expression Details canvas to build expressions. See a preview of the expression in the Preview panel.

When you drag fields and operators onto the canvas, drop zones show you where you can drop them. The example below shows the drop zones when you build an expression.

The Context tab contains information such as system values, environment fields, and content relating to the view, for example controls, SmartObject fields and more. Use these fields with operators to build an expression on the control.

Fields Description
System Values - Current Date Current date and time functions
Current User - FQN Fully Qualified Name - A combination of the label and user name
Current User - Display Name The user's display name
Current User - Description Description of the current user
Current User - E-mail The user's email address
Current User - Manager FQN The user's manager
Client The browser that you use
Error Details you can use for error logging
Workflow View Workflow information when you integrate a form with a workflow
Environment Fields The fields available on the environment
Controls Controls used on the view
[Sales] The fields of the SmartObject linked to the view
Expressions Existing expressions that you can use

The Operators tab contains a list of operators that you can use in your expression. Use these operators to, for example, convert values to specific data types, perform mathematical calculations, and convert values or fields to text strings.

Operator Description
Conversion

Converts data into other formats, based on input value and returns the converted value
Date and Time Performs an operation on a date and time input value and returns a string, numeric, or date and time value
List Aggregators

Perform calculations, usually based on input of a collection of values and returns a number
Logical Performs a logical operation or comparison on objects and expressions and returns a Boolean value
Mathematical Perform calculations, usually based on input values and returns a number
Operators Provide a set of arithmetic operators that you can use to perform mathematical calculations, usually based on input values, and returns a result
Regular Expression A pattern that the regular expression engine attempts to match in input text
Text Converting a value or field to a text string allows you to concatenate text strings or perform other text functions
Value Aggregators Perform calculations, usually based on input values, and returns a number result

Use the conversion functions to convert a value to a data type such as decimal to Boolean, number to Boolean (where 1 equals True and 0 equals False), and more. Note that the success of a conversion depends on the input and output types. For example, if you convert a decimal to Boolean, it only works if the decimal number is 1.0 or 0.0.

Functions Description Accepted input types Example
To Boolean Converts a value to a Boolean data type. Text, Number, Decimal, Boolean Input Value: "True"
Result: True
To Date Converts a Date or DateTime value to a Date data type that does not have any time information. Text, Date, DateTime See a detailed explanation below
To Date and Time Converts a value to a Date and Time data type. Text, DateTime Input Value: "2017/02/02 05:05:05 AM"
Result: 2017/02/02 05:05:05 AM
To DateTime Converts a Date or Time or DateTime value to DateTime data type. 1) Text,Date 2) Text,Time (2 parameters) See a detailed explanation below
To Decimal Converts a value to a Decimal data type. Text, Number, Decimal, Boolean Input Value: "1"
Decimal Places: "1"
Result: 1.0
To Number Converts a value to an Number data type. Text, Number, Decimal, Boolean Input Value: "1.0"
Result: 1
To Text Converts a value to a Text data type. Text, Number, Decimal, Boolean Example:
Input Value: "12345"
Result: 12345
To Time Converts a Time or DateTime value to a Time data type that has no day / month /year. Text, DateTime, Time See a detailed explanation below
To Time Duration from Milliseconds Converts a Milliseconds value to a Duration dd:hh:mm:ss Number Example:
Input Value: "123456789"
Result: 1d 10h

About the To Date, To DateTime and To Time conversion functions

The To Date, To DateTime, and To Time conversion functions allow you to convert controls and text between standard date and time data types. For example, if you use the To DateTime function to convert an input control, which has a Date data type and format, the result is a DateTime data type in UTC. In other words, if you want to display a birthday (Date), but you are using a calendar (which is of type DateTime), you can drop the calendar control into a ToDate conversion. Then the birthday does not have a time of day associated with it.

You can use these functions for typed values as well as long as they are in the correct format as follows:

  • To Date - yyyy-MM-dd (for example 2017-12-31)
  • To DateTime - yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ (for example 2017-12-31T23:59:59Z)
  • To Time - HH:mm:ss.fff (for example 23:59:59.99)

You can find more information about standard date and time format strings that you can use as input values here: Universal sortable date/time pattern.

Converting non-standard input formats

Values that are input (either by use of a control or manually typed) in non-standard formats are converted, depending on the function, using the browser's culture setting and time zone or the time zone set on the control.

To Date function

Using the To Date function, the time and time zone are ignored and do not display in the result.

  • When, for example, you are using a browser with English US culture in the Pacific Standard Time (PST) time zone, and using an input value of 05/09/17 or 05/09/17 11:44:00 AM, the month is May and the day is the 9th.
    The result is 2017-05-09
  • When you are using a browser with French FR culture in the Central European Time (CET) time zone, and using an input value of 05/09/17 or 05/09/17 11:44:00 AM, the month is September and the day is the 5th.
    The result is 2017-09-05
To DateTime function
  • When you are using a browser with English US culture in the PST time zone, and using an input value of 05/09/17, the function converts the time value to midnight in the local time zone. The month is May and the day is the 9th.
    The UTC result is 2017-05-09T08:00:00Z
  • When you are using a browser with French FR culture in the CET time zone, and using an input value of 05/09/17, the function converts the time value to midnight in the local time zone. The month is September and the day is the 5th.
    The UTC result is 2017-09-04T23:00:00Z
To Time function

Using the To Time function, the date and time zone are ignored and do not display in the result.

  • If you use an input value of 23:59:59, the result is 23:59:59
  • If you use an input value of 2017-09-05 23:59:59, the result is 23:59:59
  • If you use an input value of 11:59:59 PM, the result is 23:59:59

Use date and time functions to perform operations on date and time input values and return a string, numeric, or date and time value. Values are converted to their native data types where possible.

Functions Description Example
Add Days Adds a specified number of days to a date Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Days: 1
Result: 01/02/2017 00:00:00 AM
Add Hours Adds a specified number of hours to a date and time Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Hours: 1
Result: 01/01/2017 01:00:00 AM
Add Minutes Adds a specified number of minutes to a date and time Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Minutes: 1
Result: 01/01/2017 00:01:00 AM
Add Seconds Adds a specified number of seconds to a date and time Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Seconds: 1
Result: 01/01/2017 00:00:01 AM
Date/Time Difference

Determines the difference between two dates, returning the difference in the specified interval with sub-intervals as decimal fractions. Intervals available are: year, month, day, hour, minute, second and millisecond

 Interval: Day
First Date: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Second Date: 01/02/2018 00:00:00 AM
Result: -366 (days)
Day Gets the day of a given date Date: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 1
Day Difference Determines the number of days between two dates. Times are excluded from the calculation.

Example 1:
First Date: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Second Date: 01/02/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 1

Example 2:
First Date: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Second Date: 01/02/2017 12:00:00 PM
Result: 1
End of Month Gets the last day of a month Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 01/31/2017 11:59:59 PM
End of Quarter Gets the last day of a quarter Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 03/31/2017 11:59:59 PM
End of Week Gets the last day of a week Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 01/08/2017 11:59:59 PM
End of Year Gets the last day of a year Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 12/31/2017 11:59:59 PM
Format Date and Time Formats a date and time to a text representation using a specified date and time format. See a list of date and time abbreviations and specifiers below DateTime: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Format: "dddd, dd MMMM yyyy"
Result: "Thursday, 1 January 2017"
Month Gets the month of a given date as a number Date: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 1
Now Gets the current date and time Result: 05/20/2017 03:34:27 PM
Start of Month Gets the first day of a month Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Start of Quarter Gets the first day of a quarter Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Start of Week Gets the first day of a week Date and Time: 01/01/2009 00:00:00 AM
Result: 12/26/2016 00:00:00 AM
Start of Year Gets the first day of a year Year: 2017
Result: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Subtract Days Subtracts a specified amount of days from a date Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Days: 1
Result: 12/31/2016 00:00:00 AM
Subtract Hours Subtracts a specified amount of hours from a date and time Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Hours: 1
Result: 12/31/2016 00:23:00 AM
Subtract Minutes Subtracts a specified amount of minutes from a date and time Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Minutes: 1
Result: 12/31/2016 00:59:00 AM
Subtract Seconds Subtracts a specified number of seconds from a date and time Date and Time: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Seconds: 1
Result: 12/31/2016 00:00:59 AM
Today Gets the current day Result: 05/20/2017 00:00:00 AM
Tomorrow Return tomorrow's date Result: 05/21/2017 00:00:00 AM
Week Number Gets the week number of the year of a specified date Date: 03/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 9
Weekday Gets the name of the day of the week from a specified date Date: 03/02/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: "Thursday"
Year Gets the year of a date Date: 01/01/2017 00:00:00 AM
Result: 2017
Yesterday Returns yesterday's date Result: 05/19/2017 00:00:00 AM

The following table lists the date and time abbreviations recognized by the Format Date and Time function.

Date and Time Abbreviations Example
Year y, yy, yyyy 9, 09, 2017
Month M, MM, MMM, MMMM 2, 02, Feb, February
Day d, ddd, dddd 21, Sat, Saturday
Hour h, hh, H, HH 4, 04, 16, 16
Minute m, mm 1, 01
Second s, ss 1, 01
Millisecond ffff 9999
A.M. or P.M. t, tt P, PM

The following table lists the standard date and time specifiers recognized by the Format Date and Time function.

Specifier Pattern value (for en-US culture)
t h:mm tt
d M/d/yyyy
T h:mm:ss tt
D dddd, MMMM dd, yyyy
F dddd, MMMM dd, yyyy h:mm:ss tt

Constructing a Dynamic String

If you want to use parts of a date to construct a dynamic string, you may consider the following options:

  • Use the separate expression values such as Day, Month, Year, and combine them as necessary
  • Use a formatted date to construct a string closer to the outcome

    Examples:

    • d Short date pattern (e.g.: 02/17/2017)
    • D Long date pattern (e.g: Saturday, 17 February 2017)
    • t Short time pattern (e.g.: 22:10)
    • T Long time pattern (e.g.: 22:10:30)
    • F Full date pattern (e.g.: Saturday, 17 February 2017 22:10:30)
    • m (or M) Month and day pattern (e.g.: February 17)
    • s Sortable date and time pattern (e.g.: 2017-02-17T22:10:30)
    • y (or Y) Year and month pattern (e.g.: 2017 February)
  • You can customize this even further with extra expressions

Use list aggregators to perform calculations, usually based on input from a collection of values, and return a result.

Functions Description Example
List Average Calculates the average of a collection of values Input Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Result: 2
List Count Calculates the total count of a collection of values Input Values:{ 1, 2, 3 }
Result: 3
List Maximum Gets the maximum value of a list of values Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Expected When Empty: 0
Result: 3
List Minimum Gets the minimum value of a set of values Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Expected When Empty: 0
Result: 1
List Sum Gets the sum of a set of values Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Result: 6

Use logical functions to perform a logical operation or comparison on objects and expressions and return a Boolean value.

Functions Description Example
And Perform an And operation on two Boolean values, returning True if both values are True, False if any value is False Input Value: True
Input Value: False
Result: False
Equals Determines if two values or fields are equal Result: True

Greater Than

Determines if the value on the left is greater than the value on the right Result: True
Greater Than Equals Determines if the value on the left is greater than or equal to the value on the right Result: True
If Returns one of two values (Boolean condition, true, false) based on a Boolean condition. You can use up to seven nested expressions Condition: True
True Value: "Test string 1"
False Value: "Test string 2"
Result: "Test string 1"
Less Than Determines if the value on the left is less than the value on the right Result: True
Less Than Equals Determines if the value on the left is less or equal to the value on the right Result: True
Not

The Not function changes False to True and True to False. Returns a True value if the condition evaluates to False and a False value if the condition evaluates to True

Condition: True
Result: False
Not Equals Determines if two values or fields are not equal Condition: True
Result: False
Or Perform an Or operation on two Boolean values, returning True if one of the values is True, False if both values are False Value: True
Value: False
Result: True
Xor Perform an exclusive Or operation on two Boolean values, returning True if one and only one of the values is True Value: True
Value: True
Result: False
False Gets the Boolean value of False Result: False
True Gets the Boolean value of True Result: True
When you use True and False value inputs, they need to return values of the same type. For example, if you drag a SmartBox SmartObject Delete method into a True value, the If function allows this but does not work at runtime because the Delete method does not return a value

Use mathematical functions to perform calculations, usually based on input values, and return a result.

Functions Description Example
Absolute Gets the absolute value of a number Input Value: -2
Result: 2
Format Number Formats a number to a text representation using a specified numeric format specifier Number: 0.111
Format: "C"
Result: "$ 0.11"
Power Gets one value raised to the power of another Base: 2
Power: 4
Result: 16
Random Gets a random number less than or equal to a specified maximum value Maximum: 2
Result: 1
Root Gets the positive nth root of a positive number Number: 100
Nth Root: 2
Result: 10
Round Rounds a number up or down to a value with a specified precision Value: 1.111
Digits: 1
Result: 1.1
Round Down Rounds a value down Value: 1.15
Digits: 1
Result: 1.1
Round Up Rounds a value up Value: 1.15
Digits: 1
Result: 1.2
Square Gets the square of a number Number: 2
Result: 4
Square Root Gets the square root of a number Number: 100
Result: 10

Format Number Function

When you use the Format Number function, it is important to remember that the formatting of number strings/text is bound to the culture of the client machine for default precision specifiers and delimiters. Support includes but is not limited to the following:

Format Specifier Name Description Examples
"C" or "c" Currency Result: A currency value.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Number of decimal digits.
Default precision specifier: Culture specific 		Format Number( 123.456, C) -> $123.46 [en-US]
Format Number( 123.456, C) -> 123,46 € [fr-FR]
Format Number( 123.456, C) -> ¥123 [ja-JP]
Format Number( -123.456, C3) -> ($123.456) [en-US]
Format Number( -123.456, C3) -> -123,456 € [fr-FR]
Format Number( -123.456, C3) -> -¥123.456 [ja-JP]
"E" or "e" Exponential (scientific) Result: Exponential notation.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Number of decimal digits.
Default precision specifier: 6. 		Format Number( 1052.0329112756 , E) -> 1.052033E+003 [en-US]
Format Number( 1052.0329112756 , e) -> 1,052033e+003 [fr-FR]
Format Number( -1052.0329112756 , e2) -> -1.05e+003 [en-US]
Format Number( -1052.0329112756 , E2) -> -1,05E+003 [fr_FR]
"F" or "f" Fixed-point Result: Integral and decimal digits with optional negative sign.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Number of decimal digits.
Default precision specifier: Culture specific 		Format Number ( 1234.567, F) -> 1234.57 [en-US]
Format Number ( 1234.567, F) -> 1234,57 [de-DE]
Format Number ( 1234, F1) -> 1234.0 [en-US]
Format Number ( 1234, F1) -> 1234,0 [de-DE]
Format Number ( -1234.56, F4) -> -1234.5600 [en-US]
Format Number ( -1234.56, F4) -> -1234,5600 [de-DE]
"N" or "n" Number Result: Integral and decimal digits, group separators, and a decimal separator with optional negative sign.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Desired number of decimal places.
Default precision specifier: Culture specific 		Format Number ( 1234.567, N) -> 1,234.57 [en-US]
Format Number ( 1234.567, N) -> 1 234,57 [ru-RU]
Format Number ( 1234, N1) -> 1,234.0 [en-US]
Format Number ( 1234, N1) -> 1 234,0 [ru-RU]
Format Number ( -1234.56, N3) -> -1,234.560 [en-US]
Format Number ( -1234.56, N3) -> -1 234,560 [ru-RU]
"P" or "p" Percent Result: Number multiplied by 100 and displayed with a percent symbol.
Supported by: All numeric types.
Precision specifier: Desired number of decimal places.
Default precision specifier: Culture specific 		Format Number ( 1, P) -> 100.00 % [en-US]
Format Number ( 1, P) -> 100,00 % [fr-FR]
Format Number ( -0.39678, P1) -> -39.7 % [en-US]
Format Number ( -0.39678, P1) -> -39,7 % [fr-FR]

Use operators to perform calculations, usually based on input values, and return a result.

Functions Description Example
Divide Divides two or more numbers or decimals Input Value: 1.1
Result: 2
Minus Subtracts two or more numbers or decimals

Input Value: 3.2

Result: 1

Modulus Returns the integer remainder of a division Input Values: 9. 3
Result: 3
Multiply Multiplies two expressions of numbers or decimals Input Values: 2. 5
Result: 10
Plus Adds two or more numbers or decimals Number: 1.1.
Result: 2
Opening Parenthesis In a group expression, this marks the beginning of a sub expression Example: (
Closing Parenthesis In a group expression, this marks the end of a sub expression Example: )

Regular expressions helps you to process text. A regular expression is a pattern that the regular expression engine attempts to match to input text.

Functions Description Example
Matches

Doing a regular expression pattern match of a value, for example to check if the input value is a valid email address.

Parameters: Pattern(Text) Text Value(Text)

Example 1:
Input: "Examples"
Pattern: "\\b\\w+es\\b"
Result: true

Example 2:
Input: "Example"
Pattern: "\\b\\w+es\\b"
Result: false

Example 3:
Input: ""
Pattern: "[a-z]*"
Result: true

Note that * will always return a match

Example 4:
Input: ""
Pattern: "[a-z]"
Result: false

Example 5:
Input: "Examples"
Pattern: "\\b\\w+es\\b"
Result: true

Matches words ending in 'es'

Example 6:
Input: "Example"
Pattern: "\\b\\w+es\\b"
Result: false

Matches words ending in 'es'
Not Matches

Doing a regular expression pattern match of a value to exclude for example to exclude all members whose names begin with 'A'.

Parameters: Text Value(Text) Pattern(Text)

Note that * always return an empty result

Use Text functions to perform operations such as concatenations or insertions on text. Text-based operations are 1-based, meaning that the index of the first character in a string is 1.

Functions Description Example
Concatenate Joins two text strings into one text string Values: { "Street", "Region", "State" }
Separator: ";"
Result: "Street;Region;State"
Contains Returns a True value if a substring is found within another string Sequence: "12345"
Text: "234"
Result: True
Ends with Returns True if a given string ends with the specified substring

Text Value: "ple"
Search Value: "Example"
Result: "True"
Find Returns the index if the specified string is found within another string. Returns 0 if no match is found Substring: "12345"
Text: "234"
Result: 2
HTML Encode Encodes an HTML string HTML: "<HTML><HEAD></HEAD><BODY><DIV CLASS="main">Hello World</DIV></BODY></HTML>"
Result: "&lt;HTML&gt;&lt;HEAD&gt;&lt;/HEAD&gt;&lt;BODY&gt;&lt;DIV CLASS="main"&gt;Hello World&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/BODY&gt;&lt;/HTML&gt;"
HTML Decode Decodes an HTML string HTML: "&lt;HTML&gt;&lt;HEAD&gt;&lt;/HEAD&gt;&lt;BODY&gt;&lt;DIV CLASS="main"&gt;Hello World&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/BODY&gt;&lt;/HTML&gt;"
Result: "<HTML><HEAD></HEAD><BODY><DIV CLASS="main">Hello World</DIV></BODY></HTML>"
Hyperlink Creates a hyperlink with a display name and URL Display Name: "K2"
URL: "http://www.k2.com"
Result: "<a href=http://www.k2.com> K2</a>"
Insert Inserts a substring into a string at a specified position Text: "Example"
Substring: "00000"
Position: 2
Result: "E00000xample"
Is blank Returns True if a string is empty
Is not blank Returns True if a string is not empty
Join Concatenates a list of text values or fields, delimiting each with a separator Values: { "1", "2", "3" }
Separator: ";"
Result: "1;2;3"
Left Returns a subset of characters from the left side of a string Text: "Test"
Length: 1
Result: "T"
Length Returns the length of a string Text: "Test"
Result: 4
Mid Returns a subset of characters from a string, starting at a specified index and continuing to the end of the string Text: "Example"
Start: 3
Result: "mple"
Pad Left Pads a string with a padding character on the left side up to a specified length Source String: "Example"
Pad Character: "#"
Overall Length: 9
Result: "##Example "
Pad Right Pads a string with a padding character on the right side up to a specified length Source String: "Example"
Pad Character: "#"
Overall Length: 9
Result: "Example##"
Proper Converts a string to proper case Text: "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
Result: "The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog"
Replace Replaces a substring within a string with a new substring Text: "Ex000le"
Find: "000"
Replace: " amp "
Result: "Example"
Right Returns characters from the right side of a string Text: "Example"
Length: 3
Result: "ple"
Starts With

Returns True if a given string starts with the specified substring

Text Value: "Ex"
Search Value: "Example"
Result: "True"
To Lower Converts a string to lower case Text: "Example"
Result: " example "
To Upper Converts a string to upper case Text: "Example"
Result: " EXAMPLE "
Trim Removes leading and trailing spaces and line breaks from a string Text: " Example "
Result: "Example"
URL Encode Encodes a URL string URL: "http://local.com/test url.asmx"
Result: "http%3a%2f%2flocal.com%2ftest+url.asmx"
URL Decode Decodes a URL string URL: "http%3a%2f%2flocal.com%2ftest+url.asmx"
Result: "http://local.com/test url.asmx"
XML Encode Encodes a XML string XML: "<note><to>Tove</to><from>Jani</from><heading>Reminder</heading><body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body></note>"
Result: "&lt;note&gt;&lt;to&gt;Tove&lt;/to&gt;&lt;from&gt;Jani&lt;/from&gt;&lt;heading&gt;Reminder&lt;/heading&gt;&lt;body&gt;Don&#39;t forget me this weekend!&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/note&gt"
XML Decode Decodes a XML string XML: "&lt;note&gt;&lt;to&gt;Tove&lt;/to&gt;&lt;from&gt;Jani&lt;/from&gt;&lt;heading&gt;Reminder&lt;/heading&gt;&lt;body&gt;Don&#39;t forget me this weekend!&lt;/body&gt;&lt;/note&gt"
Result: "<note><to>Tove</to><from>Jani</from><heading>Reminder</heading><body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body></note>"
Empty String Returns an empty string Result: "Blank"

Note the following when you test for [is empty] and [is not empty]:

  • When you use view fields, numeric fields do not evaluate to empty as the default value is 0.

Use Value aggregators to perform calculations, usually based on input values, and return a number result.

Functions Description Example
Average Calculates the average of a collection of values Input Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Result: 2
Maximum Gets the maximum value of a list of values Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Expected When Empty: 0
Result: 3
Minimum Gets the minimum value of a set of values Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Expected When Empty: 0
Result: 1
Sum Gets the sum of a set of values Values: { 1, 2, 3 }
Result: 6

Consider the following points when you apply expressions on List and Editable List views:

Applying Expressions on the Body Control

When you apply an expression on a body control (column) and the control is linked to a field (for example a SmartObject property), the related field updates per row once the expression evaluates. In this instance, the expressions evaluate when list values are retrieved. Aggregations, for example, are calculated according to the related field information on the view and not necessarily the information as saved in the SmartObject. If there is already information in the SmartObject before you apply the expression on the view, the values that are in the SmartObject and what display on the view might differ.

If you load an Editable List view with an expression on the body control and then proceed to save the values, all modified records are updated. This is useful for batch updates if a specific value relating to an expression changes and you want to update all records.

People using the view must save the values in the view to update the values in the SmartObject

Using Expressions on the Add/Edit Item Row

When you apply an expression on the Add/Edit Item row’s controls, only records that you change manually update in the SmartObject when you click Save. If you use the Today Date and Time expression for example and modify the date, the value is saved in the SmartObject. If you don't alter the date, no value is saved. The expression only applies as a display value and do not alter historical data unless you change the record manually.

  1. When you add an expression to a control, the data type of the control should match the expression input.
  2. Note the following when you test for [is empty] and [is not empty]:
    • When you use view fields, numeric fields do not evaluate to empty as the default value is 0.