Expressions
Use expressions to perform tasks including math, string manipulation and retrieving data. Expressions are used in the record box element and record area element. Expressions in Designer consists of operations, functions, aggregate functions, and conditions.
Using Expressions
Expressions can be used by a record box or a record area in the element's dataName property. These expressions are placed between pound signs and are replaced with the evaluated value in the report output.
Hello #FullName#. Your order total is #Add(SubTotal, Freight)#.
The dataName property of a record box can contain an expression. Although the property can contain only one expression, that expression can be nested.
- Use expressions in the
dataNameproperty of record boxes or record areas.
Operators
| Operator | Examples | Description |
|---|---|---|
| a + b | SubTotal + Freight | Adds two numbers together or concatenates two strings. |
| a - b | Total - Tax | Subtracts b from a. |
| a / b | Total / 12 | Divides a by b. |
| a * b | UnitPrice * Quantity | Multiplies two numbers together. |
| a % b | QuantityA % QuantityB | Computes the remainder after dividing a by b. |
| - a | - Price | Numeric negation of a |
| a == b | QuantityA == QuantityB | Returns true if a is equal to b. |
| a > b | QuantityA > QuantityB | Returns true if a is greater than b. |
| a < b | QuantityA < QuantityB | Returns true if a is less than b. |
| a >= b | QuantityA >= QuantityB | Returns true if a is greater or equal to b. |
| a <= b | QuantityA <= QuantityB | Returns true if a less than or equal to b. |
| a != b | QuantityA != QuantityB | Returns true if a is not equal to b. |
| !bool | !BoolA | Returns boolean negation (returns true if operand is false). |
| a | b | QuantityA | QuantityB | Returns the logical disjunction on two Boolean expressions, or a bitwise disjunction on two numeric expressions. |
| a & b | QuantityA & QuantityB | Returns the logical conjunction on two Boolean expressions, or a bitwise conjunction on two numeric expressions. |
| a ~ b | QuantityA ~ QuantityB | Returns the bitwise complement operation on its operand, which has the effect of reversing each bit. |
| a ^ b | QuantityA ^ QuantityB | Returns the logical exclusion on two Boolean expressions, or a bitwise exclusion on two numeric expressions. |
Functions
| Function | Examples | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Abs( a ) | Abs( Total ) | Returns the absolute value of a. |
| Add( a, b ) | Add( SubTotal, Freight ) | Adds two numbers together. |
| And( a, b ) | And( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns the logical conjunction on two Boolean expressions, or a bitwise conjunction on two numeric expressions. |
| Ceiling( a ) | Ceiling( Total ) | Returns the smallest integer that is not less than a. |
| Concat( a, b ) | Concat( FirstName, LastName ) | Returns the concatenated string. |
| CurrentDateTime( ) | CurrentDateTime( ) | Returns the current date and time. |
| DateAdd( datepart, number, date ) | DateAdd( Year, 1, OrderDate ) | Returns a new datetime value based on adding an interval to the specified date. |
| DateDiff( datepart, startdate, enddate ) | DateDiff( Day, OrderDate, ShipDate ) | Returns the number of date and time boundaries crossed between two specified dates. |
| Day( a ) | Day( OrderDate ) | Returns the day from the date. |
| Divide( a, b ) | Divide( Total, 12 ) | Divides a by b. |
| EQ( a, b ) | EQ( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns true if a is equal to b. |
| Floor( a ) | Floor( Total ) | Returns the nearest integer that is less than or equal to a. |
| Format( a, b ) | Format( UnitPrice, "0.00" ) | Formats a using the b format. |
| FV( a, b, c[, d[, e&cd; ) | FV( Rate, Period, Payment, PresentValve, DueDate ) | Returns the future value of an investment. |
| GT( a, b ) | GT( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns true if a is greater than b. |
| GTE( a, b ) | GTE( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns true if a is greater or equal to b. |
| Hour( a ) | Hour( "12/12/2006 4:11:05 PM") | Returns the hour from the date. |
| IIF( a[, b[, c&cd; ) | IIF( GTE( 2, 0 ), FirstName, LastName ) | Returns one of two values depending on the value of 'a'. |
| IsNull( a[, b] ) | IsNull( FirstName ) | Determines whether a specified value is null. |
| Left( a, b ) | Left( Name, 1 ) | Returns the first b letters from a. |
| Len( a ) | Len( Name ) | Returns the length of the string. |
| LT( a, b ) | LT( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns true if a is less than b. |
| LTE( a, b ) | LTE( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns true if a less than or equal to b. |
| Minute( a ) | Minute( OrderDate ) | Returns the minute from the date. |
| Mod( a, b ) | Mod( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns the remainder of a divided by b. |
| Month( a ) | Month( "12/12/2006 4:11:05 PM" ) | Returns the month from the date. |
| Multiply( a, b ) | Multiply( UnitPrice, Quantity ) | Multiplies two numbers together. |
| Negate( a ) | Negate( Total ) | Returns the negative of a. |
| Not( a ) | Not( QuantityA ) | Returns the logical negation on a Boolean expression. |
| NotEq( a, b ) | NotEq( OrderTotal1, OrderTotal2 ) | Returns a true if a and b are not equal, otherwise returns a false. |
| Or( a, b ) | Or( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns the logical disjunction on two Boolean expressions, or a bitwise disjunction on two numeric expressions. |
| PMT( a, b, c[, d[, e&cd; ) | PMT( Rate, Period, PresentValue, FutureValve, DueDate ) | Returns a value specifying the payment for an annuity. |
| Pow( a, b ) | Pow( 2, 3 ) | Returns the value of a raised to the power b. |
| PV( a, b, c[, d[, e&cd; ) | PV( Rate, Period, Payment, FutureValve, DueDate ) | Returns the present value of an investment. |
| Rate( a, b, c[, d[, e[, f&cd;] ) | Rate( Period, Payment, PresentValue, FutureValve, DueDate, Guess ) | Returns a value specifying the interest rate per period for an annuity. |
| Replace( a, b ) | Replace( FirstName, "a", "b" ) | Replaces all occurrences of a specified character or String with another specified Unicode character or String. |
| Round( a, b ) | Round( Total, Count ) | Returns number a rounded to b decimal places. |
| Right( a, b ) | Right( Name, 1 ) | Returns the last b letters from a. |
| Second( a ) | Second( "12/12/2006 4:11:05 PM") | Returns the second from the date. |
| Sqrt( a ) | Sqrt( Number ) | Returns the square root of the specified numeric expression. |
| StrComp( a, b ) | StrComp( FirstName, LastName ) | Returns a value indicating the result of a string comparison. |
| StrReverse(a) | StrReverse( Name ) | Returns a string in which the character order 'a' is reversed. |
| SubString( a, b, c ) | SubString( Name, 1, 4 ) | Returns 'c' characters from string 'a' starting from position 'b'. |
| Subtract( a, b ) | Subtract( Total, Tax ) | Subtracts b from a. |
| Tilde( a ) | Tilde( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns the bitwise complement operation on its operand, which has the effect of reversing each bit. |
| Trim( a ) | Trim( Name ) | Removes the white space before and after the string. |
| ToLower( a ) | ToLower( Name ) | Changes all letters to lowercase. |
| ToUpper( a ) | ToUpper( Name ) | Changes all letters to uppercase. |
| WeekDayName( a ) | WeekDayName( "12/12/2006 4:11:05 PM" ) | Returns a string indicating the specified day of the week. |
| Xor( a, b ) | Xor( QuantityA, QuantityB ) | Returns the logical exclusion on two Boolean expressions, or a bitwise exclusion on two numeric expressions. |
| Year( a ) | Year( OrderDate ) | Returns the year from the date. |
Aggregate Functions
| Function | Examples | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Count( expression ) | Count( Fax ) or Count( * ) | Counts all of the non null items of expression. Use a "*" for counting all items of the record set. |
| Sum( expression ) | Sum( LineTotal ) or Sum( Multiply( UnitPrice, Quantity ) ) | Sums all of the expression values. |
| First( expression ) | First( Fax ) | Returns the first expression value of all items of the record set. |
| Last( expression ) | Last( Fax ) | Returns the last expression value of all items of the record set. |
| Mean( expression ) | Mean( Quantity ) | Returns the average of all of the expression values. |
| Median( expression ) | Median( ProductName ) | Returns the median expression value. |
| Mode( expression ) | Mode( Marks ) | Returns the least most frequent expression value. |
| Max( expression ) | Max( Quantity ) | Returns the maximum expression value. |
| Min( expression ) | Min( Quantity ) | Returns the minimum expression value. |
| StDev( expression ) | StDev( Quantity ) | Returns the standard deviation of a numeric expression evaluated over a set. |
Examples
The following examples illustrate using expressions in Designer.
Figure 1.Two expressions in a dlex file.
Figure 2. An aggregate expression in a dlex file.