Using Formulas in QuickBase

Introduction to Formulas

     Formula Building Blocks: field references, literals, operators, function calls and arguments

Creating a Formula Field

     Step 1: Select a Formula Field Type

     Step 2: Writing a Basic Formula

What you can do with Formulas: Using Special Functions

     Setting Conditions with the If() function

     Setting Multiple Conditions with the Case() function

     Working with Nulls

Using Formulas in a report

Related links:

     Troubleshooting Formula Errors

     QuickBase Formula Functions Reference (opens a new window)

Introduction to Formulas

As your application grows, you may find that you want fields to work together to affect or even generate content in another field. For example, imagine that each record in one of your tables is an invoice. Say you want the Total field to show the sum of the values in two other fields: subtotal and tax. If you were doing this manually on a paper invoice, you'd take the amount in subtotal and add it to the amount in tax and enter the result in total.

In QuickBase you'd do the same thing, or rather QuickBase does the same thing. You just need to instruct the program to perform this calculation. You do so by inserting a formula where you want the result to appear. So, you'd enter a formula in the total field that tells QuickBase: "Add the value in subtotal to the value in tax and display it here." This formula would be: [subtotal]+[tax]

Note that this formula does not contain an equal sign or refer to the result. The formula merely asks the question "What is the subtotal plus the tax?" QuickBase generates the answer and displays it in the formula field called Total. This process takes place within every record in the table. So if you have 25 records, QuickBase runs the formula within each record, generating 25 totals—one for each record.

You can use formulas to calculate mathematical amounts, as in the example. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Formulas can do much more. For example, say that in that same invoice you only want QuickBase to generate a total if a staff member has made an entry in the Job Completed Date field. No problem. Or perhaps you'd like QuickBase to automatically populate your Salesperson field based on a selection a user makes in the Territory field.

This topic tells you how to perform these feats and do even more. By the way, you're not limited to using formulas within a field. You can also use them to help you design custom reports or queries. Read on to learn about what goes into a formula, then see how to construct your own.

Tip: You can also use formulas to color the background of different rows in a table report. Learn how.

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Formula Building Blocks

You construct a formula using some or all of the following building blocks:

• Field references retrieve values from a specific field in the record. When you insert a field reference in a formula field, you're telling QuickBase "Take the value from the specified field and display it here." or "Take the value and use it in this calculation." To write a field reference, enclose the field name in square brackets, like this: [Manager] or [Annual Salary]. When you do so, QuickBase replaces the field reference with the actual value it finds in that field. For example, a formula like [First Name] & " " & [Last Name] strings together the values found in the First Name and Last Name field within each record. The result might be "John Smith" or "Betty Boop" for example. You use a field reference to call an application variable too. (What's an application variable and why would you use one?)

  FAQ: What happens if I change the name of a field I've used in a formula?
  Don't worry about it! QuickBase can roll with the punches (and edits). If you change the name of a field, the program automatically makes the same change wherever that name appears in your application, including formula references.

• Literals are values that are meant to be exactly what they are. For example, the formula [subtotal] + 23.5 means add the value from the subtotal field to 23.5 (literally, 23.5). Literals can be text too. To set a text literal apart from the rest of your formula, you enclose it within quotation marks: “This is a text literal.” Everything between the quotation marks appears as part of the result.

  Using quotation marks within a text literal
  What happens if the text you want to display includes a quotation mark? This is a problem, since QuickBase always reads a quotation mark as the delimiter of a text literal. Thankfully, you have a trick up your sleeve. The formula language features a special character, the backslash, which indicates that the character that follows it is part of the literal and not a delimiter. Example: “The \" character is part of this literal.” You can also use the backslash if you want to include a [] square bracket in your literal. (Usually a square bracket starts or ends a field reference.) Since the backslash itself is a special character, you also need to precede it with a backslash when you want to include one in a text literal. Example: “The \” and the \\ are both special characters.”.

• Operators tell QuickBase what you want to do with the values (be they field references or literals) in your formula. Operators are special symbols like + and * that act upon one or two values to return a new value. There are two types of operators:

  • Unary operators act on a single value, and are written like -4 or +5 or not true. (See a list of unary operators.)

  • Binary operators act on two values, and are written like 3 + 4, and 23.4 – 0.4. (See a list of binary operators.)

  • Note: QuickBase reads operators in a predetermined order that's not necessarily left to right. To learn more read about operator precedence.

• Function calls make things happen. A function performs a specific operation on some values that you specify and generates a new value. To compose a function call, you type the function name, followed by a set of parentheses. The parentheses contain the information that the function needs to perform its magic. These values are called arguments.

• Function Arguments are separate pieces of information within a function call that tell the function what values to act on or produce. Arguments appear within the parentheses that follow a call, with each argument separated by a comma like this: (Argument 1, Argument 2, Argument 3, and so on). Different function calls accept different numbers of and types of arguments. Arguments can be literals, field references or even another function call. The order in which you list arguments is very important. Some examples of a function call with arguments appear below:

  You want to...	Function	Explanation in English
  Find the lesser of two values	Min(41,23)	Display whichever amount is less: 41 or 23. The result is 23.
  Find the lesser of two values, where one of those values comes from a field in your QuickBase application	Min(41,23,[tax])	Display whichever amount is less: 41, 23, or the value in the tax field.
  Total some specific values	Sum(12.5, 0.5, 3)	Add 12.5 to .5 to 3 and display the result, which is 16.
  Find the average of a few values.	Average(12, 6, 9)	Display the average of 12, 6 and 9. The result is 9.
  Get today's date.	Today()	Display today's date. This function doesn't require any arguments, but you still need to supply the parentheses.

  • These are just a few simple examples of function calls. View the complete list of QuickBase Function Calls.

Creating a Formula Field

So how do you create a formula field? Follow the three steps detailed below: You'll add a field, select the formula field type. Then, access this field's properties screen and write your formula.

Step 1: Add a field

First, you start the process of adding a new field. (Read Step 2 to understand what formula field type to select.)

Step 2: Select a Formula Field Type

The rules of formula construction differ for various types of data. That's why it's very important to understand what type of fields are players in your formula. If you combine field types incorrectly, your formula won't work. Any fields that participate in your formula have a data type associated with them. The result of your formula also has a data type, as does the field in which you place the formula. All these data types and the operators you use on them must be compatible or QuickBase displays an "incorrect type" formula error message. (Read about troubleshooting formula errors.)

Formulas can be used to perform calculations on many different types of values, including numeric values, text values, dates, and durations. For each data type, only specific operations make sense. For example, multiplication makes sense on numeric values, but not on text values. Concatenation (linking values together in a chain) is an operation that makes sense on text values, but not dates. Some operations produce the same data type that they act on, while others produce a new data type. For instance, when you subtract one date from another, QuickBase returns a duration, not a date.

When you're creating a formula field, the first step is to tell QuickBase what type of data the formula will produce, by selecting a field type. The field type you select, must match the type of data result your formula will produce. For example, if your field will contain the result of a mathematical calculation, it must be a formula - numeric type field. If the result of your formula will be a date, it must be a Formula - Date type field.

Formula field types appear at the bottom of the field type list.

You can choose from the following field types:

• Formula - Text. Use this type of field if your formula results in text or contains literals with alphanumeric characters. When you use a Text literal in a formula, you must set it apart from the rest of the formula by enclosing it in double quotes like this: “Fred”, “Barney”, “Wilma and Betty”.

• Formula - Numeric. This type of field can only accept numeric results. You'd use this format to display the results of mathematical calculations. Numeric values can be integers or decimals, positive or negative. Your formula can use actual numbers, like 4, -3, +78.2, and -0.4. These values are called Number literals because QuickBase should use the actual number value presented. You could also tell QuickBase to use a number it finds in a specific field. You do this using a field reference like [tax], for example.

• Formula - Date. If your formula results in a date, you'll use this field type. A date result represents a specific day in the past, present or future. Dates do not have a literal form in formulas. However, if you have a date that's in the form of some text (this would be a Text literal) you can convert it into a date value, using the ToDate() function, which looks like this: ToDate(“Jan 30, 1999”), or ToDate(“1/30/99”). Today’s date can be obtained by calling the built-in function Today().

• Formula - Time of Day. Displays a time of day.

  Timestamps. If you want to "timestamp" data-driven events like a change in status, for example, use a Date/Time type field in combination with dynamic form rules. (Read how.)

• Formula - Duration. Use this type of field to represent a span of time. Durations can be created by subtracting two Dates, two Timestamps, two TimeOfDays, or as the result of certain functions like Hours(2) or Days(1). Durations can be either positive or negative. Negative durations result from subtracting a later Date, Timestamp, or TimeOfDay from an earlier one.

• Formula - Checkbox. Use this type of field for a boolean result.

  What's a Boolean result? Boolean formulas always produce one of two values—true or false. Boolean values result from comparison operations, like 4<5. For example, say you pose the question in your formula "Is the revenue field greater than the expenses field?" In the QuickBase formula language this question would read: [revenue] > [expenses]. This statement is either true or it is false. You use boolean results to turn on or off a checkbox or as a condition for an If() function. (You'll read about the If() function later in this topic.)

• Formula - Phone Number. Insert a formula in this type of field to draw an area code and telephone number together.

• Formula - email Address. If you a table contains names in one field and email domains in another, you can use a formula email address field to link them together. QuickBase displays the result as a mailto hyperlink, which automatically generates an email when a viewer clicks on it.

• Formula - URL. Use this type of field to have QuickBase create a URL that takes a viewer to a specific Web page. Why would you need a formula URL field as opposed to a regular URL field? Imagine that your application contains a comprehensive list of orchid types and you want each record to contain a link to the related picture on your Web site. Say that one field in your table contains your Web site address and another field contains the picture ID for the related image. You could compose a formula that combines them, creating a link in each record that leads to a different image on your Web site. In other words, formula URL fields let you combine values from fields to create URLs.

• Formula - Work Date. For certain calculations, a date field doesn't suffice. For example, if your application uses predecessors (in other words, the timing of one task depends upon the timing of another), you'll need to use a work date field instead of a regular date field. What's the difference? Work date fields let you measure dates in fractional amounts. For example, say that a task begins on one date (recorded in a field called Start Date) and takes 2.5 days (tracked in a field called Duration). You want to create a third field that takes those values and calculates the Finish Date. To do so, you'd need a Word Date - Formula type field. Regular date fields can't calculate parts of days. So, if you were to add a fractional amount, like .5, to a regular date field, it won't register. However, when you add .5 to a work date field, the addition sticks. This feature is important in its cumulative effect. For example, say the task takes longer than expected and you add yet another .5 days to it. The work date field then advances the date one day, as you'd expect. A regular date field would not. Work Date field types are only available in applications that already include predecessors.

• Formula - Date / Time. Displays a date and time of day.

Note: Some special functions let you turn one type of data into another type of data. For example, say you had the following string of text: "March 7, 2004" You know this text represents a date, but QuickBase doesn't because it's in text format, not date format. So, you must turn this text into a date value. You can do so using the ToDate() function. The formula ToDate("March 7, 2004") does the trick. Or, say you have values in date fields, but you need the result of your formula to work with predecessors. In that case, you'd need to convert the date value into a work date value. The handy ToWorkdate() function would take care of it. (These functions and more are listed in the QuickBase Formula Functions Reference.)

Step 3: Writing a Basic Formula

Once you've created your formula field and specified its type, you're ready to compose the formula itself. To do so, you must access the field's Properties screen. (If you're in the field list, click the field's name. Learn other ways to access a field's properties.) The Properties page contains a section called Formula, which provides a box for you to enter your formula (see Figure 2).

Compose your field's formula in the Formula box. When you click to place your cursor in the box,
you'll see the Fields & Functions dropdown to the box's right (you'll read how to use this tool in a minute).
If you don't see a formula box, you probably chose a regular field type instead of a FORMULA field type in Step 2.
To fix this, click the Change Type button above the Propeties tab and select a formula type.

Tip: To help keep track of parentheses or other formula elements, you can enter line breaks and extra spaces to make the formula easier to read. QuickBase ignores this additional white space. If you find the Formula text box in QuickBase is too small, type your formula out in Notepad and then paste it into the formula box.

The QuickBase formula language uses algebraic notation. This is just a fancy term for the basic rules of expression you learned in your first math class. An algebraic statement consists of values (like a number or a field reference) with operators (like + or -) between them. You can use parentheses to change the order of evaluation. For example, the formula 5 * 3 - 1 doesn't produce the same result as 5 * (3-1). In the first formula, you'd multiply 5 times 3, which equals 15. Then subtract one to get the final result: 14. In the latter example, you'd begin within the parentheses. Three minus one equals two. Take this result, 2, and process the rest of the formula by multiplying it by 5. The result of the second formula is 10.

Here are some examples of simple formulas:

No matter how complex or long a formula grows, the basic rules still apply. QuickBase always starts reading a formula within the deepest set of parentheses that it finds. In other words, when sets of parentheses are nested within other sets, QuickBase starts from the inside out. Remember that an open parenthesis: ( requires a closing parenthesis: ). If it's missing, QuickBase returns a syntax error. Syntax is grammar for formulas and QuickBase is an unforgiving grammarian. If you don't express yourself precisely, QuickBase doesn't know what you're asking for.

You need to watch more than your parentheses. Each character in your formula means something to QuickBase. For example, [] square brackets tell QuickBase that the value between them is a field reference. If one is missing, you'll get a syntax error. If you spell the name of the field wrong, you'll get an error too.

Formulas consist mostly of functions and field references. Because it's hard to remember the exact names of all your field and the syntax rules of each function, QuickBase helps you out. When you place your cursor in the Formula box, QuickBase displays a Fields & Functions dropdown to the right of the box (refer back to Figure 2). Use it to add functions and insert field references:

To add a function:

1. Click in the Formula box to place your cursor exactly where the function should appear within the formula.

2. Click the Fields & Functions dropdown to the right of the box.

3. Within the menu that displays, choose Select a function.

   The QuickBase Formula Functions dialog box displays.

   
   Formula Functions dialog box. Not sure which function to choose?
   Click a function on the left and information on the function displays on the right.
   If you want to limit the list to a particular type of function—like those whose results are dates, say—you can filter the list.
   To do so, click the All Functions dropdown and select the type you want to list.

4. Select the function.

   Click a function on the left to highlight it in blue. Then click Insert. QuickBase inserts the function where your cursor sits.

5. Complete the function.

   When QuickBase inserts the function, it includes placehoders for each argument that tell you what data types go in each spot. Replace these with field references or values. For example, when QuickBase inserts the contains() function you see: Contains (Text, Text). Replace the value types ("text") with actual values or references, so that the function reads something like: Contains ([Job Title], "Manager").

To insert a field reference:

1. Click in the Formula box to place your cursor exactly where the field reference should appear within the formula.

2. Click the Fields & Functions dropdown to the right of the box.

3. Select a field from the list that displays.

   What fields appear here? Fields in the same table as the formula field and any fields from a related table. (Read about relationships.)

Tip: If you have an excellent memory and prefer typing, you can also just type in functions or field references.

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What you can do with Formulas: Using Special Functions

Formulas can contain any number of functions which perform different calculations. Some of these functions are explained and shown in action below. For a comprehensive list of QuickBase formula functions and what they do, check out the Formula Functions Reference. Meanwhile, read on to learn how to solve some specific problems with a QuickBase formula.

Tip: You can specify that formula fields contain unique entries. To do so, just turn on the Require unique values checkbox within the formula field's properties page. This is handy for creating autonumbering. Or create a formula text type field that concatenates multiple fields to ensure that users don't enter duplicate records. (Please note that not all formula fields can be unique. If your formula references lookup or user fields, QuickBase won't let you make it unique.)

Setting Conditions with the If() Function

IF you had the money, you could buy your favorite Caribbean island. IF NOT, you'll have to settle for a brief stay in a hotel room. Life's full of conditions. This is true of your QuickBase data as well. For example, say you want a total to appear on an invoice only IF the order is complete. Or maybe you want a Status field to say "Completed" only IF the Date Completed field has been filled out. To handle situations like this, employ the versatile IF() function.

In an If() function, you lay out a condition for QuickBase to examine and then you specify what the results should be depending on what QuickBase finds. You separate the condition and arguments from each other with commas. The basic syntax of an If() function is as follows:

If(condition, value if condition is true, value if condition is false)

Tip: Formula buffs also refer to this as an "If-Then-Else" statement. If is the condition. Then is what QuickBase should do if the condition is met. Else is what QuickBase should do if the condition is not met.

For example, say you want your QuickBase application to let you know if any of your contacts are millionaires. To call out millionaires, you could use the following formula to populate a checkbox field called Millionaire:

If([net worth] > 1000000, [millionaire]=TRUE, FALSE)

This formula says: If the value in the net worth field is greater than 1,000,000 then turn ON (true) the Millionaire checkbox. Otherwise, turn it OFF (false). This is a boolean statement, which only returns a true or false. This result could only apply to a checkbox field which is either ON (true) or OFF (false). However you can also use a boolean statement as a condition to return another value. For example, say you create a formula-text field instead of a formula-checkbox field. Then you could use this formula: If([Net Worth]>1000000, [Telephone Number], "poor sales prospect") which says: If the Net Worth field is greater than 1,000,000, then display the value from the Telephone Number field. If not, then display the text poor sales prospect.

Some other examples of formulas that employ the If() function:

Setting Multiple Conditions with the Case() Function

The if() function is great for testing a single condition, but imagine that you want to test many conditions against a single field. For example, say you have a movie review application that contains a field called Rating, which asks viewers to pick a number from one to four. You want to translate this score into a one-word review. You could accomplish this by inserting multiple If() functions in a formula, but there's a better way. The Case() function lets you test many conditions against a single field. The solution for your one-word review field would be to create a formula-text type field and design it with the following formula:

case([rating],1,"atrocious"
,2,"passable"
,3,"good"
,4,"fantastic" )

This formula says: If the value in the rating field is 1, display the word atrocious. If the value in the rating field is 2, display the word passable, and so on.

Tip: If you want to keep track of what the different parts of your formula do, make a note to yourself and/or your colleagues. You can embed comments in formulas using double forward slashes (//). QuickBase interprets everything from the double slashes to the end of the line as a comment, not as part of the formula. Here's an example of a formula with embedded comments:

If ( Abs([x]) < 5,         //test the value
    "Less than 5",         //return one result
    "Not less than 5"      //otherwise return another result
)

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Working with Nulls

Most fields can have special value called the null value. Null means that a field's value is undefined. In other words, no one has entered any data in that particular field. It's empty. Its value is null.

Note: Boolean and text fields are never null. A boolean value can only be true or false. For example, a checkbox field is either On or Off. As for text fields, QuickBase recognizes an empty text field as a text string that happens to have zero characters, not as an undefined, or null value.

The null value is very useful in formulas. For instance, you might want an invoice to total only if the "Delivered on" date field has been filled out. In this case you'd create a formula in the total field that tells QuickBase: "If someone's entered data in the Delivered on date field (in other words the field is not null), then add subtotal and tax. Translated into an actual formula, this would appear as: If(not IsNull([Delivered on]),[subtotal] + [tax],null) In English this formula says: If the delivered on date field is not null (in other words it contains a value), then take the value in the subtotal field and add it to the value in the tax field. Otherwise, leave the field empty (null).

You can't use all functions and operators when you work with null values. Not all functions can handle an undefined value. For example you could never use [A Field]=null. The equal operator requires information. Undefined values provide no information. The equal operator could handle a zero (which is a numeric measure), but not a null. Only a few specific functions accept null as an argument. For example, the IsNull() function returns true if the field is null and false if it's not. The Nz() function lets you perform a special trick. This function returns zero if the field is null; otherwise it returns the value of the field. This option is especially useful if you need to use the field in a mathematic calculation (see an example in the table below).

Tip: Say you don't want to use the Nz() function, but you do want QuickBase to treat a null in your numeric field as a zero, so you can use in calculations. No problem. To set this up, access the field's properties (right-click the field in a table report and select Edit this field's properties). Turn on the Treat blank as zero in calculations checkbox and save your changes. For numeric fields, QuickBase actually turns this setting on automatically.

Some formula examples of null functions in action:

Note: If a formula that includes a null function isn't working, access the field's properties (right-click the field in a table report and select Edit this field's properties) and turn off the Treat blank as zero in calculations checkbox.

Using Formulas in a report

Formulas can also help you hone a report to get exactly those records you want. You accomplish this by adding a custom formula column to the report. Read how.

Related Topics

• Formula variables

• Troubleshooting formulas

• Hide formula components but show the result

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