Formulas are made up of several components, as shown in the following example.
Example formula
If([Order Complete]=TRUE, [SUBTOTAL] + [TAX], null)
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Formula function:
If() -
Argument:
[Order Complete]=TRUE, [SUBTOTAL] + [TAX], null -
Field references:
[Order Complete], [SUBTOTAL], and [TAX] -
Literals:
2 -
Operators:
+
Formula function
A formula function is a pre-defined term that performs an action on values and generates a new value. See the Formula Functions Reference app for a list of formula functions.
You don't need to use formula functions in basic formulas; however, most formulas contain at least one function. Complex formulas may contain many functions. See examples of formula functions.
Argument
An argument is information in a formula function that tells the function which values to act on or produce.
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Arguments appear inside parentheses that follow a function
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Separate arguments with commas
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Arguments can be exact literals, field references, or other functions
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Arguments follow an order of operation, so the order you list them is important
Field reference
A field reference retrieves values from a specific field in the record to display or use in a calculation.
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Enclose field references in square brackets, e.g.,
[Manager] -
A field reference uses a field value in the formula, e.g.,
[First Name] &” “& [Last Name]joins the values in the First Name and Last Name fields (i.e., “John Smith”) -
Use a field reference to call an application variable; see Creating and using application variables
Literal
A literal is a value that's used exactly as displayed in the formula. Literals can be numbers or text.
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Enclose textual literals in double quotes; e.g.,
If([Discount %] > 0.15,"Enter a discount of 15% or less." -
Textual literals can contain quotation marks. If a character is part of the literal put a \ before the character; e.g.,
"The \" character is part of this literal.” -
Use a backslash to include an open or close square bracket []; e.g.,
“The \[ character is part of this literal.” -
To use a backslash in your literal, use a \ before the backslash; e.g.,
“The \” and the \\ are both special characters.”
Operators
Operators are special symbols like + and * that act on one or two values to return a new value.
Unary operators
Act on a single value. See list of unary operators.
In a formula, unary operators might look like:
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-5
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+4
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not true
Binary operators
Act on two values. See list of binary operators
In a formula, binary operators might look like:
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3 - 4
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[Start date] + Days(7)