Define Formula Dialog Box (Model Designer)
Use to create a new field that contains a formula. For examples of valid formulas, see Using Functions (Report Builder 1.0).
Options
Fields
Use this tab to locate fields within the report model that you want to include in the expression. Double-click the field to add it to the expression.Functions
Use this tab to select the function that you want to use within your expression. Double-click the function to add it to the expression. For a description of each function, see the following section.Field name
Enter a name for the expression that you are creating.Formula
Use to write and edit the formula.Search
Click to launch the Search dialog box.Aggregate to Here
If you double-click a field name displayed in the Formula box, the relationship between the primary entity and the field's entity are displayed. Click to apply an aggregate to the expression anywhere along the model path.No filter applied
If you double-click a field name displayed in the Formula box, the relationship between the primary entity and the field's entity are displayed. You can apply a filter to the expression anywhere along the model path. Click to apply a filter to the expression and then click Create a new filter. The Filter Data dialog box opens.Function Shortcuts
Click to add an operator to the formula displayed in the Formula box. The Define Formula dialog box provides you with shortcuts to the most commonly used functions; however, you can select these operators from the Functions tab as well. The following is an explanation of each shortcut.+ Use to add two values together.
- Use to subtract one value from another.
* Use to multiply two values.
/ Use to divide two values.
& Use to concatenate two values.
( Use to start a calculation.
) Use to end a calculation.
Functions
The following information describes each of the functions found on the Functions tab of the Define Formula dialog box.
Aggregate
To summarize a range of numeric values, use the following functions.
SUM
Returns the sum of all the values within the expression.Syntax
SUM(aggregate)
SUM can be used with fields that contain numeric values only. Null values are ignored.
AVERAGE
Returns the average (arithmetic mean) of all the non-null values within the expression.Syntax
AVERAGE(aggregate)
AVERAGE can be used with fields that contain numeric values only. Null values are ignored.
MAX
Returns the maximum value in the expression.Syntax
MAX(aggregate)
For character columns, MAX finds the highest value in the collating sequence. Null values are ignored.
MIN
Returns the minimum value in the expression.Syntax
MIN(aggregate)
For character columns, MIN finds the lowest value in the collating sequence. Null values are ignored.
COUNT
Returns the number of non-null items within a group.Syntax
COUNT(aggregate)
COUNT always returns an Int data type value.
COUNTDISTINCT
Returns the number of non-null distinct instances of an item within a group.Syntax
COUNTDISTINCT(aggregate)
STDev
Returns the standard deviation of non-null values of an item.Syntax
STDEV(aggregate)
STDevP
Returns the population standard deviation of non-null values of an item.Syntax
STDEVP(aggregate)
VAR
Returns the variance of non-null values of an item.Syntax
VAR(aggregate)
VARP
Returns the population variance of non-null values of an item.Syntax
VARP(aggregate)
Conditional
To test a condition, use the following functions.
IF
Returns one value if you specify a condition that evaluates to TRUE and another value if you specify a condition that evaluates to FALSE.Syntax
IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)
The condition must be a value or expression that can be evaluated to TRUE or FALSE. Value_if_true represents the value returned if the condition is true. Value_if_false represents the value returned if the condition is false.
IN
Determines whether an item is a member of a set.Syntax
IN(item, set)
Switch
Evaluates a list of expressions and returns a value of an expression associated with the first expression in the list that is True. Switch can have one or more conditions/value pairs.Syntax
Switch(condition1, value1)
Conversion
To convert a value from one data type to another data type, use the following functions.
INT
Converts a value to an integer.Syntax
INT(value)
DECIMAL
Converts a value to a decimal.Syntax
DECIMAL(value)
FLOAT
Converts a value to a float data type.Syntax
FLOAT(value)
TEXT
Converts a numeric value to text.Syntax
TEXT(value)
Date and Time
To display the date or time, use the following functions.
DATE
Returns a datetime value given a year, month, and day at 12:00:00 AM.Syntax
DATE(year, month, day)
DATEONLY
Returns the year, month, and day from a datetime value.Syntax
DATEONLY(datetime)
DATETIME
Returns a datetime given year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.Syntax
DATETIME(year, month, day, hour, minute, second)
YEAR
Returns a year value from a datetime.Syntax
YEAR(datetime)
QUARTER
Returns the calendar quarter (1-4) of the datetime.Syntax
QUARTER(datetime)
MONTH
Returns the month from a datetime.Syntax
MONTH(datetime)
DAY
Extracts the day from a datetime.Syntax
DAY(datetime)
HOUR
Extracts the hour from a datetime.Syntax
HOUR(datetime)
MINUTE
Extracts the minute from a datetime.Syntax
MINUTE(datetime)
SECOND
Extracts the second from a datetime.Syntax
SECOND(datetime)
DAYOFYEAR
Returns the day of the year of the datetime. January 1st = 1 through December 31st = 366, assuming a leap year.Syntax
DAYOFYEAR(datetime)
WEEK
Returns the numeric value for the week within the calendar year.Syntax
WEEK(datetime)
DAYOFWEEK
Returns the day of the week, starting with Monday. Monday = 1 through Sunday = 7.Syntax
DAYOFWEEK(datetime)
NOW
Returns the current date and time.Syntax
NOW( )
TODAY
Returns the current date.Syntax
TODAY( )
DATEDIFF
Returns the difference between the Start datetime and the End datetime.Syntax
DATEDIFF(interval, datetime, datetime)
DATEADD
Returns a datetime that is the result of adding the specified number of time interval units to the original datetime.Syntax
DATEADD(interval, units, datetime)
Logical
To test the logic of a condition, use the following functions.
AND
Returns TRUE if all arguments are TRUE; returns FALSE if one or more arguments are FALSE.Syntax
AND(logical, logical)
The arguments must evaluate to logical values such as TRUE or FALSE, or the arguments must be arrays or references that contain logical values. If an array or reference argument contains text or empty cells, those values are ignored.
OR
Returns TRUE if any argument is TRUE; returns FALSE if all arguments are FALSE.Syntax
OR(logical, logical)
The arguments must evaluate to logical values such as TRUE or FALSE, or in arrays or references that contain logical values. If an array or reference contains text or empty cells, those values are ignored.
NOT
Reverses the value of its argument. Use NOT when you want to make sure a clause is not equal to one particular value.Syntax
NOT(logical)
If the value is FALSE, NOT returns TRUE; if the value is TRUE, NOT returns FALSE.
Math
To manipulate numeric values, use the following functions.
MOD
Returns the remainder after a number is divided by a divisor. The divisor cannot be 0.Syntax
MOD(number, divisor)
TRUNC
Truncates a number by the number of digits specified. If the number is positive, the number is truncated to the right of the decimal. If the number is negative, the number is truncated to the left of the decimal.Syntax
TRUNC(number, digits)
ROUND
Rounds a number to a specified number of digits.Syntax
ROUND(number, digits)
If the number of digits is greater than 0 (zero), then the number is rounded to the specified number of decimal places. If the number of digits is 0, then the number is rounded to the nearest integer. If the number is less than 0, then the number is rounded to the left of the decimal point.
Operators
Arithmetic Operators
To perform basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, or multiplication; combine numbers; and produce numerical results, use the following operators.
+ Add
Use to add two or more items together.Syntax
value + value
- Subtract
Use to deduct an item from another item.Syntax
value- value
* Multiply
Use to multiply items.Syntax
value* value
/ Divide
Use to divide items. The divisor cannot be 0.Syntax
value/divisor
- Negate
Change the sign of the value.Syntax
-value
^ Exponentiation
Use to raise a value to a power (exponentiation).Syntax
value^power
Comparison Operators
To compare two values and return a logical value of either TRUE or FALSE, use the following operators.
= Equal to
Use to equate two values. True when value1 equals value2.Syntax
value1= value2
<> Not Equal to
Use to indicate that two values do not equal each other. True when value1 does not equal value2.Syntax
value1 <> value2
> Greater Than
Use to indicate that one value is greater than another value. True when value1 is greater than value2.Syntax
value1 > value2
>= Greater Than or Equal
Use to indicate that one value is greater than or equals another value. True when value1 is greater than or equal to value2.Syntax
value1 >= value2
< Less Than
Use to indicate that one value is less than another value. True when value1 is less than value2.Syntax
value1 < value2
<= Less Than or Equal
Use to indicate that one value is less than or equals another value. True when value1 is less than or equal to value2.Syntax
value1 <= value2
Text
To manipulate text within your report, use the following functions.
Concat (&)
Combines two strings together into one. The second string is appended to the first string.Syntax
string & string
Find
Position of the first instance of a string.Syntax
FIND(string, substring)
Left
Returns the left most characters of a string. If you specify a value less than zero for the length argument within the function, the behavior is undefined.Syntax
LEFT(string, length)
Length
Returns the number of characters in a string.Syntax
LENGTH(string)
Lower
Converts a string from uppercase characters to lowercase.Syntax
LOWER(string)
LTrim
Returns a string with the leading spaces removed.Syntax
LTRIM(string)
Replace
Returns a string with all the instances of a sub-string replaced by another sub-string.Syntax
REPLACE(find, replace, string)
Right
Returns the right most characters of a string. If you specify a value less than zero for the length argument within the function, the behavior is undefined.Syntax
RIGHT(string, length)
RTrim
Returns a string with the trailing spaces removed.Syntax
RTRIM(string)
Text
Converts a numeric value to a string.Syntax
TEXT(value)
Substring
Returns a sub-string from within a string. If you specify a value less than zero for the length argument within the function, the behavior is undefined.Syntax
SUBSTRING(string, start, length)
Upper
Converts a string from lowercase characters to uppercase.Syntax
UPPER(string)
Information
To return global information about users, use the following functions.
GetUserID
Returns the ID that the user used to access the data.Syntax
GETUSERID()
GetUserCulture
Returns the user's language or locale.Syntax
GETUSERCULTURE()