Expressions for forms & business rules

RESPONSUM has an expression engine with a set of expressions (comparable to functions in Excel) that can be used for:

• Business rules (Open an item in the sub-module you want to apply a business rule to >> Press “Three dots” >> Select “Customize Sub-module”): Allows you to hide fields in RESPONSUM Sub-modules based on values of other fields and expressions.

• Form/Assessments (Settings >> Setup >> Form): Allows you to add logic to fields in a form (Questionnaire) to hide them, create calculations based on inputted values in fields etc.

Usable expressions

A full list of supported expressions can be found below with usage examples.

Function	Usage	Result	Examples	Use case in Responsum
Add	add(1; 2; 3; …)	The sum of all numeric values found in the inputted items.	– add(1; 2) = 3 – add(1; undefined; “foo”; 4) = 5 – add(1; “two”; [3, 4]) = 8 – add(-1; 1) = 0 – add(undefined; “text”; []) = undefined	Calculate a total score automatically. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: add(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): adds two answers together add(<Field ID 1>; 10): adds a fixed number to an answer add(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>; <Field ID 3>; 5): adds as many answers and numbers as you need
Subtract	subtract(1; 2; 3; …)	The first number in the inputted items subtracted by all other numeric values found.	– subtract(1; 2) = -1 – subtract(1; undefined; “foo”; 4) = -3 – subtract(1; “text”; [3, 4]) = -6 – subtract(-1; 1) = -2 – subtract(undefined; “text”; []) = undefined	Calculate the risk that remains after security measures. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: subtract(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): subtracts the second answer from the first subtract(<Field ID 1>; 1): subtracts a fixed number from an answer subtract(100; <Field ID 1>): subtracts an answer from a fixed number
Multiply	multiply(1; 2; 3; …)	The multiplication of all numeric values found.	– multiply(1; 2) = 2 – multiply(1; undefined; “foo”; 4) = 4 – multiply(1; “two”; [3, 4]) = 12 – multiply(-1; 1) = -1 – multiply(undefined; “text”; []) = undefined	Calculate a risk score from likelihood and impact. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: multiply(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): multiplies two answers, for example likelihood x impact multiply(<Field ID 1>; 2): doubles an answer multiply(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>; 0.5): multiplies two answers and a fixed number
Divide	divide(1; 2; 3; …)	The division of the first numeric value by the rest of the numeric values sequentially.	– divide(1; 2) = 0.5 – divide(1; undefined; “text”; 4) = 0.25 – divide(1; “two”; [3, 4]) = 0.083333333333 – divide(-1; 1) = -1 – divide(undefined; “fish”; []) = undefined – divide(1; 2; 3; 0) = undefined	Show the percentage of security controls in place. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: divide(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): divides one answer by another divide(<Field ID 1>; 2): divides an answer by a fixed number multiply(divide(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>); 100): turns the result into a percentage
Equals	equals(item1; item2)	Returns a TRUE value if both inputted values are equal. Items are equal if they are the same type and value. NOTE: – Comparison is case-sensitive; – Arrays (Ex. Multi select dropdowns) can be compared to other arrays; – An empty array is considered equal to undefined; – An array containing only 1 item is considered the single item/value it contains.	– equals(undefined; false) ⇒ false – equals(“Cat”; “cat”) ⇒ false – equals(“cat”; “cat” ⇒ true – equals(true; 1) ⇒ false – equals(false; false) ⇒ true – equals([]; undefined) ⇒ true – equals([]; “”) ⇒ false – equals([“Sam”], [“Sam”]) ⇒ true – equals ([“Sam”]; “Sam”) ⇒ true – equals(“0”, 0) ⇒ false	Hide the “Closure date” field until the incident is closed. In the business rule of the field, set “Hide field when” to: not(equals(<Field ID 1>; “Closed”)): compares an answer with a fixed text (case-sensitive) equals(<Field ID 1>; 0): compares an answer with a number equals(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): checks if two answers are the same
Is Larger	islarger(1; 2)	Returns a TRUE value if 1 is larger than 2. NOTE: If the result is incomprehensible, we will return FALSE.	– isLarger(1;2) ⇒ false – isLarger(2;1) ⇒ true – isLarger(2;-1) ⇒ true – isLarger(2;”one”) ⇒ false – isLarger(2; 2) ⇒ false – isLarger(2; undefined) ⇒ false – isLarger(undefined; 2) ⇒ false – isLarger(undefined; undefined) ⇒ false	Ask for a justification only when more than 10,000 people are affected. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: islarger(<Field ID 1>; 10000): compares an answer with a fixed number islarger(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): compares two answers islarger(count(<Field ID 1>); 3): compares the result of another function
Is Smaller	issmaller(1; 2)	Returns a TRUE value if 1 is smaller than 2. NOTE: If the result is incomprehensible, we will return FALSE.	– isSmaller(1;2) ⇒ true – isSmaller(2;1) ⇒ false – isSmaller(2;-1) ⇒ false – isSmaller(2;”three”) ⇒ false – isSmaller(2; 2) ⇒ false – isSmaller(2; undefined) ⇒ false – isSmaller(undefined; 2) ⇒ false – isSmaller(undefined; undefined) ⇒ false	Ask about parental consent only when users can be younger than 16. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: issmaller(<Field ID 1>; 16): compares an answer with a fixed number issmaller(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): compares two answers issmaller(count(<Field ID 1>); 2): compares the result of another function
Is Larger Or Equal	islargerorequal(1; 2)	Returns a TRUE value if 1 is larger than OR equal to 2. NOTE: If the result is incomprehensible, we will return FALSE.	– isLargerOrEqual(1;2) ⇒ false – isLargerOrEqual(2;1) ⇒ true – isLargerOrEqual(2;-1) ⇒ true – isLargerOrEqual(2;”one”) ⇒ false – isLargerOrEqual(2; undefined) ⇒ false – isLargerOrEqual(undefined; 2) ⇒ false – isLargerOrEqual(undefined; undefined) ⇒ false	Show the full DPIA section when at least 2 high-risk criteria are selected. In a form, set “Is Visible?” of the section to Logic with: islargerorequal(count(<Field ID 1>); 2): at least 2 options ticked islargerorequal(<Field ID 1>; 15): an answer of 15 or more islargerorequal(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): one answer equal to or above another
Is Smaller Or Equal	issmallerorequal(1; 2)	Returns a TRUE value if 1 is larger than or equal to 2. NOTE: If the result is incomprehensible, we will return FALSE.	– isSmallerOrEqual(1;2) ⇒ true – isSmallerOrEqual(2;1) ⇒ false – isSmallerOrEqual(2;-1) ⇒ false – isSmallerOrEqual(2;”three”) ⇒ false – isSmallerOrEqual(2; undefined) ⇒ false – isSmallerOrEqual(undefined; 2) ⇒ false – isSmallerOrEqual(undefined; undefined) ⇒ false	Hide the “Escalation to management” field for low risks. In the business rule of the field, set “Hide field when” to: issmallerorequal(<Field ID 1>; 4): an answer of 4 or less issmallerorequal(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): one answer equal to or below another issmallerorequal(count(<Field ID 1>); 1): one option or none ticked
Concatenate	concatenate(item1; item2)	Will add any found TEXT in the input values together. Also works with Arrays (Ex. Multiple choice fields with multiple selected values) of texts NOTE: Will ignore anything that is not a TEXT or arrays of text (such as numbers, yes/no values, etc)	– concatenate(“John”, [“Doe”, “is”], [“a”, “legend”], [“:-)”], undefined, [], 3, true) ⇒ “JohnDoeisalegend:-)”	Create an assessment title automatically, for example “DPIA – New HR tool”. In a form, set the Default value of a Text question to: concatenate(“DPIA – “; <Field ID 1>): a fixed text followed by an answer concatenate(<Field ID 1>; ” – “; <Field ID 2>): two answers with a separator concatenate(“Risk score: “; txt(<Field ID 1>)): a text followed by a number
Contains	contains(item1; item2)	Returns a TRUE value if the first inputted TEXT contains the second inputted TEXT. NOTE: – This expression is NOT case-sensitive – Anything that is not “undefined” will be converted into TEXT before comparing it.	– contains(“foo”; “bar”) ⇒ false – contains(“foo”;”o”) ⇒ true – contains(undefined;undefined) ⇒ false – contains(“5”, 5) ⇒ true – contains(55, 5) ⇒ true – contains (false, “false”) ⇒ true – contains(“Sam”;”sam”) ⇒ true	Ask about marketing consent only when the purpose mentions marketing. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: contains(<Field ID 1>; “marketing”): looks for a word in a text answer (not case-sensitive) contains(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): looks for one answer inside another or(contains(<Field ID 1>; “marketing”); contains(<Field ID 1>; “newsletter”)): looks for several words
If	if(condition; item1; item2)	If statement that allows you to input a condition first (Ex. Another expression). If the condition is TRUE, the first value is returned. If the condition is FALSE, the second value is returned.	– if(true;1;2) ⇒ 1 – if(false;1;2) ⇒ 2 – if(undefined;1;2) ⇒ 2 – if(“flar”;1;2) ⇒ 2	Give a different result depending on an answer. In a form, set the Default value of a question to: if(yesno(<Field ID 1>); 10; 0): gives 10 points if the answer is Yes, otherwise 0 if(islarger(<Field ID 1>; 10); “High”; “Low”): gives a text depending on a number if(islargerorequal(<Field ID 1>; 15); “High”; if(islargerorequal(<Field ID 1>; 8); “Medium”; “Low”)): three levels in one expression
And	and(conditon1; condition2; …)	Returns a TRUE value if ALL conditions stated within return TRUE.	– and(true; true) ⇒ true – and(false; false) ⇒ false – and(true; false) ⇒ false – and(“foo”; “bar”) ⇒ undefined – and(true; “flar”) ⇒ undefined – and(“true”) ⇒ undefined – and(1) ⇒ undefined – and(undefined) ⇒ undefined	Show a section only when several conditions are all true. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: and(yesno(<Field ID 1>); yesno(<Field ID 2>)): both answers are Yes and(yesno(<Field ID 1>); islarger(<Field ID 2>; 100)): an answer is Yes and a number is above 100 and(<condition 1>; <condition 2>; <condition 3>): you can check more than two conditions
Or	or(condition1; condition2; …)	Returns a TRUE value if ANY conditions stated within returned TRUE.	– or(true; true) ⇒ true – or(false; false) ⇒ false – or(true; false- ⇒ true – or(“foo”; “bar”) ⇒ undefined – or(true; “flar”) ⇒ undefined – or(“true”) ⇒ undefined – or(1) ⇒ undefined – or(undefined) ⇒ undefined	Show a question when at least one condition is true. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: or(yesno(<Field ID 1>); yesno(<Field ID 2>)): at least one answer is Yes or(includes(<Field ID 1>; “Health data”); includes(<Field ID 1>; “Biometric data”)): one of two options is ticked or(<condition 1>; <condition 2>; <condition 3>): you can check more than two conditions
Not	not(condition)	Returns a TRUE value if the condition returns FALSE.	– not(true) ⇒ false – not(false) ⇒ true – not(undefined) ⇒ undefined – not(“flar”) ⇒ undefined – not(1) ⇒ undefined	Reverse a condition: true becomes false, false becomes true. In the business rule of a field, set “Hide field when” to: not(yesno(<Field ID 1>)): hides the field when the answer is No not(isempty(<Field ID 1>)): hides the field once another field is filled in not(includes(<Field ID 1>; “Other”)): hides the field unless “Other” is ticked
IsEmpty	isempty(item)	Returns a TRUE value if the item inputted is empty (Does not contain any values). NOTE: Works on TEXT and Arrays (ex. Multiple choice fields with multiple values selected).	– isEmpty(“”) ⇒ true – isEmpty([]) ⇒ true – isEmpty(undefined) ⇒ true – isEmpty([undefined; “”]) ⇒ true – isEmpty(“”;””;[];undefined;[undefined]) ⇒ true – isEmpty(“I am a mighty warrior!”) ⇒ false – isEmpty(false) ⇒ false – isEmpty(0) ⇒ false	Hide a field until another field is filled in. In the business rule of the field, set “Hide field when” to: isempty(<Field ID 1>): hides the field while the other field is empty and(isempty(<Field ID 1>); isempty(<Field ID 2>)): hides it while both fields are empty or(isempty(<Field ID 1>); isempty(<Field ID 2>)): hides it while at least one field is empty
Includes	includes(list; item)	Returns a TRUE value if the item is equal to one of the items in the array. NOTE: – This expression is case sensitive and will look at IDs of options (not its labels)	– includes(multi-select; “option-id”) – includes([“Option 1”]; [“Option 1”]) ⇒ true – includes(false; false) ⇒ true – includes(“Option 1”; “Option 2”) ⇒ false – includes(“Option 1”; “option 1”) ⇒ false	Show a “Please specify” question only when “Other” is selected. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: includes(<Field ID 1>; “Other”): checks if an option is ticked (case-sensitive) includes(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): checks if the answer of one question is in the list of another includes(flatlist(“Belgium”; “France”; “Netherlands”); <Field ID 1>): checks if an answer is in a fixed list
Interpret Number	num(item)	Attempts to parse the inputted value as a number. NOTE: – Returns the default if it doesn’t work out; – Always returns a number: – true/false → 1 / 0 – text → will try to parse as number; – Will return 0 if unparsable or empty – undefined/null → empty	Example expression: add(num(<input>); 10) Input and result: – 3 => 13 – “3” => 13 – “” => 10 – ” ” => 10 – “/” => 10 – “a” => 10 – TRUE => 11 – FALSE => 10	Make sure an answer is treated as a number before you compare or calculate with it. Use it inside another function: num(<Field ID 1>): turns an answer into a number islarger(num(<Field ID 1>); 250): true when the answer is above 250 add(num(<Field ID 1>); 1): adds 1 to the answer
Interpret Text	txt(item)	Will return a TEXT representation of an inputted item. NOTE: – Fractional number → rounded to 2 digits after comma, Boolean (true & false) → uses translations to return “Yes” (True) and “No” (False) – undefined/null → returns empty text; – Array (Ex. list of selected options) → will create a comma-separated list.	Example expression: concatenate(txt(<input>); “_test”) Input and result: – 3 => 3_test – 3.567 => 3.56_test – true => yes_test – false => no_test – “” => _test – [“Option 1”, “Option 2”, “Option 3”] => Option 1, Option 2, Option 3_test	Turn a number or a choice into text so you can combine it with other text. Use it inside concatenate: txt(<Field ID 1>): turns an answer into text concatenate(“Risk score: “; txt(<Field ID 1>)): gives for example “Risk score: 12” concatenate(txt(<Field ID 1>); ” people affected”): gives for example “500 people affected”
Interpret Yes/No	yesno(item)	Will return a Boolean (TRUE/FALSE) representation of an inputted item. NOTE: – Will interpret any number except 0 as “Yes” – Will interpret else “No”	– “any-text” => false – 3 -> true – 0 -> false – true -> true – false -> false – “yes” -> true – “no” -> false – “nope” -> false – “yessir” -> false	Show a follow-up question only when the previous answer is Yes. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: yesno(<Field ID 1>): true when a Yes/No question is answered Yes yesno(<Field ID 1>): on a Number question, true when the number is not 0 not(yesno(<Field ID 1>)): true when the answer is No
Attribute	attribute(relation_item; “attributeName”)	Will fetch an “attribute” (Field) of an in RESPONSUM registered item in a sub-module. (Ex. The “Email” of a User Account) NOTE: – Also works with arrays (Ex. multiple choice of items). Will return an array of each object’s value. – An object’s value can be an object again. (For example, I could use attribute(processing-activity, “owner”), which would return something of the type “user”. I could then say attribute(attribute(processing-activity, “owner”), “name”) to get the name of the owner of the processing activity.	– attribute(responsible_user; “name”) ⇒ “John” – attribute(responsible_users; “email”) ⇒ [“john@responsum.eu”, “jeff@responsum.eu”]	Read a field of a linked item, for example the country of a linked vendor. In the business rule of a field, set “Hide field when” to: attribute(<Field ID 1>; “name”): gives the name of the linked item, where <Field ID 1> is the ID of the relation field not(equals(attribute(<Field ID 1>; “country”); “United States”)): hides the field unless the linked vendor is in the United States not(includes(attribute(<Field ID 1>; “country”); “United States”)): same, when several items are linked
Average	avg(items, more_items)	Will calculate the average of a series of provided parameters. Disregards anything that is not a number.	– avg(1) = 1 avg(1;2) = 1.5 – avg(1;2;undefined;undefined)=1.5 – avg(undefined;”fish”;true)=undefined – avg(1;2;3;[1;2;3];undefined;”duckface”;-12)=0/7=0	Calculate the average of several scores. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: avg(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>; <Field ID 3>): average of several answers avg(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>; 5): average of answers and a fixed number round(1; avg(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>)): average rounded to one decimal
Maximum (highest number)	max(items, more_items)	Will find the highest number in a series and skip over anything that is not a number.	– max(1) = 1 – max(undefined) = undefined – max(undefined;1) = 1 – max(1; 2; [3; 4];”text”;-6) = 4	Keep the highest of several scores, for example as the overall risk. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: max(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>; <Field ID 3>): the highest answer max(<Field ID 1>; 1): the answer, but never less than 1 max(multiply(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>); <Field ID 3>): the highest of a calculation and an answer
Minimum (lowest number)	min(items, more_items)	Will find the lowest number in a series and skip over anything that is not a number.	– min(1) = 1 – min(undefined;true;”text”) = undefined – min(undefined;1) = 1 – min(1; 2; [3; 4];”text”;-6) = -6	Keep the lowest of several scores, for example the weakest control. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: min(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>; <Field ID 3>): the lowest answer min(<Field ID 1>; 100): the answer, but never more than 100 min(add(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>); 10): a total, capped at 10
Count	count(items, more_items)	Will count items that are defined within the parameters. This includes options selected in multiple choice questions and number of items in a repeatable section.	Useful for counting ex. the number of selected items in a dropdown, or the number of objects who have a certain attribute defined in a relation field (in combination with attribute) – count(“my_option_field”) → 3 (assuming 3 options are selected in the field with the id “my_option_field”) – count([50, 3]) → 2 – count(undefined) → 0 count([“foo”, undefined]) → 1 – count(50) → 1 – count(false) → 1 – count(1, 2, undefined, [3, 4, undefined], “two apples”) → 5 – count(section_id) → 1 (assuming a non-repeating section)	Count how many options are ticked or how many entries a repeatable section has. In a form, set “Is Visible?” to Logic with: count(<Field ID 1>): number of options ticked in a multiple choice question count(<Field ID 2>): number of entries in a repeatable section, where <Field ID 2> is the ID of the section islarger(count(<Field ID 2>); 5): true when there are more than 5 entries
Rounding	roundup(decimals, numbers) rounddown(decimals, numbers) round(decimals, numbers)	Will round the number (up, down, or nearest), up to a number of decimals as specified in the first argument. Disregards anything that is not a number.	Round up: – roundup(0; 2) = 2 – roundup(0; 2.00001) = 3 roundup(0; [2.1; 3.1; 4]; 5; “text”; 99) = [3, 4, 4, 5, 99] – roundup(0; “text”) = undefined – roundup(“text”, 1) = undefined – roundup(2; 5,7777) = 5,78 Round down: – rounddown(2; 5,7777) = 5,77 Round (Nearest): – round(0; 5.1) = 5 – round(0; 5.6) = 6	Round a number to the number of decimals you choose. The first value is the number of decimals. In a form, set the Default value of a Number question to: round(0; <Field ID 1>): rounds an answer to a whole number round(2; divide(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>)): rounds a calculation to 2 decimals roundup(0; <Field ID 1>) or rounddown(0; <Field ID 1>): always rounds up or always rounds down
Make a list	flatlist(item_1, item_2, item_3)	Will combine all input into a list.	– flatlist(1; 2; 3; – flatlist(4; 5;flatlist(6))) = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] – flatlist(undefined; 1; “flar”) = [undefined, 1, “flar”]	Combine several answers or values into one list. Use it inside another function, for example includes: flatlist(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>): combines the answers of two questions flatlist(“Health data”; “Biometric data”): creates a fixed list includes(flatlist(<Field ID 1>; <Field ID 2>); “Health data”): checks if “Health data” is ticked in either question

As this can add major complexity to your forms/questionnaires, if you need any assistance, please reach out to us via support@responsum.eu.

We have consultants available to guide you through or take over this task fully so you get to the behavior you expect for your form/questionnaire.