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Expressions and functions in Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics

APPLIES TO: Azure Data Factory Azure Synapse Analytics

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This article provides details about expressions and functions supported by Azure Data Factory and Azure Synapse Analytics.

Expressions

JSON values in the definition can be literal or expressions that are evaluated at runtime. For example:

"name": "value"

or

"name": "@pipeline().parameters.password"

Expressions can appear anywhere in a JSON string value and always result in another JSON value. If a JSON value is an expression, the body of the expression is extracted by removing the at-sign (@). If a literal string is needed that starts with @, it must be escaped by using @@. The following examples show how expressions are evaluated.

JSON value Result
"parameters" The characters 'parameters' are returned.
"parameters[1]" The characters 'parameters[1]' are returned.
"@@" A 1 character string that contains '@' is returned.
" @" A 2 character string that contains ' @' is returned.

Expressions can also appear inside strings, using a feature called string interpolation where expressions are wrapped in @{ ... }. For example: "name" : "First Name: @{pipeline().parameters.firstName} Last Name: @{pipeline().parameters.lastName}"

Using string interpolation, the result is always a string. Say I have defined myNumber as 42 and myString as foo:

JSON value Result
"@pipeline().parameters.myString" Returns foo as a string.
"@{pipeline().parameters.myString}" Returns foo as a string.
"@pipeline().parameters.myNumber" Returns 42 as a number.
"@{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}" Returns 42 as a string.
"Answer is: @{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}" Returns the string Answer is: 42.
"@concat('Answer is: ', string(pipeline().parameters.myNumber))" Returns the string Answer is: 42
"Answer is: @@{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}" Returns the string Answer is: @{pipeline().parameters.myNumber}.

In the control flow activities like ForEach activity, you can provide an array to be iterated over for the property items and use @item() to iterate over a single enumeration in ForEach activity. For example, if items is an array: [1, 2, 3], @item() returns 1 in the first iteration, 2 in the second iteration, and 3 in the third iteration. You can also use @range(0,10) like expression to iterate ten times starting with 0 ending with 9.

You can use @activity('activity name') to capture output of activity and make decisions. Consider a web activity called Web1. For placing the output of the first activity in the body of the second, the expression generally looks like: @activity('Web1').output or @activity('Web1').output.data or something similar depending upon what the output of the first activity looks like.

Examples

Complex expression example

The below example shows a complex example that references a deep sub-field of activity output. To reference a pipeline parameter that evaluates to a sub-field, use [] syntax instead of dot(.) operator (as in case of subfield1 and subfield2), as part of an activity output.

@activity('*activityName*').output.*subfield1*.*subfield2*[pipeline().parameters.*subfield3*].*subfield4*

Creating files dynamically and naming them is common pattern. Let us explore few dynamic file naming examples.

  1. Append Date to a filename: @concat('Test_', formatDateTime(utcnow(), 'yyyy-dd-MM'))

  2. Append DateTime in customer timezone : @concat('Test_', convertFromUtc(utcnow(), 'Pacific Standard Time'))

  3. Append Trigger Time : @concat('Test_', pipeline().TriggerTime)

  4. Output a custom filename in a Mapping Data Flow when outputting to a single file with date : 'Test_' + toString(currentDate()) + '.csv'

In above cases, 4 dynamic filenames are created starting with Test_.

Dynamic content editor

Dynamic content editor automatically escapes characters in your content when you finish editing. For example, the following content in content editor is a string interpolation with two expression functions.

{ 
  "type": "@{if(equals(1, 2), 'Blob', 'Table' )}",
  "name": "@{toUpper('myData')}"
}

Dynamic content editor converts above content to expression "{ \n \"type\": \"@{if(equals(1, 2), 'Blob', 'Table' )}\",\n \"name\": \"@{toUpper('myData')}\"\n}". The result of this expression is a JSON format string showed below.

{
  "type": "Table",
  "name": "MYDATA"
}

A dataset with a parameter

In the following example, the BlobDataset takes a parameter named path. Its value is used to set a value for the folderPath property by using the expression: dataset().path.

{
    "name": "BlobDataset",
    "properties": {
        "type": "AzureBlob",
        "typeProperties": {
            "folderPath": "@dataset().path"
        },
        "linkedServiceName": {
            "referenceName": "AzureStorageLinkedService",
            "type": "LinkedServiceReference"
        },
        "parameters": {
            "path": {
                "type": "String"
            }
        }
    }
}

A pipeline with a parameter

In the following example, the pipeline takes inputPath and outputPath parameters. The path for the parameterized blob dataset is set by using values of these parameters. The syntax used here is: pipeline().parameters.parametername.

{
    "name": "Adfv2QuickStartPipeline",
    "properties": {
        "activities": [
            {
                "name": "CopyFromBlobToBlob",
                "type": "Copy",
                "inputs": [
                    {
                        "referenceName": "BlobDataset",
                        "parameters": {
                            "path": "@pipeline().parameters.inputPath"
                        },
                        "type": "DatasetReference"
                    }
                ],
                "outputs": [
                    {
                        "referenceName": "BlobDataset",
                        "parameters": {
                            "path": "@pipeline().parameters.outputPath"
                        },
                        "type": "DatasetReference"
                    }
                ],
                "typeProperties": {
                    "source": {
                        "type": "BlobSource"
                    },
                    "sink": {
                        "type": "BlobSink"
                    }
                }
            }
        ],
        "parameters": {
            "inputPath": {
                "type": "String"
            },
            "outputPath": {
                "type": "String"
            }
        }
    }
}

Replacing special characters

Dynamic content editor automatically escapes characters like double quote, backslash in your content when you finish editing. This causes trouble if you want to replace line feed or tab by using \n, \t in replace() function. You can of edit your dynamic content in code view to remove the extra \ in the expression, or you can follow below steps to replace special characters using expression language:

  1. URL encoding against the original string value
  2. Replace URL encoded string, for example, line feed (%0A), carriage return(%0D), horizontal tab(%09).
  3. URL decoding

For example, variable companyName with a newline character in its value, expression @uriComponentToString(replace(uriComponent(variables('companyName')), '%0A', '')) can remove the newline character.

Contoso-
Corporation

Escaping single quote character

Expression functions in pipelines use the single quote (') to surround string value parameters. Use two consecutive single quote characters within a pipeline string expression to include a single quote. Here's an example: expression @concat('Here is a double quote character: ". ', 'And here is a single quote character all within the same string: ''.') will return the following result:

Here is a double quote character: ". And here is a single quote character all within the same string: '.

However, in data flow expressions, this syntax isn't supported. Instead, data flow expressions can be surrounded by either single or double quotes. Enclose text requiring single quotes within double quotes, and text requiring double quotes within single quotes, within string functions. If you require a string containing both single and double quotes, you can use concat() to merge two substrings that each contain either single quotes or double quotes. The data flow equivalent of the previous pipeline expression example would be concat('Here is a double quote character: ". ', "And here is a single quote character all within the same string: '."). In a data flow, that expression will return the same result as the previous example for pipeline expressions.

Tutorial

This tutorial walks you through how to pass parameters between a pipeline and activity as well as between the activities. The tutorial specifically demonstrates steps for an Azure Data Factory although steps for a Synapse workspace are nearly equivalent but with a slightly different user interface.

Functions

You can call functions within expressions. The following sections provide information about the functions that can be used in an expression.

Date functions

Date or time function Task
addDays Add a number of days to a timestamp.
addHours Add a number of hours to a timestamp.
addMinutes Add a number of minutes to a timestamp.
addSeconds Add a number of seconds to a timestamp.
addToTime Add a number of time units to a timestamp. See also getFutureTime.
convertFromUtc Convert a timestamp from Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) to the target time zone.
convertTimeZone Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to the target time zone.
convertToUtc Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).
dayOfMonth Return the day of the month component from a timestamp.
dayOfWeek Return the day of the week component from a timestamp.
dayOfYear Return the day of the year component from a timestamp.
formatDateTime Return the timestamp as a string in optional format.
getFutureTime Return the current timestamp plus the specified time units. See also addToTime.
getPastTime Return the current timestamp minus the specified time units. See also subtractFromTime.
startOfDay Return the start of the day for a timestamp.
startOfHour Return the start of the hour for a timestamp.
startOfMonth Return the start of the month for a timestamp.
subtractFromTime Subtract a number of time units from a timestamp. See also getPastTime.
ticks Return the ticks property value for a specified timestamp.
utcNow Return the current timestamp as a string.

String functions

To work with strings, you can use these string functions and also some collection functions. String functions work only on strings.

String function Task
concat Combine two or more strings, and return the combined string.
endsWith Check whether a string ends with the specified substring.
guid Generate a globally unique identifier (GUID) as a string.
indexOf Return the starting position for a substring.
lastIndexOf Return the starting position for the last occurrence of a substring.
replace Replace a substring with the specified string, and return the updated string.
split Split a string at each occurrence of a specified delimiter, returning the resulting substrings as elements of an array.
startsWith Check whether a string starts with a specific substring.
substring Return characters from a string, starting from the specified position.
toLower Return a string in lowercase format.
toUpper Return a string in uppercase format.
trim Remove leading and trailing whitespace from a string, and return the updated string.

Collection functions

To work with collections, generally arrays, strings, and sometimes, dictionaries, you can use these collection functions.

Collection function Task
contains Check whether a collection has a specific item.
empty Check whether a collection is empty.
first Return the first item from a collection.
intersection Return a collection that has only the common items across the specified collections.
join Return a string that has all the items from an array, separated by the specified character.
last Return the last item from a collection.
length Return the number of items in a string or array.
skip Remove items from the front of a collection, and return all the other items.
take Return items from the front of a collection.
union Return a collection that has all the items from the specified collections.

Logical functions

These functions are useful inside conditions, they can be used to evaluate any type of logic.

Logical comparison function Task
and Check whether all expressions are true.
equals Check whether both values are equivalent.
greater Check whether the first value is greater than the second value.
greaterOrEquals Check whether the first value is greater than or equal to the second value.
if Check whether an expression is true or false. Based on the result, return a specified value.
less Check whether the first value is less than the second value.
lessOrEquals Check whether the first value is less than or equal to the second value.
not Check whether an expression is false.
or Check whether at least one expression is true.

Conversion functions

These functions are used to convert between each of the native types in the language:

  • string
  • integer
  • float
  • boolean
  • arrays
  • dictionaries
Conversion function Task
array Return an array from a single specified input. For multiple inputs, see createArray.
base64 Return the base64-encoded version for a string.
base64ToBinary Return the binary version for a base64-encoded string.
base64ToString Return the string version for a base64-encoded string.
binary Return the binary version for an input value.
bool Return the Boolean version for an input value.
coalesce Return the first non-null value from one or more parameters.
createArray Return an array from multiple inputs.
dataUri Return the data URI for an input value.
dataUriToBinary Return the binary version for a data URI.
dataUriToString Return the string version for a data URI.
decodeBase64 Return the string version for a base64-encoded string.
decodeDataUri Return the binary version for a data URI.
decodeUriComponent Return a string that replaces escape characters with decoded versions.
encodeUriComponent Return a string that replaces URL-unsafe characters with escape characters.
float Return a floating point number for an input value.
int Return the integer version for a string.
json Return the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) type value or object for a string or XML.
string Return the string version for an input value.
uriComponent Return the URI-encoded version for an input value by replacing URL-unsafe characters with escape characters.
uriComponentToBinary Return the binary version for a URI-encoded string.
uriComponentToString Return the string version for a URI-encoded string.
xml Return the XML version for a string.
xpath Check XML for nodes or values that match an XPath (XML Path Language) expression, and return the matching nodes or values.

Math functions

These functions can be used for either types of numbers: integers and floats.

Math function Task
add Return the result from adding two numbers.
div Return the result from dividing one number by another number.
max Return the highest value from a set of numbers or an array.
min Return the lowest value from a set of numbers or an array.
mod Return the remainder from dividing one number by another number.
mul Return the product from multiplying two numbers.
rand Return a random integer from a specified range.
range Return an integer array that starts from a specified integer.
sub Return the result from subtracting one number from another number.

Function reference

This section lists all the available functions in alphabetical order.

add

Return the result from adding two numbers.

add(<summand_1>, <summand_2>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<summand_1>, <summand_2> Yes Integer, Float, or mixed The numbers to add
Return value Type Description
<result-sum> Integer or Float The result from adding the specified numbers

Example

This example adds the specified numbers:

add(1, 1.5)

And returns this result: 2.5

addDays

Add a number of days to a timestamp.

addDays('<timestamp>', <days>, '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<days> Yes Integer The positive or negative number of days to add
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The timestamp plus the specified number of days

Example 1

This example adds 10 days to the specified timestamp:

addDays('2018-03-15T13:00:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-25T00:00:0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five days from the specified timestamp:

addDays('2018-03-15T00:00:00Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-10T00:00:0000000Z"

addHours

Add a number of hours to a timestamp.

addHours('<timestamp>', <hours>, '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<hours> Yes Integer The positive or negative number of hours to add
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The timestamp plus the specified number of hours

Example 1

This example adds 10 hours to the specified timestamp:

addHours('2018-03-15T00:00:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T10:00:0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five hours from the specified timestamp:

addHours('2018-03-15T15:00:00Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T10:00:0000000Z"

addMinutes

Add a number of minutes to a timestamp.

addMinutes('<timestamp>', <minutes>, '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<minutes> Yes Integer The positive or negative number of minutes to add
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The timestamp plus the specified number of minutes

Example 1

This example adds 10 minutes to the specified timestamp:

addMinutes('2018-03-15T00:10:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:20:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five minutes from the specified timestamp:

addMinutes('2018-03-15T00:20:00Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:15:00.0000000Z"

addSeconds

Add a number of seconds to a timestamp.

addSeconds('<timestamp>', <seconds>, '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<seconds> Yes Integer The positive or negative number of seconds to add
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The timestamp plus the specified number of seconds

Example 1

This example adds 10 seconds to the specified timestamp:

addSeconds('2018-03-15T00:00:00Z', 10)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:00:10.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts five seconds to the specified timestamp:

addSeconds('2018-03-15T00:00:30Z', -5)

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:00:25.0000000Z"

addToTime

Add a number of time units to a timestamp. See also getFutureTime().

addToTime('<timestamp>', <interval>, '<timeUnit>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<interval> Yes Integer The number of specified time units to add
<timeUnit> Yes String The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The timestamp plus the specified number of time units

Example 1

This example adds one day to the specified timestamp:

addToTime('2018-01-01T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-01-02T00:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example adds one day to the specified timestamp:

addToTime('2018-01-01T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day', 'D')

And returns the result using the optional "D" format: "Tuesday, January 2, 2018"

and

Check whether both expressions are true. Return true when both expressions are true, or return false when at least one expression is false.

and(<expression1>, <expression2>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<expression1>, <expression2> Yes Boolean The expressions to check
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when both expressions are true. Return false when at least one expression is false.

Example 1

These examples check whether the specified Boolean values are both true:

and(true, true)
and(false, true)
and(false, false)

And returns these results:

  • First example: Both expressions are true, so returns true.
  • Second example: One expression is false, so returns false.
  • Third example: Both expressions are false, so returns false.

Example 2

These examples check whether the specified expressions are both true:

and(equals(1, 1), equals(2, 2))
and(equals(1, 1), equals(1, 2))
and(equals(1, 2), equals(1, 3))

And returns these results:

  • First example: Both expressions are true, so returns true.
  • Second example: One expression is false, so returns false.
  • Third example: Both expressions are false, so returns false.

array

Return an array from a single specified input. For multiple inputs, see createArray().

array('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string for creating an array
Return value Type Description
[<value>] Array An array that contains the single specified input

Example

This example creates an array from the "hello" string:

array('hello')

And returns this result: ["hello"]

base64

Return the base64-encoded version for a string.

base64('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The input string
Return value Type Description
<base64-string> String The base64-encoded version for the input string

Example

This example converts the "hello" string to a base64-encoded string:

base64('hello')

And returns this result: "aGVsbG8="

base64ToBinary

Return the binary version for a base64-encoded string.

base64ToBinary('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The base64-encoded string to convert
Return value Type Description
<binary-for-base64-string> String The binary version for the base64-encoded string

Example

This example converts the "aGVsbG8=" base64-encoded string to a binary string:

base64ToBinary('aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result:

"0110000101000111010101100111001101100010010001110011100000111101"

base64ToString

Return the string version for a base64-encoded string, effectively decoding the base64 string. Use this function rather than decodeBase64(). Although both functions work the same way, base64ToString() is preferred.

base64ToString('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The base64-encoded string to decode
Return value Type Description
<decoded-base64-string> String The string version for a base64-encoded string

Example

This example converts the "aGVsbG8=" base64-encoded string to just a string:

base64ToString('aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result: "hello"

binary

Return the binary version for a string.

binary('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string to convert
Return value Type Description
<binary-for-input-value> String The binary version for the specified string

Example

This example converts the "hello" string to a binary string:

binary('hello')

And returns this result:

"0110100001100101011011000110110001101111"

bool

Return the Boolean version for a value.

bool(<value>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes Any The value to convert
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean The Boolean version for the specified value

Example

These examples convert the specified values to Boolean values:

bool(1)
bool(0)

And returns these results:

  • First example: true
  • Second example: false

coalesce

Return the first non-null value from one or more parameters. Empty strings, empty arrays, and empty objects are not null.

coalesce(<object_1>, <object_2>, ...)
Parameter Required Type Description
<object_1>, <object_2>, ... Yes Any, can mix types One or more items to check for null
Return value Type Description
<first-non-null-item> Any The first item or value that is not null. If all parameters are null, this function returns null.

Example

These examples return the first non-null value from the specified values, or null when all the values are null:

coalesce(null, true, false)
coalesce(null, 'hello', 'world')
coalesce(null, null, null)

And returns these results:

  • First example: true
  • Second example: "hello"
  • Third example: null

concat

Combine two or more strings, and return the combined string.

concat('<text1>', '<text2>', ...)
Parameter Required Type Description
<text1>, <text2>, ... Yes String At least two strings to combine
Return value Type Description
<text1text2...> String The string created from the combined input strings

Example

This example combines the strings "Hello" and "World":

concat('Hello', 'World')

And returns this result: "HelloWorld"

contains

Check whether a collection has a specific item. Return true when the item is found, or return false when not found. This function is case-sensitive.

contains('<collection>', '<value>')
contains([<collection>], '<value>')

Specifically, this function works on these collection types:

  • A string to find a substring
  • An array to find a value
  • A dictionary to find a key
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes String, Array, or Dictionary The collection to check
<value> Yes String, Array, or Dictionary, respectively The item to find
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the item is found. Return false when not found.

Example 1

This example checks the string "hello world" for the substring "world" and returns true:

contains('hello world', 'world')

Example 2

This example checks the string "hello world" for the substring "universe" and returns false:

contains('hello world', 'universe')

convertFromUtc

Convert a timestamp from Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) to the target time zone.

convertFromUtc('<timestamp>', '<destinationTimeZone>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<destinationTimeZone> Yes String The name for the target time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<converted-timestamp> String The timestamp converted to the target time zone

Example 1

This example converts a timestamp to the specified time zone:

convertFromUtc('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'Pacific Standard Time')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T00:00:00Z"

Example 2

This example converts a timestamp to the specified time zone and format:

convertFromUtc('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'Pacific Standard Time', 'D')

And returns this result: "Monday, January 1, 2018"

convertTimeZone

Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to the target time zone.

convertTimeZone('<timestamp>', '<sourceTimeZone>', '<destinationTimeZone>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<sourceTimeZone> Yes String The name for the source time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<destinationTimeZone> Yes String The name for the target time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<converted-timestamp> String The timestamp converted to the target time zone

Example 1

This example converts the source time zone to the target time zone:

convertTimeZone('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T00:00:00.0000000"

Example 2

This example converts a time zone to the specified time zone and format:

convertTimeZone('2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z', 'UTC', 'Pacific Standard Time', 'D')

And returns this result: "Monday, January 1, 2018"

convertToUtc

Convert a timestamp from the source time zone to Universal Time Coordinated (UTC).

convertToUtc('<timestamp>', '<sourceTimeZone>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<sourceTimeZone> Yes String The name for the source time zone. For time zone names, see Microsoft Time Zone Values, but you might have to remove any punctuation from the time zone name.
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<converted-timestamp> String The timestamp converted to UTC

Example 1

This example converts a timestamp to UTC:

convertToUtc('01/01/2018 00:00:00', 'Pacific Standard Time')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T08:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

This example converts a timestamp to UTC:

convertToUtc('01/01/2018 00:00:00', 'Pacific Standard Time', 'D')

And returns this result: "Monday, January 1, 2018"

createArray

Return an array from multiple inputs. For single input arrays, see array().

createArray('<object1>', '<object2>', ...)
Parameter Required Type Description
<object1>, <object2>, ... Yes Any, but not mixed At least two items to create the array
Return value Type Description
[<object1>, <object2>, ...] Array The array created from all the input items

Example

This example creates an array from these inputs:

createArray('h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o')

And returns this result: ["h", "e", "l", "l", "o"]

dataUri

Return a data uniform resource identifier (URI) for a string.

dataUri('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string to convert
Return value Type Description
<data-uri> String The data URI for the input string

Example

This example creates a data URI for the "hello" string:

dataUri('hello')

And returns this result: "data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8="

dataUriToBinary

Return the binary version for a data uniform resource identifier (URI). Use this function rather than decodeDataUri(). Although both functions work the same way, dataUriBinary() is preferred.

dataUriToBinary('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The data URI to convert
Return value Type Description
<binary-for-data-uri> String The binary version for the data URI

Example

This example creates a binary version for this data URI:

dataUriToBinary('data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result:

"01100100011000010111010001100001001110100111010001100101011110000111010000101111011100000 1101100011000010110100101101110001110110110001101101000011000010111001001110011011001010111 0100001111010111010101110100011001100010110100111000001110110110001001100001011100110110010 10011011000110100001011000110000101000111010101100111001101100010010001110011100000111101"

dataUriToString

Return the string version for a data uniform resource identifier (URI).

dataUriToString('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The data URI to convert
Return value Type Description
<string-for-data-uri> String The string version for the data URI

Example

This example creates a string for this data URI:

dataUriToString('data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result: "hello"

dayOfMonth

Return the day of the month from a timestamp.

dayOfMonth('<timestamp>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
Return value Type Description
<day-of-month> Integer The day of the month from the specified timestamp

Example

This example returns the number for the day of the month from this timestamp:

dayOfMonth('2018-03-15T13:27:36Z')

And returns this result: 15

dayOfWeek

Return the day of the week from a timestamp.

dayOfWeek('<timestamp>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
Return value Type Description
<day-of-week> Integer The day of the week from the specified timestamp where Sunday is 0, Monday is 1, and so on

Example

This example returns the number for the day of the week from this timestamp:

dayOfWeek('2018-03-15T13:27:36Z')

And returns this result: 3

dayOfYear

Return the day of the year from a timestamp.

dayOfYear('<timestamp>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
Return value Type Description
<day-of-year> Integer The day of the year from the specified timestamp

Example

This example returns the number of the day of the year from this timestamp:

dayOfYear('2018-03-15T13:27:36Z')

And returns this result: 74

decodeBase64

Return the string version for a base64-encoded string, effectively decoding the base64 string. Consider using base64ToString() rather than decodeBase64(). Although both functions work the same way, base64ToString() is preferred.

decodeBase64('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The base64-encoded string to decode
Return value Type Description
<decoded-base64-string> String The string version for a base64-encoded string

Example

This example creates a string for a base64-encoded string:

decodeBase64('aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result: "hello"

decodeDataUri

Return the binary version for a data uniform resource identifier (URI). Consider using dataUriToBinary(), rather than decodeDataUri(). Although both functions work the same way, dataUriToBinary() is preferred.

decodeDataUri('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The data URI string to decode
Return value Type Description
<binary-for-data-uri> String The binary version for a data URI string

Example

This example returns the binary version for this data URI:

decodeDataUri('data:text/plain;charset=utf-8;base64,aGVsbG8=')

And returns this result:

"01100100011000010111010001100001001110100111010001100101011110000111010000101111011100000 1101100011000010110100101101110001110110110001101101000011000010111001001110011011001010111 0100001111010111010101110100011001100010110100111000001110110110001001100001011100110110010 10011011000110100001011000110000101000111010101100111001101100010010001110011100000111101"

decodeUriComponent

Return a string that replaces escape characters with decoded versions.

decodeUriComponent('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string with the escape characters to decode
Return value Type Description
<decoded-uri> String The updated string with the decoded escape characters

Example

This example replaces the escape characters in this string with decoded versions:

decodeUriComponent('http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com')

And returns this result: "https://contoso.com"

div

Return the result of dividing one number by another number.

div(<dividend>, <divisor>)

The precise return type of the function depends on the types of its parameters — see examples for detail.

Parameter Required Type Description
<dividend> Yes Integer or Float The number to divide by the divisor
<divisor> Yes Integer or Float The number that divides the dividend. A divisor value of zero causes an error at runtime.
Return value Type Description
<quotient-result> Integer or Float The result of dividing the first number by the second number

Example 1

These examples divide the number 9 by 2:

div(9, 2.0)
div(9.0, 2)
div(9.0, 2.0)

And all return this result: 4.5

Example 2

This example also divides the number 9 by 2, but because both parameters are integers the remainder is discarded (integer division):

div(9, 2)

The expression returns the result 4. To obtain the value of the remainder, use the mod() function.

encodeUriComponent

Return a uniform resource identifier (URI) encoded version for a string by replacing URL-unsafe characters with escape characters. Consider using uriComponent(), rather than encodeUriComponent(). Although both functions work the same way, uriComponent() is preferred.

encodeUriComponent('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string to convert to URI-encoded format
Return value Type Description
<encoded-uri> String The URI-encoded string with escape characters

Example

This example creates a URI-encoded version for this string:

encodeUriComponent('https://contoso.com')

And returns this result: "http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com"

empty

Check whether a collection is empty. Return true when the collection is empty, or return false when not empty.

empty('<collection>')
empty([<collection>])
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes String, Array, or Object The collection to check
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the collection is empty. Return false when not empty.

Example

These examples check whether the specified collections are empty:

empty('')
empty('abc')

And returns these results:

  • First example: Passes an empty string, so the function returns true.
  • Second example: Passes the string "abc", so the function returns false.

endsWith

Check whether a string ends with a specific substring. Return true when the substring is found, or return false when not found. This function is not case-sensitive.

endsWith('<text>', '<searchText>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string to check
<searchText> Yes String The ending substring to find
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the ending substring is found. Return false when not found.

Example 1

This example checks whether the "hello world" string ends with the "world" string:

endsWith('hello world', 'world')

And returns this result: true

Example 2

This example checks whether the "hello world" string ends with the "universe" string:

endsWith('hello world', 'universe')

And returns this result: false

equals

Check whether both values, expressions, or objects are equivalent. Return true when both are equivalent, or return false when they're not equivalent.

equals('<object1>', '<object2>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<object1>, <object2> Yes Various The values, expressions, or objects to compare
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when both are equivalent. Return false when not equivalent.

Example

These examples check whether the specified inputs are equivalent.

equals(true, 1)
equals('abc', 'abcd')

And returns these results:

  • First example: Both values are equivalent, so the function returns true.
  • Second example: Both values aren't equivalent, so the function returns false.

first

Return the first item from a string or array.

first('<collection>')
first([<collection>])
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes String or Array The collection where to find the first item
Return value Type Description
<first-collection-item> Any The first item in the collection

Example

These examples find the first item in these collections:

first('hello')
first(createArray(0, 1, 2))

And return these results:

  • First example: "h"
  • Second example: 0

float

Convert a string version for a floating-point number to an actual floating point number.

float('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string that has a valid floating-point number to convert
Return value Type Description
<float-value> Float The floating-point number for the specified string

Example

This example creates a string version for this floating-point number:

float('10.333')

And returns this result: 10.333

formatDateTime

Return a timestamp in the specified format.

formatDateTime('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<reformatted-timestamp> String The updated timestamp in the specified format

Example

This example converts a timestamp to the specified format:

formatDateTime('03/15/2018 12:00:00', 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss')

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T12:00:00"

getFutureTime

Return the current timestamp plus the specified time units.

getFutureTime(<interval>, <timeUnit>, <format>?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<interval> Yes Integer The number of specified time units to add
<timeUnit> Yes String The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The current timestamp plus the specified number of time units

Example 1

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-03-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example adds five days to that timestamp:

getFutureTime(5, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-03-06T00:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-03-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example adds five days and converts the result to "D" format:

getFutureTime(5, 'Day', 'D')

And returns this result: "Tuesday, March 6, 2018"

getPastTime

Return the current timestamp minus the specified time units.

getPastTime(<interval>, <timeUnit>, <format>?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<interval> Yes Integer The number of specified time units to subtract
<timeUnit> Yes String The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The current timestamp minus the specified number of time units

Example 1

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-02-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example subtracts five days from that timestamp:

getPastTime(5, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-01-27T00:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

Suppose the current timestamp is "2018-02-01T00:00:00.0000000Z". This example subtracts five days and converts the result to "D" format:

getPastTime(5, 'Day', 'D')

And returns this result: "Saturday, January 27, 2018"

greater

Check whether the first value is greater than the second value. Return true when the first value is more, or return false when less.

greater(<value>, <compareTo>)
greater('<value>', '<compareTo>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes Integer, Float, or String The first value to check whether greater than the second value
<compareTo> Yes Integer, Float, or String, respectively The comparison value
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the first value is greater than the second value. Return false when the first value is equal to or less than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is greater than the second value:

greater(10, 5)
greater('apple', 'banana')

And return these results:

  • First example: true
  • Second example: false

greaterOrEquals

Check whether the first value is greater than or equal to the second value. Return true when the first value is greater or equal, or return false when the first value is less.

greaterOrEquals(<value>, <compareTo>)
greaterOrEquals('<value>', '<compareTo>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes Integer, Float, or String The first value to check whether greater than or equal to the second value
<compareTo> Yes Integer, Float, or String, respectively The comparison value
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the first value is greater than or equal to the second value. Return false when the first value is less than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is greater or equal than the second value:

greaterOrEquals(5, 5)
greaterOrEquals('apple', 'banana')

And return these results:

  • First example: true
  • Second example: false

guid

Generate a globally unique identifier (GUID) as a string, for example, "c2ecc88d-88c8-4096-912c-d6f2e2b138ce":

guid()

Also, you can specify a different format for the GUID other than the default format, "D", which is 32 digits separated by hyphens.

guid('<format>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<format> No String A single format specifier for the returned GUID. By default, the format is "D", but you can use "N", "D", "B", "P", or "X".
Return value Type Description
<GUID-value> String A randomly generated GUID

Example

This example generates the same GUID, but as 32 digits, separated by hyphens, and enclosed in parentheses:

guid('P')

And returns this result: "(c2ecc88d-88c8-4096-912c-d6f2e2b138ce)"

if

Check whether an expression is true or false. Based on the result, return a specified value.

if(<expression>, <valueIfTrue>, <valueIfFalse>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<expression> Yes Boolean The expression to check
<valueIfTrue> Yes Any The value to return when the expression is true
<valueIfFalse> Yes Any The value to return when the expression is false
Return value Type Description
<specified-return-value> Any The specified value that returns based on whether the expression is true or false

Example

This example returns "yes" because the specified expression returns true. Otherwise, the example returns "no":

if(equals(1, 1), 'yes', 'no')

indexOf

Return the starting position or index value for a substring. This function is not case-sensitive, and indexes start with the number 0.

indexOf('<text>', '<searchText>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string that has the substring to find
<searchText> Yes String The substring to find
Return value Type Description
<index-value> Integer The starting position or index value for the specified substring.

If the string is not found, return the number -1.

Example

This example finds the starting index value for the "world" substring in the "hello world" string:

indexOf('hello world', 'world')

And returns this result: 6

int

Return the integer version for a string.

int('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string to convert
Return value Type Description
<integer-result> Integer The integer version for the specified string

Example

This example creates an integer version for the string "10":

int('10')

And returns this result: 10

json

Return the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) type value or object for a string or XML.

json('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String or XML The string or XML to convert
Return value Type Description
<JSON-result> JSON native type or object The JSON native type value or object for the specified string or XML. If the string is null, the function returns an empty object.

Example 1

This example converts this string to the JSON value:

json('[1, 2, 3]')

And returns this result: [1, 2, 3]

Example 2

This example converts this string to JSON:

json('{"fullName": "Sophia Owen"}')

And returns this result:

{
  "fullName": "Sophia Owen"
}

Example 3

This example converts this XML to JSON:

json(xml('<?xml version="1.0"?> <root> <person id='1'> <name>Sophia Owen</name> <occupation>Engineer</occupation> </person> </root>'))

And returns this result:

{
   "?xml": { "@version": "1.0" },
   "root": {
      "person": [ {
         "@id": "1",
         "name": "Sophia Owen",
         "occupation": "Engineer"
      } ]
   }
}

intersection

Return a collection that has only the common items across the specified collections. To appear in the result, an item must appear in all the collections passed to this function. If one or more items have the same name, the last item with that name appears in the result.

intersection([<collection1>], [<collection2>], ...)
intersection('<collection1>', '<collection2>', ...)
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection1>, <collection2>, ... Yes Array or Object, but not both The collections from where you want only the common items
Return value Type Description
<common-items> Array or Object, respectively A collection that has only the common items across the specified collections

Example

This example finds the common items across these arrays:

intersection(createArray(1, 2, 3), createArray(101, 2, 1, 10), createArray(6, 8, 1, 2))

And returns an array with only these items: [1, 2]

join

Return a string that has all the items from an array and has each character separated by a delimiter.

join([<collection>], '<delimiter>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes Array The array that has the items to join
<delimiter> Yes String The separator that appears between each character in the resulting string
Return value Type Description
<char1><delimiter><char2><delimiter>... String The resulting string created from all the items in the specified array

Example

This example creates a string from all the items in this array with the specified character as the delimiter:

join(createArray('a', 'b', 'c'), '.')

And returns this result: "a.b.c"

last

Return the last item from a collection.

last('<collection>')
last([<collection>])
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes String or Array The collection where to find the last item
Return value Type Description
<last-collection-item> String or Array, respectively The last item in the collection

Example

These examples find the last item in these collections:

last('abcd')
last(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3))

And returns these results:

  • First example: "d"
  • Second example: 3

lastIndexOf

Return the starting position or index value for the last occurrence of a substring. This function is not case-sensitive, and indexes start with the number 0.

lastIndexOf('<text>', '<searchText>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string that has the substring to find
<searchText> Yes String The substring to find
Return value Type Description
<ending-index-value> Integer The starting position or index value for the last occurrence of the specified substring.

If the string is not found, return the number -1.

Example

This example finds the starting index value for the last occurrence of the "world" substring in the "hello world" string:

lastIndexOf('hello world', 'world')

And returns this result: 6

length

Return the number of items in a collection.

length('<collection>')
length([<collection>])
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes String or Array The collection with the items to count
Return value Type Description
<length-or-count> Integer The number of items in the collection

Example

These examples count the number of items in these collections:

length('abcd')
length(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3))

And return this result: 4

less

Check whether the first value is less than the second value. Return true when the first value is less, or return false when the first value is more.

less(<value>, <compareTo>)
less('<value>', '<compareTo>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes Integer, Float, or String The first value to check whether less than the second value
<compareTo> Yes Integer, Float, or String, respectively The comparison item
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the first value is less than the second value. Return false when the first value is equal to or greater than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is less than the second value.

less(5, 10)
less('banana', 'apple')

And return these results:

  • First example: true
  • Second example: false

lessOrEquals

Check whether the first value is less than or equal to the second value. Return true when the first value is less than or equal, or return false when the first value is more.

lessOrEquals(<value>, <compareTo>)
lessOrEquals('<value>', '<compareTo>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes Integer, Float, or String The first value to check whether less than or equal to the second value
<compareTo> Yes Integer, Float, or String, respectively The comparison item
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the first value is less than or equal to the second value. Return false when the first value is greater than the second value.

Example

These examples check whether the first value is less or equal than the second value.

lessOrEquals(10, 10)
lessOrEquals('apply', 'apple')

And return these results:

  • First example: true
  • Second example: false

max

Return the highest value from a list or array with numbers that is inclusive at both ends.

max(<number1>, <number2>, ...)
max([<number1>, <number2>, ...])
Parameter Required Type Description
<number1>, <number2>, ... Yes Integer, Float, or both The set of numbers from which you want the highest value
[<number1>, <number2>, ...] Yes Array - Integer, Float, or both The array of numbers from which you want the highest value
Return value Type Description
<max-value> Integer or Float The highest value in the specified array or set of numbers

Example

These examples get the highest value from the set of numbers and the array:

max(1, 2, 3)
max(createArray(1, 2, 3))

And return this result: 3

min

Return the lowest value from a set of numbers or an array.

min(<number1>, <number2>, ...)
min([<number1>, <number2>, ...])
Parameter Required Type Description
<number1>, <number2>, ... Yes Integer, Float, or both The set of numbers from which you want the lowest value
[<number1>, <number2>, ...] Yes Array - Integer, Float, or both The array of numbers from which you want the lowest value
Return value Type Description
<min-value> Integer or Float The lowest value in the specified set of numbers or specified array

Example

These examples get the lowest value in the set of numbers and the array:

min(1, 2, 3)
min(createArray(1, 2, 3))

And return this result: 1

mod

Return the remainder from dividing one number by another number. For integer division, see div().

mod(<dividend>, <divisor>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<dividend> Yes Integer or Float The number to divide by the divisor
<divisor> Yes Integer or Float The number that divides the dividend. A divisor value of zero causes an error at runtime.
Return value Type Description
<modulo-result> Integer or Float The remainder from dividing the first number by the second number

Example

This example calculates the remainder when the first number is divided by the second number:

mod(3, 2)

And returns this result: 1

mul

Return the product from multiplying two numbers.

mul(<multiplicand1>, <multiplicand2>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<multiplicand1> Yes Integer or Float The number to multiply by multiplicand2
<multiplicand2> Yes Integer or Float The number that multiplies multiplicand1
Return value Type Description
<product-result> Integer or Float The product from multiplying the first number by the second number

Example

These examples multiply the first number by the second number:

mul(1, 2)
mul(1.5, 2)

And return these results:

  • First example: 2
  • Second example 3

not

Check whether an expression is false. Return true when the expression is false, or return false when true.

not(<expression>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<expression> Yes Boolean The expression to check
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the expression is false. Return false when the expression is true.

Example 1

These examples check whether the specified expressions are false:

not(false)
not(true)

And return these results:

  • First example: The expression is false, so the function returns true.
  • Second example: The expression is true, so the function returns false.

Example 2

These examples check whether the specified expressions are false:

not(equals(1, 2))
not(equals(1, 1))

And return these results:

  • First example: The expression is false, so the function returns true.
  • Second example: The expression is true, so the function returns false.

or

Check whether at least one expression is true. Return true when at least one expression is true, or return false when both are false.

or(<expression1>, <expression2>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<expression1>, <expression2> Yes Boolean The expressions to check
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when at least one expression is true. Return false when both expressions are false.

Example 1

These examples check whether at least one expression is true:

or(true, false)
or(false, false)

And return these results:

  • First example: At least one expression is true, so the function returns true.
  • Second example: Both expressions are false, so the function returns false.

Example 2

These examples check whether at least one expression is true:

or(equals(1, 1), equals(1, 2))
or(equals(1, 2), equals(1, 3))

And return these results:

  • First example: At least one expression is true, so the function returns true.
  • Second example: Both expressions are false, so the function returns false.

rand

Return a random integer from a specified range, which is inclusive only at the starting end.

rand(<minValue>, <maxValue>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<minValue> Yes Integer The lowest integer in the range
<maxValue> Yes Integer The integer that follows the highest integer in the range that the function can return
Return value Type Description
<random-result> Integer The random integer returned from the specified range. Note that every invocation of rand() will produce a unique result, meaning that the value you observe in output monitoring may not be the same at actual run time.

Example

This example gets a random integer from the specified range, excluding the maximum value:

rand(1, 5)

And returns one of these numbers as the result: 1, 2, 3, or 4

range

Return an integer array that starts from a specified integer.

range(<startIndex>, <count>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<startIndex> Yes Integer An integer value that starts the array as the first item
<count> Yes Integer The number of integers in the array
Return value Type Description
[<range-result>] Array The array with integers starting from the specified index

Example

This example creates an integer array that starts from the specified index and has the specified number of integers:

range(1, 4)

And returns this result: [1, 2, 3, 4]

replace

Replace a substring with the specified string, and return the result string. This function is case-sensitive.

replace('<text>', '<oldText>', '<newText>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string that has the substring to replace
<oldText> Yes String The substring to replace
<newText> Yes String The replacement string
Return value Type Description
<updated-text> String The updated string after replacing the substring

If the substring is not found, return the original string.

Example

This example finds the "old" substring in "the old string" and replaces "old" with "new":

replace('the old string', 'old', 'new')

And returns this result: "the new string"

skip

Remove items from the front of a collection, and return all the other items.

skip([<collection>], <count>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes Array The collection whose items you want to remove
<count> Yes Integer A positive integer for the number of items to remove at the front
Return value Type Description
[<updated-collection>] Array The updated collection after removing the specified items

Example

This example removes one item, the number 0, from the front of the specified array:

skip(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3), 1)

And returns this array with the remaining items: [1,2,3]

split

Split a string at each occurrence of a specified delimiter, returning the resulting substrings as elements of an array. A delimiter is typically a single character, but multicharacter delimiters are supported.

split('<text>', '<delimiter>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string to separate into substrings
<delimiter> Yes String The string to use as the delimiter
Return value Type Description
[<substring1>,<substring2>,...] Array An array that contains substrings of the original string

Example

This example returns an array containing substrings of the string "a_b_c" based on the delimiter "_":

split('a_b_c', '_')

The array returned is: ["a","b","c"]

startOfDay

Return the start of the day for a timestamp.

startOfDay('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The specified timestamp but starting at the zero-hour mark for the day

Example

This example finds the start of the day for this timestamp:

startOfDay('2018-03-15T13:30:30Z')

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T00:00:00.0000000Z"

startOfHour

Return the start of the hour for a timestamp.

startOfHour('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The specified timestamp but starting at the zero-minute mark for the hour

Example

This example finds the start of the hour for this timestamp:

startOfHour('2018-03-15T13:30:30Z')

And returns this result: "2018-03-15T13:00:00.0000000Z"

startOfMonth

Return the start of the month for a timestamp.

startOfMonth('<timestamp>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The specified timestamp but starting on the first day of the month at the zero-hour mark

Example

This example returns the start of the month for this timestamp:

startOfMonth('2018-03-15T13:30:30Z')

And returns this result: "2018-03-01T00:00:00.0000000Z"

startsWith

Check whether a string starts with a specific substring. Return true when the substring is found, or return false when not found. This function is not case-sensitive.

startsWith('<text>', '<searchText>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string to check
<searchText> Yes String The starting string to find
Return value Type Description
true or false Boolean Return true when the starting substring is found. Return false when not found.

Example 1

This example checks whether the "hello world" string starts with the "hello" substring:

startsWith('hello world', 'hello')

And returns this result: true

Example 2

This example checks whether the "hello world" string starts with the "greetings" substring:

startsWith('hello world', 'greetings')

And returns this result: false

string

Return the string version for a value.

string(<value>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes Any The value to convert
Return value Type Description
<string-value> String The string version for the specified value

Example 1

This example creates the string version for this number:

string(10)

And returns this result: "10"

Example 2

This example creates a string for the specified JSON object and uses the backslash character (\) as an escape character for the double-quotation mark (").

string( { "name": "Sophie Owen" } )

And returns this result: "{ \\"name\\": \\"Sophie Owen\\" }"

sub

Return the result from subtracting one number from another number.

sub(<minuend>, <subtrahend>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<minuend> Yes Integer or Float The number from which to subtract the subtrahend
<subtrahend> Yes Integer or Float The number to subtract from the minuend
Return value Type Description
<result> Integer or Float The result from subtracting the second number from the first number

Example

This example subtracts the second number from the first number:

sub(10.3, .3)

And returns this result: 10

substring

Return characters from a string, starting from the specified position, or index. Index values start with the number 0.

substring('<text>', <startIndex>, <length>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string whose characters you want
<startIndex> Yes Integer A positive number equal to or greater than 0 that you want to use as the starting position or index value
<length> Yes Integer A positive number of characters that you want in the substring
Return value Type Description
<substring-result> String A substring with the specified number of characters, starting at the specified index position in the source string

Example

This example creates a five-character substring from the specified string, starting from the index value 6:

substring('hello world', 6, 5)

And returns this result: "world"

subtractFromTime

Subtract a number of time units from a timestamp. See also getPastTime.

subtractFromTime('<timestamp>', <interval>, '<timeUnit>', '<format>'?)
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string that contains the timestamp
<interval> Yes Integer The number of specified time units to subtract
<timeUnit> Yes String The unit of time to use with interval: "Second", "Minute", "Hour", "Day", "Week", "Month", "Year"
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<updated-timestamp> String The timestamp minus the specified number of time units

Example 1

This example subtracts one day from this timestamp:

subtractFromTime('2018-01-02T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day')

And returns this result: "2018-01-01T00:00:00:0000000Z"

Example 2

This example subtracts one day from this timestamp:

subtractFromTime('2018-01-02T00:00:00Z', 1, 'Day', 'D')

And returns this result using the optional "D" format: "Monday, January, 1, 2018"

take

Return items from the front of a collection.

take('<collection>', <count>)
take([<collection>], <count>)
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection> Yes String or Array The collection whose items you want
<count> Yes Integer A positive integer for the number of items that you want from the front
Return value Type Description
<subset> or [<subset>] String or Array, respectively A string or array that has the specified number of items taken from the front of the original collection

Example

These examples get the specified number of items from the front of these collections:

take('abcde', 3)
take(createArray(0, 1, 2, 3, 4), 3)

And return these results:

  • First example: "abc"
  • Second example: [0, 1, 2]

ticks

Return the ticks property value for a specified timestamp. A tick is a 100-nanosecond interval.

ticks('<timestamp>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<timestamp> Yes String The string for a timestamp
Return value Type Description
<ticks-number> Integer The number of ticks that have elapsed since 12:00:00 midnight, January 1, 0001 in the Gregorian calendar since the input timestamp

toLower

Return a string in lowercase format. If a character in the string doesn't have a lowercase version, that character stays unchanged in the returned string.

toLower('<text>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string to return in lowercase format
Return value Type Description
<lowercase-text> String The original string in lowercase format

Example

This example converts this string to lowercase:

toLower('Hello World')

And returns this result: "hello world"

toUpper

Return a string in uppercase format. If a character in the string doesn't have an uppercase version, that character stays unchanged in the returned string.

toUpper('<text>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string to return in uppercase format
Return value Type Description
<uppercase-text> String The original string in uppercase format

Example

This example converts this string to uppercase:

toUpper('Hello World')

And returns this result: "HELLO WORLD"

trim

Remove leading and trailing whitespace from a string, and return the updated string.

trim('<text>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<text> Yes String The string that has the leading and trailing whitespace to remove
Return value Type Description
<updatedText> String An updated version for the original string without leading or trailing whitespace

Example

This example removes the leading and trailing whitespace from the string " Hello World ":

trim(' Hello World  ')

And returns this result: "Hello World"

union

Return a collection that has all the items from the specified collections. To appear in the result, an item can appear in any collection passed to this function. If one or more items have the same name, the last item with that name appears in the result.

union('<collection1>', '<collection2>', ...)
union([<collection1>], [<collection2>], ...)
Parameter Required Type Description
<collection1>, <collection2>, ... Yes Array or Object, but not both The collections from where you want all the items
Return value Type Description
<updatedCollection> Array or Object, respectively A collection with all the items from the specified collections - no duplicates

Example

This example gets all the items from these collections:

union(createArray(1, 2, 3), createArray(1, 2, 10, 101))

And returns this result: [1, 2, 3, 10, 101]

uriComponent

Return a uniform resource identifier (URI) encoded version for a string by replacing URL-unsafe characters with escape characters. Use this function rather than encodeUriComponent(). Although both functions work the same way, uriComponent() is preferred.

uriComponent('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string to convert to URI-encoded format
Return value Type Description
<encoded-uri> String The URI-encoded string with escape characters

Example

This example creates a URI-encoded version for this string:

uriComponent('https://contoso.com')

And returns this result: "http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com"

uriComponentToBinary

Return the binary version for a uniform resource identifier (URI) component.

uriComponentToBinary('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The URI-encoded string to convert
Return value Type Description
<binary-for-encoded-uri> String The binary version for the URI-encoded string. The binary content is base64-encoded and represented by $content.

Example

This example creates the binary version for this URI-encoded string:

uriComponentToBinary('http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com')

And returns this result:

"001000100110100001110100011101000111000000100101001100 11010000010010010100110010010001100010010100110010010001 10011000110110111101101110011101000110111101110011011011 110010111001100011011011110110110100100010"

uriComponentToString

Return the string version for a uniform resource identifier (URI) encoded string, effectively decoding the URI-encoded string.

uriComponentToString('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The URI-encoded string to decode
Return value Type Description
<decoded-uri> String The decoded version for the URI-encoded string

Example

This example creates the decoded string version for this URI-encoded string:

uriComponentToString('http%3A%2F%2Fcontoso.com')

And returns this result: "https://contoso.com"

utcNow

Return the current timestamp.

utcNow('<format>')

Optionally, you can specify a different format with the <format> parameter.

Parameter Required Type Description
<format> No String Either a single format specifier or a custom format pattern. The default format for the timestamp is "o" (yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffK), which complies with ISO 8601 and preserves time zone information.
Return value Type Description
<current-timestamp> String The current date and time

Example 1

Suppose today is April 15, 2018 at 1:00:00 PM. This example gets the current timestamp:

utcNow()

And returns this result: "2018-04-15T13:00:00.0000000Z"

Example 2

Suppose today is April 15, 2018 at 1:00:00 PM. This example gets the current timestamp using the optional "D" format:

utcNow('D')

And returns this result: "Sunday, April 15, 2018"

xml

Return the XML version for a string that contains a JSON object.

xml('<value>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<value> Yes String The string with the JSON object to convert

The JSON object must have only one root property, which can't be an array.
Use the backslash character (\) as an escape character for the double quotation mark (").

Return value Type Description
<xml-version> Object The encoded XML for the specified string or JSON object

Example 1

This example creates the XML version for this string, which contains a JSON object:

xml(json('{ \"name\": \"Sophia Owen\" }'))

And returns this result XML:

<name>Sophia Owen</name>

Example 2

Suppose you have this JSON object:

{
  "person": {
    "name": "Sophia Owen",
    "city": "Seattle"
  }
}

This example creates XML for a string that contains this JSON object:

xml(json('{\"person\": {\"name\": \"Sophia Owen\", \"city\": \"Seattle\"}}'))

And returns this result XML:

<person>
  <name>Sophia Owen</name>
  <city>Seattle</city>
<person>

xpath

Check XML for nodes or values that match an XPath (XML Path Language) expression, and return the matching nodes or values. An XPath expression, or just "XPath", helps you navigate an XML document structure so that you can select nodes or compute values in the XML content.

xpath('<xml>', '<xpath>')
Parameter Required Type Description
<xml> Yes Any The XML string to search for nodes or values that match an XPath expression value
<xpath> Yes Any The XPath expression used to find matching XML nodes or values
Return value Type Description
<xml-node> XML An XML node when only a single node matches the specified XPath expression
<value> Any The value from an XML node when only a single value matches the specified XPath expression
[<xml-node1>, <xml-node2>, ...]
-or-
[<value1>, <value2>, ...]
Array An array with XML nodes or values that match the specified XPath expression

Example 1

Following on Example 1, this example finds nodes that match the <count></count> node and adds those node values with the sum() function:

xpath(xml(parameters('items')), 'sum(/produce/item/count)')

And returns this result: 30

Example 2

For this example, both expressions find nodes that match the <location></location> node, in the specified arguments, which include XML with a namespace. The expressions use the backslash character (\) as an escape character for the double quotation mark (").

  • Expression 1

    xpath(xml(body('Http')), '/*[name()=\"file\"]/*[name()=\"location\"]')

  • Expression 2

    xpath(xml(body('Http')), '/*[local-name()=\"file\" and namespace-uri()=\"http://contoso.com\"]/*[local-name()=\"location\"]')

Here are the arguments:

  • This XML, which includes the XML document namespace, xmlns="http://contoso.com":

    <?xml version="1.0"?> <file xmlns="http://contoso.com"> <location>Paris</location> </file>
    
  • Either XPath expression here:

    • /*[name()=\"file\"]/*[name()=\"location\"]

    • /*[local-name()=\"file\" and namespace-uri()=\"http://contoso.com\"]/*[local-name()=\"location\"]

Here is the result node that matches the <location></location> node:

<location xmlns="https://contoso.com">Paris</location>

Example 3

Following on Example 3, this example finds the value in the <location></location> node:

xpath(xml(body('Http')), 'string(/*[name()=\"file\"]/*[name()=\"location\"])')

And returns this result: "Paris"

Note

One can add comments to data flow expressions, but not in pipeline expressions.

For a list of system variables you can use in expressions, see System variables.