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Formula Fields Overview

A brief introduction to understanding what Formula Fields are and how they work.

Christian Dreyer avatar
Written by Christian Dreyer
Updated over a week ago

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πŸ“š Introduction to Formula Fields

You could think of Formula Fields as a supercharged version of excel formulas, allowing for dynamic calculations and interactions using formulas that can reference properties from the same model (parent model of the custom field) and/or properties from another model.

This means that by using formulas we can build dynamic fields that we can then utilize and display throughout the platform. Being able to manipulate and customize the way you use and view your data allows for new insights and ways to track and work with customer success.

Below you will find a brief introduction to the various components of building a Formula Field as well as some basic examples to help you understand the syntax and logic.

As of today, there are a few different types of formula fields, however, the basics for operating and creating them is still the same.

  • Static Formula: Formulas that are just simple mathematical operations or strings concatenation without reference to any self or cross property.

  • Simple Model Formula: Formulas that only reference properties from the same model as the Formula field parent model.

  • Cross Model Formula: Formulas that reference properties from models different from the Formula Field parent model. These formulas could have a mix of simple model references and cross model references. (Please check the Limitation section for further information).

  • Date Formula: Formulas that reference dates properties from the same model, or use nested operations to get date properties from different models. These formulas can return a date or a number as a result, this will depend on the type of date formula. (Please check the available date formulas for further information).


πŸ–Œ When to use Formula Fields

By using formulas we can build dynamic fields that allow for new ways of utilising and displaying our data across the platform. You can use Formula Fields to gather additional nuances from data to grant better insights and allow for automation and customizations based on those new dynamic data points. Formula Fields simply allow for the use of already existing data in new insightful and useful ways.

A common use case for Formula Fields is to gain additional insights from session-based data such as support tickets or conversations. By building a Formula Field we can easily extract latent data points and create usable data. For example, creating a formula field that displays the count of support tickets open which has a "High Priority". This can then be used and displayed in the Data Module, Dashboards or even included in HealthScores.

πŸ‘‘ Pro Tip: You can even use Formula Fields in combination with calculated metrics to create new and useful ways to utilize your data.


πŸ–₯ Viewing Formula Fields in the data module

Displaying a Formula Field in the data module is simple and works the same way that you would display any other field. If you have worked with custom fields before you know that they are displayed as purple in the "manage columns" view in the data module. So just as you would a custom field, just drag it to "selected columns" and your Formula Field will be displayed.

πŸ“£ Quick Tip: Having your Formula Field in the data module on another browser tab while creating/editing is a great way to see if your formula is working as intended. Remember though that apart from saving the changes to your Formula Field. you have to refresh the page in order to see any updates made.

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