Conditional Functions

if/else Function

The #if helper function is used to verify whether a value of a user or event attribute exists or is true. Upon message dispatch, if the verified attribute's value is equal to false, undefined, null, "", 0, or [], CrossEngage will not render the block.

The syntax of this helper function is:

{{#if [attribute]}}
   ...
{{/if}}

Property	Description
attribute	The user or event attribute that is used for the verification. e.g. user.[traits.birthday], [properties.price]

Use Cases

Display content only if it exists

For this example, we only display the user's first name if it exists.

{{#if user.[traits.firstName]}}
    <h1>Hi {{user.[traits.firstName]}}!</h1>
{{else}}
    <h1>Hi there!</h1>
{{/if}}

Once the function is evaluated, it displays either:

<!--Assuming the user's first name would be John.-->
<h1>Hi John!</h1>

or

<!--Whenever the first name attribute does not exist for a user.-->
<h1>Hi there!</h1>

cif/else Function

CrossEngage offers a more advanced version of the #if helper function that allows you to perform additional operations and only display content if a certain criteria is met.

The syntax of this helper function is:

{{#cif '{
    "property": "attribute", 
    "operator": "operator", 
    "value": "value"
}'}}
    ...
{{else}}
    ...
{{/cif}}

For a list of operators that can be used for comparison, please check the Operators page.

Optionally, you may use the {{else}} block that will display other content if the condition is not met. The {{else}} block should be placed within the {{#cif}}{{/cif}} tags for the function to be correctly processed.

Property	Description
attribute	The user or event attribute that is used for the verification. e.g. user.[traits.birthday], [properties.price] Please note that journey steps helper with array attribute e.g. cart is not supported for advanced If.
operator	The operator that will be used to asses whether the criteria is met or not. e.g. ==. <=. See the list of all available operators and their compatibility below.
value	The value the attribute property will be compared against. e.g male, 0

Use Cases

Gender Based Salutation

For this example, we output the salutation of a client according to their gender.

Dear {{#cif '{
    "property": "user.[traits.gender]", 
    "operator": "==", 
    "value": "male"
}'}}
    Mr. {{user.[traits.lastName]}}
{{else}}
    {{#cif '{
        "property": "user.[traits.gender]", 
        "operator": "==", 
        "value": "female"
    }'}}
        Mrs. {{user.[traits.lastName]}}
    {{else}}
        Visitor
    {{/cif}}
{{/cif}}

Once the function is evaluated, it displays the salutation according to the user's gender. For example, the function may result in:

• Dear Mr. Doe, if the user is male

• Dear Mrs. Doe, if the user is female

• Dear Visitor, if the user's gender is unknown

Stock Level Low

For this example, we output a call to action statement when the stock of a certain product is low.

{{#cif '{
    "property": "[properties.stockQuantity]", 
    "operator": "<", 
    "value": "4"
}'}}
    <p>Less than 4 items available. Buy now!</p>
{{/cif}} 

Once the function is evaluated, if a product's stock is less than 4, it displays the content below in the section where it is used in the message.:

<p>Less than 4 items available. Buy now!</p>