Formatting Functions

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Formatting functions are used to display data in your preferred output or to correct values e.g displaying dates in a particular format or removing whitespaces.
Date Formatting
To format dates on CrossEngage, you should use the computeDate function. The syntax of this function is:
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{{computeDate '{
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    "dateTrait": [User attribute], 
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    "timePhrase": [Time phrase], 
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    "outputFormat": [Output format]
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    }'
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}}
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Note that despite the fact that the computeDate function can alter how dates are displayed, the format in which dates are sent to CrossEngage must remain the same. For further information, check our documentation: https://docs.crossengage.io/user-management/v1​
Property
Type
Description
dateTrait
string
Optional. The user attribute containing the value that is used for date formatting and calculations. If omitted, the value now is used. In this context now represents the date and time when the message is rendered and dispatched e.g. user.[traits.birthday].
timePhrase
string
Required. The operation that is executed on the dateTrait e.g. +1 hour, +2 days. This attribute is required even if you wish to display the current date: to do so, simply set the time phrase equal to 0.
outputFormat
string
Required. The format the function should output. All common date formats are supported e.g. yyyy-MM-dd, dd/MM/yy.
Use Cases
Displaying the date 10 days from now
For this example, we output the date 10 days from now(omitting the dateTrait property). We use 2018-06-10 for the example calculation below.
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{{computeDate '{
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    "timePhrase": "+ 10 days", 
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    "outputFormat": "yyyy-MM-dd"
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    }'
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}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays the date 2018-06-20 in the section where it is used in the message. 
Note that the inclusion of a time-phrase is necessary, even if we wish to output the current date. Thus, to display the current date, simply set the time phrase equal to "+ 0 days."
Displaying a user's birthday
For this example, we output a user's birthdate, using the dateTrait property with the attributeuser.[traits.birthday]. We use 1993-01-20 for the example calculation below.
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{{computeDate '{
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    "dateTrait": "user.[traits.birthday]", 
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    "outputFormat": "yyyy/MM/dd"
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    }'
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}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays the date 1993/01/20 in the section where it is used in the message. 
Displaying the date 10 days from a user's birthday 
For this example, we output the date 10 days after a user's birthday, using the dateTrait property with the attributeuser.[traits.birthday] and  the timePhrase property with the value +10 days. We use 1993-01-20 for the example calculation below.
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{{computeDate '{
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    "dateTrait": "user.[traits.birthday]", 
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    "timePhrase": "+ 10 days", 
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    "outputFormat": "dd/MM/yyyy"
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    }'
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}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays the date 30/01/1993 in the section where it is used in the message. 
Number Formatting
To format numbers on CrossEngage, you should use the formatDigits function. The syntax of this formatting function is:
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{{formatDigits '{
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    "propertyName": [Value that should be formatted], 
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    "numberDecimals": [Decimals number],
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    "decimalSeparator": [Decimal separator], 
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    "thousandsSeparator": [Thousand separator],
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    "percentage": [Percentage option]
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    }'
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}}
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Property
Type
Description
propertyName
string
Required. The attribute containing the value that is used for formatting. e.g. [properties.price]
numberDecimals
integer
Required. The number of decimals that is displayed. e.g. 2
decimalSeparator
string
Optional. The string that is used to separate decimals e.g. ,
thousandsSeparator
string
Optional. The string that is used to separate thousands e.g. .
percentage
boolean
Optional. This option specifies whether the value should be formatted as a percentage or not. e.g. true
Please note that the number formatting helper function only works when used with either the #includeProducts or #findProduct helper function.
Use Cases
Formatting the price of a product extracted from the product feed
Using the helper function #findProduct, we search for a particular sku and format the result's  [properties.price] attribute. We use 2000 as the value of the product's price for the example below.
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{{formatDigits '{
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    "propertyName": "[properties.price]", 
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    "numberDecimals": 2,
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    "decimalSeparator": ",", 
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    "thousandsSeparator": ".",
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    "percentage": "false"
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    }'
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}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays 2.000,00 in the section where it is used in the message.  
Sending a voucher with a discount as a percentage
Using the helper function #findProduct, we search for a particular sku and format the result's  [properties.discount] attribute. We use 15 as the value of the product's price for the example below.
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{{formatDigits '{
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    "propertyName": "[properties.discount]", 
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    "numberDecimals": 0,
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    "percentage": "true"
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    }'
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}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays 15% in the section where it is used in the message.  
String Formatting
CrossEngage offers two string formatting functions:
1.trim - used to remove whitespace around a string
2.substring - used to display a substring of an existing string
Trimming a String
To display content from a text field that could contain whitespace around the string, you can use the trim function. The syntax of this formatting function is:
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{{#trim}}{{[attribute]}}{{/trim}}
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Property
Description
attribute
Any user or event attribute or any information extracted through any of the helper functions. e.g. {{user.[traits.email}}
Use Cases
Removing the white space around an email attribute
For the example below, we use [email protected]    as the value of the user's email attribute.
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{{#trim}}{{user.[traits.email]}}{{/trim}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays [email protected] in the section where it is used in the message.  
Removing the white space around a product name field
Using the helper function #findProduct, we search for a particular sku and format the result's  [properties.name] attribute. For the example below, we use   iPhone 8 Plus   as the value of the product's name.
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{{#trim}}{{[properties.name]}}{{/trim}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays iPhone 8 Plus in the section where it is used in the message.  
Extracting a Substring
To display content from a text field that could contain whitespace around the string, you can use the trim function. The syntax of this formatting function is:
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{{substring '{
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    "propertyName": [Attribute], 
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    "start": [Substring start],
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    "length": [Substring length]
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    }'
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}}
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Property
Description
propertyName
Required. Any user or event attribute or any information extracted through any of the helper functions.
start
Required. The index of the character in the original string where the substring starts. e.g. 1 refers to the first character in the string, 3 to the third character.
length
Required. The number of characters the substring extracts from the original string. e.g. 10
Use Cases
Creating a preview from a product description
Using the helper function #findProduct, we search for a particular sku and format the result's  [properties.description] attribute. For the example below, we use the following value for the product description attribute:
DESCRIPTION: iPhone 8 introduces an all‑new glass design. The world’s most popular camera, now even better. The most powerful and smartest chip ever in a smartphone.   
To display only the first sentence of the description, also removing the DESCRIPTION: part of the text, we use the following function and parameters:
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{{substring '{
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    "propertyName": "[properties.description]", 
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    "start": 13,
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    "length": 44
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    }'
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}}
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Once the function is evaluated, it displays iPhone 8 introduces an all‑new glass design. in the section where it is used in the message.  
Introduction to HandleBars
General helper functions
Last modified 1yr ago
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Extracting a Substring