Formulas

Overview of formula fields in Noloco — what they are, when they recalculate, and what types of values they output.

A formula field contains a value calculated from a spreadsheet-like expression. Formulas operate on other fields on the same record — including other formula fields — supporting mathematical, logical, text, and date-based processing. For example, a full name field on the User table could concatenate the first name and last name fields.

This page covers the concept and lifecycle. For task and reference content, see:

• Creating a formula field — step-by-step setup

• Examples — common formula recipes

• Troubleshooting — fixing formulas that don't work

• Operators reference — all supported operators, grouped by category:

  • Date & time operators

  • Logic operators

  • Math operators

  • Text operators

When do formulas calculate?

A formula's value for a given record recalculates when any of the following occur:

• The formula field is created

• The formula is updated

• A new record is added

• A field referenced in the formula is updated

If a formula doesn't reference any other fields, it will only recalculate when:

• The formula is added initially

• The formula is edited

• The record is initially created

Output types

When a formula is added or updated, Noloco inspects the output and assigns a type based on the result pattern. The possible output types are:

• Boolean — formula must return true or false

• Date — formula must return a value wrapped in the TODATE operator

• Decimal

• Integer

• Text