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or() Function

Function

or( value )

Returns true if any inputs are true; returns false if all inputs are false.

See also:

  • and(): Similar to or(), but instead returns true if all of the input values return true.
  • any(): Calls a rule or function for a list of values to determine if any the results return true. This function is a combination of a!forEach() and or().

Parameters

Keyword Type Description

value

Boolean

A value or array of values that must be false for the function return false.

Returns

Boolean

Usage considerations

Casting and returning boolean values

  • Arguments are cast to Boolean before or() evaluates.
  • If a value cannot be cast to a Boolean, the function returns an error.

Evaluation order and performance

  • Arguments are evaluated in order from left to right.
  • As soon as any value evaluation returns true, the function returns true. All values must evaluate to false for the function to return false.
  • By keeping common conditions on the left and complex edge cases on the right, you can improve function performance. That way, if an earlier, simple function returns true, evaluation of the later edge cases never occurs.
  • Runtime errors on arguments that are not evaluated will not result in an error in the evaluation of the or() function. During troubleshooting, try evaluating each expression independently to identify issues.

Null and empty arrays

  • Null values that are part of input arrays are filtered out before evaluation.
  • Empty dictionaries, maps, CDTs, or records evaluate to false.
  • Empty text strings in a text array evaluate to true, but empty text strings in an array with multiple data types are considered null values and are filtered out before evaluation.

Using lists

  • Values can be provided either as separate arguments or within a list. For example, the following are both valid and will return the same result:
    • or(true, true, false)
    • or({true, true, false})
  • If multiple lists are provided, the items are flattened into a single list before evaluating each item.

Tip:  The or() function is useful within a component's showWhen parameter. This allows you to display the component if any of the conditions return true.

Examples

Basic examples

Pass an empty array

or({}) returns false

Pass an array of numbers

or(1,2,"",3) returns true

or(0,1,2,"",3) returns true

Applying multiple conditions to a single value

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a!localVariables(
  local!date: date(2022, 1, 2),
  or(
    calisworkday(local!date),
    local!date > today()
  )
)

This returns false because 2 Jan 2022 is a date in the past and it is not a work day in the default calendar.

Conditionally showing or hiding components

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a!localVariables(
  local!selection,
  local!description,
  {
    a!radioButtonField(
      label: "Approved",
      choiceLabels: {"Yes", "No"},
      choiceValues: {"Yes", "No"},
      value: local!selection,
      saveInto: local!selection
    ),
    a!paragraphField(
      label: "Comments",
      value: local!description,
      saveInto: local!description,
      showWhen: or(
        a!isUserMemberOfGroup(
          username: loggedInUser(),
          groups: cons!MY_GROUP_SUPERVISOR
        ),
        local!selection = "No"
      )
    )
  }
)

The paragraph field is only displayed if the user is in the supervisors group or they have selected No in the radio button selection.

Checking the results of an integration

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a!localVariables(
  local!response: rule!MY_IntegrationRule(),
  if(
    or(
      a!isNullOrEmpty(local!response),
      local!response.success = false,
      local!response.result.body.totalCount = 0
    ),
    "Error Occurred",
    "Total Results: " & local!response.result.body.totalCount
  )
)

In this example, the results of an integration are stored in local!response. We'd like to return the total number of results, but there are several possible error scenarios. If any of the following occur, we should provide a generic error message:

  • The result is null or empty.
  • The success parameter returns false, which often occurs when an integration returns a 500 or 404 error.
  • The total number of results is 0.

Feature compatibility

The table below lists this function's compatibility with various features in Appian.
Feature Compatibility Note
Portals Compatible
Offline Mobile Compatible
Sync-Time Custom Record Fields Compatible

Can be used to create a custom record field that only evaluates at sync time.

Real-Time Custom Record Fields Incompatible

Custom record fields that evaluate in real time must be configured using one or more Custom Field functions.

Process Reports Compatible
Process Events Compatible

or() Function

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