Free cookie consent management tool by TermsFeed contains() Function
contains() Function

Function

contains( array, value )

Checks whether an array contains the value.

Parameters

Keyword Type Description

array

Any Type Array

Array to check.

value

Any Type

Value to look for.

Returns

Boolean

Examples

Check for a text value

Values are matched case sensitively:

contains({"A", "b", "c"}, "A") returns true

contains({"A", "b", "c"}, "a") returns false because a lowercase letter does not match its uppercase equivalent.

Check for an integer value

contains({1, 2, 3}, 2) returns true

Check for an integer value in a decimal array

contains({1, 2.2, 3.3}, todecimal(1)) returns true

Cast the integer value to a decimal using the todecimal() function so that the two inputs are of the same type. Not doing so results in the error message Invalid types, can only act on data of the same type.

Check for a null value

contains({1, null, 3}, tointeger(null)) returns true

When the value is an empty list of the same type, true is returned:

contains({1, 2, 3}, tointeger({})) returns true

contains(tointeger({}), tointeger({})) returns true

Check for an array of values

contains({1, 2, 3}, {1, 2}) returns true

contains({1, 2, 3}, {1, 4}) returns false

To return the indexes of matching values, use wherecontains():

wherecontains({4, 5}, {4, 5, 6}) returns {1, 2}

Check for a dictionary, map, or CDT value

All fields of the dictionary or map must match the fields of one of the values in the array:

contains({{a: 1, b: 2}, {a:3, b: 4}}, {a:1, b: 2}) returns true

contains({{a: 1, b: 2}, {a:3, b: 4}}, {a:1}) returns false because the value does not match either array element completely. The value is present in the first map, but the entire map needs to match for contains() to return true.

contains({{a: 1, b: 2}, {a:3, b: 4}}, {a: "1", b: 2}) returns false because the value includes a text element, but all of the array elements are integer values.

This usage of contains() with maps returns true:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
a!localVariables(
  local!maps: {
    a!map(
      first: "Alice",
      last: "Kwan"
    ),
    a!map(
      first: "Charles",
      last: "Parker"
    ),
  },
  contains(local!maps, a!map(last: "Parker", first: "Charles"))
)

Check for a record field value

To see if an array of records contains a value, you need to specify the record field and ensure the type of value matches the type of the record field. The following example returns true:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
a!localVariables(
  local!records: {
    'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User'(
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{firstName}firstName': "Alice",
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{lastName}lastName': "Kwan"
    ),
    'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User'(
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{firstName}firstName': "Charles",
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{lastName}lastName': "Parker"
    ),
  }, 
  contains(local!records['recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{firstName}firstName'], "Alice")
)

You can also look for a list of record field values. If all values in the list are not contained in the array, the function returns false as shown in the following example.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
a!localVariables(
  local!records: {
    'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User'(
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{firstName}firstName': "Alice",
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{lastName}lastName': "Kwan"
    ),
    'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User'(
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{firstName}firstName': "Charles",
      'recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{lastName}lastName': "Parker"
    ),
  }, 
  contains(local!records['recordType!{SYSTEM_RECORD_TYPE_USER}User.fields.{firstName}firstName'], {"Charles", "Patricia"})
)

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

contains() Function

FEEDBACK