Text expression – composing text and writing fixed values¶
The text expression puts text together from fixed text and inserted values. It is also the way to write a fixed value – a status name, a number, a path – wherever an expression is expected. This page describes its settings and how inserted values behave.
1. At a glance¶
| Purpose | Composes text from fixed text, line breaks and inserted values |
| Typical use | Captions ("Ticket 4711 – Printer broken"), e-mail texts and templates, fixed values for comparisons |
| Returns | Text |
| Related | Mathematic (same editor, but calculates), Modify Value (transforms a value) |
2. Settings¶
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "Content" | The text. Fixed text is typed directly; inserted values appear as dark chips inside the text. |
| "Text" / "HTML" | Switches how the content is shown – as plain text or in a rich text box. Only the view changes, see section 3. |
| List below the content | Every inserted expression with its name and its own expression setting. Change an inserted value here. |
Inserting values¶
- "Insert Expression" in the toolbar of the editor opens the dialog for selecting a stored expression or creating a custom one.
- A right click into the content opens a searchable list ("Insert value or expression...") with the fields of the current entity, fields of related entities, action variables, global values and system functions. "Insert expression..." at the bottom of the list opens the full dialog.
- Enter inserts a line break.
A chip is removed like a character, with Backspace or Delete.
3. Behaviour¶
When the expression is evaluated, nexxcite goes through the content from left to right and joins everything into one text:
| Part | Inserted as |
|---|---|
| Fixed text | Exactly as written. Text in double square brackets is not interpreted, it stays as typed. |
| Line break | A line break |
| Inserted expression | The result of the expression, as text |
| Global value | The current value of the global value |
| System function | The result of the system function |
- An inserted value that is empty inserts nothing; the text around it remains.
- Numbers are inserted with a decimal point. Dates are inserted in the form
10/20/2026 14:30:00. To get another format, insert a Modify Value expression with the ruleDateTimeFormatinstead of the date field itself. - An inserted expression that no longer exists inserts nothing.
Text or HTML¶
The switch "Text" / "HTML" only changes the view. The expression itself does not know whether its content is HTML:
- "Text" shows the content as it is stored, markup included. You can edit HTML source code here.
- "HTML" shows the content in a rich text box with formatting (bold, italic, headings, lists, links, images, colours). What you format is stored as HTML markup.
The editor opens in the view that fits the content: as soon as the content contains markup, it starts in "HTML". The switch is only offered for text expressions, not for mathematic ones.
A fixed value¶
A fixed value is a text expression with only fixed text – for example Closed. When you type a value
directly into a setting, nexxcite creates exactly such a custom text expression. A text expression
with an empty content returns an empty value.
4. Examples¶
Caption of a form: Ticket + the field "Number" + – + the field "Subject" results in
"Ticket 4711 – Printer broken".
Greeting in an e-mail (HTML view): <p>Dear + the system function CurrentUserName +
,</p><p>your request has been received.</p>.
Fixed comparison value: In a logical expression "Status equals Closed", the right side is a
text expression with the fixed text Closed.
5. Limitations¶
- Images inserted in the "HTML" view are stored inside the text itself. That is suitable for a small logo but not for photos. Some e-mail programs block such images.
- The rich text box offers no text alignment and no tables.
- The result is the content only – for an e-mail, nexxcite does not add a surrounding HTML document.