Formula Basics

Column Reference Syntax

In Formula Pro, you reference column values using the {item's ColumnName} syntax:

{item's Status}
{item's Date}
{item's Number}
{item's Timeline}

When configuring automations, column placeholders are replaced with actual values at runtime. In the formula editor, you'll see placeholders like $values.pulse.column_id.value — these map to your selected columns.

Formula Structure

Formulas follow standard function-call syntax:

FUNCTION_NAME(argument1, argument2, ...)

Examples:

SUM(5, 10, 15)                    → 30
CONCATENATE("Hello", " ", "World") → "Hello World"
IF({item's Number} > 10, "High", "Low")

Common Patterns

Date formatting

TEXT(DATEVALUE({item's Date}), "YYYY-MM-DD")
FORMAT_DATE({item's Date}, "MMM DD, YYYY")

Conditional logic

IF(condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)
SWITCH({item's Status}, "Done", "Complete", "In Progress", "Active", "Unknown")

Timeline handling

LEFT({item's Timeline}, 10)      → Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)
RIGHT({item's Timeline}, 10)     → End date (YYYY-MM-DD)
START({item's Timeline})          → Start date (Formula Pro function)
END({item's Timeline})            → End date (Formula Pro function)

Excel Compatibility

Formula Pro implements 399+ Excel functions from categories including:

• Math and trigonometry

• Statistical

• Date and time

• Text

• Logical

• Lookup and reference

• Financial

• Engineering

See the Excel Functions Reference for the full list.