Working with Expressions

Expressions enable you to calculate the value of a column, or create an aggregate column. The return type of an expression is determined by the DataType of the column.

Note:

Any column referenced in an expression must be before the column with the expression in the DataTable - see Change the Column Order for more information.

Please see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.data.datacolumn.expression(vs.71).aspx for more information from Microsoft on data column expressions.

Supported expression columns:

Single line of text

An example of an expression in a text column would be:

IIF(#Today#<DateDue, 'Overdue','On Target')

This expression would return a text value of ‘Overdue’ for any overdue items and ‘On Target’ for others.
Number (1, 1.0, 100)

An example of an expression in a number column would be:

IIF(ActualNumberOfAnomalies>PlannedNumberOfAnomalies, ActualNumberOfAnomalies - PlannedNumberOfAnomalies, 0)

This expression compares two number columns, ‘PlannedNumberOfAnomalies’ and ‘ActualNumberOfAnomalies’. It determines if the number of actual anomalies exceeds the number of planned anomalies. If it does, the difference is displayed, otherwise 0 is displayed.
Date and Time

An example of an expression in a date time column would be:

IIF(#Today#<DueDate,DueDate,null)

This expression would return the Date Due value of any overdue items.
Yes/No (check box)

An example of a Yes/No expression would be:

IIF(#Today#<DateDue,1,0)

This expression would return a Boolean value of true (1) for any overdue items. This would be displayed as a Yes in the report and No if the result was false (0).
Currency ($, ¥, €)

An example of such a currency expression would be:

IIF(#Today#<DueDate,10000,0)

This expression would return a penalty of $10,000 (assuming dollars) for any overdue items.

Unsupported column types:

Multiple lines of text
Choice (menu to choose from)
Lookup (information already on this site)
Person or Group
Hyperlink or Picture

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