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Built-in Functions

A number of built-in functions may be used in the Scenario Builder application.

To invoke a function from a text field, prefix it with an equal sign. Example: =now("UTC")

The functions are described as follows.


formatduration(duration_in_seconds)

This function converts duration in specified in seconds into MM:SS or HHH:MM:SS formats. It produces formatted string as output (e.g., formatduration(121) will return "02:01").


length(string)

This function returns the number of characters in a string.


now(string timezone)

This function returns the current time in the specified time zone in Unix format (number of seconds elapsed since 1/1/1970, 00:00:00 UTC). Time zone is optional; if not specified, the current time will be returned in the tenant’s default time zone.


parsedatetime(string datetime, string format)

This function returns the specified date and time in Unix format (number of seconds elapsed since 1/1/1970, 00:00:00 UTC). The date and time input is expected in the ICU’s Java SimpleDateFormat.


replace(string, search_pattern, replace_pattern, flags)

  • This function performs search and replace in the input string. It returns the string with replacements performed.
  • Parameters are as follows:
    • string is the input string to be searched.
    • search_pattern is the regular expression pattern to be matched in the input string. The list of supported patterns can be found in the table below. Note the extra \ in escapes. This is necessary in order to allow literal insertions of " and new line symbols.
    • replace_pattern is the text to insert instead of matched text according to search pattern. \\0 - \\9 are allowed in replacements.
    • flags denote one or more of the following additional conditions:
      • i – ignore case in the search
      • g – replace all matches because otherwise only the first match will be replaced (e.g., replace(“abcdefg”,”c”,”z”,”ig”) produces “abzdefg”).


round(floating_number, precision)

This function rounds the number to the <precision> number of digits after the point. The result is still a floating point number.


stripnondigits(string)

This function removes non-digit characters from string, leaving only digits from 0 to 9, * and # symbols (e.g., stripnondigits("123abc456") will return "123456").


titlecase(string)

This function converts string to title case (i.e., each word is capitalized).


tostring(integer)

This function converts an integer to a string (e.g., tostring(-2+1) should return "-1" as a string).


urlencode(string)

URL encodes a string, replacing special characters using the %dd notation. This is a conservative implementation that replaces all characters that are not explicitly in allowed characters.


Pattern Types

Pattern types are described as follows.


Pattern Description
^ Match beginning of a buffer
$ Match end of a buffer
() Grouping and substring capturing
[…] Match any character from the set
[^…] Match any character but the ones from the set
\\s Match whitespace
\\S Match non-whitespace
\\d Match decimal digit
\\D Match anything but decimal digit
\\r Match carriage return
\\n Match new line
+ Match one or more times (greedy)
+? Match one or more times (non-greedy)
* Match zero or more times (greedy)
*? Match zero or more times (non-greedy)
? Match zero or once
\\meta Match one of the meta characters: ^$().[*+?\


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