Overview

PhixFlow sometimes needs code-like instruction to achieve dynamic behaviour. Usually these are simple, short pieces of code called Expressions. Longer, complex expressions are usually called Scripts. For useful expressions that you want to reuse in different places, you can put the expression into a Macro.

Expression Editor

Usually a dynamic field is expecting an expression. In some cases, a dynamic field expects different code, such as an SQL statement. If you want to use an expression in this type of field, enclose it in curly brackets.

Expressions can also include attributes or Internal Variables, depending on the context, which you create yourself. As these are prefixed with the $-symbol they are called $-variables.

To find out what code a dynamic field expects, or which internal variables are available, check the help for the properties tab in which you are working. At the top of the properties tab, click Help.

PhixScript

Expression editors display symbols to indicate whether they are expecting PhixScript or Embedded PhixScript.

PhixScript

Embedded PhixScript

See Embedded Expressions.

Large Editor

When working on large expressions or scripts it can be useful to use the option, Show field in a large editor. When working in the large editor, the content can be saved to the Properties tab without closing the larger editor window by clicking Save.

As well as internal variables, PhixFlow has lots of Functions that you can use in expressions.

Learn More

The pages in this topic provide information on writing your own expressions, from simple assignments to complex looping operations.

Expression Basics	Basic operations (+, -, *, /), $-variables, variable types, assignment statements, object types and commenting scripts.
Expression Style	A summary of the recommend scripting styles e.g. how to lay out an if clause and how best to name variables.
Using Variables	How to use variables in PhixFlow expressions.
Internal Variables	A list of all the pre-defined variables in PhixFlow. Depending on the context of your expression, only some of these will be appropriate to use.
Text Expressions and Escape Characters	Information for including text strings in expressions, characters that have special meanings, and how to escape them.
Regular Expressions	How to use regular expressions that match strings in the data.
Embedded Expressions	How to embed an expression within a statement or text.
Conditional Statements	How to conditionally control the flow of your script using the if() and switch() functions.
Looping Statements	How to execute blocks of script a number of times.
Arrays and Record Sets	Handling sets of data.
Sequence	Create a series of unique identifiers.
Macro	Encapsulate an expression so you can reuse it in different places.
Referencing Files and Images Via a Soft Link	How to use paths to access files on the PhixFlow server.
Managing 4-byte Characters	How to handle invalid characters.
Combining PDFs	How to present all the PDFs produced by a file exporter as pages in a single PDF.
Binary File Grammar	Information about how to extract data from binary files, if you need to load them using a file collector.
Functions	The full list of all the PhixFlow functions. For example the lookup function is for filters and dynamic lookups on Pipes. Each function has its own help page.
PhixScript Cheat Sheet	A short list of commonly used functions.

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