Using expressions in Format Control

To create Format Control expressions you will need to be familiar with system functions, boolean (logical) fields and the file variable.

Use the following definitions when Creating Format Control expressions:

Search for	Example	Results
A single word	`cat`	Topics that contain the word "cat". You will also find its grammatical variations, such as "cats".
A phrase. You can specify that the search results contain a specific phrase.	`"cat food"` (quotation marks)	Topics that contain the literal phrase "cat food" and all its grammatical variations. Without the quotation marks, the query is equivalent to specifying an OR operator, which finds topics with one of the individual words instead of the phrase.

Search for	Operator	Example
Two or more words in the same topic	`AND` `and` `+` (plus symbol) `&` (ampersand)	`cat AND dog` `"cat food"+milk` `"cat food"&"dog food"`
Either word in a topic	`OR` `or` `\|` (pipe)	`cat OR dog` `cat \| dog`
Topics that do not contain a specific word or phrase	`NOT` `not` `!` (exclamation point)	`NOT cat` `! dog`
Topics that contain one string and do not contain another	`^` (caret)	`cat ^ mouse`
A combination of search types	`( )` parentheses	`cat + (dog \| mouse)` `cat \| dog + (! mouse)`

Primary File:
The file attached to a form. This is referred to as $file in a Format Control record. Additional files are defined as $file1, $file2, etc. in the order of their entry in the secondary files section of the Additional File Queries screen of the Format Control record.

Semicolon:
Semicolons(;) separate statements to allow them to be entered on one line.

Variable:
A value that resides in memory only, rather than in a database record. Variable names always start with $. To ensure that a variable contains the proper value, initialize it in the Initializations Section of the Format Control record.

Statements:
Service Manager supports some C-like statements.

if then else

do while

for do

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