ifs

New in Formulas 2.0

The ifs() function allows you to write if-then and else-if statements within a Notion formula. When used in its most basic form, ifs behaves in the same way as if, though it is a much simpler alternative to multiple nested ifstatements.

ifs(
    [condition], 
    ['then' expression], 
    [condition],
    ['then' expression],
    [...]
    ['else' expression]
)

If-then statements, also called conditional statements, contain:

• The condition – a statement to be evaluated for truthiness (i.e. “is it true?”)
• The “then” statement – a statement that is executed if the condition is true
• The “else” statement – a statement that is executed if the condition is false

else-if Statements

Previously, Notion did not support the else-if statement that is available in more popular scripting and programming languages, such as Javascript.

With an else-if statement, you could write code like this (in Javascript):

/* This is Javascript code that won't work in a Notion formula */

if (x < 13) {
    /* Do one thing */
} else if (x < 19) {
    /* Do another thing */
} else {
    /* Do the last thing */
}

The ifs() function allows you to write these else-if statements in a Notion formula, instead of relying on nested ifstatements.

ifs(
    [condition], 
    ['then' expression], /* Do one thing */
    [condition], 
    ['then' expression], /* Do another thing */
    ['else' expression]  /* Do the last thing */
)

In Formulas 1.0, you would have to instead create nested if-then statements, like so:

if(
    prop("Age") < 13,
    "Child",
    if(
        prop("Age") < 19,
        "Teenager",
        "Adult"
    )
)

But now with the introduction of the ifs function, the above is much easier.

ifs(
    prop("Age") < 13,
    "Child", /* Do one thing */
    prop("Age") < 19,
    "Teenager", /* Do another thing */
    "Adult" /* Do the last thing */
)

Example Formulas

Simple String Comparison

This formula compares the output of a Select property called Type (which has a data type of String) with the string value “Mammal”. If the two are equal, it outputs true; otherwise, false.

ifs(
    prop("Type") == "Mammal",
    true,
    false
)

Multiple else-if

ifs(

    /* Check if Done is checked, and if so display "😀" */
    prop("Done"),
    "😀",

    /* Otherwise check if Due is empty, and if so display "⚪" */
    not prop("Due"),
    "⚪", 

    /* Otherwise, check if Due is the same as the current date, 
    and if so display "🟢" */
    formatDate(prop("Due"), "L") == formatDate(now(), "L"),
    "🟢",

    /* Otherwise, check if the current date is past Due,
    and if so display "🔴" */
    prop("Due") < now(), 
    "🔴", 

    /* Otherwise, display "🔵" */
    "🔵" 

)

Only Return a Value for a true Condition

You can also use ifs to simply return a value if the first condition is true, with no need to add the “else” expression — this will be blank by default.

ifs(

    /* Check if the current date is past Due Date */
    now() > prop("Due Date"),

    /* If it is, display this. Otherwise, display nothing. */
    "This is overdue!" 

)

Example Database