Return Null/Empty Values in Formulas

Unlike Javascript, Notion formulas do not have a null data type. However, it is possible to make a formula return a null/empty value using some easy workarounds.

To return a null/empty string, use a pair of double quotes "":

""

To return a null/empty number, use the following formula (credit to aNotioneer on Twitter for this number workaround):

toNumber("")

Likewise, you can return a null/empty date object using this formula:

fromTimestamp(toNumber(""))

There is no possible null/empty state for Booleans/Checkboxes. However, you can convert Booleans to strings with format in order to create a setup where true/false/empty is possible:

// Assume "Checkbox" is a Boolean/Checkbox property.

// Invalid; will throw a Type Mismatch error:
if( 1 > 2, prop("Checkbox"), "")

// Valid. Will output "true", "false", or an empty value.
if( 1 > 2, format(prop("Checkbox")), "")

Example Database

This example database demonstrates how outputting null/empty values from several formulas allows us to calculate a per-genre average rating inside a Movies database.

View and Duplicate Database

Return Null/Empty Values from Formulas