Introduction to DREL

This topic describes what Data Record Expression Language (DREL) is, and how to use it correctly to reference information from Form Submissions.

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Contents

• What is DREL?
• How to use DREL
• Related topics

What is DREL?

Data Record Expression Language (DREL) is a ProntoForms proprietary language used to reference information about Form Submissions. With DREL, you can build expressions that include form metadata and question answers.

You can use DREL to

• customize the name of form submissions in the mobile app and in the Web Portal
• customize the name of folders and document files in data destinations such as cloud services or emails
• include variable content in emails for customers
• set up filtering rules for data destinations, and
• map data and metadata to records within data destinations such as ServiceMax or Salesforce.

How to use DREL

DREL expressions use a combination of references, properties, and static text. The following image shows an example of an expression using DREL.

• References are variables that define the information in the expression. They always have a “%” symbol followed by a letter. Some references have a default property.

  Example: %u references the last user who submitted a form. This information might be the User ID, Username, or Email, depending on the property. %u without a property returns the user’s Display Name (first and last name and username).

• Properties specify the information to return for the reference. Place them in brackets [ ] after a reference when you want the system to return a property other than the default, or when the reference doesn't have a default property. Some references can include more than one property.

  Example: [name] specifies that the user information returned is the user's first and last name, as configured in their user profile. In the example, %u[name] returns John Doe.

• Static text provides additional information. The system returns static text as is.

  Example: Form Submitted by adds context to the expression and is returned as a text string in the example.

You can use any number of references to create an expression. The following image shows an expression that includes the Form Submission Properties reference (%r), the User reference (%u), and the Date reference (%d), along with some static text.

Info:Go to the topic DREL Complete Reference List for a full list of references and properties.

Related topics

• DREL Complete Reference List
• DREL Quick Reference