Data Model Expressions

"Data Model Expressions" are a subset of code expressions in Grooper.

• Code expressions are snippets of .NET code that are evaluated at runtime to compute values, determine workflow logic, or validate data.
• Data Model expressions refer to expressions added to Data Fields and Data Columns that are used to calculate and validate field values.

FYI	For brevity's sake, we will refer to "Data Fields" and "Data Column" cells as "fields" throughout this article.

Data Model expressions are configured using the following Data Field and Data Column properties:

• "Default Value" - Generates a default value for the field.
• "Calculated Value" - Calculates an expected value for the field based on other field values. This can be used to validate or automatically populate the field.
• "Is Valid" - A Boolean expression that determines if the field's value is valid.
• "Is Required" - A Boolean expression that determines if the field is required (meaning it cannot be empty).

Default Value Expressions

"Default Value" expressions determine the default value for a Data Field or Data Column cell.

• Default values will be overridden by any subsequent data collection event: Value Extractor results, Fill Method (AI Extract) results, or Lookup Specification results
• You cannot reference Variable Definitions or other Data Field or Data Column values in a Default Value expression. Use "Calculated Value" expressions instead.

Default Value expressions are useful for pre-populating fields with:

• Static values
• System-derived values
• Document metadata

Return Type

Default Value expressions must produce a value compatible with the Data Field/Data Column's "Value Type". Otherwise, the field will throw an error or produce no value on extraction.

• Ex: The Data Field's "Value Type" is set to String. The expression must produce a string value.
• Ex: The Data Field's "Value Type" is set to DateTime. The expression must produce a datetime value.

Examples

Purpose	Expression
Default to a literal string value. Value must be enclosed in quotes.	"Literal value"
Default to a literal numeric value.	25.00
Global/System Variables
Default to the current date and time	Now
Default to the current date and time, formatted.	Now.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd")
Default to date and time 30 days from now.	DateAdd("d", 30, Now)
Default to date and time 30 days from now, formatted.	DateAdd("d", 30, Now).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd")
Default to the name of the current user.	My.User.Name
Generate a unique identifier	Guid.NewGuid
Document metadata - links
Returns the name of the link (e.g. "Import" or "Export") from a Batch Folder's content link.	Link.LinkName
Returns the attached file's path, including the file's name from a Batch Folder's content link.	Link.FullPath
Returns the attached file's path, not including the file's name from a Batch Folder's content link.	Link.Path
Returns the first segment in a file path from a Batch Folder's content link. For example, "servername" in "servername\folder\subfolder\file.pdf"	Link.PathSegments(0)
Returns the linked file's full filename, extension included (the "linked object") from a Batch Folder's content link.	Link.ObjectName
Returns the linked file's filename without the extension from a Batch Folder's content link.	IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(Link.ObjectName)
Return metadata associated with a known Content Link type (FileSystemLink, MailLink, SftpLink, Cmis.CmisLink, etc). Replace "FileSystemLink" with the Content Link type	DirectCast(Link,FileSystemLink).Filename DirectCast(Link,FileSystemLink).CreatedBy DirectCast(Link,FileSystemLink).CreatedTime DirectCast(Link,FileSystemLink).LastModifiedTime
Document metadata - Batch Folder attachment
Returns the attachment's filename, with extension.	Folder.AttachmentFileName
Returns the attachment's filename, without extension.	IO.Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(Folder.AttachmentFileName)
Returns the attachment's MIME type	Folder.AttachmentMimeType
Returns the attachment's file extension	Folder.AttachmentFileExtension
Document metadata - MIME type specific data
Return metadata associated with email messages	DirectCast(Handler,MailMimeTypeHandler).Subject DirectCast(Handler,MailMimeTypeHandler).To DirectCast(Handler,MailMimeTypeHandler).From DirectCast(Handler,MailMimeTypeHandler).Date
Return metadata associated with PDF files	DirectCast(Handler, PdfMimeTypeHandler).Author DirectCast(Handler, PdfMimeTypeHandler).Creator DirectCast(Handler, PdfMimeTypeHandler).CreationDate DirectCast(Handler, PdfMimeTypeHandler).Title DirectCast(Handler, PdfMimeTypeHandler).Subject
Document metadata - more Batch Folder info
Default to the Content Type (Document Type) assigned to the document (Batch Folder)	ContentTypeName
Default to the parent Content Type of the Content Type (Document Type) assigned to the document (Batch Folder). This is helpful for users trying to populate a value for a Document Type's parent Content Category.	Folder.ContentType.ParentNode.DisplayName
Default to the current document's Batch Folder ID (GUID).	Folder.Id
Default to the current document's Batch ID (GUID).	Folder.Batch.Id

Calculated Value Expressions

A Calculated Value Expression is a VB.Net code snippet that calculates a value of a field based on the values of other fields, much like how a formula defines a relationship between various cells in a spreadsheet. In addition to mathematical operations and text string manipulation, these expressions can inspect the Grooper node tree, batch, and environment variables or file paths to calculate the desired value.

These expressions can be used in two ways:

• To populate empty fields with calculated (or manipulated) values
• To validate existing field values

Return Type

Calculated Value Expressions must return a result that is compatible with the Data Field/Data Column's data type (set using their Data Type property).

• Ex: If a Data Field's data type is set to Integer, its Calculated Value Expression must evaluate to an integer, or else an error will occur.

Calculate Modes

Calculated Value Expressions can execute using one of three modes, set by configuring the Calculate Mode property:

• Validate
• Set If Empty
• Always Set

Mode	Description
Validate	Validate will check that the field's value mathematically satisfies the Calculated Value Expression. If it does not, puts the field in an error state. The error message on the field will show the difference between the field’s value and the expected result of the expression. As this mode pertains to mathematical validation only, it only works with numerical data types (Int, Decimal, Double). For non-mathematical validation, use an Is Valid Expression.
Set If Empty	Set If Empty will only populate the field with the Calculated Value Expression's result if no value was collected during the Extract step of a Batch Process. In other words, if the field is still blank after extraction, the expression will run and fill the field with its result. If there's anything at all in the field, the expression does nothing. Some Grooper users think of a Calculated Value Expression in Set If Empty mode as a more robust version of a Default Value Expression. Calculated Value Expressions can reference Data Elements (whereas Default Value Expressions cannot) and more methods than Default Value Expressions.
Always Set	Always Set will always populate the field with the Calculated Value Expression's result (unless the expression fails to produce a result). When you use these types of expressions, you may not even configure the Data Field or Data Column with an extractor, instead generating the calculated field's value using using other field values in the Data Model, system or document metadata or a combination of thereof. If an extractor is configured you may be using the expression to manipulate the extracted value to get a desired result (such as performing substring matching or some kind of mathematical operation). If any of the component values that make up the expression are modified, the Calculated Value Expression will update automatically. Ex: Imagine a calculated field's result is populated using a Calculated Value Expression that simply adds the values of two other fields together. If one of those referenced field's value is changed manually during user review, the calculated field's value will automatically be updated by the Calculated Value Expression.

Examples

Math related calculations
Addition of multiple fields	IntegerField1 + IntegerField2 DecimalField1 + DecimalField2 + DecimalField3
Rounding	Math.Round(DecimalField1, 4)
Non-integer addition (e.g. of date values)	DateAdd("d", 30, DateField1) DateAdd("yyyy", 1, DateField1) DateAdd("m", -3, DateField1)
String concatenation and manipulation
Concatenation of multiple fields	String.Concat(StringField1, StringField2) String.Concat(StringField1, StringField2, StringField3) String.Concat(StringField1, StringField2, StringField3, StringField4)
Reformatting / Normalization of values	StringField1.Replace("\", "_") StringField1.Replace("\", "")
Substring calculation	Given the string ABC123456XXXX654321YYY: StringField1.Substring(0, 3) returns ABC StringField1.Substring(3, 6) returns 123456 StringField1.Substring(9, 4) returns XXXX StringField1.Substring(StringField1.Length - 3) returns YYY
CMIS Content Links
Get properties of a CMIS Content Link. Use this to return property values for a document linked in a CMIS Repository. Replace propertyName with the property's name. Example: The Subject property for an email in an Exchange CMIS Repository.	CurrentDocument.ContentLink.GetCustomValue("propertyName").ToString
Misc expressions
Getting the location coordinates of a field on the document This could be used to determine the coordinates and size of an extracted value on a document. Note: This returns a logical rectangle's location in inches.	GetFieldInstance("Field Name").Location.ToString
Example Calculated Value expressions used in Validate mode
Date in past / future	DateField1 < Now DateField1 >= DateAdd("d", 30, Now)
Equality / inequality of two fields	StringField1 = StringField2 IntegerField1.Equals(IntegerField2) IntegerField1 <> DecimalField1 Not DecimalField1.Equals(DecimalField2)
Summing fields and comparing to another field	IntegerField1 + IntegerField2 = IntegerField3 DecimalField1 + DecimalField2 = DecimalField3 DecimalField1 = SumFieldInstance("Table1\AmountColumn")
Running regular expression against field	Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.IsMatch(StringField1, "[0-9]{6}")
Inspecting field-level confidence scores	Instance.Confidence > 0.8

Is Valid Expression

An Is Valid Expression is a snippet of VB.Net code that determines whether a Data Field or Data Column’s value is valid.

Return Type

Is Valid Expressions must return a Boolean (True/False) value:

• The expression must evaluate to “True” to be considered valid.
• If the expression returns “False,” an error is thrown stating "Validation Expression failed". The field's background color also changes to red to visually indicate the error.
  • You may write a custom error message by configuring the Validate Message property.

Example Is Valid Expression

!!SCREENSHOTS FORTHCOMING!!

For this example, we’ll be using the Regex.IsMatch method. This method compares a string input to a regular expression, returning “True” if they match.

The field “OKDL” is meant to capture Oklahoma Driver’s License Numbers.

• OK driver license have a strict pattern, consisting of one capital letter followed by 9 numerical digits.
• We could use the following Is Valid Expression to verify the result matches the driver license pattern (or in other words, is valid data).
  • Regex.IsMatch(OKDL, "[A-Z][0-9]{9}")

If the field’s value does not match the regular expression, Grooper will mark it as invalid and the field turns red:

Change the value to a valid ID number, and viola! The field is no longer in error:

Is Required Expressions

You can set a field to be required in Grooper by setting the Required property to true. If the field is not extracted during the Extract step (in other words, "blank"), the field will be flagged as invalid. However, what if whether or not a field is required is based on the value of some other field? You would want that field to be conditionally required, based on some set criteria or parameter.

That's what Is Required Expressions are for. An Is Required Expression is a snippet of VB.Net code that sets a field’s “Required” status conditionally.

Return Type

Is Required Expressions must return a Boolean (True/False) value:

• If the expression returns “True,” the field becomes required.
• If the expression returns “False,” it remains optional.

Example Is Required Expression

In the following example, there are two fields.

• “Marital Status” is a Boolean field with a true value of “Married” and a false value of “Single.”
• “Spouse Name” is a string field. It has the the following Is Required Expression:
  • Marital_Status = True

When the "Marital Status" field is set to "Single" (therefore "False"), the "Spouse Name" field is not required.

• The condition set by the Is Required Expression Marital_Status = True is met. The "Marital Status" field's value equates to "False". So, the expression returns "False"
• The field remains an optional field. No value is required to be entered.

If “Marital Status” is “Married” (therefore "True"), the “Spouse Name” field then becomes required.

• The condition set by the Is Required Expression Marital_Status = True is met. The "Marital Status" field's value equates to "True". So, the expression returns "True"
• The field will be in error and turn red until a value is entered.

Referencing field values in expressions

Field values (Data Field and Data Column cell values) can be referenced in the following expressions:

• Calculated Value
• Is Valid
• Is Required

Fields are referenced by Data Field/Data Column name.

• Names are normalized to a code-friendly version.
• Spaces are replaced with underscores (Ex: "Invoice Number" becomes Invoice_Number)
• Special characters are replaced with underscores (Ex: "Yes/No" becomes Yes_No)
• Multiple sequential spaces and special characters are replaced with a single underscore (Ex: "Yes / No" becomes Yes_No)

Peer fields and fields in Data Sections are accessed differently.

• Peer fields (in the same branch a Data Model hierarchy) are accessed by name only (Ex: Field_Name.
• Fields in Data Sections are accessed with dot-notation (Ex: Section_Name.Field_Name)
  • Be aware: Only fields in single-instance Data Sections can be accessed this way.

Ancestor fields can be accessed by starting at the Data Model root.

• This includes Data Fields at the first level in the Data Model.
• This includes Data Fields in ancestor single-instance Data Sections.
• The root Data Model takes its name after its parent Content Type.
• Example: Imagine the following Content Model and its and Data Model.

  stacks Invoices Content Model

  data_table Data Model

  insert_page_break Header Details Data Section

  variables Invoice Number Data Field

  variables Invoice Date Data Field

  insert_page_break Payment Details Data Section

  variables Invoice Total Data Field

  variables Early Payment Discount Data Field

  • A Calculated Value expression on the "Early Payment Discount" field could access the "Invoice Date" value with the following expression Invoices.Header_Details.Invoice_Date
• Be aware: This method will not work to crawl Data Elements inherited from a parent Content Type's Data Model.

Field values in collections can be accessed using LINQ expressions.

• Collections are multi-instance Data Sections and Data Tables.

LINQ expressions take the following general format:

• From item In Collection Where condition Select item.Field OrderBy key
• item is a variable name used to iterate through each item in the collection.
  • An "item" is a section instance for Data Sections
  • An "item" is a row for Data Tables.
• Collection is the Data Section or Data Table.
• Fieldis the Data Field in that Data Section or Data Column in that Data Table.
• The Where and OrderBy components are optional.

• Examples:
  • (From row in Line_Items Select row.Line_Total).Sum
    • This returns the sum of the "Line Total" Data Column values in a "Line Items" Data Table.
    • From row in Line_Items Select row.Line_Total selects all "Line Total" Data Column values for each row in the "Line Items" Data Table.
    • .Sum adds all the values returned by the LINQ expression.
  • (From sem In Semester Select sem.Earned_Hours).Max
    • This returns the maximum of the "Earned Hours" Data Fields from all section instances collected by a "Semester" Data Sections.
    • From sem In Semester Select sem.Earned_Hours selects all "Earned Hours" Data Field values for each instance in the "Semester" Data Section.
    • .Max selects the largest value from the LINQ expression.
  • (From sem In Semester Where sem.Year < DateTime.Now.Year Select sem.Earned_Hours).Sum
    • This returns the total "Earned Hours" for semesters prior to the current year.
    • From sem In Semester Where sem.Year < DateTime.Now.Year Select sem.Earned_Hours selects all "Earned Hours" Data Field values for each instance in the "Semester" Data Section that match the Where condition.
    • Where sem.Year < DateTime.Now.Year restricts values to the condition set by its expression. In this case, where the "Year" value in the section instance (sem.Year) is less than (<) the current year (DateTime.Now.Year).
    • .Sum adds all the values returned by the LINQ expression.

IntelliSense in the expression editor will help you.

• As you enter expressions in an expression editor, the IntelliSense code-completion window will provide code suggestions and documentation.
• Hover over an item in the completion list to view its documentation.
• Type Me. to list all accessible instance fields, properties, and methods in the IntelliSense menu. This is the quickest way to determine what Data Elements are accessible if you are unsure.