Contains operator

contains

VALUE1

contains

VALUE2

The contains operator returns true if the value on the left contains the value on the right, false if it doesn’t.

Parameters

This operator has two parameters:

value1 – The first numeric or text value.

value2 – The second numeric or text value.

Description

The contains operator compares two values (usually text) to see if the value on the left contains the value on the right anywhere within it.

"abcdef" contains "abc" ☞ true
"abcdef" contains "xyz" ☞ false
12345 contains 234 ☞ true

As the final example shows, the contains operator can work with numbers as well as text – it simply automatically converts the number into text before comparing.

As a more practical example, the formula below will be true if the Address field or variable contains the letters box.

Address contains "box"

This formula will be true if the address is P.O. Box 5328, and false if the address is 6938 Wilson Road.

Note: The contains operator does not worry about upper or lower case, so P.O. BOX 5328 or p.o. box 5328 will also produce true results. If upper and lower case are important to you, use the matchexact operator.

The contains operator will only tell you if the value on the right appears anywhere within the value on the left, but will not tell you the position of the text within the larger text. If you need to know the position use the search( function.

See Also

< -- compares two values to see if the first value is less than the second value.
<= -- compares two values to see if the first value is less than or equal to the second value.
<> -- compares two values to see if they are different.
= -- compares two values to see if they are the same.
> -- compares two values to see if the first value is greater than the second value.
>= -- compares two values to see if the first value is greater than or equal to the second value.
and -- returns true if both operands are true.
beginswith -- returns true if the value on the left starts with the value on the right, false if it doesn't.
between( -- checks to see if a value is between two other values.
boolstr( -- converts a Boolean value to text, either `"true"` or `"false"`.
checkemptyselection -- notifies the user if a selection failed, and reverts to the previous selection.
containsword -- returns true if the text contains a specified word, false if it doesn't.
Date Search Options -- searching dates within a database.
endswith -- returns true if the value on the left ends with the value on the right, false if it doesn't.
false( -- returns false.
Favorite Searches -- saving and recalling favorite searches.
find -- locates the first visible record in the active database for which the specified condition is true.
Find & Replace Dialog -- finding and replacing a word or phrase (with an option to use a regular expression).
Find/Select Dialog -- using a dialog to search for specific data.
findabove -- locates the next previous record (above the current record) in the active database for which the specified condition is true.
findbackwards -- locates the last visible record in the active database for which the specified condition is true.
findbelow -- locates the next visible record (below the current record) in the active database for which the specified condition is true.
findid -- locates a record in the active database by its ID number (see info("serverrecordid").
findnth -- finds the nth (2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) record that matches a true-false test.
findselect -- opens the standard *Find/Select* dialog.
findselectdialog -- opens the standard *Find/Select* dialog.
Formula Search -- searching with a formula.
Handling Empty Selections in Code -- dealing with an empty selection data set.
ifselect -- combines the select and if info("empty") operations into a single statement.
info("empty") -- returns true or false depending on the result of the last select operation. If no records were selected the function will return true, otherwise it will return false.
info("found") -- returns true or false depending on whether the last *find* or *next* statement was successful.
info("selectduplicatesortwarning") -- works with the selectduplicatesnowarning statement to ascertain whether or not the database was sorted correctly when last search for duplicates was performed.
like -- checks to see if the text on the left matches the wildcard pattern specified on the right.
limit( -- checks to see if a value is between a minimum and maximum value. If it is, the value is returned unchanged. If it is below the minimum, the minimum value is returned. If it is above the maximum the maximum value is returned.
match -- checks to see if the text on the left matches the wildcard pattern specified on the right.
matchexact -- checks to see if the text on the left matches the wildcard pattern specified on the right.
nextmatch -- locates the next visible record in the active database for which the condition specified in the most recent Find statement is true.
not -- reverses a boolean value.
not( -- reverses a Boolean value
notbetween( -- checks to see if a value is *not* between two other values.
notcontains -- returns true if the value on the left does not contain the value on the right, false if it does.
notmatch -- checks to see if the text on the left does not match the wildcard pattern specified on the right.
notmatchexact -- checks to see if the text on the left doesn't match the wildcard pattern specified on the right.
Numeric Search Options -- searching numbers within a database.
or -- returns true if either operand is true, or false if both are false.
pleaseselectall -- makes sure that all records are selected.
previousmatch -- locates the previous (closer to the top) visible record in the active database for which the condition specified in the most recent Find statement is true.
Record Search Options -- searching via record attributes.
Refining a Selection -- selecting a subset or superset of a previous selection."
regexmatch -- checks to see if the text on the left matches the regular expression on the right (see Regular Expressions).
regexmatchexact -- checks to see if the text on the left matches the regular expression on the right (see Regular Expressions).
removeselected -- deletes all selected records from the database.
removeunselected -- deletes all unselected records from the database.
safeselect -- makes visible only those records for the active database for which the specified condition is true. If no records match, the previous selection is retained.
safeselectwithin -- makes visible only those previously selected records in the active database for which the specified condition is true. If no records match, the previous selection is retained.
search( -- searches through an item of text looking for a character, word or phrase. If it finds an exact match (including upper/lower case) with the character, word or phrase, it returns its position within the text item. If it does not find the character, word or phrase, it returns zero.
searchanycase( -- searches through an item of text looking for a character, word or phrase. If it finds a match (upper/lower case may be different) with the character, word or phrase, it returns its position within the text item. If it does not find the character, word or phrase, it returns zero.
Searching -- searching a database to find or select information.
select -- makes visible only those records for the active database for which the specified condition is true.
Select Duplicates Dialog -- opens the standard *Select Duplicates* dialog sheet.
selectadditional -- adds unselected records to a previously selected group if they match the true-false test.
selectall -- makes every record in the database visible.
selectduplicates -- selects records containing duplicate information in the database.
selectduplicatesnowarning -- selects records containing duplicate information in the database.
Selecting with the Context Menu -- searching for information related to the current cell.
selectreverse -- makes every visible record invisible, and every invisible record visible.
selectwithin -- uses a Boolean formula to exclude records from a previously selected group.
soundex( -- computes a four character code that roughly corresponds to the phonetic pronunciation of the word.
soundslike -- compares two words to see if they "sound like" each other.
switch( -- chooses from a list of values.
Text Search Options -- searching text within a database.
true( -- returns true.
xor -- returns true if one of the two parameters is true, false if neither or both are true.

History

Version	Status	Notes
10.0	Updated	Carried over from Panorama 6.0, but also now allows numeric as well as text parameters.